Blog

How to rewire your brain to dream more & a manifesto

January 25, 2019 By Naima Ayo

How brands, entrepreneurs, and dreamers alike can manifest more in the future with a powerful tool – dreaming.

Growing up, I watched Black Cinderella religiously. (Rest In Peace & Power, fellow Leo Queen, Whitney Houston! And rest in peace to my favorite songwriter ever, Richard Rodgers!)

Seeing Moesha rock waist length braids and sing about her addiction to daydreaming in “In My Own Little Corner” felt like I was staring in the mirror. Cinderella (short of me having access to an imaginary prince) was me…

Daydreaming was my escape. Daydreaming was a necessary disassociation from parts of my reality that were too hard for me appreciate. Daydreaming was how I improved the present, even if for a moment. In the magic of my mind, I created beaches and lovers and movie sets and recording studios and yesterday-but-better and next-time-ima and impossible experiences and everything else I thought would make reality actually worth it. In my own little corner, where no one can stand in way.

Nikki & Jimmy in the present

January 20, 2019 By Naima Ayo

A personal meditation on the 1971 conversation between Nikki & Jimmy. Watch the full conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin here.

As I actively unload the patterns and programs that I accepted in the past from society, friends, and (most importantly) family that no longer serve me, I find the dialogue, specifically about the Black family, during this 1971 conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin a special and important gift for me after the week I just had. I have to light an extra candle for Baldwin today to show my appreciation for this gem. Rest in power. Light peace & progress to my angel on earth, Nikki Giovanni.

Talk about an unapologetically black conversation. And when *I* say Black, I mean Black American. I don’t mean the African descendants among different legs of our rich diaspora. I mean, selfishly, the story of the Black American born from the womb water of enslaved Africans on American soil. Our plight and situation is incomparable to anyone on this planet – including our African brothers and European cousins and Caribbean sisters and South American kinfolk. The Black American experience is unique to every experience on this planet – no hyperbole. Understanding that and exploring the Black family is integral to MY evolution.

Digital Music Strategies for 2019: Hypotheses

December 21, 2018 By Naima Ayo

My predictions and hypotheses for tactics & elements of a successful new music release strategy.

As I begin this new journey of exploring music marketing, I want you to help me with a test.

I have a few ideas of general strategies that could work for releasing new music and singles. These ideas are based on my observation of the market, and my experience in digital marketing. If you are an artist and you’d like to test any of these ideas with me, reach out to me at naima@ayonaima.com. I would love to find artists to work with and develop marketing strategies for their growth.

Note: I haven’t tried any of these ideas yet.

But most of these are easily testable, optimizable, and if one doesn’t work – try something else. To me, testing, failing, optimizing, and trying something new are the keys to successful marketing.

I also included some simple goals these tactics could help you achieve. Even if you are creating strategies and tactics based off of observation and intuition – it must always align with your goals as an artist. If a tactic doesn’t support your goals, it isn’t the best use of your time. Or at least, that’s how we do marketing in corporate.

Here we go:

An Introduction

September 4, 2017 By Naima Ayo

This has been a long time coming, but I am very excited to introduce you to my content and marketing/branding studio. Here, I will share ideas and resources to help small business brand their businesses.

Over the past few years, I’ve worked in a marketing team the represented 2 national brands. While here, I’ve explored email marketing, print design, in-store signage, video production, social media growth, and so much more. I don’t want to spoil the surprises I have in store for you, but there is so much coming soon.

Stay tuned!