If your goal this 2016 is to maximize the promotion of your music and boost your exposure, then it’s time to buckle down and prioritize your career. Here are some practical promotion tips for every level of indie musician:
- Your Best Promotional Tool? Google.
Being an indie musician means having to devote a lot of your time to research. Harnessing the power of Google means you’re only a few clicks away from knowing the answer to your questions, such as how to promote music online, how to book shows and even valuable contact information. If you’re ever unsure about anything, just hop online and read your heart out. Do your best to read at least one article a day and pretty soon you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve learned by just spending a few minutes online each day.
- Set up your own website.
One of the best ways to tighten up your professional image as a musician is to create your own website. Having your own corner of the internet means you’ll be able to accurately represent yourself and your brand. This is where present and potential fans can listen to your songs, watch your performances and even get updates on your upcoming gigs. Set up a newsletter as well and don’t forget to send bi-weekly or even monthly updates to your followers.
- Optimize your social networks.
Social media has become a fantastic asset for musicians. Whether it’s Soundcloud, Twitter, YouTube and even good old Facebook, make sure that all of your social profiles have the same up-to-date information, photos and short bio. This will make you easy to find and recognizable. If you don’t have a professional photo yet, get one taken because having high quality headshots mean more than you think.
- Contacts
Are your contacts organized? This is something that many musicians forget to prioritize and it helps a great deal. List down all the relevant outlets, blogs and connections that you can send your work to. Having music to promote is worthless if you don’t know who to send it to. As with all things in the music business, having a plan is an absolute must. Use your preferred spreadsheet program, input the names of your contacts, as well as their email addresses, affiliated organizations and social media links.