Learn How To

Build Your Brand

A two-week email course to help you
clarify your artistry so you can attract real fans.

✅ Uncover your unique attraction points.

✅ Discover exactly who your ideal fans are.

✅ Define the aesthetic components of your brand.

✅ Build a brand that makes it easy to build a fanbase.

GET THE COURSE

Nice words students have said about the course:

3
2
1
4

Don't let a bad brand block fans from your music.

I’ll be honest: I’ve always kind of hated the word “brand.”

It’s been egregiously overused over the past decade, for one thing – if I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen a post about “personal branding” on LinkedIn, I’d have $17.35 (give or take a few nickels).

It’s vague, for another – soft at best, meaningless at worst.

And, to cap it all, I’ve always kind of associated the act of branding with intentional inauthenticity. Brand equals fake and fake equals bad.

Bottom line, I thought the whole idea was dumb. And then I started working in marketing.

Here’s the truth that I’ve learned over six and a half years of working with Fortune 500 brands and indie artists:

If you don’t have a strong brand, it’s next to impossible to build a fanbase.

I still don’t really like the word “brand.” But I’ve come to realize how important the concept is for building the thing that really matters: community.

Here’s what I mean…

Your brand tangibly impacts your artistry.

👎 With a weak brand…

You send your song to a music blog. The editor doesn’t even listen because your pitch is boring and your cover art is kind of bad.

You get on a big Spotify playlist. It boosts your streams, but when you check two months later, you’ve barely gained any followers.

You post all the time on social media. You have like two engaged followers (and one’s your mom).

Selling merch (or anything) is really hard.

You don’t really have a community that cares about your art.

💪 With a strong brand…

You send your song to a music blog. The editor is intrigued by your pitch, so they give your song a listen. They love it and cover it.

You get on a big Spotify playlist.You rack up the streams, but, better yet, a lot of your new listeners start following you.

You post consistently on social media and your audience is always commenting and sharing.

Merch (or anything) practically sells itself.

You have an engaged community that loves your artistry.

The bottom line is that a strong brand makes fanbase-building much easier, more rewarding, and a lot more fun.

A good brand is the foundation of all marketing efforts; without it, the house falls apart. But here’s the thing: Building a good brand is hard. And it’s made harder by the fact that many artists don’t approach it intentionally.

I’ve worked with a bunch of artists who make good music, but struggle to get traction with it. If that’s you, I’m not saying you definitely have a branding problem – but I am saying it’s definitely possible.

Here are a few questions that’ll help you figure out if branding is holding you back…

  • Do you know how people become fans?
  • Do you have core values or defined opinions your audience can latch onto?
  • Do you know what makes your artistry different / why people like you, specifically?
  • Do you know who your target audience is and how to target them?
  • Do you have a defined aesthetic?
 
If your answer to most of those questions is “yes” and you’re still struggling to get traction, then hey, maybe your music is just bad. (Kidding. Mostly.)
 
But if you don’t know the answer to most of those questions (or they at least made you think a little bit), you could probably benefit from clarifying your brand.
 
That’s what this course is designed to help with.

Let’s talk details…

Here's what you'll get.

✅ In Week 1, you’ll receive five daily emails unpacking the foundations of branding.

This week includes:

  • The definition of “brand” that I used to lead brand development workshops at Fortune 500 firms.
  • The social-psychological basis for why people become fans (and what it means for your brand).
  • How to clarify your own vision statement and how to use it.
  • How to define core values and opinions that will give fans entry points into your artistry.
  • Identifying the segment of your fanbase that will be most likely to support you – and providing them with options to do so.


✅ In Week 2, you’ll work through tactical exercises to clarify your brand as an artist.

This week includes:

  • A brand associations exercise (to help you add value through connections).
  • A process to help you identify what makes your artistry unique.
  • Fan avatar development so you know who your target fan is – and how to reach them.
  • Exercises to help you develop a strong aesthetic (so as soon as would-be fans hit your content, they understand who you are.)
  • A plan to produce on-brand art consistently.


✅ Altogether, you’ll receive five printable (.pdf) worksheets.

These worksheets include:

  • Artist Brand Guidelines
  • Vision Statement Worksheet
  • Core Values Worksheet
  • Opinions Worksheet
  • Art Creation Plan

By the end of the two weeks, you'll have fully-defined Artist Brand Guidelines that will help you clarify your artistry and attract real fans.

GET THE COURSE

Plus you'll get...

➕ 30 days of ask-me-anything access via email.

I’m here for you! Shoot me an email, and I’ll personally engage with any questions you have. Students get guaranteed (detailed) email responses for a month.

➕ Lifetime access to all of the material via the product page.

Miss an email or want to skip ahead? Can-do – you’ll have log-in access to all of the content (including worksheets, templates, etc.) from the product page.

So who teaches this course?

Fair question. My name is Jon Anderson. I’m the founder of Two Story Melody (a music blog) and Two Story Media (a music PR firm), and the author of How to Promote Indie Music, which was an Amazon best seller (an accolade that, trust me, sounds much more impressive than it is).

I’ve helped hundreds of artists market their music, I’ve helped multiple NASDAQ-listed companies to clarify their brands, and I’ve been called “amazing and dearly loved” by my mom.

Bottom line: I’m confident that I can help you define your artistry in a way that leads you to deeper fan relationships and a growing fanbase.

Here are some nice words my clients have said about me.

"I want to thank you for your transparency and communication through the whole process of the campaign. It was very exciting to see the feature posted onto blogs and have the song added to Spotify playlists... I appreciate the interpersonal quality that you and your team put into the PR process and would definitely work with you all again."
John BickelGroove Rock / Singer-Songwriter
John Bickel
"It was exciting to see my song on playlists, and to read blog posts about my song! I loved seeing a clear spreadsheet of the exact playlists my song was being pitched to... It was my first song ever released, so it was nice to have the help from Jon who knew what he was doing with this whole music world navigation. It has overall been an exciting experience, and I’ll be using TSM for my future releases."
Lonely ChoirIndie Pop / Singer-Songwriter
Lonely Choir
"Quick to respond and gives detailed updates about the campaign every week. He is friendly and very reliable. He gets it done... Jon is great at what he does and whatever you sign up for… it is well worth the money."
Jess MeilmanIndie Pop / R&B
Jess Meilman
"I am happy with the relationship experience with Jon. He has helped me to understand, to decide and the results are as promised."
Tino del PozoRock / Singer-Songwriter
Tino del Pozo
"Communication, organization, scope, transparency, advice and expertise... I’m very pleased with the experience. Jon, you are awesome."
Mama SaidNew Classic Rock
Mama Said
"I loved that Jon kept us in the loop at every turn. He was available when I had a question. He was interested in the music and in me as an artist. He was genuine and I felt I could trust him. I also loved the feedback on our music, both good and bad."
Kim DonnetteRock Band
Kim Donnette
"The industry is saturated and it is difficult to be heard through all the noise. Jon wrote an exceptional EPK that captured the attention of those in the industry and made them curious about the story behind Letters from the 99."
PKAYPop / Singer-Songwriter
PKAY
"Overall, I'm very happy with my experience. Jon is a pro. He was friendly, professional, communicative and delivered on what we agreed on for our campaign."
Chris ComhaillSinger-Songwriter
Chris Comhaill
Terrific article and press release. Jon is a fantastic writer and demonstrated the type of modern fluidity, word flow, and tone that really pulls the reader in and truly stands out in a highly saturated digital space... I feel good about the experience and would keep Two Story Media atop our prospects list for such services.
Twin CityMainstream Pop
Twin City
Previous
Next

Want to make sure it’s worth it? No worries. We’ve got a sweet…

60-Day, No-Risk Guarantee

If you’re not getting value from this course, just reach out within sixty days of your purchase and we’ll provide a 100% refund, no questions asked.

Ready to Build Your Brand?

Frequently Asked Questions

Not sure if this course is right for you? This section might help – we’ll see. 

Ah, I thought you’d ask that.

I tried to give some clarity on this midway through the page, but hey, I get it – either you didn’t find it convincing or you skimmed straight here. It’s all good.

Here’s my honest take: If you have 100 or more people you consider “true fans” of your artistry (and I mean people who really are fans, not followers), then there’s a good chance that you already have a strong brand – it’s at least strong enough to build real fandom.

This course could probably still offer you some value, but at this point your key challenge is likely getting in front of more people (rather than clarifying what you’re putting in front of them).

If you don’t have 100 true fans or you feel like your promotion should result in more traction than you’re getting, there’s a very good chance this course will help you.

Yes, I do offer a guarantee for this. If you go through all of the content and you don’t feel that it’s helped you to build your brand, I’ll give you a full refund.

I will hold a small grudge, though.

(Totally kidding. About the grudge, not the refund.)

⬆️  That’s more of a statement than a question, but hey, I’m here to help.

Give me a shout at jon at twostorymedia dot com and I’ll give you my best answer.