207. How to Use Song and Video Competitions to Build Your Fan Base with Amy Barbera

Amy Barbera has been strategically connecting with people she has been submitting music to. And when she was winning competitions, she was utilizing that to get more publicity and bring her fans on board. 

I met Amy through the Women of Substance Podcast when she submitted her music. If you are interested to get on our show where we can promote you through our different social channels and our listeners, you can leverage that exposure to show your fans that you are doing something fun and also get to rally your existing fans to share it. You can also connect with other artists who are featured on the show and possibly collaborate with them. If you want to submit to our Review Board, you can do so at www.wosradio.com

It all started when Amy was in elementary school. Though she lacked confidence, Amy joined a talent show where she won money by singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. That made her feel that music could be her destiny. Eventually, she joined a choir and musical theater while in college.

When she was young, she had anorexia. Through healing, she realized she had to move out of Maryland to seek for opportunities to pursue her passion. She already knew that time that her calling was singing and music. She went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. In that place, she also found a local church. The pastor in that church immediately told her she was to be a lead singer and that started her musical journey.

She only started vocal training in her twenties. Back in Maryland when she was young, she developed vocal chord nodules when she was a cheerleader and had undergone surgery. All her vocal teachers said it was a miracle that she sings the way she does even after that.

Amy knows her calling was to reach people with her original music. Her message through her music is mainly about God's hope, healing, love, grace and other inspirationals like nature and pursuing your dreams. She does not feel the need to stick to the usual genres. She's not afraid to explore other music styles outside of her genre as well. 

Before the lockdown happened, she did shows with her mom on her Youtube channel. During the lockdown, she was able to slow down, take much-needed rest and became more active in Youtube doing home videos to let people hear her message. 

Amy advises to step out of the box and stretch to an area you are not that familiar with as an artist. She invested in doing videos over the years and she has submitted them for competitions. Two years ago, she released an album called "Make Me a Butterfly". Her friend, Robynn, used one of her songs, "Breath of Angels" to close out her short film, "You're Never Alone". She was the one who told Amy about Filmfreeway where she can submit songs and music videos. This outlet has thousands of festivals all over the world and this is where she won a bronze medal for the Global Music Awards and got good reviews and wins for other such competitions. She has gotten a lot of exposure due to joining different international competitions. She also creates promo videos and gets a lot of support from her fans. Even if she doesn't win in some of the competitions she joins, she does get other awards like people's choice and is otherwise happy to get nominated. 

Winning awards has opened a lot of doors for her. People have reached out wanting to work with her and interview her. It also helped build up her credibility. The Global Music Awards is recognized as music's golden seal of approval and they also have affiliations with other big companies. Even big movies are in Filmfreeway. It's an avenue that opened a lot of opportunities for her. It really helps that through this, even during the Coronavirus she has something great to look forward to.

Aside from joining competitions, she also promotes her music even behind the scenes so when judges check her videos they are able to see the views. Her attitude is, even if the song has been released, there are still millions of people in the world that haven't heard it. For example, when she has a new follower on Instagram, she sends them a private message introducing herself and encouraging them with a link to her music. Through that, she has gotten some radio interviews among other stuff. She loves doing this apart from doing Filmfreeway.

If you want to connect with Amy Barbera, you can find her online at www.amybarbera.com. She is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reverbnation among others -- just look for her name, Amy Barbera.

Links mentioned in this episode: www.wosradio.com and www.amybarbera.com

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