Ep. 63 How To Put Yourself Out There w/ Heather Youmans

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On this week’s new episode of The Working Singer I chat with singer- songwriter and publicist Heather Youmans about “How To Put Yourself Out There.” 

Heather shares:

  • How she expanded her career by focusing on community.
  • How to write a professional email. 
  • How to maximize your social boosts. 
  • How and when to hire the right PR person. 
  • The importance of telling your story and how to tell it the right way.  

Heather has also written and recorded original music for major motion pictures, including: 20th Century Fox feature film Moondance Alexander, Flicka 2, and Marley and Me 2. 

Outside of the music world, Heather has appeared in films, television, national commercials, voiceovers for Disney, professional theatrical productions and has written about music and entertainment for Los Angeles Times Media Group and The Orange County Register, telling the stories of some of world’s most-respected musicians. 

She currently works as a PR and Communications Manager at global musical instruments brand, Fender.

MENTIONS:

SINGING LESSONS:

  1. A lot of your confidence will come from community. Build a support group. 
  2. Take time with your friends and family to put yourself in the right mindset. 
  3. When you’re trying to get people to come support you, or you’re trying to get press, or if you’re trying to get support from a brand… you have to come to the table first with… what value you’re going to add to them, even if it’s just a fan. Put the other party first and think about that in your communication. Learn as much as you can about that other person. Try to decipher what they might need. And then look at your skill set and ask yourself is there anything that I have that can fulfill that need. That’s really the foundation of good publicity and relationship building. 
  4. Most of promotion and publicity is completely based on how strong your relationships are. 
  5. We need to shift from this concept of I need,” “I want,” I need you to do this — to “we” or “you.” I’d you want results it can’t all be about you. Like any good relationship, it needs to be balanced and there needs to be value for both parties… building mutually beneficial relationships. 
  6. You need to plan. You need to give yourself time to accomplish this stuff. 
  7. Take action right away. 
  8. There’s so much value in being able to write a professional email. 
  9. When reaching out to a journalist… it’s all about story with songs, have good photos, link to videos… the visual assets. Give them everything they need in one place because they’re really busy. 
  10. There’s a lot of value in a good social boost. Make sure your targeting is very specific.
  11. Media wants a story that’s relatable and real. 
  12. Know the journalist you’re pitching, know the outlet, and reader.

Thanks for listening!

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Special thanks to Heather for joining us this week!

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