Adva Mobile's Blog

Crowdfunding - We're on to Something Big for Artists

2012-04-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

When Adva Mobile undertook our Crowdfunding exercise, we knew we were testing a new idea. Raising money for a project by convincing a large group of friends, family, business partners and even total strangers to contribute a small amount of money wasn't a totally new idea, however past successful efforts were oriented towards cultural, philanthropic or creative projects. Crowdfunding for a commercial project was indeed testing a new idea.

Now we have the Crowdfunding Bill, part of the Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups, or JOBS Act, through Congress and signed by the President. For those of you who haven’t been following the JOBS Act, it is a bill that will make it easier for startups and small businesses to raise funds, especially through online Crowdfunding.

The Crowdfunding exercise we underwent using IndieGoGo (like KickStarter) differs from those contemplated by the JOBS Act bill because, under the JOBS Act, we can now reward investors with equity. I believe Equity Based Crowdfunding will fundamentally alter, in positive ways, small businesses, including those small businesses known as "Artists".

Touring Bands and Recording Artists should watch the early efforts of Artists who attempt Equity Based Crowdfunding projects very carefully. While fans may be willing to donate small contributions for a nationwide tour, SXSW concert, or studio session, the significant money needed for large marketing campaigns, previously only available from large labels, may now be available to a much larger pool of Artists. Crowdfunding without equity through campaigns with KickStarter and IndieGoGo are still available to the Artist, so Equity Based Crowdfunding represents an alternative when more significant capital is needed.

The "crowd" also provides benefits beyond capital to Artist businesses. For example, a touring band that raises money via Crowdfunding may now have 150 new passionate fans as shareholders, who can serve as a great sounding board for new ideas and as brand evangelists -- a critical asset in Artist promotion.

Equity Crowdfunding will go a long way towards alleviating Artists' capital access needs, and benefit investors in the process. The capital markets have finally entered the 21st Century and the future for Artists looks bright.

Design for Our Times - The Adva Mobile Portal

2012-04-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Many of you know we're working on an entirely new User Interface to our mobile marketing CRM Portal for Artists, to make it even easier for Artists to take advantage of everything mobile has to offer. Over the past few months, as we've been building out the system and tying it in to our existing database, we've provided a "sneak peek" at the design and some of the back end pages that will help artists manage their online mobile presence. We're ready to show you even more, as we're preparing to launch our new portal and unleash Adva Mobile to the mobile industry.

We're big fans of Prezi - it's an online presentation tool that a big step up from PowerPoint. Video is great for an overview, but if you want to stop and study the details of what you're looking at, video doesn't cut it. Prezi is great because, like PowerPoints, you can move at your own speed.

We've built a Take The Tour Prezi, it's at http://bit.ly/advatour. Have fun checking it out, and let us know if you have any questions about how to use the service to connect to fans on mobile.

Adva Mobile Artist Natalie Stovall Voted Entertainer of the Year

2012-04-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

We couldn't be more proud to announce that Natalie Stovall has won both Entertainer of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year by Campus Activities Magazine®. We've seen her perform at campuses up here in Boston and the audiences love the flavor of country she brings to her performances. Campus Activities Magazine® echoed this sentiment when they wrote:
"Well, she's finally done it folks. After just a few short years in the campus market, Natalie Stovall has been named the Entertainer Of The Year by the voters of Campus Activities Magazine® in the Reader's Choice Awards. One of the most common comments about this performer is "I don't even like country, but I like this country. It almost didn't even seem like a country show." Put it this way, when she rips "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," it's in a medley with some Metallica. Her's is a show bred for wide audiences, and this year that mainstream popularity paid off with her winning the big one."

Natalie is a pioneer using mobile technology from Adva Mobile to reach and engage her fans, and hundreds connect with Natalie on their phones - she has iPhone App, Android App and Mobile Web to reach the largest audience. Download her Apps, or text GETFIDDLE to 88704 to check out Natalie on your phone and download some of her terrific music.

You can read a great article about Natalie and why she won the award at:
http://www.campusactivitiesmagazine.com/articles.php?articleID=227&button=Go

Congratulations Natalie!

New SMS Text Rules from the Phone Companies that affect you

2012-02-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Many of you actively promote your mobile site to your fans on your desktop web sites or Facebook pages. We see callouts to Text GET(bandname) to 88704 all the time. That's great!

When you see this on TV - for example, when you see the instructions to text in to vote on American Idol - you might notice the small print under the text in the call-out. "Data and Message charges may apply" is the most common small print. We've received a notification that this language is now required whenever you put GET(bandname) to 88704 in print.

What happened was, one of the wireless carriers did an audit and found a band promoting their mobile site with their shortcode (88704) and keyword (GETbandname) without this required language. So they wrote to us and told us to fix it.

The carriers are pretty strict about these things. So, until it got fixed, we had to disable this band on our system. Because, if we're not compliant, they can shut down 88704, and that screws everybody.

Here's the new language you need to show if you promote your mobile site in print (on your website, Facebook Page, handouts, posters, etc.)

Text GET(bandname) to 88704 for a Free Download
Terms at http://www.advamobile.com/Terms.aspx
Privacy Policy at http://www.advamobile.com/Privacy.aspx
Max 4msg/mo. Text STOP to 88704 to Stop, Text HELP to 88704 for Help
Message and Data Rates may apply

The part in RED is optional, of course. It can say Text GET(bandname) to 88704 to join our mobile site, or anything else.

The band that got audited chose not to add the language. Instead, they told their fans to scan a QR code to get to their site. (We gave them the code. Get in touch if you want one.) Almost as good as Text - (we get phone numbers automatically for your fan database when they text in. We have to ask fans to enter this info when we use QR codes.) Either way works.

Promoting Your Mobile Web Site

2012-01-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

So you have a Mobile Website and maybe an App with Adva Mobile and now you're wondering "What's Next?" Here are some easy steps that will help you get traction to your mobile site:

1. At the shows - Tell your fans. There are two good opportunities to tell your fans about your mobile site:

If you've put a song up on your site for fans to download, after you play it, you can Shout Out "Hey, if you like that song, you can get it for free. Take out your phone and text GET(bandname) to 88704."
When you're telling your fans they can get your music at the merch table, also tell them to stay connected on mobile by texting in. If you have an App, you can tell them to download your App also.

2. On social media sites: Don’t be afraid to use social networks to feature your mobile site in a post or two. Here you are targeting the news of your mobile site to existing followers who have already expressed interest in you, so they will be more inclined to join your mobile site or download your App.

3. On the homepage of your website: If you have a band website, it's one of the first places that interested fans go to learn about you. By telling fans to text in on your homepage, you will be taking advantage of this targeted audience. On Midnight Mirage's website, there's a call to action at the bottom of the pages.

4. In your blog: While the most popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have character limitations, your blog is one place to really talk about all the great features your fans can get on your mobile site and Apps. It’s your chance to present users with a compelling case on why they need to join your mobile site or download your App.

5. On traditional advertising: You hand out download cards and make posters that promote your shows. It makes sense to market your mobile site and App through online channels, but it's also a good idea to market your site on your physical promotions. For example, you could include text like “Text GET(bandname) to 88704 to connect with us on mobile" or "Download a free song when you text GET(bandname) to 88704".

Another idea is to include a QR code or Microsoft Tag that, when scanned, automatically brings the user to your mobile site. Reggae site Vital Vibes uses a Microsoft Tag code on their website home page that brings fans to their mobile site (see below for example).

6. Through Fan Engagement on your mobile site and App: Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools that doesn’t cost anything. One way to do this is by hosting buzz-worthy giveaways or contests on your mobile site. Uploading great content and exclusives on your site is another way.

Mobile is here and you've taken the first steps to connect with your fans on their mobile phones. Next, it’s a good idea to have a marketing plan ready for your new mobile site and App. Follow these quick, inexpensive tips to make your mobile launch an even bigger success.

Hitting on 1,400

2012-01-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

I love announcing milestones. We now have over 1,400 Artists using our service as of this week. Amazing since we do so little promotion. When our new portal launches in a few weks, we'll undertake a larger marketing effort. For now, it's all word of mouth from our existing Artists, and people who find us through search.

Some of the recent Artists that have joined are bigger names:

Ariana Grande created the role of Cat Valentine in the American sitcom Victorious, which is still running on the Nickelodeon channel. Universal just signed her and we'll help her use mobile with her music launch
Santa Leja is a British Electro-Pop Songstress playing out of Miami. You've probably heard her hit Let The Beat Don't Stop
Lauren Light’s style is like a mixture of Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Fiona Apple all stirred together.
Jon Wolfe, country star from Austin, has a new single out I Don't Dance

Many more, of course, as more and more Artists discover that mobile is the best way for them to connect with their fans.

Texting In is Checking In

2012-01-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

Are your fans Checking In? If they are using Foursquare, they are telling their fans where they are. Same with Facebook. So it's all about location. Where they are - physically.

What about mentally? That's where Texting In lives. When your fans Text In to your mobile presence, they are telling you where they are - mentally. They are connecting with you.

Sometimes they'll do that on their own, and sometimes you have to prompt them. With a text blast, for example. Or, run a contest. Tell everyone that the person that has the most page views on your mobile site on a particular day is your "Mayor" of the day. Acknowledge them on your blog and Facebook page. Send them a discount to buy a T-Shirt.

The Adva Mobile reports engine helps make this kind of contest simple:

Use mobile to be innovative and connect with your fans with thse simple fan engagement campaigns.

More than Stars in the Sky

2011-12-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Last year, over 4 trillion SMS text messages were sent.

There are 4 billion stars in the unverse.

So the next time you're wondering if SMS text messaging is a marketing tool that you should be using, look up to the sky. It's clear that SMS marketing works, and your fans are comfortable - excited, really - to get a text from you.

And, when the text leads them to a rich experience, so much better!

Forbes Article that gets it

2011-12-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2011/11/29/music-to-our-ears/

If listening to music these days seems a bit different than it did during the days of radio disc jockeys, that’s because it is. What’s different? The user is now in charge. The transition from CDs to digital files coupled with the rise of social networking has transformed the music business from a push economy to a user-curated, pull economy.

This is a fundamental change.

The rest of this excellent article can be read at the link. Power to the People!

Adva Mobile Crowdfunding - The Last Week

2011-11-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the first screenshot we took when the Adva Mobile Crowdfunding Campaign began, and here's one today. We started this 31 days ago and in that time 34 people (and counting!) have donated almost $5,000 - incredible! It's been a wonderful experience seeing our friends, family and business colleagues so thoughtful, helpful and interested in the success of Adva Mobile. Of course, thanks so much to everyone who contributed, and those of you who wanted to but couldn't.

There are four days left, so it's a big push this week to make our goal. We're at http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Adva-Mobile-Campaign so if you're inclined to help out, great! Every contribution helps.

We'll write more about he experience as we wrap up the Campaign, but overall, it's encouraging to see that Crowdfunding can be a financing tool for commercial enterprises such as Adva Mobile. The use of Crowdfunding for creative endeavors is well documented, so it was an experiment to see if it could be used to help small businesses. Really glad to see that it can.

New Perk for Bands Added to our Crowdfunding Campaign - Android App

2011-11-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

We added another perk today for bands - an awesome deal to have an Android App and Mobile Web. With Android now running 50 percent of the smartphone market (iPhone only 10%) they'll have a great App, mobile web for non-smartphones, and a marketing platform to acquire, engage, and monetize your fans. Only $200 for 2 years, and only until the end of the crowdfunding campaign.

Crowdfunding Help from our Friends at Hypebot

2011-11-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Our friends at Hypebot wrote a nice article summarizing our Crowdfunding Campaign.
Here's the text:

Startup Adva Mobile Using Crowdfunding To Improve Free Mobile Sites For Musicians

Adva Mobile was featured on Hypebot in August for their free mobile websites for musicians. Now they're back with a crowdfunding campaign to help them bring the design aspects of their mobile portal and individual mobile sites up to the level of their backend and address what CEO Jack Kelly calls the problem of having a "Ferrari engine in a Chevy body."

When I spoke with Jack Kelly about Adva Mobile's services, I was impressed with what they offered and their general perspective on how such services should be managed.

The basic mobile website and service is free and they've come a long way as a small, self-funded business but they've hit a financial hump and are seeking help through a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo:

"We built our first version in 2008 and over 1,400 bands have found us and signed up. We give artists everything they need to take advantage of mobile – phone friendly web sites, Apps, text messaging, downloads, tour dates, and a storefront to sell stuff to their fans. Most of the bands choose our free service."

"Lately though, they're telling us that their mobile site is not cool and our web site dashboard to manage their mobile campaigns is dated – thus, they are reluctant to use it. Some of our partner opportunities are turned off because the portal looks so old, and one has refused to partner with us until we display current design standards.... So we need to fix that."

"As long as we're working with a design expert, we would also have him design new mobile web templates for our free and paid subscribers...For artists that choose our free service, even they should have a design that is current and modern."

So check out the campaign and rewards and see if Adva Mobile is a business you'd like to support!

Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and blogs at All World Dance and This Business of Blogging. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

You can read the article on Hypebot at
http://bit.ly/v3S4l8

Crowdfunding Update Nov 11

2011-11-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

We're at the end of our second week of our Crowdfunding Campaign and it's been quite a ride! Twenty Five (!!!) of our friends and business associates have connected with our mission and already we've raised over $1,800 - 27% of our goal. From what I'm reading about Crowdfunding, there's a big push towards the end of the campaign, so we're still very hopeful and encouraged that we'll meet our goal.

Two things have really struck me about this campaign. First, every time a new contribution come in, we get an email and it's been a very warm, enjoyable experience to see who has contributed. These early contributions are mostly from friends who share our passion for Adva Mobile and helping both the business succeed and helping Artists use mobile to further their careers.

Second, the sheer volume of work to run this campaign! I'd read, during the research before I started, that making it successful was a full time job. You have no idea. While some people contributed upon receiving our first email, the truth is, many donors will need multiple "touches" before they take action, and it's this effort that's time consuming. Of course, it's fun to reach out to our network and let them know what's going on - and there are a lot of networks! Email lists, Linked In, Facebook, Bands, the blog community - and each need a different message, and contributors need a different update. So it's fun, but work - on top of Adva Mobile work! No problem, since it's important. Please help make it happen - contribute at http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Adva-Mobile-Campaign.

Finding our Design Partner

2011-11-08T08:52:00.001-08:00

We’ve been in contact with a design pro from Rio de Janeiro that we really like, who could do a fantastic job for us. The talent we’re looking for is special, and it’s also global. We’re also talking to design pro’s from New Hampshire, Argentina and India. Very exciting for us to realize that, with your help, we can solve this problem and help bands use mobile to reach and engage their fans.

Adva Mobile Crowdfunding - Our First Milestone!

2011-11-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

We’ve reached a milestone – $1,000 raised in our first week!!! Thank you to everyone who has contributed, it means so much to all of us on the Adva Mobile Team who are passionate about making this happen and helping bands and recording Artists take advantage of everything mobile has to offer. We’re excited about our progress and the comments from our friends who have made contributions are warmly received.

The Artists that use our service really appreciate what we’re providing to them. They know that mobile is the future, they need to get into mobile now, and we provide them a platform for them to take advantage of everything mobile has to offer. We communicate with many of them, especially in the beginning when we’re setting them up. It’s especially rewarding to get emails back like this one:
I’m going to start with YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!! I love what your company does and you’ve just taken customer service to a whole new level!

Mobile can help Artists by providing a whole new revenue stream. It’s great to be leading a movement that can change an industry.

5 Days on IndieGoGo - What we've learned

2011-10-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well we’re now five days into our IndieGoGo campaign – The Adva Mobile Campaign to provide Artists a better use experience – so we thought we’d share what we’ve learned so far about online fundraising!

1. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean that it’s easy

The success that some have found on the Internet often convinces many of us that achieving success online is easy, that all it takes is a halfhearted post into cyberspace and within 24 hours the post makes front page news. Well, after weeks of planning and preparation, and consecutive full time days working at this, I’m willing to go out on a limb to suggest that this is not the case!

2. Never underestimate the generosity of friends and family

We I have been blown away with the support we’ve received from our family and friends. We believe very strongly in our cause and project and are are grateful that others believe in it too.

3. Sharing is caring

One of the more difficult aspects of online fundraising is reaching people outside of your friends and family network. Pleading your case to strangers isn't effective. Conversely, when someone that supports your cause shares your project it speaks volumes about both the relevance of your project and that person’s belief in you to deliver.

4. Be thankful

We want to thank everyone who has gone out of their way so far to back and share our project. Your support means more than you could ever imagine. We’re early into our campaign and recognize there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us. However, we’re looking forward to the challenge, and to working even harder over the next 30 days to reach our fundraising goal. We’ll keep you updated in the weeks to come. Thank you so much!

We Need Your Help - Adva Mobile Goes Crowdfunding

2011-10-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

Crowdfunding is a new financing tool and works exactly opposite from traditional venture financing. Instead of a few individuals each providing a large amount of capital, crowdfunding creates a community of many individuals providing small amounts of capital -- typically less than $100. Websites that help organize Crowdfunding campaigns are common today, and many are having terrific success raising money for a variety of projects -- everything from art, film projects, technology such as Adva Mobile, causes, businesses, photography -- anything that a community can help fund to get something done. Adva Mobile is working with a popular Crowdfunding management site called IndieGoGo that manages Crowdfunding campaigns for all types of projects.

Since we launched in early 2009, we've grown to over 1,400 bands that recognize the value of the service we are providing. It's going great, however these bands and new partner prospects are telling us that our Mobile Web designs and Portal user interface, while delivering compelling capabilities, are not modern and cool and is, in fact, lame and old. We need to fix this, and are going to raise the money to get you Artists new mobile designs that are sleek and modern (even for free users of our service) and a better user interface to manage mobile fans, assets and campaigns.

There are more details about our campaign on our IndieGoGo page at http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Adva-Mobile-Campaign but we are going to raise $6500 through many small donations from friends, business interests, and Artists such as yourselves to redesign the user interface of our Artist Portal and new mobile web templates for your sites. For Artists, there are terrific rewards should you contribute, including big discounts on our premium services. I hope you have the time to look at our program and contribute to our success. Every contribution helps. Thank You.

Conversations with John Taglieri

2011-10-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

John Taglieri has created a profitable livelihood with his music, playing 200 shows a year and getting ready to record his tenth studio album. He's local, so we had a chance to sit down over lunch and talk about making music, making money, and the role mobile can play in his career.

Tag loves making music, but he truly is a performer. He's making a very good living, and it's 95% from live shows and 5% from music sales. He thinks that, of all the Artists out there making music, only about 6 percent are able to make a living at it, so he's in rare company. He was able to create this lifestyle for himself because he was willing to do whatever his agent asked him to do, Play a show in Georgia on Friday night and Syracuse on Saturday night - he'd do it. His fans - we'll get to that - know that they are going to have a good time when they go to his shows.

Tag knows his fans. He likes Reverbnation for the fan details he gets from them, and he's active on Facebook. He believes he has 1,500 - 2,000 "True Fans" - fans that show up when he's in town, buy his tickets, music and merch. He's also a big fan of download cards - he goes through about 5,000 cards every 6 months. And they work for him - last year, he gave out about 11,000 cards and got 4,400 hits. We're going to promote his mobile site on the next run of download cards.

Tag runs his operation like a business. Each year, he starts with a plan. In 2012, he'll be in the studio in January recording his tenth CD, and release it in March. From April through August, he'll promote the new material with a well thought out plan to offer the CDS, singles, and various packages of current and past music, including "best of" and full catalog products. One product will be a 50 track compilation. He'll tour on his own - acoustic shows, with the Joe Bachman band, and with his band. It's all planned out.

We talked a lot about mobile. He thinks mobile is the future, and he's always looking ahead. He knows that it's better to get into mobile now, at the front, so he's "there" when his fans want to connect with him on mobile. We talked about how to get fans to connect with him on mobile and he thinks the Artist has to tell his his fans how to connect with him on mobile and guide them to use new technology. "It's like American Idol - they told viewers to vote, how to vote, this is how it's done. Now, 80 million people vote on American Idol." If you run it like a business, it looks like the science of selling. It takes 10 touches to make a sale, so you have to keep at it. Give your fans a good product (music) and good customer service and you'll make the sale.

It was a treat to talk to a music pro who understands the hard work neccessary to make a career out of music, a forward thinker who sees that new mobile technology can help him grow fan loyalty and grow his sales. We'll be working with Tag throughout 2012 to create mobile marketing campaigns that complement his marketing activities. All part of the plan. You can check out his mobile site on your phone at www.adva.us/tag, and by texting gettag to 88704 on your phone.

Are Text Messages Part of Your Music Marketing?

2011-09-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Some artists and music marketers shy away from mobile text messaging to engage fans because, done improperly, it can be intrusive and not as cost effective as virtually free email and social media. But they are making a big mistake, particularly if a portion of the audience is under 35. The average 25 to 34 year old texts 20+ times every day and 18 to 34 year olds text a whopping 55 times daily, according to a Pew Study. THE CHART:

This blog originally showed up in Bruce Houghton's Hypebot.

From the comments on the blog, there's a lot of confusion about text messages. There's a big concern about spam. The carriers are very strict about this ... you can only send texts after the fan has opted in, so they are telling you they want to get texts from fans.

Adva Mobile Partners with The Orchard

2011-09-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Orchard, a full service marketing and distribution company, has launched the Marketplace, a new service for its clients to access great third-party apps, including Adva Mobile. We're excited to be part of the Orchard Marketplace alongside other great companies building products that help it's clients connect with fans.

The Orchard launch is a global event, begun Monday in San Francisco, Tuesday in Los Angeles and continuing next week in New York, Nashville, Paris, London, Hamburg, Madrid and Barcelona. Adva Mobile will join the New York launch event on the 20th.

The Adva Mobile / Orchard partnership helps Adva Mobile expose our mobile marketing plaform to over 20,000 labels and distribution partners worldwide, companies very interested in taking advantage of the latest mobile technologies to help their artists acquire, engage and sell to their fans. We'll continue to improve the Orchard integration with new features and capabilities.

You can read the Orchard Marketplace Launch Press Release here.

Adva Mobile Reviewed in Let's Talk Digital

2011-08-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

The on-demand segment for Mr. Shadeeds broadcast introducing the benefits of Adva Mobile on Let’s Talk Digital is now available for your viewing pleasure.

Adva Mobile enables an all-in-one mobile solution that enables direct-to-fan promotions, exclusive content giveaways, mobile pages and more.In this segment of Let's Talk Digital, Shadeed Eleazer discusses new direct-to-fan mobile platform, Adva Mobile, and its impact on the entertainment industry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqEpPFv1rNg&feature=youtu.be

GO DIGITAL OR GO HOME, The Online Home of Shadeed Eleazer, is at http://www.mrshadeed.com/

Hypebot Article About Adva Mobile Get's It Right

2011-08-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

There was a nice article on Hypebot last Friday (8/5/11) and Clyde Smith from Flux Research, who reviewed the site and interviewed me, got it right. Here's his post, and you can get to the Hypebot Article at http://bit.ly/advahypebot where there are some spirited comments!

Adva Mobile Offers Free Mobile Websites Designed for Musicians

Adva Mobile focuses on mobile websites for musicians. The basic service is free and the sites are dubbed "Mobile Fan Clubs" though you don't have to think of them as fan clubs per se. However, they are designed to build mobile contact lists, meet the needs of fans on as wide a variety of phones as possible and to monetize that activity.

I recently spoke with Adva Mobile's CEO Jack Kelly who shared their perspective on a number of aspects of musicians' mobile needs as well as future development plans for the service.

Currently Adva Mobile offers tiered pricing with a basic free account that allows you to evaluate the service for yourself. When you join, you can provide your MySpace account info and they'll automatically fill in some of the sections of the site to help you get started. They're currently working on a similar integration with The Orchard and they also offer tour updates from Artist Data and Jambase.

The sections of the sites are organized by templates with such features as gig schedules and ticket sales as well as a merch store. Sales are conducted via PayPal and artists provide their own fulfillment though digital downloads can be managed in conjunction with Bandcamp. However, they intend to develop their own digital fulfillment service.

Adva Mobile encourages artists to get fans to register via SMS which allows them to collect contact information for future text messages with band news. Some musicians are doing things like telling audiences in concert that the song they just played is available free if they send a text message to join the club. Kelly says they've gotten up to a 20% response during concerts for that call to action.

They do discourage overuse of text messaging but point out that such registration allows for building a contact list whereas downloads of native apps don't provide that information just as QR codes don't provide analytics. However, they will create native apps for bands that feel they're necessary which are then updated when you update your mobile site.

We covered more than I can jam into this post but I think it's a solid service that, according to Kelly, currently has around 1280 bands on board. He also points out that smartphones are still in the minority of mobile phones and that mobile websites such as Adva Mobile provides can reach a much broader range of fans including those with the simplest of mobile web access.

If you're in need of a basic mobile site for your band, I would definitely recommend checking out Adva Mobile's services. Even if you have native apps in the works, it's ideal to also have a mobile website to reach as many fans as possible.

Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. Flux Research is his business writing hub and All World Dance: World Dance News is his primary web project. To suggest websites and related topics for review, please contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

People don't buy what you do they buy why you do it.

2011-07-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

I'm watching this really insightful presentation by Simon Sinek (here) about how to motivate people to buy your product. It's especially interesting because here at Adva Mobile we do mobile marketing for musicians, with mobile web sites, Apps, storefronts, text campaigns, etc. We tell you that all the time. We tell you what we do. Hey, we're technologists.

We don't tell you why we do it. We believe that mobile can be the center of the universe for a new successful business model for music. We think everything you do today to connect with fans, tell them where you're playing, how to buy tickets, how to find your music, buy your music, tell their friends about you, .... everything is better and easier on mobile. You thought you needed to be on MySpace? Where did that get you? Heck, PC's are going away. Mobile is not going away. Everything you are trying to do as a musician except make great music can be done on mobile better than any other service or system out there.

There is this cool concept called "The Law of Diffusion of Innovation." Here's what it looks like:

The key to this chart is that the "Early Majority", where innovative ideas (like Adva Mobile) take off, can't occur until you have attracted the Innovators and Early Adopters. And to get them (you) to try our innovation, we have to tell you why we're doing Adva Mobile, not what we do.

We really like the Innovators and Early Adopters. They want to be first. If you are the kind of person that believes mobile can create a whole new system for finding fans, sharing music, connecting with them and selling to them, boy do we have a product for you.

Natalie Stovall's Blog Message

2011-06-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

Natalie Stovall officially launched her mobile strategy yesterday with a simple blog telling fans she had a new mobile site and that fans can get a cool, free song if they texted in and joined.

Here's what she wrote:
News – Natalie Launches New Mobile Club

June 6th, 2011

We are excited to announce the launch of Natalie’s new mobile community. It was developed in partnership with our friends at Adva Mobile and over the months and years to come it will allow Natalie to communicate and interact with her fans in new and exciting ways.

All you have to do is text “GetFiddle” to 88704 and you will get:
-Access to Natalie blog and tour schedule right from your phone.
-Localized alerts when Natalie is playing in your area.
-The chance to participate in contests and offers that won’t be available anywhere else.
-And for a limited time you will be able to download a special live recording of her infamous “Fiddlepalooza Medley”

That’s right, the only medley where you can see a 5’2″ blond girl play everything from AC/DC to Michael Jackson on the fiddle in the same song, and it’s yours! All you have to do is text “GetFiddle” to 88704.

In less than 24 hours, more than 100 fan joined her mobile site.

She'll get many more fans when she tells them from the stage during shows, but it's great to see so many Natalie Srivall fans who want to stay connected with her on their phones. It's really the best way.

The Best Way to Connect With Your Fans

2011-05-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

I read a lot about how bands should get email addresses because, well, it's the way to reach out to your fans,

right? Here at Adva Mobile, we use email marketing - our Adva Advantage newsletter, and guess what? Here's the lowdown on email marketing:

About 25% of the people on our email list open and read the Newsletter
That figure is HIGHER THEN THE AVERAGE for email marketing

That's right! If you have an email campaign that performing above average, three quarters of your fans don't even open your email.

So what's the best way for you to stay in touch with your fans? It's mobile.

The "OPEN" rate for text messages approaches 100 percent, and since it's totally opt-in, your fans are likely to open a text from you 100% of the time.
It's much easier to get your fans to sign up for your mobile text list than your email list - they text get to 88704 and it's done.
They're always on their phones. Sure, they can read emails on their phones, but it's hard to get all the nice colors, pictures, etc. to show up on your mobile phone email app. A text that opens a mobile web page designed for their phone is a much better experience.
Email has shown terrific growth over the past few years. Think spam has had anything to do with that? You collect e-mail addresses from your website widgets and merch table sign up sheets and launch database marketing campaigns only to find most of your messages are treated as junk mail, often ending up in spam folders.
Text Messaging has more immediacy with mobile phone users than email, since emails are generally reviewed in batches, whereas SMS messages tend to be viewed as they arrive.
There is a limit on the length of a text message – a limitation that tends to serve as an advantage. This limit allows mobile users to consume the message more quickly. We’ve learned that the attention span of users is getting smaller – they want ‘snacks’ vs. ‘meals’ when it comes to information (the same reason that Twitter has gained so much popularity)
There are stricter guidelines that govern the distribution of SMS messages to consumers, and although they are merely guidelines, the Mobile Operators tend to enforce them. Therefore, mobile users can opt out of messages they don’t want to receive (thus filtering out unwanted messages more effectively). Opting out of emails can be more difficult and doesn’t always work – hence the success of Junk Mail filters.

A fan list is key for an Artist, but the mobile phone list is so much more powerful than the email list.