Kara Johnstad - office berlin
Transforming Lives Through the Power of the Human Voice

[Volume 3, Issue 6, February 6, 2013]
 
 
 
Greetings!  
 
Extraordinary. Marvelous. Howling.

"The preciousness of it all. Use our arms to embrace, and lay down our arms without a trace of fear triggered from the years of not trusting the marvel in the us. Facing our inner face and dropping the discuss, simply because it is time to move onward to be worthy of the life we have been given. " Kara johnstad

It has been a deeply gratifying week for me. I am getting ready for next week's Concert Premiere in ROME and setting up a Live Internet Broadcast channel for all of you that are not able to be there in person. 
 
There are very few tickets left and at the moment it looks like the Rome concert will sell out.  I am thrilled to be able to share my pure and natural vibes and the naked thoughts series with so many of you. Thanks in advance for all of you who are following this event and rooting and cheering. I will be performing songs off of the last CDs and it is a very deep journey for me to share my most intimate songs.

My single, Wild Garden is playing on diverse radio shows and stations,  such as BBS Radio and Women of Substance Radio, and my new single, Blame Game, went into rotation last week and is already garnering great reviews from fans. You guys rock.  

click & listen to podcast


ENJOY TODAY'S FEATURE ARTICLE
START A BLOG: 7 TIPS
HOW TO GROW YOUR FANBASE
  

 

 
 
Yes, it is really deeply satisfying to see the world shift from the age of competition to the age of collaboration. May we continue to gather and serve as a source of inspiration to each other. 
 
Stay Gold, 
Kara 

 

P.S. If you are travelling from abroad to my ROME CONCERT on February 17,  in Italy there is still time to have your trip planned by Annie of 'Rome & Tuscany Tours', simply email or call  at  +1 612.216.2460 and make your trip an unforgettable one   more info below.


 
The 
Voice Your Essence™ Community
is growing every day and reaches around the globe.
 
 
 
Everywhere people are starting to VOICE-UP 
and receive your free gifts at 


Dear Kara! You are an amazing teacher, singer and a woman!!! I am so blessed to be in contact with you and I am learning so much just in few lessons. Thank you, from GODDESS to GODDESS. ♥ Sanna-Pirita

SANNA-PIRITA

My wonderful, cosmic client Sanna-Pirita, an intuitive singer with a natural talent to sing from the moment, with the language of the soul is celebrating a party for her first CD Release.
CD electric mantra by Sanna-Pirita
click image & listen in
 
Sanna-Pirita is a shamanic artist and a visionary bridge-builder between different dimensions of life. Her country of origin is Finland. After various years of travel around the world, she has settled down in Austria.
 
She describes her own music accordingly: "I sing in a very unique way, my talent is the intuitive singing. The language I use in my music, is the language of heart, the language of emotion. The beautiful aspect in it is that we donʼt have to understand this language with our minds. Our soul, heart and body understands it and perceives its true essence, the vibration that lies within this language. As we all are connected with our hearts, this music is universal of its kind" 
 
 
 In this music we may all come together and celebrate our sacred being and our deepest dreams.
 


People that make a difference in this world

Feeding The Soul

 

Feeding the Soul Foundation is a non-profit that creates concerts for causes.
Come join us and let's celebrate!
Feeding The Soul team
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 Kara Johnstad IN CONCERTO A ROMA, Feb. 17, 2013

 

I so much look forward to performing for you my most intimate originals! Stay Gold, Kara 


Kara Johnstad In Concerto A Roma
 

Venue: Domus Talenti 

  

 

COME TO ROME! 
Make the trip an unforgettable one! 

 

If you are travelling from abroad, there is still time to have your trip planned by Annie of Rome & Tuscany Tours, simply email 
or call Annie at  +1 612.216.2460
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NEW RELEASE | JAN 21, 2013  

 

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

                         at CD BABY,  iTunesAmazon, and many more

CLICK IMAGE & LISTEN

 

music and lyrics by Kara Johnstad / cover art by Linda Gavin  
 

 

A powerful voice of unbridled passion and purity. 

Truly, poetry has never sounded so good. 

 

 

It is lame to Blame. Kara's boundless passion is heard in this well crafted and boldly written song, as she brings sweet soul into a painful situation and flips the Blame Game on its back and finally flies free. "Explosive! What a voice!" 

 

 
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
Donwload Now Button
                                    at CD BABY,  iTunesAmazon, and many more

 

           ... and while there, please leave me a comment.


BLAME GAME is the eleventh single in singer-songwriter Kara Johnstad's

NAKED THOUGHTS Album Series, a very special unplugged album of Kara's most intimate originals, capturing rare moments of Kara with Mr. Steinway, unplugged and pure.

 

"Truly, Poetry Has Never Sounded So Good." In spring 2012, Kara began releasing one new single of the album NAKED THOUGHTS each and every month through her Voice Your Essence™ eZine and live stream concerts, and available for download at all major music portals.  

 

 With more than 100 songs written, all of which she has produced and published under her own indie label, Kara Johnstad is an acclaimed artist with "... something of a female Leonard Cohen song writing sensibility with a bit of Renee Fleming mixed in, who is truly hard to categorize," as music critique Paul Wolfle best describes her unique signature sound.

    

I welcome you to my Naked Thoughts concert series.

 

www.karajohnstad.com

feature_article

 

 
 

  

 
 
 
 
START A BLOG: 7 TIPS
HOW TO GROW YOUR FANBASE

Written by Kara Johnstad

 

 


Artists and creatives love the idea that if they simply share their ESSENCE, believing that their album and business will market itself. Although creating a BLOG is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to build a strong loyal audience and fanbase, they shy away from the idea. 

Why? Because consistency is the key and many artists are traveling and are not known for clear workspaces and regular schedules. Deeply engrained is the belief system Creative Chaos.

They often believe that starting a blog is too time-consuming, energy draining and simply adds to the list of things they already have to do.

In an age where 48 hours are uploaded to YouTube every minute, 75 percent of the world population is now online, there has never been a better way for artists to connect with the world and build their loyal fanbase.

Yet with this amount of people in the marketplace it becomes very clear very fast, that the only way to make your way through and start building your tribe is by finding your niche and CONNECTING.

It is easy to feel discouraged. Never before has there been so many albums. Never before has there been so many t.v. stations to choose from, so many designers to fill all the shops with bargains, so many MP3s, so many cooking shows. The world is ONLINE and the newest studies say that this year we will have 75 percent of the worlds population receiving  information online.

But besides there being big competition, this is also a big chance, to connect with thousands of fan within the click of a mouse.

For creatives  gone are the days of having to pay for an ad in the newspaper for hundreds to thousands, here are the days of being able to create a BLOG which only takes vision and energy and a bit of imagination. Something that artists are known for.

So don't think of Mr. Peterson's english class where you were drilled on topic sentences and failed understanding what is a predicate.

Think, I am sharing my vision and my world. Blogging is not only writing.  It is casual. Informal.
You can leave spaces, add pictures, draw, add video. 
 
BEGIN TO VOICE YOUR ESSENCE
using the tools that come easy to you.

TRUTH BE : YOU'RE ALREADY A BLOGGER
you already have the tools
that you need to be successful 




WHAT IS A BLOG?

A blog post can be basically anything:
  • a sentence,
  • a poem,
  • a picture
  • lyrics
  • a video
  • notes to your new song
Use your imagination.

Blogging is the same thing you do when you update your facebook or send a tweet. You simply put it into a different template.

Blogging is sharing interesting things with your audience and sharing who you are. Through blogging your encourage interaction. You share what you love and would also love to hear from your audience which things they love and are inspired by. That is why it is always possible for your audience to add comments.

So you are probably asking, if blogging is so simple and I am already doing it when I am on facebook and twitter,  then why not simply use the social media platforms already there. Why should I go to the work of setting up my own blog and marketing it.

The answer is social networks are closed systems and they are highly regulated with rules.

Creating your own blog gives you bigger exposure. You can brand it in a way that reflects exactly who you are.

Remember, your vision is big. You can post your blogs on all social media sites, ie. facebook, twitter, reverbanation, tumblr, pinterest, etc, and yet you can also send it out independently

Your readers do not have to be following you on facebook to be able to read your blog. And your blog is not limited to a certain length. It can be a sentence, it can be a video.

Important Tips for making your BLOG SUCCESSFUL
Voice Your Essence Podcast by Kara Johnstad
CLICK IMAGE & LISTEN TO PODCAST

1. Start simple. Remember a blog can be anything. 

 

Take 15-20 minutes weekly to create your weekly Blog post. Something that is related to you, moves you, and you sense is important to your audience. Remember it can be a poem, lyrics, an article, a photo you have taken backstage or a drawing you did while sitting in the cafe and would like to share. Once a week you get to VOICE YOUR ESSENCE and then share it with hundreds to thousands and the possibilities of who may read it are thrilling. It is literally endlessness.

2.  Promote Every Post

This is where other social networks like Facebook and Twitter come in.

 

Get on your favorite online social networks 
and advertise your new blog post. 

 

Awaken their curiosity by asking an open question, like, "What do you think is the real deal story behind my last song?" or "Do you know what I love to eat while on tour 5 minutes before a show? Read all about it here ..." and then add the link to your BLOG that you just published.

Yeah! you did it. And now you have instant traffic leading back to your website.
 
The more you blog and link the more others will share with friends. These friends of friends will also start to land on your homepage and share with their friends and VOILA. This is how networking works.
 
 

The more people
Like and Share, the more your list builds.

  In the beginning it might appear to go slow. Have patience. It takes practice to discover your writing style and what your fans enjoy reading. Yet it DOES WORK. 

And the cool thing is for independent creatives, with very little financial investment, within a click of a mouse you reach thousands.

Now honestly, what would that amount of exposure have cost you with normal advertisement models.
Post Regularly3. Consistency is KeySet a goal. Begin with once a week. If that works well move to once a day. Yes, you can also do once a month, but the effects will be too small to make you feel buzzed about the process. Online moves fast.

Once a week is a good, solid start and very do-able for everybody. The important thing is
BE CONSISTENT:

Your audience knows what to expect and when to expect it. This builds trust. Always post your blog on the same day of the week and approximately the same time of day.

4.  Vary Your Content

It is good to have a niche and not get to scattered. And yet, the more topics you write about the more your blog posts will pop up in the search engines. Every article or post that you write is a door for which potentional fans can discover you.

So in a quiet moment brainstorm on all the topics that connect you with your life as an artists. There are many.

Google and other search engines like ? love blogs because it gives them content which they can categorize.

Note: on every blog post there is a place to add tags. Remember to always categorize and tag your content.
Category is the basic group of postings - ie. Music Biz or Artist Development or Writing and tags would be things like the name of your new single, or poem, or the name of the lead singer in your band or the other key words that appear in the blog.

Remember, the  more active and relevant your blog is, the greater you will climb in the ranking of the major search engines. 
 

5.  Read Other Blogs  

What better way to learn how to blog then by reading other blogs.

Use Google Reader to collect all your favorite blogs in one place.

If you want to browse through subjects that interest you and find new blogs, use Google Blog Search.  

Bookmark pages and subscribe to the blogs you enjoy. If you want you can even have most blogs that you enjoy sent directly into your email inbox.


6. Meet other Bloggers and Interact

Don't be afraid to reach out to other bloggers you enjoy reading. Ask them questions and add your voice to the conversation by adding comments to their comment section. Do not spam, but if you have written a relevant article or have information that could enhance the online experience for others, you can mention your blog and add a link back to your page. Do this ONLY if it makes sense to do. Some enjoy building of communities and networks, others hate shameless self-promotion in their comment section.

Be sensitive and get to know the author of the blog before you add your back-links. And yet if they are open to it, and you offer good content, they may even invite you to be a contributor or "guest blogger." This has happened to me a few times and it is a great way to build your audience further.


7. Love your Readers and Respond to them

You want to encourage connection and communtiy and encourage your readers to leave comments.

Which type of comments they leave usually depends on which type of questions you have asked?

At the end of each post ask a simple and clear question of where you would like the thread to go. Make sure you encourage your readers to leave comments on your blog.

Also, if someone has left a comment remember always to respond. Even if all you say is thanks, or so happy to see you join in the conversation.

When people feel listened to, they keep talking and stay engaged.

In this is exactly what you want as a blogger. You want people talking about you and your work.

If you receive critical comments don't delete. Often they are the one that spur on the conversation. And you would be surprised at how many loyal fans come to your rescue and often defend your writing and stand in your behalf. 

 

It is a very touching moment  
when you realize you are surrounded by an audience  
that really gets WHO you are  
and are really interested in what YOU wish to share.

If you do get comments that are spam or harassment or obscene, delete immediately such blogs. Keep your space clean. Critical thinking and obscenity are two different things.

Love to hear about your experiences with blogging and what works for you.
Here's to your continued success.

Stay Gold, 
Kara  

  

 

  

  

 

P.S. Share your experiences of how you are setting up your business as an independent artist, and feel free to join the Voice Your Essence™ Community over on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voiceyouressence. I'm really excited to hear what you have to say.
 
Thank you, as always, for tuning in, reading and contributing.

 

 

 

Voice Your Essence Podcast by Kara Johnstad
CLICK IMAGE & LISTEN
 
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it.
 
Kara Johnstad is a creative visionary, transformational catalyst and a powerful voice in the time and age of transition. She is a singer / songwriter, founder of the Voice Your Essence Community  and creator of the Voice Your Essence™  and Voice Your Biz™ Programs.  If you are ready to take your voice and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription of her weekly eZine, at www.karajohnstad.com     
 
 

  





We are all shape shifters -
one poem at a time... one song with a rhyme.
Kara Johnstad



          FOR MY GERMAN SPEAKING FRIENDS AND FANS
WINTERGARTEN BERLIN

  Jocelyn B. Smith at Wintergarten Berlin



  Mit KARA JOHNSTAD

 

  pr�sentiert Jocelyn an diesem Abend

  einen der raren Auftritte ihres �berraschungsgastes.

 

Kara Johnstad at Wintergarten Berlin  

 

 

Mit ihrer selten geh�rten Symbiose aus Stimmgewalt und balladesken T�nen hat KARA JOHNSTAD in jedem Bereich stilistische Grenzen hinter sich gelassen und stattdessen das durchgesetzt, was ihr am besten zu Gesicht steht: die Ideen einer ungew�hnlichen Komponistin und Liedtexterin. Dabei brilliert Kara mit einer gewaltigen Stimme von ungew�hnlicher Klarheit und Pr�senz. Besonders gespannt sein kann man deshalb auf Karas "Sneak Preview" ihrer neuesten Kompositionen sein.

 

Auf jeden Fall wird es dieses Mal anders!

 

Freuen Sie sich auf zwei "Vocal Soul Diven der Extraklasse"
in einem Konzertevent.

 

 

"Superb Vocal Art in its purest form!"

 

 

   



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Kara Johnstad is creative visionary, transformational catalyst and a powerfuvoice in the time and age of transition.
 
She is an acclaimed singer/songwriter with more than 100 songs written - all of which she has produced and published under her own indie label, creator of the Voice Your Essence™ Artist Development Program and founder of the 
Voice Your Essence™ Community.
 

  

Leading change agents, healers, personal development speakers and others recognize her as being a unique source of powerful truth and wisdom. As a top voice expert she has helped thousands with her "break-through" voice techniques and shares with us the secrets behind this powerful instrument and the role the human voice plays in fine tuning our Mind-Body-Spirit systems.

Kara connects each and every week with subscribers from around the world via her 
Voice Your Essence™ eZine 

 

If you liked today's issue, you'll also enjoy listening to Kara's soulful music as part of your daily ritual of reconnecting to source or jump onto the next level and experience personally the power of your true authentic voice with Kara Johnstad's 
Voice Your Essence™ Programs. . 

  

 
Images of Kara by Joerg Grosse-Geldermann and Stephan Eich
Images: "Sanna-Pirita" and "Electric Mantra" by courtesy of Sanna-Pirita
Images of "Feeding The  Soul Foundation" by courtesy of FTSF / www.feedingthesoulfoundation.org
Cover Art for "BLAME GAME" by Linda Gavin
Image: "Set Of Blog Icon" by digitalart / freedigitalphotos.net
Image: "Blog Definition Magnifier" by Stuart Miles/ freedigitalphotos.net
Image: "Social Media Diagram" by Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net
Image: "Social Network Concept" by Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot/ freedigitalphotos.net
Wintergarten Berlin and Spotlights / all rights reserved by Wintergarten Berlin