Brian Maxwell of Max Boost and the Power-Ups

TRAININGS COMPLETED:

• The Buddy System
• Run A Successful Crowdfund
• The $1-A-Day Traffic Plan
• Build The Perfect Artist Website
• How To Get New Fans Daily (Fan Finder)
• Fan Page Optimization
• Ones & Zeros 101
• How To Create Your Brand
• Be Your Own Videographer
• Make Merch That Fans Want
• How To Turn Listeners Into Real Fans
• Email Marketing for Musicians
• FREE + S&H Funnel Strategy
• How To Profit From A Launch Campaign
• Grow Your Email/Text List

Do you have one or more successful permission campaigns that you run/have run to generate new subscribers to your email and/or text list?
Yes

Tell us about your Permission strategy and how you deliver it to fans:
I have used a combination of organic posts and paid traffic to grow my email list. Prior to 2024 I ran several paid traffic campaigns for email opt ins with a bribe including:
- Access to 3 unreleased songs
- Behind the scenes content
- Early access to all future releases (~1 release per month for the last 18 months)

In early 2024 I ran an Ultimate Album Launch which included:
- Organic posts and limited paid traffic
- Offering the UAL to crowdfunding campaign donors to convert them into subscribers
- Started my first FSH funnel later in the year with paid traffic to scale up subscriber generation
- Offered the behind the scenes content from the UAL to FSH purchasers for nurturing/education

Due to budget constraints, I stopped running the FSH as a sales campaign but continue to offer my UAL and FSH from my website homepage and social media links. I have instead been running a lower budget conversions campaign directed to a landing page with streaming links that also includes links to my FSH and UAL, which have resulted in a slow but steady continued increase in opt ins.

Describe your growth with your permission list(s) in the last 12 months and your engagement trends:
I increased my email list from approximately 50 to 270 over the last 12 months. This included:
- About 100 FSH customers
- The rest coming from a combination of passive opt ins
- Subscribers to the UAL during its initial launch
- Active hand to hand comment through direct messages on FB and IG

Lastly, please tell us why you think you should be a finalist for the Builder Award:
I'm a father of two boys with an intense day job while doing everything myself as a solo artist, including writing, recording and producing all my own music in addition to doing all content creation, tech building, design and merch fulfillment myself. I have managed to stay consistent in releasing performance videos on social media. In 2024 alone I released one full length album, one 6-song EP available exclusively on CD or to email list subscribers and released an additional 6 singles.

Beyond that, I do my very best to be an active member of the Indepreneur community by answering questions in the FB and discord group, offering advice and encouragement to other indies, participating in the monthly indie hangs and workshops. I may not have the big numbers that others get in terms of building a fan base, but I believe I have done well given my lifestyle limitations and my musical style and overall branding that tends to be a bit more unhinged and bizarre than more popular genres.