When I was in school, our professor brought in Alyssa Padilla to talk about marketing. She offered eleven fantastic points and I’d like to share my version of them with how I feel they apply to a career in music.
11. The strongest brands have clearest personalities. Your image as an artist and the music that you create is your brand. It is the identity you’ve put together as an performer. So what does she mean by “a strong brand has a clear personality”?
It can mean a number of things. It means that having websites, album covers, business cards or music videos that differ too greatly can confuse your audience. It means that jumping around music genres can hurt you. That’s not to say that you can’t explore different ideas, but once you’ve built an audience, moving somewhere too different may result in losing them.
10. Be a thought leader. The greatest danger to your career is indifference. You need to be aware of what’s going on in your industry, your local environment, etc. And it isn’t enough to just have an awareness of all that’s happening. You also need to be able to respond, adapt and contribute to it.
9. There is no such thing as a mass market. Your music isn’t going to please everyone, and that’s a fact that you’ll need to accept early on. Figure out what you want to do and what kind of music you want to create. Do a bit of research and learn about other artists that perform and venues that feature the music you want to do. Doing this will not only help you build a marketing strategy, but help guide the direction of your music in general. You may also want to check out other marketing strategies like offerwall monetization. This form of digital advertising is eye-catching and can be targeted at people who already have an interest in your music genre. Your audience will expand, but you’ll also get a strong following. It’s a cost-effective way of attracting people to your music as it almost runs itself – once your offerwall goes live it’ll be seen by more and more people.
8. There is no such thing as bad PR. At least what you are doing is newsworthy (though you may want to consider getting help from somewhere like this public relations firms jacksonville fl so you’re talked about for the right reasons).
7. You can make the biggest impact with the smallest details. Try to do things like remember someone’s name after only meeting them once, write personal notes in CD autographs, announce birthdays or anniversaries on stage, pass around a sheet of paper to get your audience to help you build the show’s set list.
5. Marketing is entertainment otherwise it’s just a waste of space. Design quality flyers and adverts and ask to place them in local businesses windows. You could even organise a concert with supporting bands and create a magazine programme that you distribute to local restaurants and bars. Have them professionally produced with professinal printing equipment for a higher quality finish. Duplo International’s DC-646i PRO Cutter Creaser is very fast for cutting, so your flyers will soon be the talk of the town. Also consider writing entertaining email blasts rather than generic announcements and try to give people something in exchange for the time they spend reading whatever it is you’re putting out.
4. Product quality increases brand quality.You have to have a good product to back up your marketing. It’s not enough to promote and expect success if you’re album or performance isn’t good quality. In fact, it can hurt your business. Make sure whatever you’re putting out can stand behind your marketing efforts. Maybe hire an SEO agency like SERP Co (https://serp.co/services/seo/) to increase the online visibility of your album on social media platforms.
3. Be kind to others. The better you treat people, the better work you will get. It goes a long way.
2. Read, listen and practice. Know your industry, know your music and immerse yourself in it as much as you can.
1. Do what you love. If you don’t absolutely love music, it’s probably not something you should be doing. It’s hard work and you have to really want it.
Some bonus tips:
Be aggressive but recognize there are things you don’t know. Look for opportunities to break out and set yourself apart. Work smarter (more efficiently). If you want a certain job, keep trying, it shows passion and dedication. But most of all, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Want to learn more about the music business? Check out our popular FREE eBook – Advice for Young Musicians: From Established Music Professionals.
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