Dimplez Ijeoma

I think the record label has gone from being the instructor to being the partner. I think that's been the biggest transition. I think for the longest time, people would be like, Hey, I have talent record label signed me, make me a star And now it's like, Hey, I have I'm a star. I have a plan for myself. Here's what I wanted to you in the record labels like Okay, well, we're gonna help you create a road map to get there like we believe you. So we're gonna invest here and give you the resource is to go create the art that you need to get there.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Hi, Off-Scripters. It's your host, Serwaa Adjei-Pellé. And welcome to Episode 1 24 of the She's Off Script podcast. This is a show where we hear and learn from women who created unique blueprints for business success. My hope is that you'll hear their stories and translate their gems into a unique path for yourself.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

In today's episode, we meet Dimplez Ijeoma. She's one of the music industry's most sought-after digital marketers and has spent over a decade helping artists, agencies, and record labels to strategize their digital campaigns after working in-house at Capitol Records, she decided to found her own boutique agency, Ngoma. Dimples has worked with some pretty heavy hitters like Mariah Carey, The Migos, Gal Gadot, who plays Wonder Woman Lee Daniels. Twitter, Spotify, RCA Records, Ryan Coogler. You get the idea. She has worked with almost everyone during our conversation. Dimplez walks us through the tactics she's used to orchestrate viral music and content. She also talked about the psychology of marketing to Millennials versus Gen. Z and even Jen Alfa. She also took us through the pros and cons of the different social media platforms she's used. I definitely took a lot of notes because her insights can be applied across many other industries as well. Before we hear the rest of Dimplez episode, I would love it if you could subscribe, rate and review our show on iTunes or anywhere you listen to podcasts. This will help to spread the word about our podcast. So amazing stories like dimples can continue to inspire women looking to launch their own Off-Scripters journeys. That She's Off Script podcast also has a membership community to help you launch and grow your business with Resource is and coaching join our boss She's Off Script immunity today by going to Serwaa Adjei-Pellé dot com forward slash community With that, let's go off script with digital marketing architect Dimples, Ngoma,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Dimplez Ijeoma Welcome to She's Off Script. Thank you for being here.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Thank you for having me

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

for anyone who hasn't come across you before. Could you share who you are and what you do?

Dimplez Ijeoma

I am a self proclaimed digital architect, so that means I helped create stories, help artists with brand messaging and just overall rolling out projects digitally.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So I have to confess that the music industry is one that I have not much insight into my husband. On the other hand, it was very excited to hear about this because he is very and has always been very entrenched into the music scene. Rap, hip hop, all of that. So But today I really want to be a sponge and soak in all of your knowledge around the tactics that you are using to promote artists and their work in the music industry and how maybe we could borrow from that in the business world. But before that, how did you get into this space? I know you have a physical therapy background.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Yeah, Honestly, it was all happen-stance. Well, originally I was going to nursing school, but then I wound up changing my major after getting injured playing basketball. I've been having to go through my own bout of physical therapy. And then while I was in school, I wound up designing a couple of websites which, Ah, friend of a friend was able to connect me with somebody else to build their website. And I wound up building out Funkmaster Flex this site. So it's one of those things where it's like there's an opportunity here. How do I maximize it?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

How did you then take that relationship and then turn it into a viable business for yourself? I took

Dimplez Ijeoma

a while. Honestly, I don't I don't wanna present is that was instantaneous that I built one website and then suddenly now I'm making sites for millions of people. Not at all. That building that site allowed me to understand that there was opportunity to make money. But figuring out how exactly I wanted to do that became an ongoing conversation with myself, right? Like because at the end of the day, there's like a standard of living in which you want to maintain for yourself and build when one website is not going to help me achieve that overnight. So I said I was still in school. I was working on my degree. He I was making graphics and flyers here and there. I was making digital art here and there, but nothing substantial. But as time progressed, I figured that making digital art or graphical assets or Web design really wasn't my fourth. The thing that I wanted to do, I was great at it. But it wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to delve a little bit more marketing and public relations. So I wanted up getting one of my first clients be major, and that's kind of where things really started from there.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Got it? And I think it's important to see that iteration and the journey. It's taken you to get here because, as you said, you kind of have to figure out what works for you, especially in this space where there's no blueprint, right, you can make it what you want it to be. So today could you give us a little bit of insight into what you are doing as you work with music artists.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Right now, it's about creative content strategy, brand alignments in new, inventive ways to reach their audiences digitally like that's really it, because everyone's at home. But, you know, sometimes being always connected can be overwhelming, right? Like and you have to disconnect. So how do I get the person who spends time after six PM away from their phone and mobile devices toe buy into you? How do we share a bit of your story toe where even when they're not connected to the Internet, there's still a fan or they're spending their off time when they're not at work, remotely or in person? Trying to research you?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

You're kind of giving us the landscape today. How would you say the landscape of promoting artists and their music has evolved over, say, the last 10 or maybe even 20 years.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Originally, everything was very segmented, right? Like it became

Dimplez Ijeoma

stories and just delivery around like where you are in the world. So you're in Texas?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Yes. Uh huh.

Dimplez Ijeoma

The marketing that I would do in Texas would have been different than the marketing I would do in North Carolina, which would have been different than the marketing that I would do in California,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? But what you would see in Texas, like, say, I'm talking about, Okay, I got my cell phone say, I'm talking about a phone

Dimplez Ijeoma

and the phone that I was sent to you in Texas might be read. The phone that I was sent to send to Georgia might be red, but in North Carolina might be white, right? Because it's above about Bible Belt and they, like, you know, very minimal things, but with, like, a splash of color, the phone that I sent to New York and L. A. Because they're ultra minimalist, maybe black. It might not be white. It may be black because if you know fashion trends and the way people consume 10 were black.

Dimplez Ijeoma

A lot of blending in with my couch. Yeah, so it's It's one of those things where it's like originally the way marketing worked was you segment your audience. What we're finding now modern times is you can't segment your audience because though your in Texas and I'm in L. A. We're consuming something at the same time, right? Like digitally we're getting at the same time. It's not about where you are now. It's about what I'm giving you

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

interesting, and I also wonder about because you do work with record labels today. I do wonder how the role of those record labels has changed, especially given that the Internet has leveled the playing field considerably. Someone can write their own beat in their basement and have it on Spotify or wherever else tomorrow. And if they do the right things, that goes viral. So what role are those record labels playing today?

Dimplez Ijeoma

I think the record label has gone from being the instructor to being the partner. I think that's been the biggest transition. I think for the longest time, people would be like, Hey, I have talent record label signed me, make me a star And now it's like, Hey, I have I'm a star. I have a plan for myself. Here's what I wanted to you in the record labels like Okay, well, we're gonna help you create a road map to get there

Dimplez Ijeoma

like we believe you. So we're gonna invest here and give you the resource is to go create the art that you need to get there

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

so they're more of a partner That helps them with amplification? Or is it that they're helping them still, with distribution

Dimplez Ijeoma

both amplification and distribution. So the way that I like to relate It is kind of like

Dimplez Ijeoma

putting gas on a fire. There has to be a little bit of a burn for it to work,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? But the label is we're going to give you Ah whole bunch of gasoline and we're going to make this explode. But we're not gonna throw all the gasoline on you at once because if you're looking at the idea of a match and you throw a gallon of gasoline on a tiny match, it's going to snuff out the flame. But if I trickle, some guys

Dimplez Ijeoma

let the flame pick up,

Dimplez Ijeoma

you wind up with a big bonfire.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

The reason I was really intrigued. But what it is you do is because we now have a resurgence of apps like TikTok and instagram reels, where we're getting exposed to a lot of new music and the music is going viral not necessarily because of the music, but because of the things people are doing to the music. And what I didn't realize until I came across it is some of this stuff is intentional, and that's one of the tactics that you also used to help to get your artists cool. Viral. So you mentioned your digital architect. What are some of your most effective tactics for giving your artists exposure?

Dimplez Ijeoma

It's two strategies it's converting on and operated and then paid media. So it's the idea of prime example. Do you remember the Little Wayne Carter three cover where he's like a baby? Uh, ever. And he's got the three, like right here, the little three tattoo on his forehead away to convert, owned and operated with that album cover would be creating a filter where you gets you go like this and now your baby five with three on your forehead, right, because what you're going to go ahead and do is take a picture like that and posted on channels that you own and operate. And now I'm maximizing the exposure of my album cover because people are going to trace back

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

its clicking for me that I don't know if you remember. When the straight out of Compton movie came out,

Dimplez Ijeoma

it's literally that's the same thing.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Everyone was posting it. You wonder where did that come from? And you look up the movie, Okay,

Dimplez Ijeoma

So the first thing and then the secondary thing, it's like to pay media, so that could be tapping in with an influencer who already creates content that you like, and then figuring out an organic way for them to utilize what it is that you're trying to promote. Or it could be just putting ads behind assets that you create for yourself.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So talk to me more about the influencer partnerships that you have in the music industry. I wonder, how does the ticktock sort of engagement come about versus maybe the instagram meme style accounts that we've been seeing grow today? What do those engagements look like? And what's the conversation you're having with the influencers?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Tick tock is its own world. I don't think people are really into ticktock the way that they know how TikTok is. Okay, you're in your thirties. TikTok is to Gen Z as my space was to us right. Like is this own world You get to build your own site, your own reflection of what you want to share. You have your top eight. So for them, it's the people they follow, your profile can have music. So that's like your favorite Tik TAKS at the top. Or the things that you engage with can collaborate. So I don't know if you remember back in the day on my space, If I go to your profile not like the song that you got I could click on the artist and basically steal your song like Now you have opportunities to If I like your video on TikTok, I can

Dimplez Ijeoma

make my version of your video.

Dimplez Ijeoma

I can react to your video. I can mimic your video and places side by side and take your ecosystem into mine. TikTok is gonna be around for a long time, like literally. It's gonna be around for a long time because it's the same way my space was the framework er for Facebook,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? Like it's gonna for a while. So when having conversations with those influencers, if I'm having those conversations directly, it could be, Hey, because I do a lot of research into what the influencers naturally like. If I'm going to collaborate with an influencer on a client or a campaign, I wanted to be as organic as possible. I don't want it to Seimas, though. It's something you just stuck hashtag at the end of. So if I'm an influencer prime example, if you're using me as an influencer, I naturally listen to Afrobeat, an R and B. That's something you will catch me walking around my house listening. Thio. If you're working an Afro be artist, you probably want me to be playing the music randomly is I'm making an instant story that's gonna be the most natural syndication possible or if I create specific content. So I know you see people who do try on halls where it's like Monday. I'm wearing this outfit Tuesday, this outfit, whatever, whatever. What's the song in the background?

Dimplez Ijeoma

It's the record that you want Meteo to share right as organic is possible. I'm not having to dance to it positive, but it's there and there's a that's a paid placement,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

and it's happening so seamlessly and so naturally that when it first started happening, I didn't realize I didn't realize that some of these were paid collaborations and yes, they may have started off that way. But now, as you said on TikTok , people are kind of borrowing and mimicking and putting themselves in it. So by the time it reaches mass consumption, you don't even know that it started with a paid placement.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

And I think that's your job, right? To do that seamlessly and start a wildfire

Dimplez Ijeoma

literally, Literally, Literally. Um,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

so now when it comes to Instagram, though, it sounds like the video component you're using the same TikTok as well as insta story or reels strategy. Is there different strategy you would use for a feed? Perhaps

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

when it comes to, maybe means

Dimplez Ijeoma

so feeds and memes. And this is gonna be very crass to say they're dying.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Mm, right.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Tell me more like

Dimplez Ijeoma

No, because because before, and this is like, you know, 34 years ago a static mean you're like, Oh, man, it's funny. Let me share and did a, uh, but now you need something that's a bit more dynamic. You want video? You want the reaction. You know, like my friends and I have this whole thing where somebody will say something out of pocket. And I'll be like, Who said that? Who said that? And that's from Real Housewives of Atlanta. Mm, right. And this gift where I think Kendra, Somebody says something where she goes, who said that? And everybody at the table Just who said But you wouldn't understand the nuance of that name and status.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Yeah, you only understand the nuance of that In video, you only understand the nuance and that if you're able to hear, pitch and tone and truly understand what's being said, and

Dimplez Ijeoma

that's what I feel like. Static means they're dying. I feel like slapstick mean culture in the sense of commentary is gonna be here for a very long time. But I don't believe that the means themselves will be around for very long. I think video is gonna be the reaction that we cling to

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

moving into the video landscape. I know YouTube has always been a great hub for music. How are you using some of those marketing strategies now for YouTube? Because that seems to be the mainstay of video today.

Dimplez Ijeoma

You told was gonna be around forever, and it has to do with

Dimplez Ijeoma

YouTube has always been our premier on demand video Shamel.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Right, So that could be music videos that could be hair tutorials that could be makeup tips, home redecoration, YouTube, is always gonna be that premier stop because though they may chase different verticals and iterations like right now, YouTube's has their variation of stories. Like You could go on YouTube if I If I subscribe to your channel, I can see your stories and you was a creator can monetize against that. But YouTube has always been the i archive of like everything that goes on. If I'm an artist and I'm wanting to weaponize YouTube to that degree, it becomes my historical catalog of everything I've done. So think McGraw Hill, but visual right. Like instead of going textbook, I'm giving you with Khalifa Tour Diaries from 2000 and 8 to 2012 so you can go see every time he failed and one and understand why people hold him so near and dear like they do today.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Interesting. So as far as riel time engagement in real time reaction, it sounds like you're not gonna be using YouTube for that. But you will be using other channels and then maybe archiving on YouTube.

Dimplez Ijeoma

No, you would still use YouTube for that, but I think that moment with YouTube may wane over time, right? Like because YouTube has a couple of tools where it's like premier with So say you have an official video you want to drop and you wanna watch it with everyone. At the same time, you could do a world premiere, and you could literally, as you're talking right here, say, Hey, we're gonna cube this video. And nine, it's now nine o'clock. You get to make an intro and watch it with your subscribers for the first time together,

Dimplez Ijeoma

Right? Like that option is really, really, really great. It's It's the Michael Jackson thriller moment, right? But digital, where it's like everybody in the entire world watched thriller at the same time.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Will that matter when we're able to go outside? Not quite sure,

Dimplez Ijeoma

but during a pandemic, it makes the world of sense. But I don't think you have to worry about operating in that space when people are able to be on the go because it will always serves Archive

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Got it.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So now you mentioned generations before and for the longest time, marketers talked about marketing to millennials. But all of a sudden we're no longer the more influential culture creators. At least in my opinion, you could let me know your sense about that. So how are you changing the way that you market now to subsequent generations? Or if at all,

Dimplez Ijeoma

Girl, I realize we're old.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

That was

Dimplez Ijeoma

my PC way of

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

saying We're old and irrelevant now, so we're

Dimplez Ijeoma

not relevant. We're not irrelevant. But it just to mess with your head a little bit.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Millennials have kids that air Gen Z and there is a generation Alfa in existence, right?

Dimplez Ijeoma

So it's like and I think generation Alphas anyone born after 2020 12 2010 25 Yeah, Like so, Like the millennial cut off is 94. Gen Z is 95 to 01 Gen Alfa is 02 to 12. Like like to present day like it's very

Dimplez Ijeoma

Gen Alfa and Gen Z overlap a little bit more than like our generation does with, like the baby boomers or Jennette like it's one of those things where it's like at the start of the pandemic. And this is because I have this whole thing where it's like

Dimplez Ijeoma

I think that the FDA has a bad publicist.

Dimplez Ijeoma

I think Coronavirus has a terrible publicist, I really do. That's just my personal take I think if they had a better publicist, things would be different. But that's neither. But I say this because the immediate messaging was We need the millennials to stay home and it's like Millennials have kids and mortgages. They are at home. Gen Zs outside.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Mm,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? So we're talking about marketing and the shift in culture. We're not the barometer that's going to be spending for as long, right? We're passing the buck. Gen Z is graduating. College has no real responsibilities and disposable income. We have mortgages. Children

Dimplez Ijeoma

and parents did the too old to listen to us. But we still trying to make them listen to us, even though they don't want to write.

Dimplez Ijeoma

We have real responsibilities that aren't going anywhere. And Gen. Z is like, Hey, I'm outside, right, right. That stated. It's not that we're not important to market to. It's just theoretically not to be really morbid. But in five years our generation theoretically starts dying off,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? Like just Yeah,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right. What?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Midlife

Dimplez Ijeoma

crisis tree coronaries the whole thing Like it starts for our generation in about five years.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Gen Z has a cool 15 years to follow.

Dimplez Ijeoma

I'm gonna put my sweat equity in making this new generation fans because they're gonna be fans for a longer time

Dimplez Ijeoma

because they're younger Bond. That's really it's not that we're not great to market to. It's just they know we're gonna get real frugal in, like, six years,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

short term versus long term strategy when it comes to marketing. So what are what are some of the tactics, then, that you think business owners can start to

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

kind of implement and invest in as they are looking forward to the bigger population that's or the younger population that's coming up?

Dimplez Ijeoma

I think the more is more concept, and it's going to sound very strange. I think our generation was predicated on less is more. Hey, I have this cup of coffee. You need this and you're like, Oh, man, I do need coffee, Coffee? I'm kind of sleepy. That's great. Gen Z is like, Hey, this is caffeine. Here are the 10 benefits versus the six downsides. If you drink this for the next five years, you'll be fine. Or if your metabolism will go up, Gen Z is like cool. I'm gonna make that informed decision and take it right like

Dimplez Ijeoma

I had this weird conversation with a Gen Z or yesterday about Jon Benet Ramsey

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Throwback,

Dimplez Ijeoma

right? She wasn't alive for Jon Benet Ramsey, right? She was. She was born a year was a two years after calling by

Dimplez Ijeoma

so explaining to her, Hey, there's a significance about JonBenet Ramsey's death. She's like, Why I don't get it? And I go because preceding her death, stranger danger was not a thing,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

or it was brought front and center, absolutely

Dimplez Ijeoma

center center, that the danger and the perils of being approached by an adult. You didn't know. We're highlight,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

especially now in the media.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Correct, because pretty Jon Bonet is your kid and you need help. Oh, go asking adult

Dimplez Ijeoma

host Jon Bonet. You're kidding. You need help.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Onley approach strangers. You know who is no stranger. Danger, right? Like just going just a little bit deeper. She's never existed in school where there hasn't been a gunfire gun drill, right, like active shooter drills like she's never had a time period before That September 11th has always been a historical event,

Dimplez Ijeoma

just random things like that. But I bring all of that up because if I'm talking about businesses and how they approach that generation. Every information generation. Oh, you want us to do an active shooter, Drew? Why?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Hmm?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Even with my seven year old, Why

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

explain to me the details? Let me make my own informed decision. I'm like no girl. You're seven.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Correct? Correct. You want me to take these vitamins? What's the purpose?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Okay, you say vitamins, literally. She's reading the label.

Dimplez Ijeoma

But that's what I'm saying. Like e couldn't read. I'm say, take a vitamin. Okay, Mom?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

No, she has that vitamin label memorize because she's reading. She wants to know all the flavors and what the flavors mean. That it's so true.

Dimplez Ijeoma

So if I'm on the business and I'm giving you a much information as I can share

Dimplez Ijeoma

is the organic, vegan, gluten free version of life.

Dimplez Ijeoma

This has gluten in it, but this level of gluten isn't toxic. This has dairy in it. This level of dairy is triple pasteurized and won't affect you even if you are lactose intolerant. This has, like this has This is adverse for people with nut allergies. But here's your alternative option. Like I'm a business owner. I'm giving you as much information as possible. This was sourced in Malaysia but assembled in Texas and distributed in Washington.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

But how is that different from how we approach?

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

I don't know, quite a bit. I think the Made In America label is something that a lot of people look for these days because they're conscious of, you know, where was this produced Or people who are gluten free are also looking for that information. So how is our need for information different from their need for information?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Because we still do things based out of ritual inhabit. This is like if you're talking black hair care and we love our hair oils and Jamaican black castor oil and what you do and then, uh, I'll still go get sulfur eight and put it in my hair because it works.

Dimplez Ijeoma

There's petroleum and sulfur. I know it.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Guess who doesn't care me why it works.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Uh huh. You see, I'm saying, like, and how do I know it works? Because I am in my thirties and it has worked for 30 plus years of my life, so I'm still use it.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Mm, versus the people who are there their first thought. Is it clean? What are the ingredients as opposed to

Dimplez Ijeoma

because we're black women, right? And we talked. Hair care is like 90% of our lives. My friends started getting relaxers again. They said, Forget being natural

Dimplez Ijeoma

and I did it. I felt it. In my spirit. I was like, Girl, I'm this close E But it is one of those things where it's like

Dimplez Ijeoma

a Jen's ear would be like, Oh, so you're gonna put those like chemicals in your hair?

Dimplez Ijeoma

That's crazy. They wouldn't even but they won't opt in. They've always had alternative options

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

on, and I think that's the thing. That's the key. They've always had alternatives. Whereas we were born into

Dimplez Ijeoma

relaxers, we

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

were born into certain rituals. As you say, There weren't alternatives. So when you have alternatives, you start to ask questions in order to make your own informed decision. Got it? Okay, Mhm. So that's a lot to think about. If you are a new business that starting today and you know that your target audiences might straddle generations, you probably need to start thinking about how to speak to them or make a call. Pick a side off who you want to market to. If you don't have the means to market to everybody on both sides.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

And now I want to dig into the artist that you are representing today. You mentioned that the record labels are simply kind of the gas for them as they are growing. Is there a point at which artists feel like they have made it? I know there was a recently a conversation between Drake and I don't know who, where someone was not nominated for a Grammy. And I think Drake had said, Why are you so pressed over this? Because

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

already you are streaming everywhere. You're making the money independent of the labels and independent of the establishment, so those things should no longer matter. So today do you think the level of success or attaining success differs when you look at artists?

Dimplez Ijeoma

I think so. I think success is subjective. I think there's some artists who are happy just being able to feed themselves and take care of their families for the rest of their lives. I don't think it's so funny. Pre pandemic. There's some artists that I had represented who were just fine with being able to tour 100 days out of a year for the next 20 years with their friends.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Oh,

Dimplez Ijeoma

they never wanted to be on radio.

Dimplez Ijeoma

They never wanted to platinum hit. They just wanted to do what they love for forever. That was success to them, right? Like where I have some artists that are like, I wanna be on every news station like I wanna be on every TV channel. I wanna be on every show that successful. It's subjective. It boils down to what they want. And I think once we get to the heart of what an artist wants and what that really means in tangible terms, the execution of that becomes way, way more easy than we think it is like it's not as difficult as it is. Like if your goal is Hey, I wanna make for sake of terms, because I'm thinking of mouth in my head. If if I wanna make $1000 every month

Dimplez Ijeoma

off of this business right, I wanna make $1000 every month. That means you every month you have to get 100 people to give you $10

Dimplez Ijeoma

or you have to get 1000 people to give you $1. That's like the bear. It's 1000 fan theory. It's the bare minimum of it, right, because over the course of a year, that $1000 every month is going to give you $12,000 bet. But if you want to go beyond that, I want to make 10,000 every month. Now we're looking at How do we get 1000 people to give you $10 each month?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Because $10,000 every month is going to give us about $120,000 every year. And that's enough for you to live a comfortable life, right? But if you're like, hey, you know what dimples? I I want to make a couple million dollars

Dimplez Ijeoma

and just chill. Cool. So I'm like, OK, what business can we set up to where you're not making 10-K every month you're making 100.

Dimplez Ijeoma

How much merch do we have? So

Dimplez Ijeoma

what do our margins have toe look like on your T shirts? How Maney songs do we have to put out

Dimplez Ijeoma

if we're putting out this song? What's the capsule or the D to see strategy behind the song we're putting out

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

D to see. What does that mean?

Dimplez Ijeoma

direct to consumer. What's our strategy there? And if d two c is showing that the margins would be too small if we if we designed this capsule collection, What are our B two B options? What businesses can we partner with in order to grow and scale your margin?

Dimplez Ijeoma

You wanna make a couple million dollars in a year

Dimplez Ijeoma

bad.

Dimplez Ijeoma

We gotta make at least 100 k every month.

Dimplez Ijeoma

We have to net that, not growth. We have to net under K. Everyone at least

Dimplez Ijeoma

how do we get there?

Dimplez Ijeoma

How do we maximize profit?

Dimplez Ijeoma

And those are the conversations you want up happening because some people don't even care about that. They're like, Hey, I want to just have fun.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Oh,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

but are the record labels and

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

you, for that matter, working with artists who just want to make 12 k a year and do what they love? How does that make business sense for you or them? I do

Dimplez Ijeoma

have some artists who do a scrape a Zia's. This sounds like I have some artists where it's like, Hey, I just wanna be comfortable and share my story

Dimplez Ijeoma

right, And then it's for me or the label or management or whatever to go and identify. How do we set them up to be the most successful for the longest time, all the time?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Right? Because, like we've been doing this a while, some people are hot a year. Some people are hot. Six months, some people are hot. Five years. Drake, his head arguably one of the longest runs ever, right? He's not stopping right, So it's one of those things where it's like you could be anywhere between a Fetty WAP in a drake. I don't know where you sit right now, but how do I make sure in that window we're helping you set up? The strongest foundation is possible

Dimplez Ijeoma

like because chalking Fetty wop Fetty WAP had a beautiful summer like What is it four or five years ago,

Dimplez Ijeoma

where he had three songs on the radio and but I need P the whole nine and kind of disappeared a little bit.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Those three records they're still making him, Really.

Dimplez Ijeoma

He's still receiving plaques off of those three records.

Dimplez Ijeoma

He toured for two years off of those three records, right? And if you're part of his team or his business manager, whatever as he's bringing in that money off of those three songs you're stacking, you're saving your reinvesting. You're making sure that said he and his family are gonna be good for life off a three

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

song.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Mm hmm.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Right,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So it's a different play. But then you talked about the subscription model.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

What platforms are you using? Because I'm hearing different things about patryan not being that great. Maybe on Spotify you're not really getting much for a million streams. So what are the platforms of choice right now?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Great question.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Unless it's a direct platform or it's like a square space. So you're using stripe. It really is dealer's choice, because only fans is good, but

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

only fans for straight music.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Yep, but Onley fans has their issues with payouts because a lot of celebrities hopped on and it went from being a situation where it's like Net seven payout to net 30 or sometimes not 16.

Dimplez Ijeoma

And if you're sitting around waiting for a check Chris 60 you're kind of like

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

my money.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Go ahead, S.E.O. What's going on? Uh, yeah, so that that's the thing. That's literally where it's at. Whereas patryan, it's a little different to pay out there a little quicker. They've been around a lot longer. But the thing I always encourage people is get people to opt in with, like, PayPal

Dimplez Ijeoma

or address to create an app. Wind up in the APP store so you can charge and repeatedly through IOS, figure out a way to be a re occurring deputed re occurring Donation. What have you and let your fans let your followers support you monetarily

Dimplez Ijeoma

if they believe in you What you're trying to do your message, your story. What you're willing to share. What have you don't do it.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So on a score space side is that merch? Are they releasing exclusive music? What are they releasing to keep their people happy? Is it? You know

Dimplez Ijeoma

oh, both or square states actually does give you a reappearing recurrent purchase option.

Dimplez Ijeoma

There is that option there. So you could build your own website and half of it could be gated.

Dimplez Ijeoma

And it's created around the idea of if you're within the community, you get to come and see this part right? It's the band cap model. When TD was just starting and Kendrick dropped over, he dedicated was released through band camp you had to pay for it out of pocket.

Dimplez Ijeoma

It was like 5, 99 or something, Whatever painful. And he saw the money right. Like, But then you had options toe buy in and be notified early, right? Like I think it's like a dollar to be on his early list to get notifications or about merge about music. What have you like,

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

man? You have to pay to be on the list. I feel like right now we give people value to come on our list, so that is definitely a different way of thinking about it.

Dimplez Ijeoma

But it boils down to, like, how great is what you're creating, right? Like it starts with the product, right? Like it starts with what you're sharing. People were able to buy into Kendricks product and who he is as a person. So much That's the easy sell,

Dimplez Ijeoma

bro. I will subscribe for a dollar if it helps you with studio time. That's fine, because my dollar is not gonna make or break you. But if there's 1000 of us

Dimplez Ijeoma

that's going to make a dent

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

after hearing this, people are gonna be like, How can I get Dimplez on my team because I like the way she's thinking about everything. That's what I like to do. I like to step outside of my industry and learn what's working for them and figure out How can I apply it in my world? Because soon after you do one thing, the market becomes saturated with copycats who just kind of dilute the efforts there. So for anyone who's heard what you do and they're thinking, how do I collaborate? How do I get in touch with you and find you? Where can we find you?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Honestly, I have, like, a number on my instagram, and I answer people's questions at random.

Dimplez Ijeoma

That's like my big thing. I'm at the point where I'm not adding clients at the moment, but I'm always down to help because I remember when I was starting, I would ask random people for questions and advice, and if they didn't give it to me, I don't think I'd be where I am today.

Dimplez Ijeoma

So always here for that.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

So what is your instagram handle? Where can we find you there?

Dimplez Ijeoma

Dimples? D I m pl easy. It's kind of like share. One word was going to say Beyonce. But you know, that's a girl. She

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Nobody's Beyonce. We

Dimplez Ijeoma

cool, but yeah, no. So find me at dimples. D I m pl easy on instagram I literally in my bio, There's a phone number texted I respond.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

Great. Thank you so much for all this knowledge because it's inside. I certainly didn't have and hopefully it's going to help someone out there.

Dimplez Ijeoma

Of course, of course. Of course. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Serwaa Adjei-Pellé

E Off-Scripters. I'm so glad you need it to the end of this episode and who enjoy listening to our show. Please pay forward by sharing us with your network Between us. Of those you can find me on instagram. Our handle is at She's Off Script or you can catch up on past episodes at She's Off Script dot com. See you on the next one way