Promo Tip #1
A music artist must start somewhere, that’s usually locally, but it’s better to not just dive in without a plan. But begin you must. Create a plan with some ideas and set goals as to what you need to accomplish weekly, monthly, and yearly. Start small and make it progressive. Reach bench marks and keep at it.
Marketing Your Music – Get Started
Getting your music out to the masses is critical and while most bands will start out locally and depend on word of mouth, it’s important to remember the millions of potential fans around the world. Yes, this sound like an awesome task, but with the internet, the world is much smaller than you think.
Before you hit the superhighway, do some research and set up a plan. Ask yourselves a few questions like:
1) Do we have a budget?
2) Who is our target audience?
3) What exactly do we want to accomplish? CD sales? Popularity? Mass hysteria???
There are many more questions you’ll need to answer and as you delve into the online music world, you’ll soon discover that there is a million things you don’t know. But getting started and taking that first step is definitely a step in the right direction.
Let’s get started with our first question…Do we have a Budget?
Well, lucky for many starving artists the internet provides hundreds if not thousands of avenues for promoting yourselves for little to no money. Music promotion sites are popping up everywhere and most will allow you a free account. You can set up your biography, upload your mp3’s, announce your upcoming events and even sell your CD’s and merchandise.
Many if not all will offer bigger and better services when you upgrade, but even the base account will get you out there and have people exposed to your music…it’s a great place to start.
If you have a budget for promotion, then use it. But before you do, join these promotion sites free and see what kind of response you receive. If you join and find there’s no traffic to your pages and no real activity, beware. If you find after even a month that you are noticing a half decent response, consider an upgrade and reap the benefits.
One thing I’ll mention here is to be active and consistent however that avenue allows. By this I mean, check out the other artists, participate in forums, comment and rate others, update your profiles regularly and find ways to interact with the fan base or listeners. If you sign up and let your account just sit waiting for people to drop in your lap, you may be a more than a little disappointed.
From our experience, those artists who put out a 100% effort are the same artists who rise in the rankings and get the most visits and plays.
Who is Your Target Audience?
Ok, this sounds simple enough. You want to focus on those that are interested in your genre, right? You’d be amazed at how many artists don’t define their music! You may have a general genre for your group while some of your songs may lean a little towards a different genre…make sure you let people know.
One thing to keep in mind is that whether searching on the search engines or simply searching on the music promotion sites, people most often will be looking for the genre they want to hear. Remember, they don’t know you from Adam yet, so they won’t be searching out your name. Use the genre labels seriously and you’ll notice a huge difference.
And finally, What Exactly Do We want to Accomplish?
Depending on your band or personal objectives, you may wish to attract people locally for gigs you play on the weekends. Maybe you want to get your CD out to the radio stations and scouting agencies. Or Maybe you want it all…fame, fortune and a Platinum CD! Whatever your goals, right them down and work to accomplish them even taking little steps at a time.
If it’s local gigs you want to promote, find sites that will allow you to post events by location. If you have a CD or are ready to launch one, find the sites that will give you the most exposure and help you get the word out. If you want fame and fortune, go for the gusto and pull everything you have into promotion sites that will allow you the furthest reaches.
Your main objective is to be consistent. Do some research using the search engines to find out what kind of sites are out there that would offer what you need. Check out the information they require like photos, bios, etc, and make sure you are equipped with the right tools.
Once ready, start joining and setting up your accounts. Then, put some time aside each day to visit and work each account. It won’t take long to start seeing the results of your hard work.
AudioJam Music is a Community for independent musicians, unsigned Artists and those who love music. Our goal is to help artists build their fan base, sell CD’s and gain exposure to people all over the world.
Visit AudioJam Music today.
