The Business of Branding

by Bridgette Cooper

Thinking of ways to brand yourself? We should first know what “branding” is. According to indie marketing consult and  guru, Donna Maria Coles Johnson, founder and CEO of Indie Business Media, LLC, and the Indie Beauty Network, “branding is the collective impression that your business,customers and YOU create over time”. After thinking about the definition of branding, I began to think about the role of branding for a classical singer and how we can best brand ourselves in the classical music industry. Mrs. Coles Johnson continues to suggest the thought of  “creating an impression”.

Think of how you want your audience to perceive you (philanthropic, down to earth. diva, hard working, etc.). There are three things that should be at the start of any singers list when thinking about how to effectively brand themselves 1) Use of technology (use social media to market yourself) 2) Make your music more widely available even if it is for free 3) Partner with someone to who is “technology savvy”.

The absolute best thing about starting to invest in your branding, is that many of today’s branding tools for marketing are FREE if you choose to make technology your friend. Not only is it free, but using technology is one of the best tools to maximize your potential as an artist. I thought back to many of my failed attempts as a blogger. Sure, it would go strong for the first week or so, then life sort of gets in the way and then well….who the heck has time to blog? Just by understanding the concept and purpose of blogging. I realize that some of the mistakes I made before had to do with the simple fact that my audience had not let me down, I let them down by not showing up for the blog, the tweet, the whatever my social media outlet was at the time. So I ask you this last question….Have you had your tweet today?
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Donna Maria Coles Johnson is the founder and CEO of Indie Beauty Network (a part of Indie Business Network) and Indie Business Media, a communications company offering customized and expert insights to help small and independent business owners maximize their potential in life and business. She blogs at http://www.IndieBusinessBlog.com/

Award winning opera singer, music educator, music critic and featured columnist. Was recently named Outstanding Alumni from East Carolina University along side Academy Award winning actress Sandra Bullock. She has traveled the world singing in recital and operatic engagements. Ms. Cooper was in the final season of the hit HBO series The Wire and the pilot episode for The Washingtonian produced by Emmy nominated Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City. You can follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/bridgettcooper and https://twitter.com/jazzyoperagirl . She blogs at http://www.blogster.com/bridgettecooper/ or friend her on www.Facebook/bridgettecooper.