In a special feature, Louise Dodgson from The Unsigned Guide offers special advice for promoting your band and getting your music out there…
Promoting your band and music is an ongoing task, but an essential one if you want to maintain your fanbase and make new fans along the way.There are many things musicians can do to actively promote themselves and we’ve broken down some of them here:
Online presence
Spanning a huge range of platforms, you can promote and share your music online in all manner of ways. A good starting point is to have your own website as a central point to let people know everything about you – biog, music, gig listings, images, press coverage and releases, videos, contact details – all of these should be kept up to date on your website so you always have somewhere current to direct fans and industry to.
Of course, there are endless social media outlets to also help spread the word about your music. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp and SoundCloud are amongst the most commonly used by musicians. You can create profiles on all if you choose…or just select a few that will work best for your band. The key is not to spread yourself too thinly by having too many online profiles if you do not have the time to maintain them and keep them all reasonably up to date. Make sure you reply to comments and interact with your audience if you want to promote yourself effectively. A few current profiles with good content always make a better impression than having many inactive profiles.
Gigs & the importance of mailing lists
There’s no substitute for getting out there and playing live. Gigs are also great for winning over new fans! Whilst you have a captive audience don’t miss the chance to gather some info from them so you can keep in touch in future.
Email addresses are key for connecting with your fans. It can be hard to reach people via Facebook, Twitter and other platforms – posts can be missed easily or you need to promote for it to reach people. An email is a much more personal connection so make the most of this & send mailouts to your fans with news on releases, gigs, videos, and even competitions if you want to keep people engaged.
Networking & making industry contacts
As well as fans, old and new, promoting your music to the industry is also essential. A great starting point is The Unsigned Guide directory which has details for over 8,500 music industry contacts, all of which have been individually researched to make sure they are willing to hear from unsigned and emerging bands and artists.
Another way to make some music industry contacts is to head along to any music networking events that may be local to you. Failing that, why not pay a visit to the likes of The Great Escape, Sound City, Focus Wales, Norwich Sound & Vision, Live At Leeds, Wide Days and the many other industry conferences and networking events around the UK. They’re all extremely welcoming to emerging bands and many of the panels and discussions are programmed specifically for unsigned artists with the aim of educating you about the music business and giving you the opportunity to meet industry experts who can help you out. Check out a blog we published earlier this year with advice on the Dos & Don’ts of networking with music industry professionals.
Send your music to radio, press & blogs
If you want to stir up a buzz about your music then getting featured on blogs or magazines, or getting some radio airplay is crucial. Again, The Unsigned Guide directory can come in handy for finding contacts in these areas who can give you some much needed exposure.
When getting in touch with the many music press, blog & radio contacts there are, it can be time saving and professional to include a link to an online press kit for your band. This is also preferable for most music writers and radio presenters too as it prevents their inboxes being clogged with large file attachments, and gives them a simple, central point to get all the info they need about your music and what you have coming up. Read more about creating a press kit on this Unsigned Guide blog post.
Make sure you politely follow up any emails you send allowing 2-4 weeks since your initial contact.
What techniques for promotion have you found work best for your band? leave your suggestions in the comments below…
