Promoting a Band

  • Thread starter Thread starter Creator
  • Start date Start date
C

Creator

New member
Here are some ideas/suggestions for promoting a band.

Right now the most effective way of getting your word out is through myspace. If you have time, you can take the "send add requests to everybody!1!1!1!" approach, but eventually that becomes a pain and some people get really pissed off when random bands add them. My suggestion would be to keep your myspace updated as much as you can. Be sure to throw up a few good recordings, all your show dates, and even a couple blog entries every once in awhile describing what the band has been up to. When you have a show, make an online flier and give it to your friends/fans to help promote. Also, add it to the events section so that you can get a rough estimate of the crowd you'll be bringing and other people from the area can read about the show.

Another popular way of advertising would be to submit your songs to a couple of mp3 blogs. A lot of them are all for promoting smaller bands and such. Just google mp3 blogs and you'll find thousands of them.

When you get a show, make black-and-white fliers, print them out so that you have four per page, and then run to a printing place like kinko's and get a couple dollars worth of copies. Then go to local shows, guitar stores, cd stores, etc. and pass out fliers. Sometimes clothing stores in the mall will also allow you to leave fliers near the registers.

At your shows, sell t-shirts, buttons, demos, stickers, and whatever else you have to sell.

Submit your demo to a local radio station. There are a couple radio stations by me that have special features once a week for local bands. Just listen around, I'm sure you'll find some near you.

Most of this is pretty obvious, but some of it may help.... maybe even a little?
 
Myspace can be good, but it takes so much of my time to promote my band. Im at it 8/7 pretty much.

We have got 35,000 fans, but that took a year!
The best way of promoting is real promoting through advertising in mags, radio plugging, and press.
 
ecktronic said:
Myspace can be good, but it takes so much of my time to promote my band. Im at it 8/7 pretty much.

We have got 35,000 fans, but that took a year!
The best way of promoting is real promoting through advertising in mags, radio plugging, and press.
Click to expand...

Wow bro. Thats alot of fans. Did you use automated friend adder tools, or trains, or did they just come to you?

I've been using adder robot for some time, and haven't nearly that amount.
 
demensia said:
Wow bro. Thats alot of fans. Did you use automated friend adder tools, or trains, or did they just come to you? I've been using adder robot for some time, and haven't nearly that amount.
Click to expand...


I'm up to about 22,000. I started using an adder bot in April.
 
No, a few of my mates bands accounts have been deleted becuase of using automated bots. They had alot of friends aswell. Not worth the risk.
 
Here's a few more, Creator:

*Join quality OMD web sites with useful productivity tools, traffic and collaboration potential and include in your signature in ALL your web travels a link to your music.
*Business Cards- you must include either the link to your website or to at least the best place that hosts your music. Consider your link as your online business card.
*Play for free if you have to. Create an event and donate the proceeds to a charity. This can open up some interesting contacts and opportunities.
*Collect addresses, email addresses to keep your fan base current on what you are up to.
*Consider having a house concert.
*Create your own support group of family and friends- and communicate well with them on your plans and goals.
*Hand out your CDs. Have your web link printed on the CD.
*Print up a poster or flyers about your upcoming show and post it wherever your type of fans would hang out and include your web link, show date, name of CD, where CD can be purchased.
*Send press releases, reviews of your shows to local newspapers, magazines and event papers.
*Check your public and local radio stations that play your type of music and try to get some air time.
*Hand out your CD to club owners that feature your type of music.
*Get your name in a good, comfortable web forum and ALWAYS include the link to your music!
*Join online music groups and newsgroups.
*Give a review get a review, honestly is the best policy, but not brutality.
*Create a newsletter, if you are a decent writer, with content of value to the receiver.
*Send out press releases and reviews of shows
*Get online airplay.
*Know your audience, who and what your target areas are.
*Start a Blog, well written and kept current.
*Use internet class ads to promote upcoming events and possible collaborations with others.
*Create a banner to drop in your forum signatures or other online locations.
*Word of mouth has always been the best promotion. Get people talking about you.
*Be unique and interesting to look at in some way. Let people know you are professional and have star quality...build your image.
*Be innovative in your promotional efforts!
*There is a such thing as OVERKILL, in that it is better to describe your band/music as "we sound similar to the Beatles" rather than "we are the biggest thing since Led Zeppelin!". So word your description accordingly.
*Never spam email.
*Never mail your CD without a purpose or a contact person's name on it and expect miracles. Far better that the contact person knows to expect your CD, his or her name is spelled correctly, and you are mailing it to a company that actually works with your style of music.
*Learn every area of the business you are in. Knowledge is power.
*Meet people, get out there and shake hands, and without overkill, let them know about your music.
*Wear your band! Get a jacket, t-shirts (etc) and add your band name or logo on it. Wear it everywhere and be a walking advertisement.
*Be on friendly terms with other bands and artists in your area.
*Create a “street team”, whether online or offline…they are core people that wish to help you further your marketing efforts. Give them tix to your shows or merchandise for their efforts.
*Be persistent!

Suggests are just that, suggestions. You find what works for you and/or tweak any of the above. These are all tried and true marketing tips and by adjustment, would work for nearly any business. The old motto of "who can promote you better than you?" ... is the whole basis of your name being on the streets. You never know who knows somebody that knows somebody that will be just the introduction you need.
 
The business cards work really good. I added "Get 50% Off Any CD @ Shows". Past that I really don't do anything else.
 
For Real, This Is Some Good Shit To Hear, Over And Over Again, If U Have Already Heard It, Something New Is Always Bound To Jump Out At U

This Is The Type Of List That Should Be Printed Out And Reviewed Every Two Months To See If There Is Something New U Can Try . . . Theres No Way U Can Do It All At Once . .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top