No problem Mike. That's what this forum is for 🙂

Lets pick one of those target audiences as they are pretty different, and then lets break that down into something specific. For example, instead of saying "guitar oriented music" say Steve Vai, or Jimi Hendrix, or whatever is actually the right example in your case. 

I think this is the start of our trouble. You are not saying anything specific enough because you are not envisioning a specific enough person. Guitar rock is vast, and so you are imagining a vast audience. We need to really break the person down. Lets start with what the top three artists would be in your ideal fan's favorite playlist.

Sorry, I feel like this must be starting to feel like I'm messing with you. But I'm not... Those three guitar players are all quite different. Joe Satriani is an older metal guitar virtuoso who appeals to die hard guitar fans, John Mayer is a skilled Triple A guitar player whose songwriting and sex appeal is a big part of his draw, and Richie Kotzen is more of a metal player that appeals to fans of the old LA Strip bands. Which artist's fans will most likely respond to what you do? 

I break it down like this because you really need to do that in order to right good copy. You need to know exactly what conversation is taking place in the mind of your ideal fan. As I see it, the conversation that is taking place in the mind of the fans of each of those artists is pretty different. 

In addition to the age, what else can you say about your ideal fan?

This is a bit of an old lesson, but it might help to watch it before going on to the next step: https://www.mmmanifesto.com/in.....ideal-fan/

Hey Mike, sorry for the gap in replying, I was off for the weekend.

In my opinion musicians make it a bit more complex then it needs to be. I think you are seeing all of those things in yourself because you know they are there. But when you take a simple song and listen to it (as an outsider) it's pretty simple to breakdown. That doesn't mean that my breakdown would be identical to another person's breakdown, but it would still be a perspective on who you are as a brand/sound. And chances are that millions of other people would see it the same way if given a chance. 

When I listen to the video you shared, I don't hear many of the influences you mentioned. While you sound like a skilled guitar player, the guitar takes a back seat to the songs. That is not the case with the guitar forward influences you mentioned. When you listen to them it's all about the guitar. When I listen to the song you posted it's much more about the song. If you want to go after the guitar audience you would want to use a much more guitar forward track (in my opinion).

When I personally listen to that track I hear a sort of modern Rick Springfield or even a heavier Richard Marx. Or to be more modern, maybe a less power punk All American rejects. But that's off of 30 seconds and one song so take that with a grain of salt.

I'm guessing you have a lot of different sides. That's totally fine. But I would pick the dominate side, and the side that is reflected in the top one or two songs that new fans will first be exposed to and then distill that into it's simplest parts. 

Ask yourself, who does this track sound like? Then ask yourself what the fans of those artists are like. Then distill your brand into just those aspects of your music and personality that align with the brand. Then craft a headline that broadcasts those qualities in the form of an experience.

But just to keep things on track... what song or two do you want to lead with and what artists do you think that track is most similar too? If you are unsure, feel free to post here and I/we can offer opinions.

Based on those two tracks I see your sounds as in the same ballpark as artists like Pete Yorn, Dave Mathews, and John Mayer. It's not a dead ringer for any of those, and there are probably more contemporary references that you could dig up with the audience insights tool, but those are the artists to came to mind for me as good targeting options to at least start with.

If you agree with that, I would start making a list of what those artists have in common and then try and really narrow down the target audience for all of those qualities. Then (going back to the first exercise), ask yourself how you would get the attention of that ideal fan in a crowd. Distill that into a sentence and test it as a headline.

Not to over simplify it 🙂

Let me know if you have any questions.

See, I don't really listen to any of these artists but I still see a similarity. I also don't really intuitively know what "speaks for me" means. I'm not trying to be silly hear, but we need to assume that strangers will take things somewhat literally. Does "speaks for me" mean that they will order my food at a restaurant? Does it mean they will give speeches so I don't have to? I know that sounds sort of ridiculous, and I know that's not what you mean, but I'm trying to make the point that the words really have specific meanings. You are also trying to tap into an existing passion. That sentiment would only work if people were walking around thinking to themselves, I wish some musician would speak for me? You catch what I mean?

I compared you to those artists because I though they were mostly skilled guitarists with melodies and chord structures that were unique and challenging, yet still easy to listen to. The guitar tones were not overly overdriven, and the general sound sat somewhere between Americana and progressive rock. But again, that's just me.

If it was my job to write a headline for an artist like this I would try to get in the heads of fans of those artists and figure out what they liked about those artists and then speak to that, while also referencing some of those more tangible qualities and mixing in your own USP.

Hi Mike,

I think you're on the right track but haven't exactly nailed the headline here.

I'm not personally convinced that this is what fans of those artists actually respond to, but I am not a fan of those artists so your guess is as good as mine, and you've done some research so you could very well be right.

The sentiment you are focused on is fine, but I think the sentences could have more flare. I also don't think many people are consciously passionate of music because it's "mainstream".

If I was going to try and run a headline like you mentioned I might try something more like...

"If you're a fan of singer songwriters that think and play "outside of the box" such as Dave Mathews, John Mayer, and Pete Yorn... then Mike Conde is a must have for your collection."

I'm not saying that's amazing, it's just the first thing that came to mind, but you can see how it more directly speaks to the passion you outlined, and more consciously connects that passion to their interests. It also hints at what the fact that they need to do something next.

You might even try something like "Mike Conde's music is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get..."

I don't personally think that's an amazing headline, because it's unclear what that actually means, but because a fan said it about one of your target artists, and because you responded to it, there could be something subconscious at play there. It's worth trying anyway.

At the end of the day, all you can do is come up with a handful of options and then split test them using Dynamic Creative. Scarp what doesn't work and add new elements until you are where you need to be.

Glad to hear it Mike and happy to help. The nice thing about Dynamic Creative is that it's very easy to quickly test a bunch of things and see what works and what doesn't. Once the rubber touches the road you'll have a much better sense of things. Keep us posted.