How To Market Music: An Effective 3-Step Music Marketing Formula That Works

How to Market Your Music More Effectively

Knowing how to market your music is hands down the most important THING you can do for your music business and music career in general. You know it’s something that needs to be managed 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 right now 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’s important to realize that you’ll be investing a lot of your time and money into your music career. If you are certain that your absolute goal is to mold your musical talents into a true “music business” and you have no doubts about your chosen career…then you will want to be as efficient and productive as you possibly can be.

Most independent bands and musicians, whether rock, hip hop, folk or any other genre, tend to only work on 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 thrown into the mix, communications have become stupidly simple for today’s musician.

On the other hand, asking for the sale is sometimes handled effectively, but tends to be approached haphazardly and without a formula or the necessary awareness campaigns that come with it. This lackluster approach tends to dull the efforts of even the hardest-working bands and musicians in the industry. Unfortunately, applying just one or even two of these key components without the third essential element in a music marketing campaign will not generate maximum returns 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 is definitely better than doing nothing at all, but imagine how much more effective it would be if you were to work on all of 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 dig into the ins and outs of how to market your music effectively, it becomes apparent that as a musician, it’s important to discipline yourself to focus on the elements that are most productive for growing 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 – Create 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 raise awareness about you and your music at all times. Approach this with precision and firm direction and the foundation of your music business will be solidified 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 initial groundwork and let your audience know exactly what you have to offer, work to maintain those important ongoing relationships with your fans, the media, and all the important music business contacts you gather along the way. of the way Your fans and contacts want to know that you are real. That you care about them. That you are here for a long time. Making connections with them and keeping them involved in your growth process will ensure this happens for you.

Step #3 – Sell your stuff (Ask about the sale): This one is essential. If you don’t have products to sell… you do NOT have a music business. Working to create consistent and consistent cash flow for your music business is critical to your long-term success. Entice fans to spend their money and buy your stuff and the rest of your music marketing processes will flow and flourish much easier.

Yes! Easier said than done

Granted, 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 tooth 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 map these things out on paper, but the truth is, 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 the dirty way often and forget to connect with your people. I mentioned earlier that it’s great to get all enthusiastic, busy, and go out and do a lot of music marketing, but if you’re not touching all three elements of this process on how to market music, then you’re missing the boat and, what’s more, important… your fans won’t “feel” your vibe. They just won’t connect with you on a deeper level. No connection, no sales and no sales, you don’t have a music business.

Don’t fall into the marketing music business trap

You have seen them. They are everywhere. Silly press releases that musicians love to send out nowadays. These press releases are published and sent to my inbox daily with headlines like: “Johnny Come Lately, 123 How To Rock & Roll Band’s Latest Album Release.” Go ahead… admit it. You’ve probably felt something like this yourself at one point or another.

Unfortunately, there are some problems with this spray and pray technique that will become apparent when you compare a headline like this with my 3-step process. See the press release that handles the “Raise Awareness” aspect and even lightly touches on the “Sell Your Stuff” step, but it doesn’t connect and my friend is a no no. He is 100% selfish and will unfortunately fail every time he is used.

The fans and the media see through this. All the gang wants is the 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 awareness 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’ll reflect and realize that a connection of some kind was definitely involved in your purchase. Musicians who make this inexcusable marketing mistake should be ashamed of themselves. If this is the only way you promote and market your music, take an hour or so to track the results.

I’m willing to bet that what you find isn’t very encouraging.

Are you leaving money on the table?

Now let’s look at the other side. What happens with the musicians who connect with us masterfully 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 them your love… you just don’t know where to go. They never tell you where you can buy their stuff.

Not a great formula for success, right?

If you’re not asking for the sale, you’re failing your fans. Fans who love bands love buying band “stuff”. You can’t drop the ball on this. Without generating cash flow, you simply won’t succeed in the music business. It’s too expensive to work in a music business with no cash flow. The fun runs out real quick when the money keeps going out but never coming back in. 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 much time in your life. You may be working 9 to 5 right now or maybe your touring schedule is crazy. Regardless of your current situation, it is important to take some time to implement these 3 activities in your music business promotions. Start by cutting out an hour of TV each day, and spend that time raising awareness for your music.

Find out where your fans hang out and stay active with them. Let them know what you are doing. Create some behind-the-scenes videos of your studio recording sessions and road trips in the van 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 raising awareness… double whammy.

What do you do when you get to the bathroom? Personal question, I know, but stick with me for a while. 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 all 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 time one way or another.

We can all find 20 minutes in a day if we REALLY want to.

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