As an artist looking to grow their career, marketing is mandatory. There are countless ways that you can go about doing this, but it is important to select marketing methods that suit you and your brand. Here, you will find some of the infallible ways to market yourself and turn your music into a career.
Make Your Music A Business
While there does exist a moral conundrum for most artists in contemplating the division between art and business the fact is that if you want to grow your music into a career you need to treat it like a business.
One of the first steps in doing so involves contacting businesses. Services provided by companies such as ReverbNation, TAXI, and Music Registry can provide a pathway to such ventures. These companies can give you access to platforms that will licence and distribute your music. More importantly, with determination, it can allow you access to contacts in the industry that can offer assistance in their specialized field to help grow your career.
While ventures with these companies will likely come with a monetary cost they will enable you access to larger audiences thus making for a meaningful investment.
Mailing Lists
Although social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have dominated the internet advertising market for sometime, a well-established mailing list still provides invaluable data to content creators that cannot be matched by other platforms.
A mailing list is one of the few ways that you can directly reach your fanbase and engage with your listeners. Using tools such as a monthly newsletter is an effective way to keep your listeners engaged while also giving you insight into what your fans are seeking from you as an artist.
It is imperative that you put effort into a massing a large mailing list. Services exist to help you do this by offering fans mp3s or other incentives in exchange for their email. Services such as MailChimp can help you in dealing with the factors that play into growing your mailing list and ensuring it is kept active.
Make a Website
With so many platforms available for artists to showcase their work it can become overwhelming for listeners when trying to find the most accurate information about their favourite artist. For this reason, it is important that you have a well-designed website that is kept updated. An effective website should act as one-stop-shop for fans and new listeners where they can easily find updates, tour dates, your music and your merchandise.
Your website should have an easily recognizable address and should be formatted in a way that is easily navigated. The site should be visually appealing and give fans an insight into your brand while also providing reliable and up-to-date information on your musical endeavours.
Social Media Advertising
While it can be difficult to make a place for yourself that actually gets noticed on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, advertising on these platforms is still an invaluable tool. Of course, it is important that you constantly update your social media profiles with information. However, it is also worth looking into advertising methods on these platforms. Even with a small budget is possible to create ads for Facebook and twitter that will reach thousands of people and be targeted towards reaching your desired demographics. These ads can subsequently be tracked allowing you to garner their efficiency. Advertising on social media can be an effective way to reach new listeners who would otherwise remain an untapped market.