Networking For Independent Musicians

If you are an independent musician, then I know that coming up with great music promotion ideas is one of your main goals. Gone are the days where rappers, musicians and artists have to rely solely on record deals to make the big bucks, in fact who the heck wants to right? With the rise of "The New Music Industry" the possibilities of success are literally limitless.

One of the most effective ways to market yourself and your music is through social networking sites as well as having your own website. But, the trick is driving traffic to those sites and social network profile pages. Fortunately, through the use of search engine optimization, this is not an impossible music task and if you (and other band members) are covering all bases, so to speak, then S.E.O. is verging on unnecessary. Using strategically placed words, phrases and title tags throughout your site will definitely help you to achieve these results. Get your link out there. Post it on your MySpace page, your Twitter profile pages, your friend's pages and exchange it with others.

Another way to achieve this is by placing your music for sale on sites that cater to independent artists trying to maximize their online exposure. For example sites like CDBaby, TuneCore and Even Amazon are great for this. My favourite, however, (for digital downloads) is Bandcamp. No up-front cost & YOU name the price of your album or single. I highly recommend checking Bandcamp out. These sites list your CDs for sale and end up giving you a pretty fat chunk of the profits. This is a relatively new music promotion idea but quite a few artists are reaping the benefits. Remember, this is in addition to offering your music for sale on your own site.

When making your CDs, include a barcode on the package. This way, you can offer local music stores the opportunity to sell your album. Local music stores tend to be particularly favorable to Indie musicians from their area. In addition to music stores, contact non music stores and retail outlets as well. I know one band in our area that has their music for sale in Starbucks and they sell a good amount of music ever day. So be creative with this stuff, independent music promotion doesn't have to be difficult, you just need creativity and the drive to succeed.

Whist talking of things creative, I jumped into the deep end of mobile music apps. They took a lot less know-how than I expected and helped push my name up the Google search page no end. Once I had as many varied apps (and not always music-based) that I thought sufficient, I was unsure of 'how' to market them. His advice was simple. Begin with making free apps visible in as many places as possible, remembering to tell folks that there was an expiry date. Shortly before the 'free' apps had served their purpose, I launched and promoted my 'paid apps' in the same way that I do with my music. Due to the nature of the mobile work, the initial sales of paid downloads is a drop in the ocean. It's the content that lies within the app. Music, blogs, news, photo's, video, etc.

You should also look into getting a Facebook 'Page' page if you don't already have one. Facebook Pages are a powerful tool for unsigned artists and independent music promotion. You gain maximum exposure and it will cost you absolutely nothing at all. You can't beat that!

Another crucial thing to do is to simply include your web address on every piece of material that goes out. This will ensure people get the word out about your site. Your website will be your connection to the world around you. Keep it current and up to date, no matter what. The easiest way that I find is to keep my site 'dynamic' by having a blog. Keep it interesting and constantly changing. No one wants to constantly visit a boring site that always has the same images, info and music on it.

I made light of it at the beginning of this article, but if your ultimate goal is to get signed then with hard work and dedication it will happen, but you have to show the labels that you are serious. Implement the above techniques into your online music promotion routine and you will be on the track to raking in profits and hopefully fame and fortune! Keep in mind that you are always learning. Don't be afraid to seek help for problem areas but most importantly, stay extremely positive!

How To Share Your Knowledge Online

Anybody who has spent a certain amount of time on the internet will have no doubt heard about blogs. It took me about 2 years to actually know what a blog was. I was too busy being overwhelmed by the fact that I could get my music heard on the world stage to bother. Blogs are growing in popularity each day, with focuses on every subject one could think of; people from all over the world can interact with each other, no matter the hour where they live. Naturally, in an attempt to appeal to the masses and stay current, some businesses opt to create a blog to talk about their products and services. Many, however, are not sure of how to use said blogs to market their business. By reading the below tips, you can learn how to effectively market yourself using this internet tool.

1. Post interesting content. You are not writing for yourself; on the contrary, the focus of the blog is meant to entertain your reader. If you want people to become interested in your product, do not discuss how great it is or how professional your company is all the time. If you overdo it, your visitors will be less likely to take you seriously; they may even leave based on your saturation method. The blog should not be one big sales pitch, in other words. Make even those who would not normally care about your business want to visit.

2. Make your readers relate to you in some way. This can be achieved by sharing stories from your everyday life. Did you have a challenging time finding a birthday gift for your grandmother? Talk about it.

Did the tires of your car blow out while you were driving down the highway? Share this event. When they start to see you as a real person, as opposed to simply a cold business suit on the other end of the computer screen, customer loyalty may result. Weave in how your situations relate to your services, as well.

3. Update the blog frequently. Many people who run blogs find themselves falling into this trap, but it is quite important in the long run. You do not have to update several times a day, but posting once a week or month is not an attractive move. Should someone come across the blog and discover how infrequently it is given attention, they may lose interest. In fact, they may believe that you are not professional, or are out of business entirely. This is a terrible blow to your marketing goals; do not make this mistake.

4. Provide information that cannot be acquired any other way. In other words, make it feel like you are giving away special "insider" information. Give notice on upcoming sales; tell them about what is selling the best in your industry, and so on. Educate them; make it fun for all involved. However, do not give away anything that might damage your reputation, such as how much your fellow employees drank at the annual Christmas party. Stick to "safe" topics, but do not make them boring.

Related articles

• Why Owning a Blog is Much Better than Owning an Ordinary Website (gseo.net)
• 23 Things for Professional Development: Thing 6: Online networks (cpd23.blogspot.com)
• 50 Great Ways to Grow Your Personal Learning Network (onlinecollege.org)
• Is Blogging a Necessary Evil? (searchengineoptimizationjournal.com)