Music Biz – What To Do Next? Part 2: Marketing
Now that you have your music in your hand you have a tangible product to sell. One VERY important thing to remember is that you are not selling simply music, you are selling yourself. Next up are most likely the hardest, most time consuming, the most confusing and the most frustrating- Marketing. Take a deep breath, and start here:
1. Build a website with your name/band as the domain. It can simply be a blog with a calendar on the side and a place to listen to music but make sure it is www.whateveryoucallyourself.com Make sure you get Google analytics! a.http://www.hostbaby.com/ is a great affordable site builder for musicians b.http://wordpress.org/ is also a good tool c.There’s a million and one site builders out there, find the best one for your needs. 2. Develop your elevator pitch. There’s a great exercise in Arial Hyatt’s book Music Success in Nine Weeks http://www.musicsuccessinnineweeks.com/ 3. Build your EPK. Start with a digital kit (we’ll get into the physical kit later). Sonicbids has greatly improved their service and helps you build your kit and get more than just gigs. http://www.sonicbids.com Another digital press kit service is http://www.reverbnation.com/main/overview\_artist?feature=rpk The advantage to sonicbids is that they are the service used by SXSW and numerous other festivals. You have to be member (even if only temporary) to submit to these. a. One product worth purchasing is a review from http://www.reviewyou.com/ As a new artist, it’s incredibly difficult to land a review or any press. It’s one of those you need press to get press. Review You fills that gap and helps you get your footing. 4. Find your target market. It’s a big, scary world and narrowing down the field is incredibly helpful and will keep you sane. First things first- focus on your local city and/or region. Two great services to help you find your target demographics with your local market: a. http://www.jango.com/ They have an analytics service that informs you as to what artist stations you do well with, etc. b. http://www.soundout.com/ Rates your music and breaks down your demographics at a very affordable price. 5. Begin a mailing list. This is worth its weight in gold. Social networks will change, and people fall off and on the face of the earth at any given moment but if you have their email, you can almost always keep track of them. a. Fanbridge is quite possibly one of the best tools to use. https://www.fanbridge.com reverbnation also offers a similar service http://www.reverbnation.com/main/overview\_artist?feature=fanreach b. A fan collector is a great tool to use to give an incentive to fans to get their email address from them. Both fanbridge and reverbnation offer a variation of this. Another newer tool to use is Noisetrade http://noisetrade.com/ You can sell your music here BUT you can also offer free music for email addresses and a little extra social media promotion.
6. Get started on the social scene. Start tweeting, facebooking, youtubing or whatever the hottest social media trend is. Create a social media schedule and stick to it so it becomes a part of your everyday life.
Next up is the list of things to focus on to expand your career and get to the next level. Try setting aside 15 minutes a day to do each or assign one of each item to a different day of the week to keep it more manageable. 1. College radio promotion 2. Publicity 3. Live performances 4. Internet marketing 5. Social media development 6. CD and merchandise sales Different tactics and resources work for different people and genres. I would love to tell you what works and what doesn’t but it changes every day and the same thing that works for one act may not work for the next. Below are a few recommendations and articles to get you started, the rest is up to you.
a. College Radio promotion http://www.indiebible.com/icb/radiopromotionarticle.shtml http://blog.discmakers.com/2011/01/how-to-run-your-own-diy-college-radio-campaign/ b. Publicity - Research local events in your area. Check out the book it! By Paula Froelich http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Secrets-Rich-Famous-That/dp/1401352103 c. Live Performances - Start small, try gig swapping, promote and practice, practice, practice. d. Internet marketing - Ariel Hyatt is the hands down expert on this http://arielpublicity.com/ e. Social media development - Engage, keep your fans healthy and listen to Ariel Hyatt http://arielpublicity.com/ f. CD and merchandise sales - keep track, sell items both online and physically and get creative.
Remember that these strategies and resources are a constant work in progress, but consider this your go to checklist to get you started. Good luck!