Same Mission, Deeper Honesty

The Courage to Be Real: Growing & Learning, Together

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” – Anaïs Nin

Aho, Ase, AmeNamaste to all my Perfectly Imperfects.

If you are reading this, I want to get right to thanking you. You could be anywhere, but you’re here. And that means the world to me.

My goal has always been to offer actionable insights. And my intention is to help you amplify your impact. And that mission hasn’t changed.

But something is shifting.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." – Alan Watts

A quick confession, this site is hosted on Posthaven. I allowed the $5 subscription fee lapse some time ago. Thankfully, I maintained the payment long enough to keep Posthaven from pulling my site down entirely. Shout-out to this service and I’m glad to be a paying member again.

It is incredibly humbling this existence, isn’t it? This is the type of stuff I sit with in the dark. Things I would never share in previous versions of myself. Yet here we are. Welcome.

Lately, reflecting on the full nature of the work itself has been a new obsession. Particularly I enjoy exploring the "messy bits.” The part that doesn’t always make it into the polished case studies or the "5 Steps to X" blog posts. It’s the messy middle. The trial-and-error. The late nights and moments of doubt. It’s the sheer grit needed for meaningful projects. This is true for creators, community builders, and cause-driven entrepreneurs.

So, consider this a reintroduction. Or perhaps, a deepening of the conversation.

My commitment moving forward is to be more open and honest about this lovely messiness. Why? Because I believe that’s where some of the most valuable lessons lie. This is where Ownership truly takes root. We learn to navigate with Liberty. We build Antifragility. Ultimately, we take full Responsibility for our journey. And yes, sometimes it requires a degree of Surrender to the process itself. (See? S.O.L.A.R. is always there.)

What does this mean for the content you’ll see from me?

  • More "Behind-the-Curtain" Insights: I want to share not just what works, but how it works. And those humbling bumps along the road, rich wisdom will be gleaned. Expect more stories of challenges faced. I'll share lessons learned (sometimes the hard way). We'll explore the nuanced realities of running a business. And of community development and ethical marketing in today's world

  • Honest Conversations about the Creator Journey: The path of a creator or an independent professional isn't always glamorous. We'll talk about finding your authentic voice and sustaining it. We'll also explore the courage it takes to put your work out consistently.

  • The "Real Talk" on Impact: Making an impact is incredibly rewarding, but it’s also complex. I plan to explore the practical and sometimes uncomfortable truths about building communities. Let's get comfortable with the slow process of driving effective engagement. Because that's what it will take to effect change in a noisy world.

For years, I’ve championed the power of listening as a cornerstone of effective marketing and connection. Now, I’m turning that lens inward a bit more publicly and inviting you to be part of a more candid dialogue.

This isn't about abandoning the practical advice or the strategic frameworks. It’s about enriching them with authenticity. It's about acknowledging that none of us have all the answers. Yet if we share our experiences more openly, we can all learn and grow stronger.

So, what are the "messy bits" of the work you do? What are the conversations you wish more people were having in your field? And if you are not ready to get messy, then let me know what you do hope I cover more in my work.

I’m the perfectly imperfect person named Hubert. I’m excited to embark on this next chapter of sharing, learning, and growing with you. This time, intention will be involved in every step.

Let’s get to it.

4 Basic Steps to Optimizing Fan Conversion.




Last week, the ABC of Music Marketing was introduced. Today, let’s delve deeper into fan conversion and the steps it will take to build a truly viable music business.

Before going into the steps, I want to make sure I have your attention. In our mantra of “Always Be Converting,” “converting” is obviously the key term, so say it with me, “CONVERT.” Very good. Now let’s continue with our program.

To be clear, this is the basic thought process you should have to optimizing your fan conversion points. At larger companies, the process is a bit more complicated, but in the end, most follow the same concept. If you set up a business, then you need to make sales. In order to sell, you need a storefront. In order to get people through the door, whether physical or virtual, you have to announce yourself or communicate with potential customers.

The only way you can make a living is by making money, which has to be your key endpoint for your fan conversion funnel.

When you get really sophisticated, you can begin to customize your customer or fan experience based on their preferences. These four steps will show you how you get to that level of sophistication.

Step 1 – Set Up Your Conversion Points / Funnel

You started a music business with one very specific mission – to earn a living by doing what you love. The only way you can make a living is by making money, which has to be your key endpoint for your fan conversion funnel. Everything you do should be revolving around the selling of your products or services.


This diagram showcases the average process a person goes through in making a decision to buy something. It is not unique to any particular business. Even with music, it takes awareness for any purchase to happen. It has to be liked. Music sales do not happen by osmosis.

Therefore you have to set up additional points for the conversion funnel. Here are the necessities for a music business:

  • Website
  • Blog
  • Email
  • Social Media
  • Events

Now each conversion point has its own nuances that can make or break a decision to buy. If your website is not set up to help a visitor to find what they are seeking, then it is less likely to convert on anything. Complicated site design is one of the biggest reason for ineffective websites. In the future, we will visit all these elements with closer detail.

You most likely have all these elements in place, but you probably do not have them arranged in a way to help your business grow. For instance, many bands rarely encourage people to visit their website. They just want them to see them play, but that limits your ability to convert a fan. You should always invite people to see you wherever it is convenient for them. The Internet is the most convenient place for most people, so you should pay close attention to your website’s user experience. More on that later though.

Step 2 – Announce You Are Open for Business

If you have all the necessary conversion points in place, then you can invite people through various mediums to come pay you a visit. You can send a Facebook update, an email to your list and/or announce it at an open mic.

Now being open for business is not Internet-specific. Your most important conversion point should definitely be in place at your events and even the stores you get to carry your goods. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is just said to be clear – it is not all about the Internet.

Step 3 – Observe Your Traffic’s Interactions

From watching someone peruse your merch table to reviewing your Google Analytics, observation or LISTENING is key to optimizing your conversion points.

If you are not tracking how many people click the links you share on Twitter, you are leaving money on the table.

If you are not reviewing your Facebook Insights for your music business page, then you are leaving money on the table.

If you do not have any idea how or why people come to your website and never buy anything, then obviously there is a problem. Fix it.

Once you have observed, you can then ask questions. You have to know what questions to ask first. Simply asking, “hey, why didn’t you buy my stuff?” is not appropriate without context. Body language can tell you quite a bit. Of course, people know you want them to buy your stuff. By observing, you can get a sense of what they are seeking and positioning your goods accordingly.

If someone can to your site due to a blog post you wrote about your favorite drummer, you should probably post a widget of a song that was influenced by that drummer. If the person likes it, then they might want to download it. Let’s take it one step further. Make that song available in exchange for their email. Then when they opt-in to your list, ask how they liked the song. That’s conversion.

Step 4 – Adjust Conversion Points / Funnel Based on Traffic’s Behavior

This is simple. If you listen, you will learn. Take what you learn and make it actionable.

If your fans only carry plastic at shows, get Square. Then add a sign that says you can make secured credit / debit card transactions.

If you find that fans of your genre of music share interesting things over social networks, then do your homework and supply your own. Speak their language, if you don’t already.

These are just a few ideas. Again, this will be addressed in greater detail in the near and dear.

Here is my Opportunity to Convert You

In the next few months, I will be publishing ebooks and hosting classes on building music businesses. If this sounds like something of interest to you, you should join my email list to get exclusive news and offers. If you know people that should be receiving my information, please share it with them.


S.M.A.R.T. (Music) Business Goal Recommendations for 2012

2012 is a much-discussed year in the two most controversial areas known to man – religion and politics. Regardless of what you believe, you probably are still going to work on your music business. As 2012 is quickly approaching, you probably should set some SMART goals for it.

Lately, many of the artists that look to this site for support have been getting help on setting their goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Working with these artists, we have run across some repeat goals. It is only right to share them with you.

Here are our SMART music business goal recommendations for 2012.

Legitimize Your Music Business by Incorporating

Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants. We get lazy and stoic when massive activity is not transpiring. This happens often to music acts, especially when only meager results are attained from our efforts.

When it comes to keeping your music business alive, it helps to have some extended motivation. One great way to extend it is to run your operation like a real business.

The best way to accomplish that is by actually establishing an S-corp, (Low-profit) Limited Liability Corporation or even just a DBA.

As a real business, the money you spend on instruments, legal and web development are viewed as expenses. You can possibly deduct those expenses on your taxes. If that does not alter the way you think about how you work, what will?

Running a legitimate business adds an allure of seriousness. Seriousness can be scary to creatives. Thing is, if you are not serious about what you do, do you think anyone else will?

Setting up a formal business should not be taken lightly. Visit the Small Business Administration to get more information on starting a business.

Define Who Your Customer Is

If you vibe with the 1000 true fan concept, then answer this. What are your true fans like? Do you really know what they want or expect from you?

One of our most popular posts offers 5 steps to getting 1000 true fans. Then we offered some music industry secrets to complement these steps. One of the biggest secrets we shared was the art of LISTENING.

Once you define who is going to help you stay in music business, LISTEN. Take the time to get acquainted with these people. They are all individuals. Therefore you will need to figure out how to deal with their unique habits.

Which leads us to our final S.M.A.R.T. music business goal recommendation…

Photo by birgerking / Birger Hartung

Establish a RELEVANT Rhythm Keeping up with Your Customer

If you read how Stones Throw is losing, you know the lesson. Do not assume that your audience just wants to hear everything about you.

It might help to survey your true fans to figure out what they want. Ask them how often they would like to hear from you. Ask them what would they want to know. Once you do that, set up your communications to fit their preferences.

This can mean you will need multiple lists in your email service. You may need to set up a Facebook group for the rabid true. The only way for you to know though is to ASK and LISTEN.

Okay, that is it for us. What about you?

What are your goals for 2012? Are you intending for this to be your breakout year? Let me know in the comments. Everyone that does will be invited to a new mastermind group I am starting.