Master Your Ability

In a couple of days the ‘no website’ Master Your Ability will be online. A platform for musicians and event organisers to find, and more importantly share information. While I work on the content, Inspirething make sure it all works and looks good based on the designs of Roger Williams.

But how to fill a website, get interaction going, stimulate people to read and write, keep it interesting and get musicians and music professionals to share their knowledge? I think by paying people who put in effort.

I am happy to share my knowledge, so I’ll be blogging, uploading documents and respond to questions. However, my knowledge is limited – broad but not a specialist. And I do not want Master Your Ability to be about me; I want it to be for musicans by musicians.

First step is doing research. Watch this space for a questionnaire where I’ll be asking for your input. I am going to ask my South African music friends for their wishes and needs, hand out a questionnaire and talk to people in Malawi soon, and post the questionnaire in my European network. Of course I also have to look at the competition, find out what is already available and find MYA’s unique selling point.

To get MasterYourAbility.com going, I want to be able to pay people to write for the site. For every blog of at least 300 words that is read by a minimum of X amount (how many I do not know yet) of people with 2 or more reactions/interactions, the writer of the blog receives payment. To receive the money, the person writing the blog has to

– write about a subject related to the content of the particular section of MasterYourAbility.com;

– promote the blog on Facebook and at least 1 other social media network with tags to the sponsor, #MYA and a link to the blog;

– and maybe some other (online) promotional work.

In return you get paid for your work and receive a free MYA pro membership for 6 months so you can access all information on MasterYourAbility.com for free for half a year.

I will be looking for sponsors for each section of the website. If I succeed in finding sponsors, I will be able to pay for 10 blogs from Malawi, 10 from the Netherlands (or Europe) and 10 from South Africa.

For example, I can ask Ableton to sponsor the section about music making, venue the Sugar Factory can do the performing section, BUMA/SAMRO/COSOMA to sponsor the part with everything about legal issues, publisher BOOM of the book Project Management for events or Masters in Event Management Respons, Amsterdam Creative Industries and/or Inholland to sponsor the event section. There are many things that can be given in return, from logo on the site to have a whole section designed and dedicated completely to the brand, social media promotion by the bloggers, access to a big network (in Malawi, South Africa and Europe), get insight into what musicians/event organisers are talking about, and more..

Businesses who sponsor a section pay €1.000 to pay for 30 blogs. There wil also be a package for €250 and individuals can sponsor 2 blogs from Malawi and 2 from South Africa or the Netherlands for only €50.

It’s not charity; it is paying a fee for people who put in work. Honest pay for those who are willing to invest time writing about certain subjects, willing to share their knowledge with their peers.