How To Get More Sales On iTunes!
You have worked hard on writing and recording your album. Now it’s time to put it on iTunes. But what do you do next to make sure that you see some sales? If you want your album to sell, you will have to promote it. Below is a list of 12 easy things you should do to get more sales on iTunes. Follow these suggestions and you will be selling more of your music and growing your fan base in no time!
1. Send Your Album Out For Review:
Send your album out to local newspapers, magazines, and blogs along with a friendly letter asking if they would consider reviewing your album. Getting reviews is extremely important. It allows your music and message to be exposed to new audiences. Hopefully, someone will read the article, like what the author is saying, and go to iTunes to check out and purchase your music.
2. Print Up Download Cards With A Sample Of Your Music:
Download cards are an affordable, easy way to get some promo for your new album. I would suggest making up a card and putting 1 or 2 songs from your album on it. On the card make sure you include your contact info, track name, any band artwork, and of course a message stating that the full album is available on iTunes.
I have found that since these cards are cheap, as little as 1000 cards for $99 through Distrophonix, you can hand them out for free to potential fans and not feel guilty or go broke.
The goal with the download cards is to hand these cards out to as many people as possible. A great place to hand them out is at local malls, music festivals, and outside venues as shows are letting out.
3. Create A Banner With A Buy Link:
Make it easy for fans to buy your music. One of the best ways to do this is to make a simple banner that can be posted on your site and social networks. This banner would link directly to your music on iTunes.
4. Sign up for LastFM:
This is a great place to get exposure for your music. LastFM has the power to introduce your music to millions of potential fans. When you do your distribution through Distrophonix they do this for you automatically.
5. Get On Your Social Networks:
Not to overstate the obvious, but getting the word out through social media is an absolute necessity if you hope to have strong sales on iTunes. Use Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter, MySpace etc. to let people know that your music is available on iTunes.
6. Start A Mailing List:
Your fans want to stay in touch with you. One of the best ways to do this is to start a newsletter giving updates about the band and informing them of new shows. In this newsletter also include a link to your music in iTunes so that your fans can easily find your material.
7. Offer To Give Something Away For Free For A Good Album Review:
Getting positive album reviews on iTunes is the key to success. The more album reviews you have, the more exposure you will get in the stores. A good way to get positive album reviews is to offer your fans free tickets to a show, or some free merch for any review they do.
8. Tell People You Are On iTunes While On Stage:
While you are on stage, and have everyone’s attention, make sure that you tell the audience that your music is available on iTunes. This is really a no brainer, but you would be surprised by how many artists forget to do this.
9. Get Help From Your Existing Fans: Ask your fans to help promote you. It is amazing the impact even one fan can have if they get on Twitter or Facebook and start talking about their favorite band or artist. Make sure to reward anyone who helps you in this way, and of course let them know how much it is appreciated.
10. Consider Putting Your Music In The Rock Band Video Game:
Consider using the power of video games to market and promote your music. By getting one of your songs in the Rock Band video game, you have the chance to expose your music to an entirely new audience. If they like the song, you can bet they will buy it on iTunes. Distrophonix can also assist you with getting your music on Rock Band.
11. Do A Facebook Advertising Campaign:
Facebook can be very powerful because it allows you to specifically target those that may be interested in your music. For a few cents a click, you can drive a lot of potential fans to your iTunes storefront. To learn more about this check out the advertising section on Facebook.
12. Consider Taking Part In A Shared Magazine Ad In A Major Publication:
Advertising in magazines specific to your genre can be very effective, but expensive. To keep it affordable, consider buying an ad space and splitting up the costs with a few other artists that you are friends with. That way everyone gets exposure, but at an affordable price.
Written By:
Distrophonix LLC
