Week 4 · Friday
Convert conversion-ready viewers into intake conversations by naming exactly what a track needs to be ready for mixing — and giving them a keyword to start the DM
Posting window: Friday 7:30 PM PT
Posting times shown in Pacific Time (PT) — adjust to your audience's timezone in your scheduler.
Hook options
Pick the one you’ll use — the script opener updates to match
As the engineer opening your session — here's what your track needs before you send it.
Four things your track needs before you send it to a mix engineer.
Stop sending your stems the second you finish tracking.
Do you know if your track is actually ready to send?
Most tracks I get sent aren't actually ready to be mixed.
Script
Opener (0:00 – 0:10)
As the engineer who opens your session on the other end — here's what your track actually needs before you send it to me.
Body
One: consolidated stems from bar one, all the same length, so nothing drifts. Two: rough levels that already sound like a song — not everything at zero, not everything slammed. Three: two reference tracks you actually love, in the same genre, so I know what finished sounds like to you. Four: a note on the one thing that's been bothering you. Not a mix note. Just the thing your ears keep landing on. If you have those four, I can hear your record inside the first pass. If you don't, we're guessing — and I've told you before what guessing costs.
Close / CTA
If your track's at that point and you want me on it, DM me the word READY and we'll start the intake.
≈ 147 words · about 59 s at single-take pace
Production paths
- 1.Set your phone vertical (9:16) on any stable surface at eye level, roughly arm's length away. Frame chest-up with a little headroom.
- 2.Face a window or soft light source — no overhead ceiling light directly above you (creates shadows under the eyes).
- 3.Behind you: something with depth — your monitor stack, treatment panels, an interface, anything that reads 'engineer's room' at a glance. No blank wall.
- 4.Do a 10-second test recording, play it back, check that your voice is clean and the room isn't reflecting too much. If it sounds boxy, drape a hoodie over the back of the chair behind you.
- 5.Record the full script in one continuous take. Read it once fully in your head first so the delivery lands conversational, not read. Aim for around 55 seconds — you have room to breathe on the four points.
- 6.Do 3 takes minimum. Pick the one where the opener lands sharpest — that's the frame people decide on.
- 7.Import into CapCut. Trim dead space at head and tail only. Do not cut inside the take — this is a single-take format.
- 8.Add captions using CapCut's Auto Captions. Font: bold sans-serif, white with a thin black stroke. Position: centered, lower third. Review every word — CapCut mishears technical terms.
- 9.When you say each of the four points, add a small numbered on-screen tag (1, 2, 3, 4) that pops in as you say it and stays for ~2 seconds. Top-right corner. Keep it simple.
- 10.On 'DM me the word READY' — bold READY in the captions (all caps, slightly larger). That's the only emphasis moment.
- 11.No music. Room tone only. Your voice is the whole thing.
- 12.Export at 1080p, 9:16, highest quality.
Platform captions
Four things your track needs before it lands in my session. Miss any of them and we're guessing — nail them and I can hear your record on the first pass. DM me READY if yours is at that point and let's talk.
Hashtags
The four things I need before I can actually do my job on your track. DM me READY when you're there.
Hashtags
Title
What Your Track Needs Before You Send It To A Mix Engineer #mixing #homestudio
Caption
Four things your track needs before it lands in a mix session — stems, rough levels, references, and the one thing bothering you. If yours is there, DM me READY on Instagram or TikTok and we'll start the intake.
Thumbnail brief
Build this in Canva — it's a design brief, not a prompt to paste.
Save a still of your face from the recording (Record → Save a frame) and open it in Canva — the brief builds everything around the face. Which frame: Grab the frame right as you say 'here's what your track actually needs' — eyes on lens, slight lean toward camera, mouth just closing after the line. Focused, not smiling.
- Crop
- 9:16 vertical. Crop tight to chest-up, your face filling roughly the top two-thirds of the frame, eyes on the upper third line. Keep the studio background visible but softened.
- Words
- BEFORE YOU SEND IT
- Placement
- Overlay text stacked in two lines across the lower third, left-aligned, sitting just below your chin. Numbered tag '4 things' in a small pill in the top-right corner.
- Colors
- Keep the photo natural. Overlay text in off-white. The '4 things' pill in a warm amber against dark, so it pops against the studio background.
- Element
- One small numbered pill top-right reading '4 things' — that is the only graphic element. Nothing else.
Scheduling
Tool: Later
- 1.Open Later and connect your TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube accounts if they're not already linked.
- 2.Upload the exported 1080p vertical file to your Later media library.
- 3.Create three scheduled posts from the same file — one per platform.
- 4.Instagram Reels: paste the Instagram caption, add the four hashtags, set cover to the still you saved, schedule for Friday 7:30 PM PT.
- 5.TikTok: paste the TikTok caption with its three hashtags, set cover to the same still, schedule for Friday 7:30 PM PT.
- 6.YouTube Shorts: paste the Shorts title above as the title, paste the description as the caption, no hashtags in the tag field (they're already in the title), set thumbnail to the same still, schedule for Friday 7:30 PM PT.
- 7.Double-check the READY keyword is spelled the same in every caption — that's your tracking word.
Lead capture
Where this should drive
The DM is the destination — no landing page. When someone messages READY on Instagram or TikTok, you reply with a short intake message: ask what they're working on, how many songs, and to send two reference tracks they love in the same genre. That conversation is the twenty-minute intake in text form, and it screens against the guessing problem before you ever quote. Track every READY DM in a simple note or spreadsheet against the 90-day booking goal — this is the direct-source signal the goal is built on.
Set up with Instagram and TikTok native DMs
- 1.Instagram: open Settings → Business tools → Saved replies. Create a saved reply with the shortcut 'ready' — paste your intake message (something like: 'Appreciate you reaching out. Quick intake so I can quote accurately: what are you working on — single, EP, full project? How many songs? And send me two reference tracks in the same genre you'd want yours to sit next to. Once I've got those I'll come back with scope and pricing.').
- 2.TikTok: TikTok doesn't have saved replies, so keep the same message in a note on your phone and paste it when a READY DM lands.
- 3.Turn on notifications for both apps so you catch the READY DMs in the first few hours — response speed matters when someone's already made the decision to reach out.
- 4.Keep a running note titled 'READY inquiries' — date, platform, handle, what they said, outcome. That's your source-tracking against the 18-project goal.