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Together, the power of the two are kind of unstoppable.
They’re also incredibly hot topics now, which means if both are your jam, you have an incredible opportunity to blend the two together and really cash in on the trend—while building genuine, lasting relationships with your fans, future sponsors, and the industry as a whole.
Ready to get started? Here’s how to begin melding your two passions together.
Be authentic—nothing less will do
First, it should go without saying that when we talk about cashing in on this trend, we mean to do it with true authenticity. This doesn’t work (nor should it) if you’re just pretending—what we’re doing here is bringing together two art forms and showing you how to blend them into one.
So if you’re just looking to quickly jump in on the trend but you don’t actually have any interest or attachment to mindfulness, don’t bother. Not only will the community be able to suss out that you’re faking it, but you can’t really grow a brand on something that you don’t believe in—it’ll be a whole lot of effort for nothing.
So take this piece of advice throughout your career—do what you believe in, what comes naturally, what you can’t not do, and you’ll always find your way to success.
Incorporate mindfulness into everything you do—from social media to lyrics to live shows
If mindfulness is a part of your brand, you’re going to want to go all out with it. In your social media this means creating captions that tell the story of your own journey with mindfulness. Everything from how you incorporate it into your own life to the lessons it’s taught you, to the wisdom you hope helps others in their journey.
But social media isn’t the only way it should show up. If you’re truly building this into your message it should be in your lyrics, your graphics, the promo photos you take and even your live show experience. There shouldn’t be a doubt in your audience’s mind that this is who you are.
A couple unique ideas: FB/IG lives where you practice mindfulness with those that show up. Monthly mindfulness masterminds with 5-10 of your fans (feel free to rotate them so different fans get the opportunity to join in), and mindfulness challenges you share with your audience every Wednesday/first day of the month/etc.
Play around with what feels good for you and your audience—there really are so many ways to incorporate this.
Create a freebie around mindfulness
You know you need to have a mailing list, right? But what if you want to break away from the typical freebie of offering a song download in exchange for their email? If you’re building a brand around mindfulness and wanting to go all in, why not offer a freebie specific to that?
For instance, it could be a “getting started with mindfulness” checklist, a video series introducing the topic and easy ways to get started, or a list of mindfulness exercises.
Create a coffee table book
Fancy yourself a writer? Why not combine your music and your mindfulness to create a book? It could be a coffee book that combines local artist sketches (bonus collaboration opportunity!) with your thoughts/ways to practice mindfulness, paired with a download card of a mindfulness playlist (that of course features your music) or you could create an e-book (which you could also use as a freebie) or even a full-on novel (or similar) that talks about your musical journey and the impact mindfulness has had on it.
Before you gawk at it, there are plenty of artists who are using their expertise to help others by releasing a book. For instance: Ari Herstand’s How to Make It In the New Music Business or Ariel Bloomer's Turn Your Pain Into Art.
Trust me, there’s a market for this!
Get outside your comfort zone
Mindfulness is all about being purposeful with your experiences and intentions—and if you ask me, this means, in part, getting outside your comfort zone. When you’re incorporating mindfulness, think outside the box and experiment with things like:
-Creating a podcast. This can be around solely mindfulness or your own journey or the journey as it ties into music, art, purpose, etc
-Creating an event or workshop that teaches others (potential fans!!) how to be mindful in their day to day, or their profession, or their hobby (bonus: this offers a quick cash injection!)
-Creating a YouTube video series all about beginning your mindful journey for you and your art
-Partnering with YouTube channels/podcasts/blogs/Spotify playlists etc to create music to assist different challenges/themes around mindfulness
When it comes to your art and your journey with mindfulness—what story do you want to tell? What is it you want to leave your fans thinking and feeling? This is just the start—but there’s so much good you can do and growth you can see from simply beginning to explore the melding of these topics. What will you do?
Angela Mastrogiacomo is the founder and CEO of Muddy Paw PR, where her artists have seen placements on Alternative Press, Noisey, Substream, Spotify and more. Having spoken at SXSW, CD Baby DIY Musician Conference, CMW, Indie Week, and more, she still loves nothing more than Cookie Monster ice cream, cuddles with her pup Sawyer, and a good show to binge-watch. Join her for her free Masterclass ‘How to gain your next 1,000 fans. 3 simple steps that lead to higher engagement, sold-out shows, and life-changing opportunities’.
