We recently lost a legendary singer, "Sidhu Moosewala", who from a small village in Punjab, India, in merely 5 years became an international sensation. On May 29th, 2022, he was shot dead at the age of 29. He was listed with multiple songs within top 200 Billboard charts. One of most watched music videos on YouTube, and most listened singer on iTunes, Spotify etc. His growth chart has been through the roof.
I'm writing this blog in his memory. I was and will always be his big fan, who I always admired as an awesome creator and marketer. He was one man army who created brand on himself on his own.
Why he was so special and successful?
Here are some of the lessons I have acknowledged from him as a marketer:
His first song launched in 2017 "So High", that tells a lot about his vision, "Jo copycat bane geet kaar saare ne, paad paad sutne ne moosewale ne" (I'm going to destroy all of these copycat music composers around.). He did it within couple of years with his content quality and connection with his audience.
Take-away: Set your goal and go for it. People will talk no matter what. Avoid distractions. Stay consistent.
BREAK THE RULES: HE PROVED THE RULES ARE TO RESTRICTS OUR THINKING.
His songs and singing style are very different than other creators. He didn't follow the typical music format that has been there for decades. He writes songs as anyone of us thinks and composed like he's only talking. It's neither rap nor hip-hop but somewhere in between. He created his own field and rules to play.
His songs and singing style are very different than other creators. He didn't follow the typical music format that has been there for decades. He writes songs as anyone of us thinks and composed like he's only talking. It's neither rap nor hip-hop but somewhere in between. He created his own field and rules to play.
Take-away: Marketers don't have to always search for best-practices and see what others are doing? Define your rules, learn from data, keep testing your decisions, and do it as fast as you can.
UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE: STAY CONNECTED WITH CUSTOMERS AND LEARN WHAT THEY WANT.
He didn't create general songs at all. He did lot of road shows and performed at events. He did interact with his audience directly. He knew exactly what his audience wants to listen, and his songs are so closely crafted with social and youthful facts. Few million views on YouTube for his songs is like low end benchmark.
He didn't create general songs at all. He did lot of road shows and performed at events. He did interact with his audience directly. He knew exactly what his audience wants to listen, and his songs are so closely crafted with social and youthful facts. Few million views on YouTube for his songs is like low end benchmark.
Take-away: You shouldn't guess what your customers want by sitting in a meeting room. Go, talk to your customers, collaborate with them, learn what works for them and also what's not? Why they're not happy if they aren't? What makes them successful? Address just those problems first. Existing customers are more profitable than new ones.
DON'T OVERTHINK ON CONTENT: PRIORITIZE TO CONVEY JUST YOUR MESSAGE (PERIOD).
Listening to his songs feels like he's only talking in super simple language. He never used over complicated or literal verbiage. Very simple language that we use in regular and casual talks. It connects super quick. I read somewhere, "Write in the flow as you talk.". He has done exactly that and done it really well.
Take-away: Your audience only needs to see the value they get from your offering. Your focus should be to convey the message in simple and convenient format. You don't have to overkill it. Don't go over MVP. Content is the key, but it doesn't have to be complicated. We in marketing at times think too much on content creation strategy and forget time-to-market aspect. Keep it simple and do it fast.
SPEED OVER PERFECTION: CONTINUOUS DELIVERY TO REMAIN IN FRONT OF YOUR AUDIENCE.
He delivers songs at a super-fast frequency. He was releasing songs every few weeks. He didn't let his hype go low. Before one song starts to get settle, another one comes out and he remains top listed at online video and music streaming platforms.
Take-away: Create lot of content. Plan lot of launches. Keep going to market every now and then. Don't plan big releases with long intervals. Your go-to-market strategy have lot of launches on your calendar. If you don't have new products to launch at this face pace, create awareness campaigns to hit the same market segment but remain in front of your audience regardless of the scale of content.
It is responsibility that makes you mature, not age. We should take responsibility for our customers success more than revenue or metrics on reporting dashboards. If customers are successful, numbers will follow.
You'll always be missed! I'll remember you as long as I'm in marketing career.
