How will your fans find your music?
They’ll search for it online
By: Ellen Eldridge
My best friend won’t read this post just because I asked her to – she’ll read it if she thinks there’s something here for her.
Let’s face it, in these time of social media sites seriously over-saturated with independently published content, crowds quickly drown out our voices. Translation: not even your best friends will bother to click “play” on your latest ReverbNation release because you updated your status as to its existence.
I know it as well as you do – you have got to figure out who your fans are and go after them in the places where they live. This means deciding who you target audience is.
As an artist you want your music to resonate with someone. This someone may be another person much like yourself – a hopeless romantic stuck singing a ballad on repeat. Or maybe you’re an angry, angst-filled victim bucking the system through song. You create for a reason, be it to purge a feeling, share a sentiment or indulge a desire.
So think about why you like the music you like and what kind of person will like your music.
Target Audience Magazine publishes a column dedicated to the true stories of how we find those bands that inspire us and motivate us to be who we are – check out “How I got into THAT Band” for some ideas on figuring out what resonates with you and why your fans will love your music. Use the feature stories as a marketing tool and learn from the acts that earned fans devoted enough to write about how they got into them.
So, you found your target audience, now reach them organically
You’ve heard the marketing term “target audience,” but have you thought about what that means for YOUR band? Are your best friends going to click over and listen to your enraged riffing because you posted it? Maybe. But, what you want is fans, not friends. Friends help you move, fans buy your music.
Fans are the people connected to your vision.
Once you identify your message and decide what type of fan will support your music you need to engage by being there. This is known as “inbound marketing.” By setting up a blog where you write honestly about your process writing music, coming up with lyrics or being involved with the activities and places that your audience is involved in you will find fans.
Take 3 steps:
1. Decide who you write music for (other than yourself. If you really are purging your personal demons than you don’t have to worry about getting gigs or selling songs).
2. Talk to them through a blog that potential fans can search
3. Organize your shows so that you play with similar acts. We all want to be original and some of us are. If no other band sounds like yours or have a similar message, then pair with a band/artist whose message complements yours – like peanut butter and chocolate.
