Running a DIY PR campaign can be exhilarating (because you’re in control of your own destiny) or it can be exhausting (because you have no idea what you’re doing.) Or, very often, it can be both. After all, it is exciting to know that you have at your fingertips the power to pitch and get in front of whoever you want. That if you can just nail the perfect pitch, and find the perfect place to pitch it, that your entire career could change with just the click of the “send” button.

Pretty cool, right?

For this article, we’re working with the assumption that you’ve already done the work of perfecting your pitch and creating a stellar EPK, filled with all the assets. If so, you might be wondering—ok I’ve done that…now…where do I even begin to pitch?!

While there are a ton of ways to pitch your music to music blogs, and I’ll go into them quickly below, we’re focusing mainly on some of those outside the box placements today. These ones are going to be just as fun as they are practical, and they’re bound to get you in front of a totally new audience. 

When you’ve been working behind the scenes on your album for the last couple of months or maybe even years, getting it out into the world can seem like a huge relief. But let’s not forget to celebrate this for what it is—a huge accomplishment! I mean you took this one idea and you made it into a full-blown reality, and that is HUGE! 

So take a second to celebrate your success and how far you’ve come, because although it can be easy to just move right on to the next thing, I think it’s important to remember that what you’ve just accomplished is a big deal, and if we don’t take the time to really appreciate our accomplishments, what’s the point?

Ok, now that you’ve celebrated, if your album has been out for a little bit and organic interest has died down, you might start to wonder, “Is this it?” All that prep and after a couple weeks the buzz is gone?” 

Don’t get discouraged! There’s a way to revive interest and we’re going to talk about it today.

For the uninitiated, touring often appears like a glamorous affair filled with big, rewarding shows capped off with fun nights that play out in exciting different cities. Touring certainly can be fun and rewarding, but there’s an immense amount of work and sacrifice involved, and, depending on what’s going on with your project, it’s often not worth it. But setting inaccurate reputations aside, many bands set out to tour knowing full well they won’t likely earn money, fans, or acclaim by doing so when there are much better ways to build their careers. Here are a few things unestablished bands should focus on early in their careers instead of touring:

It is no secret that merchandise sales are important revenue sources for artists. Concerts and tours are an especially great way to sell merchandise after the shows while you meet and greet your fans. 

Fans love buying merch for multiple reasons. Primarily, they would like to support the artist. Secondly, they liked the music and had a good time at the concert. They also would like to take a souvenir home to remind them of this great experience. Maybe they would like to buy a gift for a friend. Perhaps they would like to listen to your CD in their car, or keep your memorabilia on their desk, refrigerator, or cubicle. 

While fans are motivated to buy merchandise, how much merchandise you are going to sell in the end is dependent on your product variety, your timing, and your interaction with your fans. These factors can make all the difference in terms of how much merchandise you are going to sell in the end. To bring some light to the process of selling more merchandise in concerts, I’ve compiled a list of four ways you can increase your sales:

With the holiday season comes the inevitable holiday gift shuffle—and we quickly watch our excitement for the magic of this time of year turn to sheer panic and freak-outs over what to get our parents, partners, friends, and co-workers. 

But what about the people who make so many of our dreams possible? The ones who show up to our 9pm show on a Tuesday night, or share our songs, or follow our every move in anticipation of the next way they can support us?

Of course I’m talking about your fans.

This holiday season, I want you to take a moment and really think about your fans—at this time of year it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the outside stress and feel satisfied with simply sending out a social media “thanks for being here” and call it a day—but don’t they deserve more than that?

Today, I want to share a few ideas to help make this your fans best holiday season yet—all of these are completely customizable, affordable, and can be as DIY as you’d like:

Happy Holidays! Ok, ok, it’s a little early for that, but not by much—we’re only a few weeks away from the happiest time of the year. And you know I love any reason to celebrate with new merch and reignited appreciation with your fans, so let’s get straight to it!

First, let me say it’s great to acknowledge your fans all year round and there are so many ways to do that effectively—but, this is different. This is a chance to show them you appreciate them in a whole new way, and not only that, but you want to celebrate with them, the same way you would your closest friends and family. That’s pretty special, right?

Now, a new line of merch may seem a strange way to celebrate, but hear me out—we have a lot of really fun ideas in here that won’t break the bank for you or your fans, but will elicit that feeling of closeness and appreciation.

Now, the best ideas will be ones that are highly brand specific to you and your fans—you know what I mean, inside jokes, lyric-driven merch, things like that. But, because I want to help you get a kickstart on it all, we’re going to list out a few ideas to kickstart things.

Oh, and one last thing—if you’re still feeling stuck, try researching what your favorite bands have done. If you love something they’ve created, holiday-related or not, ask yourself, why? Did it feel personal? Did it make you feel closer to them? Was it just fun and spontaneous and silly? What specifically made you gravitate towards it? Once you know that, you should be able to get closer to what you can bring to your own fans.

Alright, ready to dive in? Here are five merch ideas to try out with fans this year.

Whether you’re angling to land an opening spot at a big local show or looking for coverage from a heavily followed blog, a thoughtfully crafted email pitch is what you’ll need to succeed as an unestablished artist. But, predictably, many musicians struggle with this important aspect of DIY promotion. Sure, most musicians aren’t skilled writers, but that’s not the only reason bands and solo artists miss the mark when it comes to email pitches. Here are a few key things to remember when you pitch your music over email:

Branding. It’s one of those words we hear tossed around a lot, but no one ever really takes the time to explain what it means.

So let’s start there.

In a nutshell, branding is what you think of when you think about your favorite artist or product. Likewise, when you think of your favorite artist, a certain feeling and aesthetic probably come to mind. You can picture their fashion, the mood and lighting at their shows, the feel of their music, how it makes you feel. That’s branding.

When done well, branding isn’t something your audience should ever really notice. It shouldn’t stand out or draw attention to itself. It should just attract your target audience and slowly but surely you should see your engagement and interaction go up. 

Branding done right is an incredible way to get in front of more of the people who naturally like what you have to offer, and to create a strong, lasting bond that can lead to a more engaged fan base, higher live show turnout, and merch sales. It’s not always easy to narrow in on your brand, but it is essential to a lasting career so whatever you do, don’t skip out on this article!