How To Get More Sales On iTunes!

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

www.Distrophonix.com

http://www.distrophonix.com/video-game-distribution/

http://www.distrophonix.com/distribution/

http://www.distrophonix.com/download-cards/

What Not To Do When Marketing Your Band!

What NOT to do when Marketing your Band

Summary: 6 don’ts when marketing your band 

There are many “don’ts” that people are unaware of when marketing to certain audiences. This blog focuses on marketing don’ts for musicians trying to promote their band throughout communities. Some individuals over promote, while others do not advertise enough. Be sure to follow these six steps, because if you don’t you may send current and potential fans away from supporting your music.

1.             Do not use social media to force sales

             

Social media networks are intended to connect and build relationships with individuals through    possible common interests, etc. These platforms should not be created to force sales on your friends and fans. Make attempts to connect with your fans instead of promoting services and products. Also, do not use Facebook or Twitter as a sales tool; for example, when selling a new T-shirt or album. You should be offering free T-shirts and albums every here and there to show appreciation for your fans.

2.            Do not “spam” your friends

First and foremost, everybody hates spam mail. Sending out a mass e-mail occasionally is okay, but constantly sending out blast e-mails to your fans can get very aggravating. You want to your fans to be excited when receiving an e-mail from your band so make sure they are personal, and interesting. Another way individuals can spam is through Facebook events. As an artist, be sure to only promote the events that you will be performing at. The more events you send out to your fans that do not include you, the more likely they will start ignoring your invitations. This could lead an individual to un-like or un-follow your page and you do not want this to happen. People become your friend on social networks to follow you, not to follow other bands and artists that they are not interested in.

3.             Do not create lengthy advertisements 

It is very important to keep ads simple; lengthy and drawn out advertisements usually are not attention-grabbing to readers. Please, veer far away from creating ads that contain paragraphs and are full of long sentences. Avoid using special words that may confuse readers who are viewing the advertisement. Typically, lengthy and unappealing ads will not attract individuals to continue reading and will draw readers away. Advertisements should always be concise, to the point and attractive when creating promotions for your band. Choose a color and font that your audience will enjoy and can easily read. Whether you are creating an advertisement for an        upcoming show, or a new song release, adding images to an ad can really bring it to life and catch potential listener’s interest.

4.             Don’t be like everybody else  

Bottom line: nobody likes a copycat. There is high competition in the music industry; therefore    musicians should be different and unique. What if there was only one song in the world that    everyone had to listen to, wouldn’t life get boring quickly? When starting a band, you should aim   to be unforgettable and special. Don’t copy an image from another artist, and certainly do not imitate a song from another musician. By being different and developing your own sound, more individuals will become interested and intrigued with your music. The same goes with your “look,” create an eye-catching look so your audience can buzz about you. “Hey, did you see _____’s outfit at the concert? It was awesome!” Lastly, make sure that all advertisements aren’t comparable to other musicians. The last thing you want is someone to mix up your ad with another band due the fact that they were similar in color and phrase.

5.             Do not ignore your fans 

Responding and paying attention to your fans is extremely vital. Do not, I repeat, do not ignore   your fans! Not only can you lose their trust and loyalty, but fans can utilize word-of-mouth     marketing by putting a bad word about your band out in the public. If you have Facebook,Twitter, or a Myspace page etc., be sure to respond to all posts and comments. Just think about it: you don’t have an image without fans, and you don’t have fans without creating connections with individuals. Fans are very valuable aspects in the music world and you need to maintain strong relationships with them. By consistently responding to e-mails or social media alerts, this can help build your trust with each fan which is priceless.

6.             Don’t forget to produce a marketing plan 

Creating a marketing plan tends to be the most overlooked tactic when marketing a band. Many musicians may be focused on producing high quality music instead of generating marketing methods. Marketing plans are important because they set overall goals and help focus on how to achieve specific objectives within a band. One day, sit down with your band and construct a plan covering ideas like: How can we attract and gain more fans? What is our budget? What are some ways to expand our opportunities in the music industry? How can we inspire the public to purchase our music? A marketing plan entails what hopes you have and how to get there, and is something you should absolutely spend time on.

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

How Do I Get My Music On iTunes?

How do I get my music on iTunes?

It may seem like an obvious statement, but none the less it needs to be said.  “Your music has to be available for sale online.”  Yeah, your fans in your city can buy the CD at your shows.  But that counts for only a small percentage of your potential fan base.  The easiest and cheapest way to release your music globally is through digital distribution.  iTunes has become one of the most popular places where fans buy music ; so you NEED to get your music in there.

I hope that this short article helps you navigate the not so complex world of getting your music on iTunes.

How Do I get my music on iTunes?

There are many of services around that specialize in distributing artists’ music.  Distrophonix is one of those services.   While many distributors charge you a fee to put your music into stores, Distrophonix does not.  It is free to sign up and you get to keep 100% of your rights. They will release your music globally to over 400+ stores including iTunes.  Distrophonix will handle all of the set up and management of your release; as well as tracking your sales and processing your royalties.  That’s right!  You can actually make money selling your music and it doesn’t cost you a dime to sign up through Distrophonix! 

Is iTunes enough?

iTunes is by far the biggest digital music retailer in the world.  They have stores in almost every developed country.  However, not everyone uses iTunes.  Amazon, Spotify, Rhapsody, Napster, and eMusic are other popular mp3 websites.  Don’t miss the chance to sell your music to fans that use the other services.  There are over 400 mp3 stores around, and every single one of them is important. Distrophonix will get your music into practically every mp3 store worldwide. 

Do I need to have some sort of cover art to get into iTunes and the other stores?

Yes, the stores are very strict about this.  Your artwork has to be 1400 by 1400 at 300 dpi.  The artwork also has to include your artist and album name.  If you need help designing a good iTunes album cover, check out Distrophonix’s graphic design services.  http://www.distrophonix.com/graphic-design/

Do I need to have my music mastered before putting it in iTunes?

No you do not.  However, it is highly recommended that you do.  Having your music mastered will help you to have a much more professional sound and it will give a  better listening experience for your fans.  To learn more about mastering check out:  http://www.distrophonix.com/mastering/

Where do I go to sign up to get my music into iTunes and the 400+ other stores?

Distrophonix makes it easy for you to distribute your music.  Simply go to their website, http://www.distrophonix.com/distribution/, click on the “sign up today’ button and the site will walk you through the process.

How do I get people to buy my music on iTunes and the other stores?

Ok… So now your music is posted in over 400 mp3 stores globally…….Now What?   It is time to get to work marketing your music.  Just putting your music into stores without getting the word out will not result in many, if any sales.  Use social networks to spread the news that your music is available.  Encourage people to tell their friends.  Tell everyone at shows that your music is available on iTunes.  Put your street team to work getting the word out.   In short, tell everyone you know, and their mother that your music is available online.

I hope this article helps answer your questions about getting into iTunes and other online mp3 stores.  If you want to learn more about getting your music to the masses check out www.Distrophonix.com

Written By: Kevin Schmidt

Kevin is one of the owners of 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

How to Sell More Merch at Your Shows

Summary: 7 tips to help you sell more merch.

You can have the coolest band merch in the world, but what’s the use of having it if you can’t sell it? Follow these tips and your merch will be flying off the table in no time!

1. Put A Light On It!
Venues/Clubs/Bars are dark areas. Having a light on your table helps to attract attention and makes people want to check out what you are offering.

2. Make an Interesting Merch Display!
Get creative with how you present your merch. One of the coolest setups we have ever seen was for the acoustic band, The Apathy Eulogy. They set their merch up in vintage suitcases. It gave their merch an indie, almost bohemian feel, which tied in nicely with their music.

Here are some other tips that could make your merch display more interesting:
- Use digital picture frames to display pricing.
- Use props like trunks, plants, mannequins, etc.
- Set up wire racks behind your table to hang t-shirts on.
- Arrange your CD’s into pyramids.

3. Bundle Your Merch Together!
Instead of selling your CDs, stickers, t-shirts, etc. individually, try bundling them together for a small discount. For example, if you sell your CD for $10 and t-shirt for $15, offer both for $20. This will cause your fans to purchase more than they might normally.

4. Advertise Your Merch From the Stage!
While you are still on stage and have everyone’s attention, don’t forget to mention your merch. Also, tell people that you are going to be at your merch table right after you get off stage so they know where to find you.

5. Meet Your Fans at The Table!
When you get off the stage, fans always want to talk to you. Instead of meeting your fans at the front of the stage, go back to your merch table. Talk to your fans there. This increases the chance of making a sale.

Usually, there is a rush to get your equipment off the stage before the next band starts. Before you go on stage, designate a few band members to be responsible for the equipment. This will allow at least one person in the band to head directly to the merch table.

6. Accept Credit/Debit Cards!
Let’s face it: We are almost a cashless society. Don’t lose out on sales just because you only accept cash. There are a lot of apps out there right now that allow you to process credit/debit card transactions right through your phone.

If you do not have a smart phone, another option is to just use a laptop where wifi is available and run transactions through a PayPal account.

7. Give Something Away For Free!
Always have something free to give away to your fans. You do not want your free item to cost more than a few cents each so we would recommend handing out small stickers, pens, key chains, etc. with your band name on it.

Another great option is to print up music download cards with a sample of your music and hand them out for free. Download cards allow fans to download your songs and put them on their iPod, Zune, etc. You can get these cards from companies like ours, Distrophonix for around $99 for 1000.

Here are two suggestions:
- For anyone who visits your merch table, give out something for free. Better yet, use the free item as an incentive for them to sign up for your mailing list.
- At the end of the show hand out free download cards, stickers, etc. to people as they leave. The goal of this is to make sure that everyone leaving the show has something to remember you by. This will help you grow your fan base and sell more merch in the future.

By: Brenden Bosmans

Brenden Bosmans 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