Independent artists doing music marketing have more tools in their arsenal in 2021 than ever before. TikTok, Spotify, and other social media platforms make it easy to do your own music marketing from home.
However, it can still be overwhelming to get started marketing your music on your own as an independent artist.
Here are 7 steps to get start marketing music independently in 2021
1. Make great music
Of course, the first step is to make great music.
Without a great brand and sound, it will be difficult to grow a following and market your music. Even with all the marketing budget in the world, if your music isn’t great, it won’t catch on.
2. Create a website
Nowadays, it’s easy to create a website. You can use Soundblocks, WordPress, or other similar hosting platforms to get a website up and running.
Create sections on your websites like recent music, bio, images, videos, and tour or concert information.
3. Start posting regularly on social media
More than a website, your fans will expect you to have a social media presence. Keep your professional and personal accounts separate.
Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are great sites to get started.
However, don’t just create accounts and leave them blank. You need to post content regularly.
According to studies, the best amount is 3 times a week for Instagram, once a week for YouTube, and daily for TikTok.
But, experiment with the right posting cadence that works for your schedule and gets your audience engaged the most.
4. Collect emails
Once you have a website and social media presence, you can start collecting emails from fans.
You don’t want people to just visit your site or social media and never stay in touch again – you want to collect some info so you can keep in touch.
Collect emails on your website and social media. You can send a monthly or bi-monthly email newsletter to fans with your latest music, gig info, and even merch.
5. Make music videos
Nowadays pretty much everyone has access to a smartphone or camera, so even independent artists can easily make a video.
You also don’t need a huge budget to create and edit a music video – you can use apps like Splice to edit for free or use TikTok to add filters, stickers, and more to your videos.
6. Get press and blog coverage
Independent musicians can benefit from working with a PR (public relations) firm or specialist to help them get press coverage.
Press coverage can expand your brand recognition and image, even on a low budget. To get started with press or blog coverage, you will need to work with some PR help.
More on that in the next tip!
7. Build a team to help
Even independent artists can’t do everything on their own. Don’t be afraid to outsource some of your music marketing to other team members, especially as soon as you start growing.
Outsourcing frees up your time to work on your critical projects. You need to focus on the most important part of your business – making music.
You can easily find freelancers to help you on platforms like Upwork and you can find PR pros on those sites too.
