Promotion is something every artist and label wants to get right, but the problem is they don't really know what it is. This is why they feel like it's impossible to get over that hump—I get it! If you want to truly understand promotions and how to execute them the right way with ease, tune in!
What music promotion is and is not
Did you know that promotion is an announcement in motion moving through a specific marketplace? Most people don't know how to create this motion. The default is to run an advertisement, but advertising is static—it doesn't move. You can only place it once in a marketplace, and if you want different results, you have to change the ad. Promotion, at its core, is showcasing music or an artist in the same marketplace through multiple outlets. Once you understand promotion in its basic form, it becomes easy to execute. However, if you confuse it with advertising, it will take time before you can use these two strategies effectively.
Artist Promotion vs Music Promotion
Artist promotion means placing an artist across multiple markets (like social media, radio, and TV) to build awareness. This can be done repeatedly within specific platforms (like Instagram, Power 106, or The Today Show) to increase visibility in each marketplace. The same strategy works for music promotion. Remember: promotion is about creating motion by moving your product through the market—that's how you'll succeed. If you mix up ads with promotions, you'll stay stuck.
Organic Content is the Easy Way to Promote
Organic content is the easiest form of promotion and serves as the foundation of any promotional campaign. After creating content, you can repackage it multiple times in its original form or break it down for distribution across different marketplaces. To effectively promote with it this must be done. While organic content initially only reaches your immediate audience, adding a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages sharing can transform it into user-generated content. UGC is the ultimate form of word-of-mouth marketing in today's digital age. If you consistently create enough organic content, UGC will develop naturally. However, you can’t stop there because there is much more that needs to be done promotion wise organic content will not get us the momentum we need alone.
Influencers pack more punch than ads
What if I told you that influencers pack more punch than advertisements ever could? The truth is they have dedicated audiences that often match your target demographic. Since people trust influencers more than ads, it's easier to promote an artist or music through them. While reaching out to influencers takes effort, it's worth it—a single post from an active influencer can generate 10 times more impact than a traditional advertisement.
Content Aggregators are the secret sauce
Content aggregators have the same impact as influencers, except they aren't people. They obtain their content through a process called content seeding. It's often easier to work with these organizations when they have smaller followings rather than larger ones. Content aggregators allow you to break down your original organic content from podcasts and interviews into pieces and distribute them widely for greater artist impact. You can do the same with your music visuals through social media music blogs that feature the hottest new songs of the week. If you skip this method, you'll miss out on significant attention—but get it right, and you'll attract all the attention you need.
What if I can’t afford this?
The problem is not affordability. The problem is how much it's costing you to stand in the same place that you've been standing. That's why it's not a good reason to avoid promotion. Figure out what you can get for low cost or no cost, because if you avoid it, you'll be standing right in the same place that you've been standing. But if you attack it with action, you'll move from one circumstance to the next—and it will be better than where you are now.
How do I find influencers?
Finding influencers is not the problem—your problem is you're afraid of rejection and people saying "no, I don't want to use your music in my videos." The truth is you are already following your first set of influencers. All you have to do is ask them if they would do something with your song and then wait for the response. If they do, just rinse and repeat the process, but look for people that effectively and actively do influence content: dancers, DJs, painters, stylists, etc. Don't let the fear of rejection get in your way from moving forward.`
Can’t I run several ads and get the same effect as promoting?
Essentially, what you're asking is, "What can I do to not have to reach out and touch the people?" Touching the people yields way better results than advertisements—advertisements are impersonal. Just because you don't want to interact with people to get the job done doesn't mean you should avoid promoting. Advertising has a different effect. Advertising is laser-focused, whereas promotion has a wide gap to fill. You cannot substitute advertisement for promotion because if you do, you'll burn through more capital than you'd hope to spend, and it will show itself.
Here’s what you can do!
Go to your social media platform of choice, make a list of all the influencers that you currently watch, and then make a list of all the people that you currently follow who are friends or who know you. Use the link in their bios to see if there is a contact email, and use their DMs to send them a proposal so they can do something with your music. Finally, send them your song if they agree to use it. Then repeat the process. Share your results in the Music Money Makers Community and join me Monday night at 7 PM EST to discuss how it went.
Powerful Payoff
When you start implementing these strategies, your followers will grow, leading to increased revenue and more opportunities to achieve your career goals.
What’s it going to cost in failure
But if you stand still thinking it's going to get you somewhere, you'll just waste physical energy trying to maintain that position. This drains you spiritually because you begin to doubt yourself. Ultimately, you'll say "This may not really work. I don't know what I'm doing—I'll go do something else."
At the end of the day
If you've been struggling with:
What promotion actually is
How to get influencers
How to use organic content
You now have the tools to become the skilled marketer you've always wanted to be.
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