In the world of business literature there’s always talk of “networking” and how to do it. It’s smart really as networking is a means by which you can get support when you need it and stumble upon unique opportunities that you wouldn’t have gotten if you didn’t know the right people.

For your music career, if done right, it could reap significant rewards.

So what is networking? It’s really just making connections and reinforcing them. You meet people all the time and when you have something in common, you develop a relationship. It is through these relationships that people help each other out and turn each other on to things that might be useful.

For instance; say you play a show and meet another band on the bill. You hit it off and spend the rest of the night hanging out with them at the bar. It seems like these guys are cool, so you decide to keep in touch and you get their contact info and give them yours.

Weeks later, you get a call from that other band and they tell you that they’ve been included on a compilation that a local music publication is putting together and they’re looking for one more local band to finish the comp. You call the publication, get on the compilation, become wildly popular and are asked to play the local stadium.

OK, maybe the stadium bit went a little far, but that’s what a typical networking scenario is like. It’s people helping people. If you needed help, you could always open up your phonebook and make a call. If people can help and they consider you a friend, they will help you. Often the person giving help is in a position to do so with little effort. In the example above, the other band had already been included in the compilation and they learned that there was another open spot. It didn’t take more than a phone call with some info to help your band get involved; just a little effort on their part makes a huge difference to your band.

Keep in mind that this isn’t one sided; you need to help people too, and it should come from a genuine place. Not to sound all Oprah here, but I really find that you get what you put out. If you keep in touch with those you meet and you will find times when you can help them and they will do the same.

So what types of scenarios can networking help you with?

Getting gigs, meeting industry contacts, getting included on compilations, getting press, putting together DIY shows, getting turned on to new resources – the list goes on and on. Can you build websites? A band you meet might need one, and if you can build a site quickly it’d be far easier for you to help them then for them to do it themselves. The opposite is also true; you can ask someone who builds sites to help you out if you don’t know how to. These are some of the things that come up, if you can help you should, if you need help you should ask.

As you progress, you’ll discover things that will help other musicians and be able to make those connections that help build music communities. Even the occasional helpful hint sent in an e-mail could make a difference to someone. SELF PROMOTION ALERT – if you find a post on this site helpful, you can always send a link to a friend in another band (if you were a nice person that wanted to help me out for all the educational posts that I write).

In short, you should work on building and strengthening your network. Keep in regular contact and try to send out a little help when you can. If they ask for a favor and you can help do it; when you need help, you only need ask. Don’t be surprised if help starts flowing in without asking – friends are like that.