Make sure you have an
email capture system in place to maximize any buzz you will be generating. Then
offer one or two tracks from the CD for free in exchange for an email.
Many times bands and musicians run a huge PR campaign surrounding a CD release
and immediately ask for the sale. That’s like meeting a girl and then asking
her to jump in bed with you 5 minutes after an introduction (ok, that may work
for Bieber or Luke Bryan but for the rest of… not so much. But
anyway….).Offering a free track or two is much more effective approach to build
trust with someone interested in your music before asking for support. After
you’ve initiated captured their email a conversation you can use a “soft sell.”
Basically it would be something in your email saying something along the lines
of, “Here is your free song from my new album [name of new album with a link
where to buy]. Thank you so much for checking my music out. If you have any
questions or comments about the track, I’d love to hear them. Just reply to
this email… etc.” And really, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Start promoting your new album at
least 6 months before release. That includes contacting press, radio, bloggers,
and internet radio stations.
Never book your album release show
until you have the album in your hands. I can’t count the number of album
release shows where the band didn’t get their CDs in time.
Don’t buy 1,000 CDs unless 1,000
people have pre-ordered them.
Use Kunaki.com to buy CDs on demand.
Only $1 per CD. Buy 10 CDs for your merch booth. Re-order when you sell out.
Profit! (This was advice from Mr. Billy Grisack)
Have your music submitted to CDBaby
and Tunecore before your album release.
Make sure to have digital versions
of your album available for sale at your show. Sell some download cards right
next to your CD.
Submit your music to Pandora. They
now allow you to submit MP3s directly to them.
Don’t forget to also have your album
pressed to vinyl. Limited edition vinyl releases are hot items.
Copyright your songs. Then, register
them with a PRO (like ASCAP or BMI). Every time you (or someone else) plays
those songs live, you are owed a royalty. So after every show, submit your set
list to your PRO rep.
Get paid for your music on YouTube.
Register your songs with Audiam. If anyone else uses your music in a video on
YouTube, you will get ad revenue. (Encourage your fans to make their own music
videos of your music!)
Sign up for Square so you can take
credit card payments from your cell phone at shows.
One of the biggest
mistakes indie artists make is waiting till their new album is manufactured and
available on iTunes before they even start to promote it at all. Ideally you
want to build buzz prior to the official release date.
For me, the most
effective way to promote a new album release is to share the creative process
with your fans – no matter how small or large your current fan base is. That’s
right, share the journey of recording your music and get people engaged. That
means showing photos and video of you in the studio, letting people hear early
demo samples of songs, and honestly reporting the joys and frustrations of the
process.
In addition to that,
ask for your fans’ feedback and direct input: Ask them to vote on album cover
artwork or even submit artwork of their own. Ask them for their ideas on how to
spread the word and how they can help. Yes, this takes a little bit of extra
work as you create your new album. But when the official release date arrives,
you will already have momentum on your side. And that will be a lot more
empowering than asking, “So, what do I do now to promote this thing?”
Understand your audience and dig
into their demographics rather than blindly marketing to everyone. Know
where they hang out in real life, and create tie-ins with those places on- and
offline. By focusing on the “sure thing” fans first and building momentum with
them, they’ll eagerly help you. Always remember there are people behind those numbers.
Find themes in your song titles or
band name to create tie-ins. Publicity teams in the 70’s and 80’s were masters
at this. One band had an album called Nine Lives, and they did
cat adoptions on the radio in each city on tour and donated cases of cat food
to shelters. That sort of thing was unheard of then, and it created a lot of
buzz. Find your own modern version of that, and work it.
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