Over the last few days, I’ve been voraciously consuming articles, books, and podcasts related to web marketing in general, and music marketing specifically. Here are links to some things, and my thoughts, just to give you an idea about where I’m coming from. On the advice of several podcasts, including the soloprenuer hour, I picked up “Crush it! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk. In “Crush it!” Gary Vee explains a strategy for transforming the thing you are the most passionate about into a business that can be monetized using social media tools. The three pages in Appendix A alone make this book worth picking up. When you start investigating the world of internet marketing, you don’t have to look for long before people start telling you to “work your email list” until it contains AT LEAST 1000 subscribers. …1000? …Really?! I know. I’m not a huge fan either. I only enter my email if I’m REALLY REALLY REALLY into somebody. I think the emails I get right now are from Darrell Scott, Rachael Yamagata, Haley Dreis...and even when they come to my email box, I am weary that I am being SOLD something. I guess I am the stereotypical “passive” fan, and all the web marketing gurus (guri?) tell you that you need SUPER FANS. How do you get these Superfans, you ask? Well, by engaging, and being interesting, and CARING about your fans and what they are about. Do this long enough, and sooner or later, you will find people being attracted to you and your message and what you have to sell. All the web marketing gurus tell you to create a CALL TO ACTION or CTA, that compels your would-be superfan to give up the valuable email address. Usually, this comes in the form of some contest or giveaway in which they provide their email address in return for a chance to win something, or get something for free. …so that’s where I am right now, trying to figure out a decent enough CTA to get my followers or facebook likers to give me their email address gold…(and I don’t have anywhere near 1000 yet, even combining those two groups). I think it’s going to have to be better than a few free songs…it seems like that is a sort of weak lure. It would have to be something tangible and shippable. I’ll think about it. In the mean time, let me know if you have any suggestions about something I could give away here to WORK THE LIST by emailing me: seth@sethburrows.com