Ariel Hyatt is the founder of CyberPR, a New York based social media PR firm. Her Cyber PR ® Campaigns and books Music Success in Nine Weeks & Musician’s Roadmap To Facebook & Twitter help connect musicians with new media makers and coach them to create authentic relationships with fans. She is an incredibly knowledgeable person, and I respect and look up to her tremendously.
Ariel is running her own crowd funding campaign for three huge resources. She is releasing two books for musicians, showing them how to dominate social media. A third book is for anyone who wants to build a healthy social media presence.
Here is our chat about how these resources can enhance your career and how to handle the uncertainty that comes with fan funding campaigns.
Ariel, thanks for joining me to talk about your current crowd funding campaign.
Thanks so much for having me!
Hosted on crowd funding site RocketHub, it revolves around releasing three e-books and a social media mastery course. Tell me about the campaign.
This campaign is basically my attempt to cross for things off the top of my bucket list that have been there for a long time. I am an incredibly productive person and have a high output however I’ve always done things by “bootstrapping” them and when you work with primarily independent artists cash flow can be an issue ☺ So, I decided to ask my community to help me help them.
Who is your audience for this project?
My primary audience has always been the music business mostly independent musicians looking to understand marketing and social media however this project marks the 1st time that I am branching out. I am a successful entrepreneur and have managed to run my own business in the black for 17 years so I realized that I also want to help other business owners who struggle with marketing and PR. For the 1st time, I am branching out and also approaching entrepreneurs and business community.
Ariel, you help musicians through a variety of mediums. In addition to campaigns and consulting services, you share valuable knowledge through blog posts, conference workshops, social media posts, email newsletters, panel appearances, and video interviews, all for free.
Yes, I have shared in mountain of information for free. It has always been my intention to help artists who are lost and confused and who do not make money from their art to get a chance to do it on their own for no money. I have managed to build a fabulous community of many artists who have never paid me sense but who read my blog and watch my web series Sound Advice regularly and I am proud of that.
How does your latest offering through RocketHub fit in with the other things you do?
It actually fits in perfectly; part of what I have always done is release books and educational course. I would have attempted to write edit and release all of these books as well as record at it and release a social media mastery course either way, by doing this campaign I figured I would hold myself accountable and get it done in a much faster manner that I would have going bit by bit.
What kind of results should someone expect if they take advantage of these resources? Why do they need them?
There are many offerings at my RocketHub Campaign. At the smallest donation level you will receive my brand-new book, which is my best book yet that explains exactly how to build a cohesive and interactive social media presence.
I will also be writing a comprehensive guide to crowd funding for all who want to attempt it in 2013. Their are opportunities to showcase in front of VIPs in the music industry here in New York City and at the highest level you can con and spend a weekend with me and my team where we will completely dive in analyze, and change your relationship to social media and online marketing forever.
What is the difference between the book aimed at musicians and the book aimed at everyone?
Actually both books are similar the principle of great social media practice is the same whether you are a musician or an entrepreneur.
Cyber PR® for Musicians is packed full of resources links and very specific musician oriented tactics and strategies and services that you can use in conjunction with your social media.
Cyber PR® for Entrepreneurs is more general and goes into how to use social media to expand your network and engagement but it leaves out the musician specific services (such as CD Baby, ReverbNation etc.)
There are several popular crowd funding websites out there. Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and PledgeMusic are a few. Why did you choose RocketHub?
I chose RocketHub because the founder Brian Meece actually took a social media mastery course at my house several years ago and in that he decided that he would launch RocketHub. I inspired him to use his entrepreneurial musician skills blend them and create something valuable. I am honored and flattered that I get to serve as an inspiration to him and RocketHub is a kick ass platform so it was a no-brainer.
I ran a crowd funding campaign earlier this year. Honestly, it’s terrifying. My client reached their goal on the next to last day.
Boy do I understand that! It is one of the most terrifying things I have ever done in my career and so stressful, every day I check the balance and wonder if I’m going to make it. I still have 6 days left and it is harrowing and nail biting.
For those thinking about tackling one, how do you handle the fear and uncertainty?
I’ve been blogging about this and thinking about it for months. I recently came across a Ted talk that addressed how necessary it is to get out of your comfort sound in order to change your life in every way.
The only advice I have really is: Tell the little voices inside of you to be quiet, do it anyway, and give it your best shot.
Really if you think about it, what’s the absolute worst thing that could happen? I don’t get the money… Or I only get part of the money as RocketHub allows you to keep whatever you do raise. So the way I look at it is even $1 is more money than I would’ve had if I didn’t try at all. And I’m glad I did, because it arms me to help more people who attempt to do this. And I think crowd funding will be key for so many of us musician or not in the future.
Beyond this crowd funding campaign, what do you have in store for 2013?
I’m looking really forward to helping other types of businesses outside of the music industry. We have already started the year with an author and a cartoonist from the New Yorker on her upcoming roster of cyber PR clients. We have worked hard to build the technology to create successful online campaigns and social media strategy in 2013 will be all about branching out.
And of course I’ll be up to my usual tricks of traveling, speaking, writing, and doing what I love to do most – help people.
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