Have you ever thought about losing your mind and GIVING your CD away? Eventually, that’s gonna be the price of a CD anyway… FREE.
John Perry Barlow of the Grateful Dead said, “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.†…we couldn’t regulate [taping at] our shows, and you can’t online. The Internet doesn’t behave that way. But here’s the thing: if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows us, and our value as creators is dramatically enhanced. That was the value proposition with the [Grateful] Dead.†(full article here)
Check out this article by Music Think Tank about bands giving their CDs away. People I know are actually getting GOOD results from this.
I don’t know if I would do this without a solid plan. However, there are plenty of things that people WILL pay for… CDs are just moving down the list.
Question: If you HAD to give your CDs away (and you WILL eventually), how would your ministry sustain?
Many years ago, people communicated by smoke signals, carrier pigeon, books, then phone, fax, then email, then instant messaging, video chat, etc.
Now, people are communicating via FaceBook, Twitter and Blogs.
I guess my point is this:
This technology in the video below is coming… it’s probably closer than you think. Are you getting WAY behind? Is your ministry WORTH the investment of you learning some of this “new communication”?
I’ll be a father soon, so forgive me if I’m thinking in examples with kids in them.
When my little boy or girl gets ready to let go of the coffee table for their first stroll across the floor, it’s NOT gonna be pretty. By my standards (because I walk SO WELL<wink>), it will probably be pretty embarrassing. Worst, THEY WILL eventually fall.. or fail.  So, when that moment comes, do I just buy padded pants for my kid and give up on them ever walking?
nope…
FALLING is success [if you get up!]. In fact, every time you fall, you learn a lesson. Falling becomes less common.
Some of the steps that Im taking right now are pretty ugly (to me anyway). They are unorganized and wobbly. I fail constantly, but THAT is the part I learn the MOST from.
If you are not failing, you are not trying anything really challenging, are you?
Every time Facebook IMPROVES something, there’s always a small group of un-adaptors that whine and say they want the old one back.
Definition of nostalgia (noun)
longing for something past
FaceBook, like modern ministry, is changing- for the better if you will look ahead and stop longing for what is NEVER COMING BACK!
Spend your time and energy and possibly money (eek) on something that you CAN change.
I’ll bet that the same people wanting the old FaceBook to come back are the same people that need a number one song so that they can feel like they are ministering successfully.
I want them all to have to at least have the option of reading my blog. However, I don’t want to click through EVERY SINGLE NAMEÂ to “suggest” my EmPower Your Ministry-The Blog fan page to them (I’ve been reluctant to do that!).
I found a solution:
1. Go to your Fan Page and select the “Suggest to Friends” button (like the one you see on the picture below)
When this page comes up:
2. Paste this code in your browser:
javascript:elms=document.getElementById(‘friends’).getElementsByTagName(‘li’);for(var fid in elms){if(typeof elms[fid] === ‘object’){fs.click(elms[fid]);}}
[NOTE: this didn't work for some people in Firefox.
Its hard to talk to people you have no interest in. But, it’s hard too, to be interested in someone you’ve never talked to.
Here’s an idea: The next time you have a concert, tell everyone who comes by and maybe signs up for the mailing list that you are going to Cracker Barrel after you are finished loading out of the venue. Ask them what they think of the idea of getting a group together from tonight’s concert so that you all can talk. I know, what if everybody wanted to come.. that would be terrible wouldn’t it..
The point is, the more they know you and know that you are real (even though you can sing like that! or paint like that, etc), the more likely they will become a True Fan. (Don’t know what a TRUE FANÂ is?- Sign up for the mailing list to the right… more to come.)
Something happened from the time I was a kid riding my bicycle like I was Evel Knievel, announcing my own stunts and making my own roaring crowd sounds with my mouth. Not long after that, I was dreaming of having my own car and having a girlfriend. Not long after that, it was having a job that I loved doing.
So, what happens to us after we enter “the real world”?
I read an interesting article today from a very smart friend of mine that talked about daydreaming. As I was reading the article, I realized that we STILL daydream. The only difference between those seemingly carefree days of childhood and the stressed out days of adulthood is WHAT we daydream about. Seems like after you GET all that stuff that you dreamed about when you were a kid, you start Daydreaming about what will happen if you can’t keep it…
I finally got my car, but what if I can’t pay for it?
I finally got may dream-job but what happens when I take that idea i think is great and they hate it? They’ll fire me!
what happens if I _____ and______, then I’ll________! and that would be awful!
I could go on and on, but, if YOU still are a daydreamer at heart, you’ve probably already filled in the blanks.
What are you dreaming about now? Good stuff, bad stuff? Or worse, are you live without a mental plan at all?… If you don’t dream about where you eventually want to be, how will you ever know you got there?
Be brave, Let me hear your dreams. Write one below in the comments section.
If someone asks you, “What do you do?” and you can’t come up with a 30 second “elevator pitch”, then maybe what you do is not defined enough. In other words “We minister the Gospel through song.” is not very unique… EVERYBODY can do that!
When someone asks me “What is this EmPower Your Ministry thing you are doing with Crossroads all about?” then I have to say:
[clears throat]
Empower your ministry is a 6-week online course that’s accented with weekly conference calls.
We show ministries how to change their outlook on ministry by taking the emphasis off of what doesn’t work well anymore (like radio and CD sales) and focusing on interests they already have (their dreams, hobbies and passions). We combine this new mind-set with internet tools that are FREE or nearly free and teach them how to build a vibrant ministry.
Basically, EmPower Your ministry is HOPE and a game-plan in a 6-week package.
[27.8 seconds]
How was that?
I encourage you to sit and think through what you do just like I had to do when I wrote this originally.
Subscribe to the Newsletter and we will keep you informed of when the next EmPower Your Ministry class is scheduled too!
Have you ever thought about losing your mind and GIVING your CD away? Eventually, that’s gonna be the price of a CD anyway… FREE.
I tell my wife, Janna, that I LOVE HER everyday… is that why I do (love her so much)?
I’ll be a father soon, so forgive me if I’m thinking in examples with kids in them.
Every time Facebook IMPROVES something, there’s always a 
