Greetings [[name]],
Festivals & Fun
* Reggae Festivals This Week
* Recipe From Jamaicans.com: Jamaican Potato Salad
* Fun & Games: What's Patois for anything brand-new or slick-looking?
(for answer, see below under Fun & Games)
The Business of Promoting Reggae
* News & Offerings: Israel's 1st Reggae Benefit & Speak to Reggae Fans
* Ask A Question: What's an innovative method to generate traffic to my unsigned band's website?
* Marketing Tidbit: Create your "About Us" Page on your website right the first time (1 of 4 Tips)
* About Reggae Festival E-Guide and Contact Us
Reggae Festivals This Week
Festival listings are believed to be correct. Please
contact the promoter directly for more information.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Reggae Harborfest
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
www.reggaeharborfest.com
Festival Hotline: TBA
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Show-Me Sunplash
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
www.acfaces.com
Hotline: 314-731-7903
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Albion Festival of the Forks
Albion, Michigan, U.S.
Hotline: 269-665-7483
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Herbal Night
Sigharting, Austria
www.hoehenstadt.keyframe.cc
Hotline: TBA
Saturday, September 18, 2004
I Festival Exa Reggae Roots
Alajuela, Costa Rica
www.exafm.com/eventos.php?id=708
Hotline: TBA
Saturday-Sunday, September 18-19, 2004
One Root Festival
Roseville (Sacramento Area), CA, U.S.
www.oneroot.org
Hotline: 916-772-2557
Saturday-Sunday, September 18-19, 2004
11th Annual Legends of Rasta Reggae Festival
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
www.legendsofrastareggaefestival.com
Hotline: 281-893-0044
Saturday-Sunday, September 18-19, 2004
Chicago North Caribbean/African Festival
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
www.martinsinterculture.com
Hotline: 312-427-0266
Sunday, September 19, 2004
One Love Peace Festival
Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
www.natural-mystics.com/onelovepeacefest
Hotline: 540-899-6789
Are you a reggae festival promoter? Post your festival at
www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com/post_festival.html
Promoters are responsible for making sure their info is
correct on our website prior to this publication.
----------sponsor----------
So You Can: Granting Artists & Promoters TIME to Focus on their Creativity
Specializing in band and event promotions, administration management, as well as
sales and marketing for several music publications. My expertise enables independent
artists and promoters to focus on their creativity while I take care of all the details.
So You Can | Amy Shapas | (U.S.) 831-479-0711 | 831-479-4242 | ashapassbcglobal.net
---------------------------
Recipe From Jamaicans.com
Jamaican Potato Salad
www.jamaicans.com
Ingredients
4 cups potatoes diced
2 large eggs
2 stalk escallion chopped
2 tablespoon margarine
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup miracle whip
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 stalk celery (optional)
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup baby peas (blanched)
1/4 cup carrot (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions
Wash, peel, dice and cook potatoes with eggs, about 10 mins.
Dice celery, slice escallion and finely chopped garlic. When
potatoes are boiled, drain instantly. Place in a large bowl,
toss with margarine. Add corn, peas, escallion, garlic and
celery. Stir in miracle whip with pepper and salt. Add chopped
eggs and stir lightly, serve warm or cold.
---------------------------
Fun & Games
What's Patois for anything brand-new or slick-looking?
"Cris"
---------------------------
Reggae Festival Guide News & Offerings:
Israel's 1st Reggae Festival Benefit: Organizer Needs Your Help
Next summer in Israel, a Reggae Peace Festival is being organized to bring the
healing message of reggae to the holy land. Proceeds will go to organizations
such as ones which work with Palestinian and Jewish youth together in summer
camps. Kids arrive hating one another, and leave best of friends.
We need your suggestions, interest/support and sponsorships.
Contact Island Roots Galambos: 707-442-3857 | P.O. Box 4576, Arcata, CA 95518
Email: islandreggaehotmail.com
Speak to Close to 2,000 Reggae Fans by placing information
on your business in this E-Guide. For details please visit:
www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com/eguide.html
---------------------------
Ask A Question
What's an innovative method to generate traffic to my unsigned band's website?
By Marc Gunn
Forward
I have to admit this is a really neat idea. Not only will you
generate some traffic to your unsigned band's website, you are
giving recognition to local businesses that you like. I did
something similar recently... I am Webmaster Kristine of
ReggaeFestivalGuide.com, and I design websites for a living.
To get a foothold in my hometown that I just recently moved
back too, I redesigned the Arts Council's website pro-bono,
and boy did I get recognition for that! They were so blown
away that they made a big sign thanking me and placed in an
entrance to their largest exhibition showing, the redesign was
mentioned in the local newspaper, and I received multiple thank
you letters that I put on my website as testimonials to my work.
Giving to others always comes back. --Kristine Cummins
Seems every time I read an article about music promotion,
they seem generally the same thing. "Play in your local market
with a fifty mile radius of your hometown."
That's actually pretty smart advice. If you can build a buzz
in your region, that local buzz will eventually spread outside
of your market into others.
But there's a problem. It is no easy task for any unsigned
band to build that buzz. Take my hometown, Austin. Whew! I
can't tell you how many bands there are here. The market is
flooded. Getting through the clutter is pain in the arse.
Guess what? I learned an untapped secret
to break through the band clutter, earn you web traffic all
from your local region. And you will generate good-will in
your community.
Here's the secret. Write reviews of local businesses.
I wrote a short review of a small Irish pub just outside of
Austin called the Irish Dragoon Pub. They had no website.
So I gave them one and added a few kind words.
This past St. Patrick's Day the owner of the Dragoon
embarrassed me. He took the microphone before we started
playing. Not only did he talk us up to the audience, but he
thanked us for the kind review that "put the Irish Dragoon
on the map".
You can do the same for ANY business wherever you're
playing. And it's easy. Here's what you do.
1. Pick a local business you want to support.
2. Write a short review about that business. Don't just
say it's cool. Tell your readers what you've bought there
before to make it more personal.
3. Put that business name in the title of the webpage. For
instance, "Irish Dragoon Pub in Killeen, TX".
4. Add a small banner with your next gig listed.
5. Submit that webpage to the search engines.
That's it. More than likely, you'll come up easily as one
of the top 10 sites listed.
To improve your search ranking, add additional links to
that webpage on your website and others. And don't forget to
let the business know that you appreciate them. Send them
a link to that review as well.
SPECIAL NOTE: While this is a great way to bring in a
bunch of random traffic. It's not targeted. Meaning those
who DO come to your site, more than likely will have little
interest in your music, UNLESS the business you write about
attracts your type of fans. So do a little bit o'research
and good luck!
Bard Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards has helped
1000's of musicians save and make money with their musical groups
through his monthly newsletter, Bards Crier Music Marketing and
Promotion Ezine. Now you can get free "how-to" music marketing
and promotion advice by visiting www.bardscrier.com. No time to
visit the site? Subscribe to the Bards Crier Ezine
for Free. Just email subscribebardscrier.com
----------sponsor----------
Food for Your Caribbean Event!
Authentic Caribbean Cuisine
Catering for Special Events, Parties and/or Receptions
Dishes such as Jerk Chicken, Rice and Peas
Ackee & Saltfish, and Johnny Cakes - you name it!
The Caribbean Cove
San Francisco Bay Area
510-531-2303
Email: InfoTheCaribbeanCove.com
Website: www.TheCaribbeanCove.com
---------------------------
Marketing Your Reggae Biz Tidbit
Create your "About Us" Page on your website right the first time
(1 of 4 Tips)
By Mario Sanchez
The Internet has been heralded as "the great equalizer": on a
browser window, any company, no matter how small, can look as good
as a large company with a long history of quality and service.
This situation presents an important challenge for small businesses:
how can I convince my potential customers that I am not an unethical,
fly-by-night operation? The best way to do it is through a properly
structured "About Us" page. Your "About Us" page must not only introduce
your company to your potential customers, but must do so in a way that
it explains, beyond a shadow of a doubt, why they should trust you
and your company. Often, this means answering seven basic questions:
Who is behind this website?
People are getting tired of large, bureaucratic companies and their
"your-call-is-important-to-us" service mentality. As a small business
owner, you can give your customers the personal attention they won't
get from the big guys. Get that message across in your "About Us"
page. Don't be afraid to talk about yourself and your passion for
the business, and by all means include your picture. The central
message you want to convey is that behind your business there is a
real human being who has his or her customers' best interests at heart.
Is this a real business?
Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to list your full
physical address. There is something reassuring about a "bricks-and-
mortar" location, even if your customers will never visit you. A
physical address shows your prospective customers that you don't have
anything to hide. Include your full contact information, including your
physical address, in a conspicuous location within your "About Us" page.
See next week's Reggae Festival E-Guide for 2 of 4 tips.
--Mario Sanchez is a Miami based freelance writer who
focuses on Internet marketing and web design topics. He
publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net),
a growing collection of web design and Internet marketing
articles, tips and resources. You can freely reprint his weekly
articles in your website, ezine, or ebook.
---------------------------
About Reggae Festival E-Guide & Contact Us
The Reggae Festival E-Guide is a weekly ezine through the
summer festival season, and monthly during the winter. It is
created by RBA Publishing LLC which publishes 2 popular
print magazines annually: Reggae Festival Guide and Blues
Festival Guide. The publisher, Kaati, is a member
of the Reggae Ambassadors Worldwide (#111).
Advertise in this E-Guide: www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com/eguide.html
RBA Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 50635
Reno, NV 89513
Website: www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com
Email: NewsReggaeFestivalGuide.com
1-775-337-8344
Please feel free to pass this ezine along to your friends.
However, we ask that you forward it in its entirety.
---------------------------
To subscribe to this ezine, please go to: www.ReggaeFestivalGuide.com