Good storytelling is helpful, most marketers would even say it's crucial to marketing. 

However, promoting your business, product or service to a specific target audience to get them to take some level of desired action takes more than just an entertaining story and clear communication.

If you're not constantly understanding the value that is derived by your audience from their engagement with your current content, or ad or [insert medium of choice here] in the moment that they're engaged with it as well as beyond that then you're missing a crucial element.

Probably The simplest way to explain it is the WIIFM -- What's in it for me, or in this case substitute "me" for "the customer/client/prospect." (You've likely heard this acronym before thus you're now tempted to click off of this article. I implore you to keep reading.)

You already know what you want out of the engagement, but are you focused on the value the customer or prospect gets out of the actual engagement. 

In other words, you now have a prospect's attention with your content, for example, what is the value to the prospect of engaging with that particular content at that particular time?

Furthermore, you need to ask yourself what is the benefit to me/my company for that prospect engaging in that content at that time?

Does the marketing create a win-win for both the prospect engaging in the marketing content that the company, in this example, is producing and promoting?

Also, if the prospect takes the desired action from the marketing content at hand, what is the next level of value for that prospect and/or customer should they buy from you -- what's the win-win look like in that situation?

All too often many marketers miss the opportunity to articulate the value for all parties involved when planning marketing strategies.

Often the strategy starts with the end goal that the company wants to achieve and a target audience to go after. Then there's the challenge of finding a creative and often entertaining way to ask that audience to take a specific desired action.

The problem there is that often the strategy assumes the value to the prospect or customer is obtaining the product or service that the company is offering.

But really the product or services that the company is offering is simply a vehicle to a solution that the prospect or customer has or perceives they have.

What I'm referring to in this post is not only the explicit transactional value, but also the intrinsic value of building an exchange with a customer or prospect as they engage with your marketing. 

Your essentially attempting to quickly build a connection and a bit of a relationship in a short space and time via your marketing messaging and for that to be effective, the result of engaging must appeal to both parties explicitly and intrinsically.
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Posted By: Nick Venturella

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Does what you wear to work seem to help you feel relaxed enough to be productive?

Or, do you feel restricted and limited by what you have to wear to work, thus your productivity is limited?

I’ve personally always tried to be as productive as possible in whatever role I find myself in, however, I definitely feel restricted when I have a required dress code for work.

For me, that required dress code has usually been in some sort of professional office setting, so as a man, that required a collared shirt and tie sometimes a suit, or at least a polo shirt.

I really don’t like to dress up. I understand it looks nice, and I respect the polished persona it helps to realize, but that’s just not who I am.

Let me rephrase that. I can be polished for sure, but I’m going to exude more confidence and even better polish in my communications if I’m feeling comfortable in say, jeans and a t-shirt.
Now that I no longer work in an office but rather from home, I wear jeans and a t-shirt most every day.

I still get up and shower and get dressed as if I’m going to go into the office, I just wear whatever feels comfortable as I walk downstairs to my office at my house.

I have to say, my productivity has never been better.

I think, that relates to my feeling comfortable. I’m more confident in my skills and abilities to do the work that I need to do. That allows me to put my best foot forward in terms of the work I produce, and my ability to be productive in producing that work.

When I used to go to an office and wear a shirt and tie I always felt restricted as if that tie was a noose around my neck. My confidence was stifled and my productivity was not as high as my potential.

The point of all this is, self-awareness.

It’s not only important to know what you like to do to find work that plays up to your strengths, but it’s also extremely important to understand how you achieve peak performance in what you do.

What you wear to work and how that relates to your productivity is just one element of being aware of how to reach your peak performance.
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Posted by: Nick Venturella

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There’s something about the season of autumn that sparks creativity for me.

I’m learning that I am not alone in this idea.

I have heard from others that fall is their favorite time of year for creative activity and innovation.

Part of me wonders if it is that from a young age, we’re constantly starting a new school year each fall.

Each school year brings about the excitement of something new as well as something old/familiar; often reconnecting with school friends that one hasn’t seen since the last school year.

That combination stirs up electric energy that makes my mind wander, in a good way.

Then once the leaves on the trees start to change from green to red, yellow and brown, that spectrum of colors fuels my creative energy.
Some of my most favorite past falls were when I was in college studying art and design and immersing myself in all of my inter-related music creations, and really combining all my creative outlets at a time of formidable growth and independence in my life.

I always recall that sense of freedom and energy and try to figure out how to capture and sustain those moments as much as possible.
​
As an interdisciplinary creative professional some of my best songwriting concepts for albums came to me in the fall. Some of my best creative marketing promotional ideas have come to me in the fall. Some of my best writing took place in the fall.

To the extent I’m able I journal (not just in the fall, but especially in the fall) to somehow capture these thoughts, these ideas and these emotions from this season that enamors me. I do so to be able to go back and reflect and even repeat successful creative processes that I’ve documented from past years.

Often the fall season provides enough creative ideas to keep me busy with projects the entire year. Autumn is my annual creative harvest.

How does fall affect your creativity?

Is it a time of innovation for you?

Does your creative energy run hot, fast and furious in the fall?

How do you harness that energy? In past years what have you accomplished with it?

What do you hope to accomplish with it this year?

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Posted by: Nick Venturella

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I was watching this documentary on Amazon Prime called, Unsigned.
 
The film was from a few years ago and follows three acts/bands along their musical journey as unsigned artists in Los Angles, CA.
 
What really resonated with me was the artist, Paul Nagi, because he had a wife and child, was working as a music teacher (which he seemed really good at and enjoyed), all while pursuing his passion as a musician writing songs and performing shows.
 
I connect with that because that's my own situation. I, like so many other serious musicians, have a family, work a career job -- that I'm good at and like -- to help support my family while still also pursuing my musical career too.
 
I like to share my musical journey and learn of others in a similar boat because I believe a large population of professional musicians fit into this category. 
 
However, most of what is publicized are stories about music stardom, which is rare at best. Plus, there is so much great music being missed if you only gravitate towards the stardom category.
 
In many cases those job-attending, family-oriented musicians are hustling and working harder to pursue their best selves in all aspects of their lives than their single, solely-focused-on-music counterparts.
 
Now, I'm not trying minimize the latter. I simply aim to bring some awareness to the former, which doesn't always get much attention.
 
And I'm certainly not complaining...
 
For me, I have the best of both worlds:

• the opportunity to write and perform my music with the richness of family life along the way, and control over how much I travel and the shows I choose to do,
• but without the financial stress of trying to support my whole family on just my music knowing I don't want to be gone from them touring all the time to make ends meet.

 
At the end of the film, it's implied that the 3 bands featured keep pursuing their musical passion, continuing to grow in their professional craft whether or not that includes a major label contract.
 
For me, it’s always been about playing and doing well enough financially to keep playing. What that looks like has evolved over the years, but I’m happy to say that after 20+ years of writing and performing music, I’m still energized by the pursuit of it.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

Can you have it all?
 
I wrote this last night as I just finished watching the movie, La La Land.
 
As I began to watch it, I didn't particularly care for the first scene, which made me nervous for the rest of the film.

However, I understand how that first scene sets up Los Angeles as a central character of sorts. L.A. is the backdrop. The place many aspiring performers gravitate toward to make it big.

I was grateful as the story moved forward and emerged with more depth. By the end, the arc of the story seemed so simple, but emotionally complex.
 
It was about love and dreams and while that may seem pretty straightforward, love and dreams are often complicated.

Often times there are conflicting forces at play that leave one with a sense of incompleteness even when it appears s/he has reached success. Like, "if I had gone  a different direction in the past when I came to that fork in the road, would I have reached a different kind of success that felt more complete?"
 
Near the middle of the film, and more so in the end, there were some great scenes of dialog between the main characters related to their relationship that captured in candid eloquence the struggle between their passionate love for one another and the passionate pursuit of their individual dreams. 
 
The film attempts to showcase an answer to the questions: Can you passionately pursue and obtain/achieve/win both reciprocal love for someone else and your dreams? Or, do you end up sacrificing one over the other? 
 
If the answer is the latter, how do you know if you're truly happy when a time comes where you are reminded of the thing you sacrificed?

​When you're reminded of what could have been? You don't have the benefit of going down both paths, winning in both directions and then deciding which is/was/would be the better route to take.
 
Are you grateful for the moments you had/have? Do you push to have it all, is that even possible?
 
As part of our human condition I think we will always struggle with the pursuit of love and dreams. There will always be a sense of longing for completeness. To be whole. A feeling we likely won't know until we've passed on into more enlightenment. When we go home.
 
My wife and I are both creative individuals with creative dreams and pursuits, so this film really resonated with us, but for us, we’re not giving up on our love or our dreams. This is no easy feat with young kids, but our passion for each other and our passion for our artistic pursuits are too great to sacrifice one over the other. In fact, at this point, I don’t know if one can exist without the other.
 
I do recommend watching the film for yourself. The story was good, the music was good and the visuals are colorful and stunning.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

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Have any of my fellow musician friends out there found themselves in this situation: you now have young children that you are raising and as a result you find you're not able to practice as much, and/or play as many shows as you used to?

Don't take this the wrong way, I love my kids and I want to be around for them, and I have been. However,  when you go from playing shows regularly to not really being able to book anything for a year or more in some cases, a lot of pent-up performance energy that needs to be expressed musically is backlogged and needs to get out. 

For me personally, it is getting better as my littlest guy just turn 2 so I feel like he's old enough to at least carry a couple pieces of gear to the next show.

Well, maybe not quite, but our family situation is getting to a point where I can start to book more shows again and I plan to do so.

However, I need to practice and build up my skills again because they've been a bit dormant for the level of professionalism I like to play at.

So in this interim I am considering using things like Concert Window, or even more simply,  Facebook Live to stream live performances that I'm doing from my home studio. 

This provides me convenience of not having to leave the house so I can be around for my family, but still get the one-shot-to-get-it-right kind of performance atmosphere that one would get with a live show.

No, I haven't really done live streaming of a musical performance before, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I know that some audience interaction can take place, however I'm not sure logistically how easy it is to do that if you're performing – perhaps, between songs.

Anyway, this post is more of a stream of consciousness exploring an idea publicly in hopes that I might get some feedback from all of you out there, or anyone who has done this before...

Or, this post might plant the seed for other musicians in a similar situation to have a more at-home-convenient avenue to put on some live shows.

If you'd like to provide feedback, contact me here.

Thanks . Posted by: Nick Venturella

Friday afternoon...

"Okay, so we'll have our  call  on Monday at 2pm, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Great, I'm looking forward to it."

"Me, too! Bye."

"Bye."

Monday at 1:59pm...

Email calendar invite sent from host of meeting we were supposed to have at 2pm (in one minute) asking to reschedule for tomorrow...

Recipient's reply email...

"In coordinating our phone call meeting for today at 2pm I shared that I was unavailable Tuesday through Thursday of this week, and Friday was the only other option, besides Monday, today. Now, one minute before our  scheduled meeting you want to reschedule it? ...and for a time that I already told you doesn't work! This is not in good form."

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This scenario plays out a lot. Too often in my opinion. The above depicts a first-time phone call meeting appointment between two business professionals.

The host of the call, who asked for the call and was involved in coordinating the date and time, backs out at the last minute.

I understand that emergencies come up. When they do, explain that, people are more understanding than you think, but to simply change the meeting time with only an electronic calendar invite for a day and time when the other party already expressed they're unavailable, is just lazy and unprofessional.

If I can impart one piece of professional business advice on you, it's that if you actually do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it, you will raise your professional credibility above most others.

Unfortunately, most people say they will do something and then they don't follow through. I do get that things come up and that happens as an exception to the rule. It's at that time that you need to offer clear, explicit communication to the other party to help them understand that you do honor their time in spite of plans changing, and that you are not trying to be inconsiderate.

Then be aware of when the other party mentioned they are available and reschedule at that time -- accommodate them with the reschedule because you're backing out at the last minute and making them accommodate you, now.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

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I recently saw a video interview on  DifferentBrains.com with Stephen Shore, Ed.D.- who is an author, autism advocate, professor at Adelphi University and actually autistic.

In the video he spoke about autistic individuals finding employment. This is of interest to me because I have a son on the autism spectrum and I’m always trying to educate myself to better the work I’m doing on  AutismHR.com.

The information that Shore shared is something true for autistic individuals seeking meaningful employment, but also true of anyone seeking meaningful employment, or the means to a fulfilling profession.

I’m paraphrasing a bit here, but the essence is, that when interest, skill and ability intersect that’s the recipe for a happy, productive life. I encourage you to check out that post/video interview  here.

Shore eloquently summed it up, in my opinion. I would only add that one needs to continuously work at discovering who s/he is and be self-aware to help constantly course-correct their path to a happy, productive life. I believe this because as time passes often our interests, skills and abilities evolve, grow and change.

Sometimes those interests, skills and abilities develop over time in far different directions from where they originated. That’s okay if you continue to have a solid relationship with yourself and figure out what you need and want to remain focused on your main directional heading — North, toward Happy and Productive.

“What about the money?” You say. Yes, people need to make a certain amount of money from their work to cover the basic necessities of human living, and other financial obligations/saving for the future.

But, if you’ve figured out what your intersection of interests, skills and abilities looks like to produce a happy and productive life for yourself you will remain motivated by that to put in the time and effort to figure out how to create income from it.

If the passion is there and you put in the work, you can find the money. It won’t be easy, but it is possible.
​
However, if you’re not interested in being happy and productive and you don’t know where your interests, skills and abilities intersect then you will most certainly have a hard time finding fulfillment from whatever money you are able to earn.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

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I have a thought that fear is just anxiety about the unknown.
We get worked up about different things that may or may not happen, but the anxiety of not knowing whether or not those fears will come to fruition is the part that tends to drive people crazy — myself included.

Funny thing happens though when you embrace your fear and instead of trying to avoid it, head straight for it and threw it.
​
It’s this mindset that allows you to overcome, or at least accept, whatever outcome results from your actions, in the face of your anxiety.

This is far easier said than done, but if you can learn to harness your fear and turn it into positive energy you push through your fear instead of going around it, and come out on the other side in tact. or reasonably okay or equipped enough to adjust to whatever the outcome is, even if it was not what you wanted it to be. You gain a sense of accomplishment, a sense of confidence, that builds on itself overtime to a point where you aren’t afraid to be anxious.

I am not suggesting to numb yourself out so you don’t have anxiety or fears anymore, but more so being able to recognize that anxious old friend, identify it, label it and view it for what it is without allowing it to be a bigger deal than it needs to be.

One way I used to deal with being anxious was to carry around a pocket journal, and every time I was anxious about something I would write down what I was anxious about. Just releasing it from my brain immediately helped the anxiety to subside and that was just enough to take the edge off to move through the fear and leave it behind me.

Perhaps this could work for you, too.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

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You set out to write every day, or draw, or create music, or something else to hone your craft, but once you get started it's hard to maintain momentum and motivation towards regular output over time.

Is this a mental roadblock or more of a physical time and space hurdle?

Sure, it takes time management, and like everyone else, you're very busy with other things. However, you do understand that like anything you know you need to do, you find a way to do it.

For example, I need to pay my bills every month and somehow I always make sure that I do. So why does trying to find the time to consistently be involved in your creative practice seem harder than ensuring your bills are paid regularly?

Again, I come back to the idea that this seems more of a mental problem to be solved versus a true time management problem. Although, I do think the two are linked in that if you can't get into the right mindset it's going to be very difficult to find the motivation to appropriately manage your time to fit your creative practice into your daily life.

Great, so we've identified that it's a mental problem versus a physical time and space problem, so what can you do about it?

Think of a time when you felt creatively energized. What were you doing that gave you that kind of energy? Do that.

It may not be quite that easy. If not, think of things to clear your mind? For some, this might be taking a walk or working out -- something to get the blood flowing and endorphins firing. For others it might be doodling while you're watching TV or listening to music, or simply meditating quietly for a few minutes.  I often like to aimlessly noodle on the guitar.

The point is, try to do something that clears your head so you're not trying to force the creativity as much as your are inviting creativity in. You're trying to clear your mind to get out of your creativity's way.

One thing you can do is write daily. I mean with a piece of paper and a pen, and simply write whatever comes to your mind, even if it's nonsense (you don't have to show this to anyone -- it's just an exercise for you).

​Set a timer for 5 minutes and do this daily for an entire month. I guarantee you're going to have transcendent moments where you feel like you've unlocked something great inside your creative mind. 

Or if you are a visual arts kind of person take on the same 5 minutes a day challenge with drawing -- draw whatever objects are in front of you for 5 minutes a day for a month. Then see how you feel.

It can be tough to start and sustain a creative habit to help your creative muscle grow, but even 5 minutes a day is better than no minutes a day, and who can't come up with 5 minutes a day?

The cool thing is that this is not exclusive to creative people. The 5 minutes a day idea can help anyone get started building a regular positive habit that helps your mindset. 

The whole purpose is to get you into, or at least better your chances of getting you into, that highly energized, motivated, happy, healthy state of mind that allows you to think and perform at your best. 

It won't happen every time, or even every other time, but you increase your chances of hitting that highly energized state the more you engage in such a practice.

And over time you'll get there more easily, frequently and sustain it longer -- all because you had the discipline and patience to conquer mind over matter.

Posted by  Nick Venturella

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