How to Market Your Music | ArtistPR

3 Free-Offer Ideas That Actually Grow Your Fan Email List

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Quick answer: The 3 free offers that reliably convert casual listeners into email subscribers are an exclusive or unreleased track, a private music video, and a short downloadable guide (a “how I got started” story or a handful of tips works fine - it doesn’t need to be a bestseller). Skip discounts; they reward people who were already buying, not people you’re trying to win over.

A lead magnet is only as good as the offer behind it. Get someone to your website and you’ve done half the work - the other half is giving them a reason to actually hand over their email address instead of clicking away and forgetting you exist by dinner. Here are 3 offers worth using, and the one rule that decides whether any of them work.

#1 - Exclusive MP3 Downloads or Song Access

The easiest lead magnet is music people can’t get anywhere else - a remix, a demo, an unreleased track, or early access to a song before it’s public. Since it’s free and exclusive, it’s an easy yes for anyone who’s already curious about you.

This also happens to be the offer that costs you the least to produce, since it’s something you likely already have sitting in a folder on your hard drive.

#2 - Exclusive Music Videos

The same logic, one step up in production value: a downloadable video file, or a private link to unlisted footage - a rehearsal, a behind-the-scenes clip, an acoustic take you didn’t release anywhere else.

#3 - A Short Downloadable Guide

The most overlooked option, and often the one musicians assume they have nothing to say for. You don’t need to write a book - a 5-10 page PDF covering how you got started, your gear or process, or a handful of tips for other musicians in your scene is plenty. Write 250-500 words per subtopic, cover 4-5 subtopics, and you’ve got a real guide.

The One Rule: Aim at Casual Listeners, Not Superfans

Your biggest fans already follow you everywhere and don’t need convincing - they’ll join your list regardless of the offer. A lead magnet exists to convert the casual listener: someone who liked one song enough to click through, but not enough to go looking for your mailing list on their own.

That changes what “irresistible” means. A behind-the-scenes rehearsal video is a treat for a superfan and a shrug for a casual one - a genuinely good song they haven’t heard yet is a yes from both. When in doubt, pick the offer a total stranger to your music would still want.

Once you’ve picked the offer, building the actual page is simple: one dedicated landing page, built entirely around that one offer, with a short headline, a couple of images or a video, and a signup form at the bottom. See 3 Steps to Use Fan Magnets to Build Your Following for exactly how to build and promote that page once you’ve settled on your offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a fan magnet or lead magnet for musicians? A free offer - an exclusive track, video, or download - given in exchange for an email address, presented on its own dedicated landing page. The goal isn’t the download itself, it’s building a mailing list you actually own.

What’s the best free offer to use as a lead magnet? An exclusive MP3 or unreleased track works best because it costs you nothing to give away and people can’t get it anywhere else. Music videos and short guides also work, but they take more effort to produce.

Should I offer a discount instead of free content? No. Discounts attract people who were already going to buy, not new subscribers. A free, exclusive piece of content is what actually convinces a casual listener to hand over their email address.

Ready to build the audience your lead magnet deserves? Submit Your Music and let’s get more people discovering it.

5 Music Marketing Truths Every Musician Needs to Accept

Fri, 20 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Quick answer: Five truths every musician has to accept about marketing their own music: anyone can learn to do it, it works through repetition rather than one big push, it requires actually engaging with people instead of just posting at them, it can’t be 100% about you, and it only works if you stay consistent. None of it requires a marketing degree - it requires treating it like a real, ongoing part of the job instead of an afterthought.

Nobody teaches “how to market your music” in a way that makes it click, so most musicians either avoid it entirely or throw a burst of energy at it once and wonder why nothing happened. It’s not a mystery, and it’s definitely not optional anymore unless someone else is doing it for you. Here are the five truths worth actually internalizing.

#1 - Anyone Can Learn This

Marketing your own music doesn’t require a degree or a background in advertising. It requires a basic plan - who you’re trying to reach, and what you want them to do - and the discipline to follow it. Think of your music as the product and your fans as the audience you’re trying to reach, the same way any small business thinks about its customers; the specifics differ, but the logic holds up fine.

#2 - It Works Through Repetition, Not One Big Push

A single great post rarely converts anyone. Recognition builds the same way it does for any brand: someone sees your name a few times before it actually registers, and it’s the accumulation that eventually gets them to click “follow” or “listen.” One viral moment is a bonus, not a plan - the plan is showing up consistently enough that people start to recognize you.

#3 - You Have to Actually Talk to People

A comment left unanswered is a small, quiet way of telling a fan they don’t matter to you - and they notice, even if they never say so. Check your notifications at least once or twice a day and reply to the ones that deserve it, especially direct questions. This is the part that’s easy to let slide when you’re exhausted after a show, and also the part fans remember most.

#4 - It Can’t Be 100% About You

If every post is “listen to my new song,” people tune out fast - nobody wants to follow an ad account. Mix in things your audience would find worth their time regardless of whether you posted it: other artists you like, something you found funny, a genuinely interesting behind-the-scenes moment. A rough rule of thumb: no more than a third of your posts should be pure self-promotion.

#5 - Consistency Is the Whole Game

Going quiet for two months and expecting your following to have waited patiently is not how any of this works. Build a schedule you can actually sustain - even a modest one - and stick to it, for both social posts and email newsletters. Consistent and boring beats sporadic and brilliant, every time, because algorithms and inboxes both reward the accounts that keep showing up.

None of this requires a manager to get started - it starts with a website and a social presence, and it compounds the longer you stick with it. Slow at first, then noticeably faster once momentum builds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really learn music marketing without any experience? Yes. It doesn’t require a degree or prior experience - it requires a basic plan (who you’re trying to reach and how) and the willingness to actually stick to it. The hard part is consistency, not knowledge.

How often should I post about my own music versus other things? As a rough guide, no more than a third of your posts should be pure self-promotion. The rest should be things your audience would find worth their time on their own - other artists, things you find interesting, your personality - so your promotional posts don’t feel like the only reason you show up.

How quickly will music marketing actually grow my fan base? Slowly at first, then faster. Consistent marketing tends to compound - a small, steady following builds momentum that a burst of activity followed by silence never does. Don’t judge it after two weeks.

Ready to put these fundamentals into practice? Submit Your Music and let’s start building your audience.

Everything Your Musician Website Actually Needs

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Quick answer: A musician website needs six things at minimum: an easy-to-browse layout that works on mobile, an up-to-date bio, a music page with a player and streaming links, a photo page with press-usable images, a show calendar, and a contact page - plus links to all your social profiles, tying everything together in one place you actually control.

Social platforms come and go, and none of them are truly yours - a website is. It’s your central hub: the one place fans, press, and industry contacts can always find you, regardless of what any platform changes next. You don’t need design skills to build one - you need to make sure it actually includes everything below.

An Easy-to-Browse Layout

Before anything else, your site needs to work: a clear menu, and a layout that renders correctly on a phone, not just a laptop screen. Music-friendly website builders (Bandzoogle is built specifically for musicians - music player, merch store, and mailing list all included; Wix and Squarespace are solid general options too) handle most of this for you. Whatever you pick, check it on your own phone before calling it done - it’s the fastest way to catch something that looks fine on a big screen and breaks on a small one.

An About Page With Current Information

This is where your bio lives - short, to the point, covering your background and what you’re currently working on. See How to Write an Artist Biography for exactly how to write one people will actually finish reading.

A Music Page With a Player and Links

Give visitors the easiest possible path to actually hearing you - an embedded Spotify or SoundCloud player, plus links out to every platform your music lives on (Apple Music, Tidal, wherever else). The fewer clicks between “landed on your site” and “heard a song,” the better.

A Photo Page With Press-Usable Images

Include quality photos of yourself or your band, and explicitly note that press and blogs are free to use them in articles and reviews. That one small detail meaningfully lowers the friction for a writer deciding whether to cover you - no photo request email required.

A Show Calendar

A simple, dated list of upcoming shows works fine if a full calendar plugin feels like overkill. Include venue links where you can - it makes life easier for fans deciding whether to go, and for venues checking your other listed dates.

A Contact Page

Make it easy for anyone - a talent agent, a manager, a journalist - to reach you once they’ve found you. A missing or buried contact page is a surprisingly common way musicians lose real opportunities simply because nobody could figure out how to get in touch.

Links to Every Relevant Profile

Put your social links somewhere they show up on every page - the footer or a sidebar - so visitors can find wherever else you’re active without hunting for it.

Your Website Ties Everything Else Together

Booking shows and recording music will always take priority, but your website is what makes every other promotion effort actually land somewhere permanent. Get the basics above right once, and it keeps working for you with almost no ongoing maintenance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the easiest way to build a musician website without design experience? A drag-and-drop website builder aimed at musicians - Bandzoogle is built specifically for artists (music player, merch store, mailing list built in), while Wix and Squarespace are solid general-purpose options with music-friendly templates. None require coding.

What pages does a musician website actually need? At minimum: a homepage or about page with your bio, a music page with a player and streaming links, a photo page, a show/tour calendar, a contact page, and links to your social profiles - all easy to find from a simple menu.

Should photos on my website be free for press and blogs to use? Yes, if you want coverage. Note explicitly that writers are free to use your photos in articles and reviews about your music - a small detail that makes it meaningfully easier for a blog or reviewer to actually feature you.

Ready to put a complete website to work for you? Submit Your Music and let’s help more listeners find their way there.

How to Actually Make Money Selling Music Merch

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Quick answer: Make real money from merch by asking fans what they actually want (a quick social media poll works), starting with low-cost, high-demand items like shirts and stickers, using a print-on-demand service so you’re not sitting on inventory, pricing at 50-100% above your total cost, and promoting new drops through your email list and social channels. For a lot of independent artists, merch - not streaming - is where the actual income is.

Playing gigs for gas money and hoping streaming eventually pays real bills is a rough plan. Merch is the more reliable income stream sitting right in front of most artists, mostly untapped. Here’s how to actually make it work.

Choose Merch Your Fans Actually Want

Don’t guess - ask. Post a quick poll on Instagram or your website with a few options (shirts, posters, stickers, mugs, whatever’s realistic) and let your audience vote. Take the top few results and move forward with those. It’s also worth a quick browse of what other artists in your scene are selling - not to copy them, but to see what’s working and where there might be a gap.

Decide How You’ll Produce and Ship It

If you’re making items yourself, you’re also handling shipping and fulfillment - fine at a small scale, but it doesn’t stay fun once orders pick up. A print-on-demand service produces and ships each order only as it sells, which means no upfront inventory risk and a much more manageable workload while you’re still figuring out what sells.

Price It to Actually Make Money

Add up your total cost per item - production plus shipping - then charge 50-100% above that. A $10 total-cost item should sell for $15-20. The goal isn’t just covering your costs; it’s making the effort genuinely worth it.

Showcase It Properly on Your Website

Order a small starter batch so you can photograph the real product - stock mockups look exactly like what they are. Shopify remains a solid, straightforward option for accepting payments if your site doesn’t already have that built in, and most music-specific website builders (Bandzoogle, for instance) include store functionality natively.

Let Fans Know It Exists

A merch drop only sells if people know about it. Announce new items to your email list first, then follow up on social media - and if your following’s large enough to justify it, a small paid ad push can help, though expect lower conversion rates than music-focused ads since merch is a more niche purchase than a stream or download. A quick poll on your Stories asking which color or design fans prefer also doubles as free promotion before you’ve even launched.

Merch Is a Real Part of the Business

Getting this right takes some trial and error - what sells, what price actually works, what fans genuinely want versus what you assumed they’d want. Start with something low-cost and easy to produce, listen to what your actual numbers tell you, and expand from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

What merch should a new artist start selling first? T-shirts and stickers are the standard starting point - low cost per unit, easy to produce on demand, and something almost any fan will consider buying. Ask your actual audience (a quick poll on social media works fine) before investing in anything more elaborate.

How much should I mark up my merch? Charge 50-100% above your total cost per item (production plus shipping). If an item costs you $10 total to produce and ship, price it at $15-20 - enough margin to actually be worth the effort, not just break even.

Do I need to hold physical inventory to sell merch? No. Print-on-demand and fulfillment services produce and ship items only as they sell, which removes upfront inventory risk entirely - a solid way to start before you know for sure what will actually sell.

Once your merch is ready to sell, get more people discovering your music too - Submit Your Music and let’s help you build the audience to sell to.