Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Suzanne Gladstone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Suzanne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I started by believing in myself. I stopped telling everyone my moves and just moved. I learned I didn’t need to tell everyone my plan’s because some people just wanted to sabotage my ambitions. I learned not everyone who smiles in my face is on my team.

All my life I felt that nobody truly saw me, my value, my talents. I never felt good enough so I always kind of stood in my own way. I would listen to others poor advice, projections or opinions, instead of believing in what I had to offer. I was letting other people tell me what I could or couldn’t do. I let them get in my head and deter me from making those small moves that would lead me to the bigger moves. I had a hard time finding my own voice and realized it had been suppressed for far too long. I trusted the wrong people and let them decide what was best for me instead of trusting myself.

It took all my life to realize not everyone wants the best for others. Sometimes family can be the most toxic because they tend to still see you as a child or place you in a box.

I didn’t come from a family that supported me in furthering my musical aspirations, I never had many friends or emotional support. I did not grow up with money or fancy things. In fact, most people just wanted to overshadow me. They wanted to make me feel less-than. It wasn’t until I realized that I was in charge of my own life a few years back that I began to truly awaken to what I could do to further my talents.

I stopped asking for advice from people who I knew didn’t truly want to watch me succeed. I started asking myself how I feel about it, and learned to start trusting my own intuition.

The music had always been there it was in my veins. I was born with music and found my writing abilities around twelve but the funny thing is that I never could truly glue the two together until a few years back.

I wasn’t your typical singer-songwriter who got a guitar at five years old and played all my life or had parents that introduced me to music in general, no, that wasn’t me. But music found me, it found me at a very young age, it was my sanctuary. I would listen for hours in my room, I would write the lyrics down and practice singing in my bedroom to all my favorite artists. I got to know my vocal range and kept writing poetry and lyrics because that is something that helps to heal me and relieve my pain. Writing has always been something that makes me feel alive. I went out and sung karaoke for many years to put myself out there.

I had been in a music duo for seven years and hadn’t accomplished all that I’d wanted and was feeling burnt out. I wasn’t feeling like I was getting the outcome I wanted to hear with my songs. I had more to say.

I decided to go solo and truly started focusing on myself. I spent a lot of time alone and started trying new things with my music. I got myself a recorder and started trying new melodies and styles of music I always wanted to try. From there, I took the initiative to record in a professional studio and place my creativity at the forefront.

Each step along the way all kind of glued together to build the foundation to my music career. Nothing happens overnight. So I started my own website, started promoting videos on social media and getting my name out there. I released my music on streaming sites so that I could be heard all around the world. I continued posting on social media and using the free services to edit my videos and share my music. I engaged with other musicians and talented creators through social media and grew a small online fan base through multiple platforms. You have to begin somewhere and you can’t make millions of fans overnight without being heard or seen. So I learned to just put myself out there and be myself. I had to release my personal self-esteem issues and to become more authentic in my experiences and expressions.

I’m not finished yet. Every day I continue to build and I know that as long as I keep going, I cannot fail. Besides my music I learned it’s good to find a niche. I think my niche is helping my community. I’ve become an advocate for “narcissistic personality disorder awareness”, “abuse awareness”, “relationship advice”, “human rights”, “women’s rights” and “mental health”. To me, these topics are extremely important and have helped to carve out what I’m passionate about and that is music and human rights. Freedom of choice and freedom of voice. Let it be, let it breathe, let it go. Spread love not hate.

Suzanne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Suzanne Gladstone. I am a musician. A singer, songwriter, acoustic guitarist and advocate. I never considered myself as “getting into” the music industry, I was always a singer and writer so it came naturally.
I consider my music to be a flavor for all ages. I write, sing and perform multiple genres, but to pinpoint it a bit more I’d say Indie-Rock. I have my own style and sound and love to try new things.
You can find my music streaming worldwide via most streaming platforms and you can check out my website for live performances, photos, downloads and covers.
I write from my soul, life experiences, love, heartbreak. Some have said I sound like Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Miley Cyrus…
I think what sets me apart from other musicians is my passion for helping people. I want a chance to help change the World. I have a “big dream” mindset and I don’t just think of myself as a musician. I think of myself as a voice for the ones who are struggling and being silenced. I want my wins to become another’s win. I want to grow as a community leader and become an advocate for the abused and neglected.
I feel what I write and I sing what I’m passionate about. I have 14 singles released worldwide but I have another albums worth of music ready to be recorded, I hope to get out there this year!
I want my music to inspire self-love, self-empowerment, courage and determination.
GladstoneSong.com
Facebook.com/GladstoneSong
Instagram.com/SuzanneGladstone
YouTube.com/GladstoneSong
ReverbNation.com/SuzanneGladstone

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media is mostly all about connecting. For me I had to start using new platforms, getting to know the inner workings of the platform, the free tools, so that I could use it to benefit me. On Facebook I started posting stories and keeping it going to gain views from non-followers as well. I made my profile public, I started posting more content of me performing or practicing at home and tried being more authentic in my approach. I would make promotional videos and ads for upcoming shows and send out invites and create events. I would join groups, add new friends, attend events. Communication is key. If someone comments always respond to get the algorithms up. Share content from other pages, share inspiring memes and explore new topics. You may only start with a few faithfuls but you have to start somewhere to build. Try not to be spammy. Don’t send out messages and add @everyone on your posts.

I made sure to start a music website where I could sell my music, share photos, videos and information about my shows or future events. This is also important to have for important organizations to take you seriously. Also, getting some business cards printed and ready to hand out no matter where you are will also be a good idea. Just because you’re not making millions yet doesn’t mean it’s not a business. You must start somewhere. This makes you look professional and leads interested clients to all your social sites.

Don’t let your Facebook business page sit for days and days or months, you will lose followers and look like you don’t take your business seriously.
I found my niche. I went to a meeting years ago and they said “find your niche”. I didn’t know what that meant but now that I do it makes so much sense!
Find who you are, what do you stand for? What are you trying to look like? What do you value? What makes you stand out? The niche doesn’t have to be personal it could just be something that your clients will always associate you with. My niche is being an advocate. It wasn’t something I planned for, it was something I experienced and felt so passionate about that I started speaking out on it and before I knew it I was gaining followers for something completely opposite of music, but it was still using my voice, my personal experiences to connect to my community. I soon realized they can connect, they can go hand in hand. So just be yourself!

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on my music website GladstoneSong.com
I have not sold on other sites but I think it’s up to the business owner.
If you are creative and spend a lot of time on Etsy, then that may be the right move for you. As long as it fits your brand and works for you. If you don’t want to pay someone for an expensive website just use sites like “BandZoogle” or “GoDaddy” or “Fiverr”.
I prefer using BandZoogle because I was able to create my own custom style. I uploaded all my own photos and music. It’s mostly simple and you can do it yourself without being a professional website designer. You work with templates and it’s fairly simple and cheap like $2o a month. I sell digitally and can sell merchandise.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GladstoneSong.com
• Instagram: @SuzanneGladstone
• Facebook: GladstoneSong
• Linkedin: @SuzanneGladstone
• Twitter: GladstoneSong
• Youtube: GladstoneSong
• Other: Reverbnation.com/SuzanneGladstone

Image Credits
Suzanne Gladstone