"Attention seeker", "he's got tickets on himself, doesn't he?", "show-off!", "he just needs to be the center of attention", "peacock!". Newsflash: it's natural to crave attention. And it's your DUTY to crave attention IF you have something valuable to share. Detractors will always exist. They represent the unavoidable friction and disorder that acts as a natural counterforce to a person's attempts to create order and achieve success. Ride their attention. Thank them for their engagement. Then, get back to creating (unlike you're detractors!)

As classical musicians, we prefer to suck in private. We don't emerge from our practise rooms until the likelihood we'll make an error rounds to 0. This is good for survival in the classical music scene, and this mindset might work for absolute outliers, but for the rest of us, just make your first 100 videos. The cool think about sucking: very few people will see your first 100 videos anyway!

You're going to get "put in a box" no matter what. You might as well tell people which box to put you inside! Don't be bashful. Don't be modest. Put yourself is a prestigious, highly-paid box. You'll thank yourself for taking the 5 minutes to do this. Liam

No paragraphs today, I'm outta time! Software: 1) Microsoft ToDo: my list app. If I have an idea, I write it down here! 3) Google Sheets: ...then, when I have about 50 ideas, I flesh them out here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VODZvQhkUWuunAsAIpgvMP-8t4AE4BNyqV6GPbgzfLM/copy 3) OBS: this program interfaces with my camera so I can keep it all set up in the same place, just click "record" and get right into it! Hardware 1) Computer with some power. Any modern Mac or PC with a graphics card is all you need. I started on a $400 second-hand gaming laptop! 2) Elgato CamLink: this makes it quicker to record videos with my (again second hand) Canon 90D shttps://amzn.to/47jaa6p BONUS: Lifestyle. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. I'm not saying have 6 kids like me, but if you did, you'd make content faster ;) Liam

Look, everyone with a social media following wishes they considered these things sooner. Let's get into it. Vision & Niche 1. Declare Your Impact: Don't just "play music." What is your one sentence differentiator from everyone else online? 2. Define Your Audience: The students? The patrons? Gatekeepers? If you make content for everyone, you are unlikely to reach anyone. 3. Choose Your Format: one audience (e.g. fellow conductors), one platform (e.g. You Tube), one product (e.g. 5-minute talking head videos). Don't try everything at once. Become the master of your format. I picked "playful people (incl. non-musiciains)" + Instagram + Reels. II. Fill up your tank 4. Stock the Idea Vault: Before Day One, list at least 50 specific content titles that align with your Impact. Google Sheets is your friend. 5. Establish the Production Cadence: Design a simple, repeatable workflow. Again, Google Sheets! 6. Tool & Quality Check: Finalize your bare-minimum recording setup (mic, lighting, camera angle). Consistency and clear audio beat a perfect performance on bad equipment. In content creation, the "creative" phases and the "technical" phases must be separated. III. Set the Stage (The Business Infrastructure) 7. Choose Your Platform Assets: Fully optimize your 1-2 ONE social media profile.Bbio, branding, profile picture. 8. Set Up the Digital Lobby (Email List): Create the simplest possible landing page to capture emails. Offer a compelling, niche incentive—a free PDF of your personal practice routine, a transcription guide, or a hidden historical anecdote. This list is your future fan base and direct ticket sales channel. 9. Ignore vanity metrics. Track your efficiency metrics: How fast can you move from "idea" to "published"? Speed is the goal. FREE GIFT: I've seen many overcomplicated content planners, so I'm giving away mine for free. It might look simple, but it's powerful, and it's helped me grow more than 100,000 followers for myself and my clients.