Jennie Walker’s New Artist Website Launched!

It’s been months in the making, but my new artist website finally launched this week at www.jenniewalker.com! Talk about a lot of work! Good Grief!

I mean, so much more went into making the website than I ever imagined. And I could not have been able to do this project without major support from my graphic designer and back end website design firm. I needed new photos (photo shoot with James Weber Studio), I needed a stylist (Wade Blackmon), I need hair/makeup person (Kim Baker), I needed a graphic designer (Sarah Leigh-Wills of Happy Designer), I needed a logo (Elliot Eastman), I needed a backend website designer (Rich Quick and Paul Dunn of Successful Sites), I needed content (press, links, podcasts, bios, podcasts, voice overs, lyric sheets, contact information, etc. etc.), and training (all me!), I needed proofing (thanks to my brother Mark!), and so much more….

There was also the building out of the newsletter template and then of course adding content, and then the moving of my hosting account to a new more powerful server and then there is the use of Campaign Monitor, the most sophisticed system out there, through which to send my email blasts to fans! Now I get to see (and have already seen) who opens my emails, when, who clicked on a link, which links, who unsubscribed, who said I was spam! You get the picture….and of course, which emails went unopened all together……. As they said in the famous quote by Jack Nicholson’s character from A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!” It’s something else to see the statistics….get the real story of who is following my music career. What is interesting is that the 4 people who opted out this week, are people I don’t know. I probably met them once along the way, but no relationship ever developed. So, it makes sense that if they are going to de-clutter their inbox that my newsletter would go by the way side! Conversely, it’s no surprise to see everyones name who took the time to read the email…as I have relationships with them..I actually know them. And, this is an important validation that one of the best ways to build a music career is to build relationships with the people who follow my progress.

LINK: www.jenniewalker.com

It feels just wonderful to finally get the website launched and to start communicating more professionally concerning my music. We have more to do, such as to build the merchandise store, add pages for music videos, acting, and links, and a host of minor edits, but it’s working now and that is the main thing. And, I am so proud of it all coming together. I would just love your feedback on the site and ways to make it better, if I can!

Warmly…..
Jennie Walker
www.jenniewalker.com

Branding is my new best friend!

It has been a while since I sent out a blog post, but just like Evita, the truth is “I never left you!”

If you could see my To Do list you would understand my lack of posting. That said, i’m MAKING time tonight to post the latest in a series of logos which will be used in my merchandise designs and other promotion materials.

I went back to Elliot Eastman to design a Sub-Logo piece to my JW logo he designed a few months back. This sub-logo design is my name spelled out. We are initially thinking this may be used on the back for hoodies and maybe on the front of t-shirts or down the sleeve. It’s nice having choices and I feel sure more designs, logos and cool images will be needed as I move my brand forward.

I feel in a lot of ways this is a big trial…as I work to determine who I am as a artist aka “brand!” I don’t really know the answer to this question so i think the idea is just to get start and see where it all leads. I am already thinking about other types of images/logos/fonts that i like which I want to test out and see what feels right to me.

As I await word on my new release date, I am working with Sarah-Leigh Wills of Happy Designer. We just drafted a promotional card which will be used to promo my debut CD “It’s My Time.” It’s looking great..just a few more tweaks and we will be all set.

Most of my time these days is spent on administrative tasks and promotion related to my album release. This week, I hope to be getting a promotional CD in production, which will be sent to Journalists and Radio stations. Sarah also designed a great CD cover to coordinate with all my other images. I have also reached out to some sync licensing firms to see if there is any interest in finding placement for the songs on my album in film, tv or advertising.

I’ll keep you posted as things move along. The good news is that they ARE moving along and it’s all falling into place!

Jennie Walker
www.jenniewalker.com
@msjenniewalker – Twitter

Hurry Up and Wait!

I broke my promise to write a blog every day until my album release the day I learned we may change the release date! Which, actually, is a good thing. There is so much coordination that is taking place behind the scenes, that we need a convergence in order for the strategies to get me on the Top 40 UK chart to work.

We have some new strategies underway and that can only work if we allow more time to prepare! So, hopefully I will have more information on this soon.

In the meantime, I have been working with Happy Hopscotch Design -Sara-Leigh Wills on my new Promo CD design, which we will use to send to journalists and radio stations. It is not nearly as sexy as the retail CD will be, but it serves an important purpose! And, it looks sharp! It is sporting my new Jennie Walker Artists logo which Elliot Eastman designed.

Now something really cool I am working on behind the scenes is my Jennie Walker merchandise store! Now, I have been racking my brain to try to come up with something unique. The thought of one of those plain square sleeve t-shirts with my logo on it just won’t do! I want something different. Something unique. Something a person might save over time and cherish. I guess it’s also about how I want to be thought of in people’s minds. Who is Jennie Walker? What does she stand for? And, why do I care? Those are important questions for me to be able to answer. I have to answer those with my music, my website, my interview, my image, my press, and my merchandise store!

So, as it turns out, I forgot I knew someone in the doll business. It’s really specialized and this person, who was 23 years in the business, is someone I met when they were retailing music products. We have stayed in touch and he just happened to call me 24 hours after I had outlined a doll idea i had. So, we are brainstorming on how I can manufacture a Jennie Walker doll affordably for my fans. Can I tell you how much fun this is? I already have the whole thing thought through, complete with hands on research in a Kmart toy department and online as well. So, I am working on this doll idea and hopefully there is going to be a market….in an informal interview with some of my Facebook friends, it seems they are willing to buy it!

I am also working with a jewelry designer on some unique pieces, that will incorporate my new artist logo. The tricky part is creating merchandise for both men and women. Feedback so far indicates men may be interested in Dog Tags with my logo on it.

I will have the obligatory clothing options, but they have to be well made, 100% cotton (organic if I can get that done), and not your typical designs.

So, another day in the life of Jennie Walker….I’m still building.

It’s All About Branding! My New Artist Logo!

Some of the really exciting projects I am working on behind the scenes include the design of my new artist website and logo. I have a lot of interest in branding these days. And, with the launch of my new album, I am working hard and fast to get as many elements in place for branding as possible. Because, apparently, I am a brand! LOL. I know, i know, it’s me….but, this is how it starts. I stake my claim in my brand, my name, and claim it. Brand it. Protect It. Copyright it. Trademark it. Monetize it.

Sarah-Leigh Wills who is a top designer with Happy Hopscotch Design in Cornwall, England….had a great idea. I approached her about my need for a new artist logo, since she had done such an amazing job on my new web site design (which will be up in a bout a week but you can get a sneak peak if you look in the portfolio section on the site). We discussed ideas and price. Then, Sarah got back to me with an amazing idea. As it turns out, Sarah serves as a part time lecturer at Cornwall College and teaches a class on design. She thought it would be an interesting idea to pose my logo design challenge to the students in the class. The winner would receive a cash prize, a signed CD, a signed photo, and i would meet them and thank them personally when I travel to England to promote my album. i jumped at the chance!

Sarah had 7 students in her class participate. We wanted to film it..get the media department involved, but the timing was off. Those 7 students sent in about 12 designs. I went through each design personally. With one look I could determine my favorite..I had an emotional reaction to it. However, there were other logos I loved too….depending on the usage. In the end, I went through each design with Sarah, discussing the merits of each. I decided on the winner, but also second and third prize. The second prize winner provided a design I also wish to use, but not for this purpose. The students did an outstanding job. And, I am able to provide the winner with an opportunity to be part of my branding process on a commercial project. A win-win in my opinion. My US based PR firm, Kington Magna, will be putting out a press release to announce the winners and the project.

So, I present to you with much pride … my new artist logo designed by Elliot Eastman of Cornwall College, Cornwall England! I can’t wait to thank him in person!

Look for this logo on jewelry, hats, t-shirts, and other cool merchandise!

Jennie Walker

www.jenniewalker.com
www.twitter.com/msjenniewalker