As a musician who is getting back to solo performing after a long break I have found myself putting off writing copy for two brochures. One brochure is what I will send when booking concerts, the other for things like weddings, events, etc.
I have put off writing these brochures because it is always a daunting task. How do I toot my own horn and not sound like every other musician who toots their own horn?
And more importantly, how do I give the reader confidence in my abilities without sounding egotistical?
There is also a syndrome that I have noticed for years that I refer to as "promo hysteria." As an example, many years ago while playing in a nationally touring duo my musical partner wrote promo that referred to us as "One of America’s favorite folk acts…." I could not get this person to understand that if we truly were "One of America’s favorite folk acts" we wouldn’t be writing this stuff to get work!
The purpose of promotional copy is to convey competence, experience, and instill confidence in someone thinking of hiring you so they will consider taking the next step.
It is not unlike a resume .
So later today I will be trying to honestly represent my abilities and experience in words while neither downplaying my abilities nor being self-aggrandizing.
