Indie Music Promotion: Email List + Google Traffic = More Music Sales

Indie music promotion strategies are the same as the music promotion techniques used by major artists. The main difference, however, is that indie musicians do not have as much financial resources at their disposal as the major record labels do.

As an indie artist, you may not get your music advertised to millions via the various forms of offline media, such as in a TV, radio or magazine. You might not even be able to afford to be able to create your own CDs to sell at gigs. But the good news is that no-matter how limited your resources, you can still reach a large audience and make good money using indie music promotion strategies on the Internet.

Whether an indie musician or an artist with a major label behind you, the primary aim of the online music marketing techniques is the same: to develop a relationship with fans to help make sales. When you have developed a relationship with people, it is then much easier to make sales from them.

OK, so let's look at how indie musicians can promote their music on the Internet by using search engine traffic and an email list.

The Email List

The email list is the best way to make sales of your music. Now, when I say "sell your music", this does not have to be CDs that are sent through the post - this can simply be MP3 files that are downloaded.

The email list is such a powerful resource to use in order to make money from your music. It is especially important for indie musicians who do not have all the promotional resources in the world at their disposal.

The email list is so powerful because the people that have joined your email list have an interest in your music - otherwise they would not have signed up! Even with a small list of subscribers, you can make good sales if you handle your email list correctly.

The email list should be used to develop a relationship with your fans. You should be encouraging discussions of music in general with them, asking their thoughts, giving them cool members-only gifts and special offers, and announcing general news in the music world that is likely to interest them. When you have developed a relationship with the readers of your email list and have gained their trust, then they will be so much more likely to buy your music and merchandise when you promote this to them.

Many bands just use the email list as a way of sending out the monthly newsletter. A monthly newsletter is very important (and you should have one), but I think the contact with your fans should be more frequent than the just monthly newsletter. The communication does not always have to be about promoting something. Just sending out general emails to discuss interesting topics is a great way to develop a rapport.

OK, great, "but how exactly do I build my email list if no-one knows about my band in the first place?!" I hear you ask.

Fear not, we will get on to this. But it is important for you to first understand that you should have a means to capture the email addresses of your fans before you start an indie music marketing campaign.

So presuming you have your own website with an email opt-in box in the sidebar, we can now get down to business with getting people to your website. This will be done by using search engine traffic.

Search Engine Traffic

Having your website rank highly on Google for certain keywords can do wonders for your exposure. The good news for musicians is that it does not cost any money to get a high Google ranking and it can be relatively easy to achieve high rankings for certain keywords.

I am sure if you type in your band or musician name into Google, your website will already appear on the first page if you already have a http://www.yourbandname.com domain or social networking page that is. This is great, people who already know that your band exists can now click through to your website and learn more.

But what if people don't know that you exist yet?

It can be very powerful to have your band website appear on the front page of Google for a wide range of search terms other than just your band name.

You should try to get your website ranked highly for more generic terms such as the genre of your music, the geographical area of your band, the type of gigs you perform etc. This way people who are trying to find a new artist in a certain part of the world can find you with a generic search such as "New Jersey Punk Band' or 'Rock Music Gigs in Ontario'.

For certain keywords on the Internet, it can be very hard to rank for them. But music related keywords are much easier to rank for because they are not directly related to selling a certain product. Also, most musicians are not aware of the Internet based indie music marketing techniques that can be used to help them to rank highly on Google.

For example, it would be hard to rank highly on Google for terms related to buying an iPhone as many businesses are in competition for these terms, but competition for music related terms are going to have much less competition.

Think of as many relevant keywords as possible that people could type into Google in order to help them stumble across your band. Then you can try to make your band website (or separate blog posts on your website) rank on the first page of Google for as many of these keywords as possible.

You may find it impossible to rank for very generic terms such as 'indie band' or 'rock music', but more specific terms such as 'indie band Pittsburgh' or 'wedding band Cambridge' or 'singer-songwriter similar to Nelly Furtado' will be more achievable.

In order to rank highly for a certain keyword term you need to have this keyword phrase appear a few times (or at least once) in the text of your website and you also need to have other websites on the Internet linking to your website using your keyword as the anchor text link.

The anchor text is the keyword you wish to rank for, and appears as a link that is highlighted in blue and underlined on a webpage. If many other web pages around the Internet link to your website with this keyword, then Google will rank your band or musician website highly for that term.

The link to your website from another website on the Internet is known as a backlink. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank.

Then as you get more and more traffic to your band website from Google, you will start to build you email list, develop a relationship with more fans, and make more sales.

The author is an internet marketer whom teaches musicians how to promote themselves online. Learn more about how to apply online music marketing techniques to promote your band, visit the Band WordPress Theme website.

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Indie Music Publicity - 4 Vital Tips to Getting Your Own Effective Music PR

Ever wonder why it's so difficult to advance your career to the next level? Why some artists are getting media coverage, radio play, digital plays, and gaining Facebook fans, drastically increasing their fan base day by day, and selling records and digital downloads like they're going out of style with the ultimate result being... serious expansion of your fan base, creating awareness for your project, selling CDs and digital downloads, and gaining the attention of the record labels and professional artist management companies?

So What's the Answer? Well it's really a no-brainer...

The Answer Is -- "MUSIC PUBLICITY"!!

Pretty much nothing happens without it - no matter what level of the music business you have obtained. Every artist must have it.

Understanding the "guidelines to publicity in the music business" can be a difficult task for the independent artist. A well connected music publicist or indie music publicist creating a buzz, a story, a history... getting your record reviewed, writing and distributing press releases, and feature articles and interviews will increase your chances of getting noticed. Simplified; a good media relations expert generating the music publicity awareness you need to get noticed among the massive sea of artists all striving for the same end goal. It can be very difficult to do your own independent music PR as a relatively unknown indie artist. This is how the help of an effective music publicist can help. A good indie music publicist, that has built all the relationships for you can greatly expedite the process and increase results if you have the budget and can afford the fees of a music PR professional. If you can't, there are ways to do your own music publicity.

1. Do Your Due Diligence -

Do the necessary online research to uncover the media portals that may be appropriate for you to submit to on your own.

2. Follow The Media Outlets Submission Guidelines -

Make sure to follow their submission guidelines closely. Nothing aggravates a music journalist more than being bombarded with inappropriate submissions.

3. Do Not Follow Up -

Once you have submitted your CD for review, feature, or interview - Be Patient. These portals receive 100's of submissions weekly. It may take months before you are considered. (This is where a veteran music publicist can help - their relationship can supersede the process.) Don't follow up - If the music journalist wants to do the review he or she will let you know.

4. Simplify and Expedite the Process for Faster Results -

Cut down on all that research and media outlet documentation - It can take you months to put together and continually update your music media database. Purchase a comprehensive indie music publicity resource guide (very inexpensive) that has the database already laid out for you and formatted for immediate use. There are a few out there but hands down the most effective DIY Music Publicity resource is the Indie Bible. It is updated monthly and contains the most comprehensive lists of music media outlets that will review your CD and provide radio play.

All and all - getting effective media coverage for your project is not an easy task to do on your own. I recommend if you have any budget at all for music promotion and music marketing that you consider hiring a good indie music publicity company. If they are a reliable PR firm, they will get the job done faster and far more effectively - and ultimately get the results you are looking for.

©2011 Ken Cavalier All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Ken Cavalier is an Indie Music Publicist, Music Marketing Consultant, and founder of Allure Media Entertainment Group, Inc. (New York - Philadelphia) a fast growing music publicity and indie music marketing company. As a former artist, his passion for helping indie musicians realize their career goals has enabled him to launch and manage extremely successful indie music publicity campaigns for hundreds of independent artists over the years. He is a voting member of many distinguished music industry organizations including The National Academy of Recording Arts and Science (™The Grammy Association).

For more details and information on his company and his services visit:
http://www.indiemusicconsultant.com/musicpublicity.html

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Indie Music Artists Sponsorships

Music businesses have to rethink their strategies of getting money and in today's market those opportunities are there but require a greater level of entrepreneurship. Over the past 10 years in particular music users have sought to form partnerships with music owners. On the other hand music owners in particular the labels and artists are seeing this opportunity as a means for obtaining the necessary cash for their business.

Sponsorships and brand associations are much more desired and getting a sponsor on board can make the difference between covering the essential costs of loosing money. So the object of this article is to give the 6 steps (thoughts) to obtaining sponsorships and building relationships.

Decide what you are giving the sponsor- Some people in the music business work from a naive view point. They see sponsors as those with money to throw around and feel they should be the benefactors. Nothing could be further from the truth. Companies that get involved in sponsorship are simply working to improve their visibility to a client group. Therefore the initial step is to determine something of value that the sponsor could be interested in. For example you might offer a sponsor the opportunity to have their logo on 200,000 flyers or on 20,000 CD's
Are they interested in the demographics you reach? - A sponsor will not be interested in investing in your next album or tour schedule if those you are targeting have no relevance to their business services or product. Therefore it is important that we are sure that our demographic is similar but also that your demographics will provide media exposure to the sponsor.
Decide what it will cost- Some sponsorships have various tiers. It can offer separate amounts for a main sponsor to a smaller sponsor with the different categories having various types of benefits. If what you are doing does not allow for this, then it is equally important to decide how much you need. Bear in mind that what you are offering must be better than what the business or individual can obtain from a high street.
Craft an Introductory Letter- Once the above has been fully decided then you are ready to write a letter to the people who are hoping will be interested in sponsoring you. The letter should include an introduction of yourself, why you think the person or business will benefit from the sponsorship, the demographics and brief description of what you are hoping to give them. It will also help if you ask for a meeting or an opportunity for you to send them more.
Create a Presentation- This will be a very useful document to be used over the life of your project so a great deal of time must be used to compile it. Make a PowerPoint presentation that is picturesque and straight to the point. Cover the various tiers (if applicable), detailed demographics, the opportunity, coverage, what they can expect to get and costs.
Once you have a sponsor on board, the next stage is to over deliver so that they would be more likely to get involved over a long haul!

Do you want to learn more about making money with your music? If so, download my brand new free 5 week music business training course here: http://www.musicbusinesstools.com/

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Seven Tips That Indie Musicians Need To Know To Improve Their E-Mail Marketing

Most indie musicians know they must do some sort of e-mail marketing. Although, many do not understand the proper way of using e-mail to market their music. If used incorrectly you could have adverse effects. However, if used correctly e-mail marketing is a great way to communicate with your fans, make sales and make money.

There are many things you can do to improve your e-mail marketing efforts. I would like to briefly discuss a few of them.

Use a double opt-in procedure for your e-mail list.

Using a double opt-in method will force the subscriber to open your e-mail in order to confirm their e-mail address. This extra step ensures that the subscriber is serious about being added to your list. They are interested in what you offer and this makes them very valuable.

Use auto responders to build a relationship with each subscriber.

You should be using auto responders in your e-mail marketing efforts to build a relationship with each subscriber. You want to earn their trust so they will want to buy whatever you have to offer. Each message you send needs to contain valuable content so the recipient enjoys your message and looks forward to the next.

Give away your best songs.

In order to have a person give you their e-mail address you usually need to offer them something of value. In the case of indie musicians you offer a song. However, it needs to be your best song. You want the person to like your music so they need to hear your best work. In addition, while you are in the process of building a relationship with each subscriber, you will need to give away more music and you need to give away your best material. Giving away less than your best will not help you at all..

Understand the difference between your web site and landing pages.

Do not send traffic that you are intending on subscribing to your list to your main web site. This traffic needs to be sent to your landing pages. Landing pages are meant to collect e-mail addresses or to sell a product. Your main web site is used to dispense information to promoters, venues, and existing fans. Know the difference between landing pages and your main web site and use both of them correctly.

Use Segmentation.

Segmenting your list will allow you to send out messages only to a portion of your list based on criteria you choose. You could segment your list based on location to send show announcements only to people in the area of your performance. Another thing you could do is segment your list based on people who have purchased from you, or people who haven't purchased from you. This allows you to send appropriate offers to either group. Use segmentation properly and you will improve your relationship with your fans and increase your sales.

Track and test to improve your results.

For any marketing campaign to be successful you need to track and test your results so you know what works and what doesn't. Tracking and testing will provide you with valuable information you need to know to make decisions to improve your results.

Create a profit funnel.

One of the keys to being successful as an indie musician is to use your creativity to create a profit funnel. Once you sell your album for $15.00 to someone you then want to sell them a product that is higher in price, say a T-shirt for $25.00. Then once they purchase your T-shirt you want to sell them something else that is even higher in price. This time perhaps it could be a DVD box set for $50.00. Then you need to continue selling this person products one at a time, each time higher in price. Creating high end products and getting many people through your funnel is a key to success.

For over 23 years Terry Tschaekofske has been a successful musician. In that time Terry has learned many things. He has valuable information and tips to share with other musicians, to help them succeed in the music business. For valuable e-mail marketing tips that every indie musician should know click or copy the link below.

http://tltmusicmarketing.com/lp/indie_email_guide/indieguidelp_5.html

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