Promote Your Band

Summary: 4 Tips to promote your band.

1.     Make your name stand out

It can be hard to get your name out with all of the clutter people see and hear throughout the day. A good tip to get your name out would be to branch out and spread word of mouth about your band. There are many ways to make your bands name stand out:

·         Logo

o    KIS - Keep It Simple!

o    Make sure it is appropriate and distinctive for your band

o    Colors, fonts, and images gree with each other

·         Banner

o    Create a memorable banner to always place behind your band while playing at a concert- people remember logos and colors to match up with who you are… think about it- What color do you think for Coca-Cola? Red.

·         Pictures

o    Every band needs a great picture—make sure you have a certain style you want to portray to your audience

·         Newspaper Articles/Press Releases

o    The best way to get your name out is to be out there. That means capturing your concerts through audio and video, going to many events and shows, and network with all different types of people. You never know who could help you out in the end.

2.     Interact with your audience through social media

If you don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, or YouTube account get one now! By having your own bands webpage, your fans are able to track your daily lives from your music, tour dates, pictures, or concerts they may have been to. People love to personally connect with their favorite bands on the Internet and it is a definite bonus if you comment back to create that relationship every fan wishes for. Your fans may also want to receive a daily/weekly newsletter so they can follow your band even more and receive special updates just for them.

*TIP- Remember to close your newsletter with a call to action to encourage your readers to be more involved and visit more often.

In addition, by doing this- their friends will see who they are talking to and it will create more visitors to your page AND your music. If your fans are checking you out- their friends will also want to.

3.     Advertise, Advertise, Advertise!

Remember a press kit is an important key starter for your band which should include: the bio for your band, a photo postcard to be remembered by, articles or CD reviews, and your CD or download card.

This is the first step to advertising for your band. Although, there are many other ways to promote your band using banners, websites, stickers, flyers, posters, etc. By promoting your band on many different outdoor advertisements, it creates awareness to a new audience. Distrophonix can help with these services by creating your bands own graphic design, stickers, T-shirts, and promoting your music on Rock Band.

        4.   Support Others

By coming to show support for other bands and people, it shows that you and your band care about music, your fans, and what else is out there.

Distrophonix employees take time off work to go serve meals to the homeless and hungry of Baltimore City by volunteering at Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.  This summer, Distrophonix will be collaborating with local bands to sing to the homeless. This is a great opportunity to show your support for others and also promote your band. To see pictures of some of the work Distrophonix does there please check out their Facebook page.  

      By: Deborah Hercenberg

Deborah is a marketing consultant to Distrophonix LLC.  Distrophonix  LLC is a music marketing and distribution company based in Baltimore, MD. They design marketing plans for musicians, as well as offer digital distribution, CD pressing, download cards and mastering.       

www.Distrophonix.com

Music Marketing Tips on a Budget

Summary: 6 tips musicians can utilize when marketing their band on a tight budget

Many musicians become stressed out when it comes to creating a valuable music marketing plan, especially while promoting on a tight budget. Not only does marketing involve a great amount of time, effort, and hard-work, but it can quickly become extremely expensive. Most commonly, artists usually don’t have marketing finances to splurge on; your key focus may be on producing great quality music for your fans. Here are some music marketing tips for artists to exploit while upholding a budget.

1.     Take advantage of social media outlets

Social media platforms are marketing tools that every musician should take advantage of. The two essential benefits that social media marketing brings to the table is the fact that it’s free and can reach a mass audience. You can use websites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube, ReverbNation, and so on. These social media networks can help build your bands awareness and can also assist with connecting among fans. By connecting and building relationships with fans, this allows you to communicate which is an important factor when promoting your band.

Upload new songs to your page and keep it entertaining. Keep your fans updated when shows are coming up and also when new songs will be released. Posting funny and interesting stories while touring on the road, or traveling to shows will keep fans on their feet and amused. Social media platforms allow individuals to upload photos, so by submitting images onto your pages, this will become appealing to viewers and will keep them coming back for more. Another piece of advice is when individuals comment on your posts/songs/photos, make sure to comment back and make it personal.

2.     Create a blog site for your band

Blogging is a great way to create an image and express yourself as a band. Most blog sites are free, which once again is a benefit for your pocket. This is a fast and easy alternative to get your bands name out on the web throughout the online presence. Blogging is an excellent and fun technique to use. You can write about crazy and interesting occurrences that happened during shows, recordings, and trips. You can utilize this tool by sharing background information about your band, and by expressing your thoughts and opinions as well. Be passionate about your writing because fans and followers will be reading your content, and hopefully exiting your page with a good notion.

3.     Maintain and build relationships with fans

Maintaining personal relationships with fans is the most vital aspect in the marketing world. Connecting with fans is important because the more you build a connection, the more love and support you will receive from them. If a fan is totally feeling your band, and you build a relationship with them through social media or blogging sites, your fans will sincerely feel connected with you. Where else but online can you connect with thousands of fans at once? Fans will become loyal to your band and express their delight through word-of-mouth to friends and family if you maintain friendly relationships. This will not only lead to a positive image, but loyalty will increase awareness as well.

4.     Make certain contact information is present on all sites/e-mails

Artists should always double check and make sure that their contact information is listed on all e-mails and web pages. This is the most inexpensive, yet the most common marketing mistake that I have seen artists make. Whether you are trying to book an open microphone (mic) slot at a local café, or a search for an open concert/event listing, make sure the respondent can contact you. Also, this goes for websites too. If you are creating a Facebook, Twitter, or company website, be positive that you list all contact information so individuals can get in touch with you with questions and opportunities. Include information like: band name, e-mail, telephone number, potential address and all links to social media sites.

5.     Attend and play at local shows

Attending and performing at local shows may be the priciest out of the 6 marketing tips, but this suggestion will leave you with the most experience. Some shows may even be free to attend which is a huge advantage while on a budget. You can bring flyers or download cards with you to hand out to individuals who seem interested in your band. Attending shows can also help you build relationships with potential fans, which is extremely valuable for artists. By being on the other side of the picture and performing, this may be the most influential marketing tools to take advantage of. Sign up and offer to perform at open mic nights, or even offer to be the opening band at a local concert. Although, you may not be paid as much as you would like, this can build a great image for your band and people can enjoy your live tunes. Focus of making an excellent impression and really “wowing” the audience!

6.     Distribute download cards

Instead of distributing business cards for promoting your band, hand out download cards as a different and more interesting alternative. Download cards allow artists to promote and advertise bands with the ability to host albums and demos. Be creative when designing your download card. Design these business-sized cards with full color and visuals to catch fans attention. These cards have codes located to either the front or back that fans can use to download your music. Distrophonix offers 1,000 download cards for $99; this is a great and affordable deal. You can gain the $99 back by selling them to fans and making a huge profit.

By: Danielle Peterson

Danielle is a Marketing Specialist for Distrophonix LLC. Distrophonix is a company based in Baltimore, MD specializing in music marketing, distribution, Rock Band Encoding, CD pressing, and mastering for musicians worldwide.
www.Distrophonix.com

Tips For Designing A Good Band Website

Summary: Tips for designing the best band website possible.

If you follow these tips and guidelines below, you will have a great band website that will make you look professional, engage fans, and blow away your competition.

1. Get a memorable url: You want your websites url to be memorable. The best url’s are those where you can just have your band name followed by a .com. Unfortunately though, many .com domain names have been taken. If this is the case consider a .net, or come up with a url that is a phrase that contains your band name followed by a .com. ie. If your band was named The Beatles, you could use the url thebeatlesrock.com.

2. Connect Your Social Networks To Your Band’s Website: Make sure that all of your social networking pages (Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation, Twitter, etc.) are linked to your bands page. This makes it much easier for your fans to connect with you on the social network of their choice.

3. Provide Links Stores Where Your Music Is For Sale: Make it as easy as possible for your fans to purchase your music. Make sure that you provide links to your music on iTunes, Amazon, etc. If you want to go one step further, consider signing up for an affiliate program with the stores that your music is found in. Becoming an affiliate will allow you to make additional money on your sales because the stores will share a portion of the revenue that they make above what you normally would get. Another nice feature is that if your fans purchase any other music while they are on a site like iTunes, you will get a percentage of that as well.

4. Provide Detailed Contact Information: I can’t even begin to tell you how many band websites I come across where the band forgets to provide contact info. Make sure that, at minimum, you include an email address and phone number.

5. Provide A Street Team Resources Section: If you are serious about your band, you need to have a street team. Make their job as easy as possible by providing marketing materials such as flyers and posters that they can download from your website, print off and distribute. You may also want to consider providing banner ads that your street team and fans can post on their own websites and social networking pages. Another good promotional tool is screensavers and desktop backgrounds.

6. Have A Bio Section: Fans want to get to know you. Make sure you provide a band and band members bio along with plenty of pictures.

7. Audio/Video Links: If you have free music or videos to share, make sure that you either embed them on your website, or at minimum, provide links to where they can be found.

8. Collect Email Addresses: If you have a band newsletter, make it easy for fans to sign up for it. Newsletter companies like Constant Contact and Campaigner provide a free newsletter sign up tool that you can imbed on your website.

9. Make Your Website Aesthetically Pleasing: Make sure your website looks great! If you are going to take the time to make a website, make sure that it looks professional. A cheap, ugly website will actually do more to hurt your image than to help it. If you have a bad website, you are better just having no website at all.

10. Make Your Website Easy To Use: Please make your website easy to use. Make sure that all features are clearly presented to the viewer. Keep things simple.

11. Sell Your Merch: A website is a perfect place to allow fans that are unable to attend your shows to buy your merchandise. Post pictures of Tshirts, CDs, stickers, patches, etc that you sell. Use paypal to accept credit cards.

Written by: Brenden Bosmans

Brenden is a Marketing Consultant to Distrophonix LLC. Distrophonix provides digital distribution (iTunes & 400+ other stores), CD Pressing, Download Cards, Mastering, etc. to Record Labels, Musicians and Studios. To learn more about Distrophonix check out:
http://www.distrophonix.com/