How to Market Your Music More Effectively
Knowing how to market your music is undoubtedly the most important thing you can do for your music business and your music career in general. You know that it is something that needs to be handled and if you don’t put in the effort to learn how to market your music more effectively then you should know that at the very least, nothing serious will ever happen in your career in the music business.
The first thing to ask yourself is whether you are currently managing the most basic elements of an effective music marketing campaign.
What I mean by this?
To get started, it’s important to assess where you are at the moment and determine if you know and understand exactly what the building blocks of an effective music marketing campaign are. Let’s face it, if you plan to make a name for yourself in the music industry, it is important to realize that you will be investing a lot of your time and money in your music career. If you are confident that your absolute goal is to mold your musical talents into a true “music business” and you have no doubts about the career you have chosen … then you want to be as efficient and productive as you can possibly be.
Most independent bands and musicians, whether rock, hip hop, folk, or any other genre, tend to work on just one or two of the three essential requirements of effective music marketing. For example, most musicians are great at connecting with audiences. With Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube in the mix, communications have become stupidly simple for today’s musician.
On the other hand, requesting the sale is sometimes handled effectively, but it tends to be approached haphazardly and without a formula or the necessary awareness campaigns accompanying it. This lackluster approach tends to cloud the efforts of even the industry’s hardest-working bands and musicians. Unfortunately, applying just one or even two of these key components without the third essential element in a music marketing campaign will not generate the maximum benefits for the time invested. This is not the way to market music effectively.
Don’t get me wrong, getting your name out there and engaging in conversations with fans can be great, even self-gratifying and definitely better than doing nothing at all, but imagine how much more effective it would be if you went to work on all these essential aspects of Marketing your music business armed with a formula and a specific purpose.
The solution to ineffective music marketing
The bottom line is that when you take a look at the ins and outs of how to market your music effectively, it becomes clear that as a musician, it is important to discipline yourself to focus on the elements that are most productive for the growth of your music business. Broken down into an easy-to-follow process, these elements of music marketing and music promotion essentially consist of a 3-step formula:
Step # 1 – Raise awareness: Find an audience that appreciates your musical style, your sound, and your identity. Take the necessary steps to communicate your musical message to them. Everything you do should create awareness of you and your music at all times. Approach this with precision and a firm direction and the foundation of your music business will be consolidated for years to come.
Step # 2 – Connect with your audience: I mentioned earlier how stupidly simple it is to connect with fans today. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other online “hangouts” make this process a breeze. Once you’ve laid the groundwork and made your audience know exactly what you have to offer, work to maintain those important ongoing relationships with your fans, the media, and all of the important music business contacts that you gather throughout. of the road. Your fans and contacts want to know that you are real. That you care about them. That you are here for the long haul. Making connections with them and keeping them involved in their growth process will ensure that this happens for you.
Step # 3 – Sell your things (Ask for the sale): This is essential. If you don’t have products to sell … you DO NOT have a music business. Working to create a steady and steady cash flow for your music business is critical to your long-term success. Attract fans to spend their money and buy your stuff and the rest of your music marketing processes will flow and flourish much more easily.
Yes! Easier said than done
I recognize that it’s easier to talk about these things than to make them happen in your career, but that’s what the music business is all about, so incorporating these processes into your music business campaign is a must, or it just won’t last. long enough to make a dent in the world of music.
And that’s not what we want for your music career … is it?
Again, it may seem easy enough to plot these things on paper, but the truth is that most bands and musicians will find a hundred and one ways to screw this up.
You’ll spend too much time building awareness and connecting with your audience, but then you won’t ask for the sale. Or you will ask for the sales form often and forget to connect with your people. I mentioned earlier that it’s great to get all enthusiastic, be busy and go out and do a ton of music marketing, but if you’re not touching on all three elements of this process on how to market music, then you are missing the train and what’s more. Importantly, your fans won’t “feel” your vibe. They just won’t connect with you on a deeper level. Offline, there are no sales, and without sales, you don’t have a music business.
Don’t Fall Into The Trap Of The Marketing Music Business
You have seen them. They are everywhere. Silly press releases that musicians love to send out nowadays. These press releases are posted and sent to my inbox on a daily basis with headlines like: “Johnny Come Lately, 123 How To Rock & Roll Band’s Latest Album Release”. Go ahead … he admitted it. You’ve probably felt something like this yourself at one point or another.
Unfortunately, there are some issues with this spray and pray technique that will become apparent when you compare a headline like this to my 3-step process. See the press release that handles the “Raise Awareness” aspect and even lightly touches the “Sell Your Stuff” step, but it doesn’t connect and my friend is a no no. It is 100% selfish and will sadly fail every time it is used.
The fans and the media see through this. All the band wants is money. For some unknown reason, the band expects us to go to the link included in their press release and click the buy button. But where is the connection? What about the conscience we need BEFORE they ask for the sale?
Think about it. Have you ever bought an album, or anything, without some kind of emotional connection? Most likely you haven’t. If you think you have … think again. I’m sure you will reflect and realize that a connection of some kind was definitely involved in your purchase. Musicians who make this unforgivable marketing mistake should be ashamed of themselves. If this is the only way you are promoting and marketing your music, take an hour or so to track the results.
I’m willing to bet that what you find is not very encouraging.
Are you leaving the money on the table?
Now let’s look at the other side. What about the musicians who connect with us in a masterful way but never ask for the sale? You’ve experienced it and honestly you probably love them. You like their music, you love their stage presence, and you love hearing from them. But when you want to support them and show your love … you just don’t know where to go. They never tell you where you can buy their things.
Not a great formula for success, is it?
If you are not asking for the sale, you are failing your fans. Fans who love bands love to buy “stuff” from bands. You can’t drop the ball on this. Without generating cash flow, you simply will not be successful in the music business. It is too expensive to work in a music business with no cash flow. The fun runs out really fast when the money keeps coming out but never coming in again. Don’t be that band, don’t be that musician.
How to make the 3-step music marketing formula work for you
I realize that you may not have a lot of time in your life. You may be working from 9 to 5 right now or maybe your touring schedule is crazy. Regardless of your current situation, it is important to take the time to implement these 3 activities in your music business promotions. Start by cutting down on an hour of television every day and spend that time raising awareness of your music.
Find out where your fans hang out and get active with them. Let them know what you are doing. Create some behind-the-scenes videos of your studio recording sessions and your van touring trips on the way to your next gig. Let the fans know who you are. Let them see you in real life situations. This creates rapport and connection while creating awareness … double whammy.
What do you do when you get to the bathroom? Personal question, I know, but stay with me for a bit. Why not take your smartphone with you next time and instead of reading the latest updates on Facebook, post something relevant on your fan page? Answer one or two of your fans’ questions on your timeline or Tweet them for everyone to see. Why not share or retweet a fan post? In other words, connect with your audience every day for at least 15-20 minutes. Find the time one way or another.
We can all find 20 minutes in a day if we REALLY want to.