As a musician one of the biggest obstacles we face is how to get more exposure, more fans and ultimately more sales. Things have changed big time in the music industry and many doors have actually been opened for us rather than closed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean any of us know how to “use” these doors…or even where to find them.
There are of course a ton of social media websites and music sites for artists like Reverbnation and Soundcloud artists use – but the marketing options they offer often take more money out of our wallets than they put in. This is a true shame if you ask me. I’ve been quite disappointed with sites like Reverbnation (and yes I have tried their way of “promoting” a few times, just to test the waters.) The outcome…not much happened (if anything).
I have said before in a previous article that the way to go is to have your own band website, and I still firmly stand by this. Regardless of HOW you market your band, you need a place to send people, and it shouldn’t be one your Facebook page or your Reverbnation page. Why?
Because you don’t own those and you have no control over them. Use them, sure. But ultimately you should be driving traffic (i.e. your fans) to your website.
Best Way to Get Music Heard
One of the best ways to get your music heard and drive traffic to your website is through YouTube and Vimeo. You don’t have to put all of your songs up, you can simply give a sample of your work and you can also do cover songs – this is one of the best ways to get more exposure for your music. Whatever you choose, while using many different sources can be helpful, I have found that focusing on ONE gets you more results in the long run. You can ultimately choose to split your time. Spend some time on one site for awhile and then move to another.
Here is an example of what I mean as far as focusing. I know many musicians who ONLY hang out on Soundcloud. And guess what, they have a FAR bigger following than I do – because even though my music is on Soundcloud and some people find me there, I’m not actively in the “community”.
That’s what these social sites are, communities. And if you aren’t taking part on a regular basis you simply aren’t going to see the same results as those who are.
This goes for ALL of them. I get far more traffic from YouTube than a musician friend of mine who primarily uses Soundcloud, simply because he doesn’t use it as much, and I do. Conversely, my traffic from Soundcloud and my following there pales in comparison to his.
If you want to learn how to get your music heard on Soundcloud, simply go there and start listening and commenting on other people’s music. Be part of the community, follow others and be active. Treat it no differently than you would any other social website.
Free Music Exposure
Even though they personally drive me nuts, because they are more about your own activity and involvement rather than your talent or previous fan base, contest sites are a great way to get free music exposure and get more fans for your music. Also, a great way to make some wonderful musician friends.
These are communities too and if you spend time on them you can get music exposure, increase your fan base and in some cases, win cash and prizes.
Here Is a List of a Few of My Favorites:
– Beat100
– Citizen.tv
– ArtistSignal
– Radio Airplay
– Pandora
How to Promote Your Music Blog or Website
So let’s say you took my advice and decided to get your own website up (or perhaps you already had one and just don’t know how to promote it), either way learning how to promote your music blog or website is as simple as using the techniques I already mentioned above.
You simply take part in the communities online, choose your favorite, use one, diversify your efforts if you like. But take part and add your website to any profiles you set up.
If you are getting a lot of traffic from YouTube, rather than letting your video channel be your hub, let your website be the place you send people.
You can also add content to your music website on a regular basis and perhaps be found in the search engines for certain keywords. To learn more about how to do this kind of promoting, read this article on marketing.
With complete control of your own website you can monetize it any way you like. You can make it simple and just try to get people to sign-up to your e-mail list by perhaps giving away a song. You can put affiliate links from iTunes and Amazon on it and make even more money on any sales of your music (or other people’s music). You can sell merchandise, have giveaways, contests of your own…it’s really up to you.
And simply by using the social websites and taking part in these online communities, you will easily be able to promote your website. You can even use Pinterest to market your music!
Pinterest may be all about images, but you have pictures, you have videos, Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to your site.
I hope this gave you a few ideas of how to get more exposure for your music. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below 🙂
Thanks,
Kat
Owner, OnlineStayatHomeJobs.com