In the world of music, online presence is an essential part of being successful. However, promoting online can be difficult and frustrating without knowing the ins and outs of getting written about, getting featured on playlists, and getting reposted by high-follower accounts. Building your fanbase online isn’t easy, but it can be done with practice and perseverance toward your goal. Keep in mind that these days, artists need to take on the role of performer, promoter, manager, and just about every other role you can think of associated with a music project. That means time is going to be split between these various roles, and it’s important to stay patient throughout the process. With that being said, check out these six mistakes to avoid when promoting your music online and communicating with music publications.
Get Your Music Online
The first step is understanding how to upload music to spotify. Music distribution services have made this process incredibly easy, time efficient, and affordable for up-and-coming artists. These services typically operate on a subscription basis that can vary from a yearly fee to a pre-release type model where artists pay for each individual release but don’t have to pay a monthly subscription. Check out the different services available to be prepared for releasing a single, EP, or album in the near future.
Don’t Pitch Over DM
One of the biggest mistakes musicians make is relying too much on social media networks to gain connections and chase opportunities.
Major publications, blogs, and other promotional media entities receive hundreds of DMs a day on their account, and many of them are aspiring artists wanting to get their music written about. Instead of DMing them asking for opportunities, DM them and ask if there is an email you can reach out to in their promotional department. This will come off as more professional and make it more likely that you’ll get in touch with someone.
Be Choosy About Who You Contact
Once you reach the stage of emailing blogs or online publications, be choosy about how many you reach out to. It may be tempting to mass email every publication you can think of, but this can come across as impersonal. Choose maybe a few to reach out to and take the time to personally craft each email rather than losing time by sending out emails to tons of people expecting responses. The more you can focus your energy on a select few places; the better your results will be.
Lead Time
Many times, musicians release a single with little engagement. Often, this is because they didn’t give enough lead time for the release to create buzz and talk around the single. In general, it’s wise to give yourself around six months of lead time before an album, single, or EP release to give you enough time to promote and create buzz around your project. That’s quite a bit of time, which should illuminate just how much time it takes to effectively release a song you believe in. Taking into account the time it takes to perfect a song and the recording, you’re looking at at least nine months of work.
Don’t Spam
Similar to avoiding media outlet DMs, avoid spamming links to your song after it’s released. No one likes getting random messages from people they don’t know, especially with a mysterious link in the body of the message. If you do send your link out, send it to people you know who may repost it or make it public by posting the link on a story. It’s ok to use social media in small doses, but be conscious of the relationships you have with the people you’re sending it out to.
Consistency
Social media isn’t all bad; it’s a great way to connect with fans and create promotional buzz around your releases.
The best way to use social media is to make consistent, regular posts updating your audience on what you’re up to. This can go a long way and serves as an outlet for media outlets to see what you’re about if they are interested.
Conclusion
The biggest mistake that musicians make with online promotion is failing to find a balance between social media and email outreach. Avoid using DMs to pitch directly to media outlets. Instead, consider asking for a contact to reach out to in a relevant department so you can have a more productive conversation with the outlet in question. Use social media as a tool to inform your fans about what you’re doing, and don’t use it as your sole promotional option. Reach out to publications, take your time, and be careful about which outlets you choose to reach out to.
