One of the most challenging parts of being an artist in today’s music industry is having to learn so many things that have nothing to do with the actual music itself—and everything to do with the business and marketing of that music. 

While that might initially seem daunting, the reality is that being a business-savvy musician in today’s world gives you a major advantage. If you can learn to perfect not only your craft but the telling of that craft through your social media, your bio, and your press opportunities, that puts you light-years ahead of the rest.

So today, I want to talk to you about my specialty—pitching. As a publicist, it’s kind of my thing. And with artist placements on popular sites and streaming services, I know a thing or two about landing a placement. 

Are you ready? 

As artists we usually interact with our fans on social media, but what if there was a better way to create quality engagement and ultimately increase our revenue? 

While social media is great to promote and create content, most people have a very short attention span when it comes to social media. This means that the content you post might not necessarily translate into more album or ticket sales. On the other hand, most people check their emails and texts on a regular basis, which creates a huge opportunity. 

While text marketing is still an area where people might not always be comfortable with, email is a different playing field. In fact, 79% of emails are read, and people are much more likely to click on a link in an email. This means that ultimately people are much more likely to make a purchasing decision on email, regardless of whether you are promoting tickets for your upcoming concert, selling an album, a merchandise item, or another item on your list. 

So, in this blog post, I would like to provide five ideas about using email to connect with your fans, and how to ultimately create more revenue for yourself. 

Playlists have become the holy grail of artist placement. While there’s still a ton of value in everything from blog placements to radio to TV, there’s no doubt that right now playlists are just about the #1 thing on most artists’ minds. With artists’ careers seemingly changing overnight with inclusion on just the right playlist, it’s really no wonder that it’s become so desirable. But how do you actually get that coveted playlist spot? How can you increase your chances of being picked for a specific playlist?

Whether it’s because of a lack of money or an inability to be away from a stable job or young family, many musicians who’d benefit from touring find themselves stuck at home. For bands who’ve tapped out local resources and the attention spans of fans in their hometowns, this can be a big problem. But while touring can bring loads of benefits to ambitious bands, there’s other things artists can do to build momentum for their music.

Marketing is a bit of a buzzword, isn’t it? It’s one of those terms we throw around freely that conjures images of slick advertising, fancy sales techniques, and lots and lots of money behind it.

But it doesn’t have to be such a heavy word. In fact, you can create and execute a solid music marketing plan even without a hefty budget and with a strong vision for where you’re going and who you want to impact along the way.

What if I told you that you can make money, see the country, and engage your fans in a truly meaningful way all at the same time? With all the right ingredients lined up, your tours can be an incredible way to pull all of that off.

While we’ve talked about touring in the past, today we wanted to focus on your fans. It might seem obvious that you want to make sure your fans are getting the best part of you when you visit their city, but somehow, in the planning of making sure your routing is perfect, that the venues you’ve chosen are the right fit, and that you have enough merch, gas, and snacks to survive, creating a truly authentic, memorable experience for the fans fall by the wayside.

Today we look at a few creative ways to make your fans’ experience truly personable, memorable, and leave them looking forward to the next time you’re in town.

For the first time in history, if an artist wants to keep their fans updated about each and every aspect of their musical and personal life, the technology now exists to let them do it. What you had for breakfast, lyrics to a new song you’re writing, a picture of the green room at the venue you’re about to play––these are all things you could potentially share with your fans through social media if you’re interested in forging deeper connections with your fans.

But just because you now have the power to share everything with your fans doesn’t mean you should.