Where do most artists blow it when marketing their music?
One of the biggest mistakes is putting the medium before the message. What I mean by that is, many musicians make the mistake of saying, “We need to get the word about our new album … or the next big show …” And they decide to use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or whatever to start “getting the word out.”
But what is “the word”? Sadly, most of the time that word resembles some form of “Hey, check us out! Look here! I have something to promote and I want you to notice me!” Needless to say, that’s not very effective.
What’s missing is a clear message or creative spin on an otherwise ho-hum topic. For example, which of the following items would be more likely to catch your attention and matter to you?
“Hey, we play at Joe’s Bar & Grill This Saturday Night! Be there or be square!”
OR
“Celebrate William Shatner’s Birthday This Saturday at Joe’s Bar – Best Star Trek Costume Wins a Free T-Shirt & CD”
The first one is generic and annoying. The second is specific and interesting. So … think about your message BEFORE you start plastering it everywhere!
Don’t be the same as everyone else is the basic lesson here. No one cares, they’ve heard it a thousand times.
For artists who are just beginning to think about marketing themselves and their music for the first time, where is the best place to start?
Before you start promoting yourself outwardly to the world, first look inward and ask yourself some introspective questions, such as:
- Who am I as an artist?
- What do I have to say through my music?
- What unique qualities do I bring to my music that sets me apart from other artists?
- What potential benefit does my music deliver to the people who enjoy it the most?
- Why do I want to promote myself and my music in the first place?
- What are my real goals with music, and how will I measure my progress?
Your answers to these questions will dictate the steps you take moving forward, so really spend some time with this. You may need to ask friends, mentors and existing fans for feedback on what your music means to them and how they describe it. But most of these you should be able to answer on your own.
Getting clear about these things now will help you focus your marketing efforts down the line.
However, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have everything perfect from the get-go. Loosen up and have fun with this stuff. A true “guerrilla marketer” isn’t afraid to experiment and try different things. Many of your music promotion attempts won’t produce the results you want, but being willing to try will lead to some unexpected wins you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.
In your opinion, what is the #1 marketing asset? Why?
I discussed it earlier – your mailing list. Your #1 asset is the number of people who have willingly given you their name and email address and, in essence, have said, “I’m interested in what you’re doing. Please keep me posted.”
But gathering the names and email addresses — and inputting them into an email list management service like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, or one of many others — is only half of the equation.
Now you have to actually send something meaningful to these good people on a regular basis (I recommend twice a month). This puts you in control of the communication flow with your fans. It’s proactive marketing — as opposed to passive marketing efforts like posting info on a website and hoping people stop by and notice it.
So if you’re not doing so already, build your mailing list! And if you have a list but haven’t sent anything in a while, send an update now. And put a reminder on your calendar to send something to your fans at regular intervals.
How can musicians continue their guerrilla marketing campaign offline?
Another great question. As much as I love the Internet, nothing beats face-to-face interaction and real-world experiences. Some great ways to promote music offline include:
Perform live often. And not just at traditional venues. Think of where and how you can get in front of more people – street fairs, bookstores, coffee shops, art galleries, house concerts, and more.
Interact with people at your live shows. Walk around the room and engage people, thank them for coming, ask them to get on your mailing list, etc.
If you have a bit of a following in any one city you could do a creative scavenger hunt and leave clues online that lead to hidden CDs in the real world featuring some of your newest tracks.