It’s a common theme in many a cheesy film – struggling musician trying to make it big with nothing except his raw talent to commend him. Usually in the movies, said musician already has a cult following and a rich well connected benefactor waiting in the wings to ensure that in no time, he is playing to packed audiences at international music festivals. Sadly, in real life, such happy endings are less easy to come by.  While the Internet has made it easier, promoting yourself on a zero budget is still challenging. This is not strictly limited to artists trying to make their way in the music world either – any group or individual trying to make a name for themselves without the benefit of a trust fund face many of the same challenges. Here are some tips to help bring that happy ending to fruition a little sooner. 

Musicians can connect with huge and niche audiences by focusing on online tools. Image Credit: Vera Melado

1.  Focus on Social Media

Social Media tools and applications provide the perfect avenue for self-promotion. On the one hand, this medium provides the ideal opportunity for you to invent yourself as you would like to be seen. On the other, it provides a medium through which you can build a network of fans, interact with them and expose people to your music. While most of these tools will take time and effort to set up and maintain, they won’t cost you anything. A Facebook fan page is a good starting point, while a Twitter account will compliment it nicely, while being a useful tool on its own. Blogging is also an excellent way to build up a community around your music and these efforts can potentially all feed into one another in a symbiotic manner.

When it comes to Social Media and the promotion of music, the importance of video should also not be underestimated. YouTube is an often underrated resource for music artists. It has provided a means through which artists can shoot low budget videos that show snippets of their performances and post them online for free. It also allows you to easily track how many people have viewed it. It has functionality that allows people to comment on your content, enables it to be embedded on other sites and encourages sharing with other users. The best part is that YouTube users constitute a community who actively share and promote content that they enjoy, so if you post something worth watching and get the ball rolling, people will watch it. How often have you been sent a link to something that a friend enjoyed? 

2. Target your efforts

If there’s one, or even a few of you trying to get your marketing efforts off the ground, it’s important to remember that there are an almost infinite number of Social Media networks and tools out there. A non-exhaustive count on Wikipedia of well known sites exceeds 150. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult enough to keep my Facebook profile updated, let alone the other 149 sites that I could join. Feeling like you need to use every tool out there will not only put a damper on your enthusiasm, but it will result in your efforts being spread too thinly to be effective.

3. Give away free samples

There is no doubt about it – people love free stuff. Hell, I do. If someone offers me something free, I usually take it, even if I get home and my better half chucks it out before I’ve even put my handbag down. I think it’s safe to say that it is human nature. Giving away freebies is a great way to get exposure and to give your popularity a boost. An obvious way to do this in the music industry is by handing out free CDs at gigs. This might not be your best avenue though. While CDs are relatively easy (and cheap) to produce, there’s not a huge likelihood that this will increase sales – your targeted fan already has your album. Another option is to use the tools you have available to you. Make one song free to download on your blog. If your fans like it, chances are, they will come back for more. Alternatively make a low quality version of your old albums available for free and charge for downloading better quality versions. True music lovers will usually opt for the latter. However you decide to do this, giving away your music for free can be a winner if it’s fans you’re after.

4. Don’t be afraid of feedback

Creative people who throw themselves into the art that they produce, in whatever form, can often take it very personally when people criticise their creations. After all, that’s the essence of you, right there and some schmuck lacking in creative vision should keep his ignorance to himself. Right? Wrong. Part of music is writing something that (at least some) people want to listen to. And taking constructive feedback into account will not only make your fans feel a sense of ownership in your music, but it might also make your performances and albums better. So suck up the ego and embrace the feedback. There’s always room for improvement.

In the spirit of me taking my own advice: if anyone knows of any great methods or tools that musicians can use to promote themselves online, please feel free to leave a comment.

Also check out:

• 5 Tips for Integrating Technology and Branding
• Marketing Your Brand Online - The Basics of eMarketing