Never apologize for your marketing efforts.
See, here’s the thing about building a music career.
We have two hats to wear.
The creative hat is what we wear most of the time because it’s comfortable, it comes naturally, and it’s the most fun.
It’s the marketing hat that often gets neglected. We don’t want to put it on, forget to put it on, or only put it on long enough to post on Facebook so we can get back to wearing the creative hat.
“Get that dirty, gross marketing hat off me!”
The truth is your marketing hat looks good on you.
Because many musicians avoid it, tip toe around it, or only poke at it from a distance.
Marketers always notice musicians who are doing it right. Because sadly, so many are doing it wrong.
(Although that should tell you that there’s ample room to create successful marketing.)
Most musicians somehow forget that they are creative when it comes to marketing their music. So, they resort to limp, ineffectual call to actions like “check out our new release.”
Most musicians somehow forget that they are creative when it comes to marketing their music. Click To TweetThat only works when you have an established, engaged fan base. If people haven’t heard of you, they will “check out” nothing.
Plus, “check out” is weak. You want to be bold. “I invite you to buy our latest release on Bandcamp” is at least direct and clear. Don’t beat around the bush – ask for what you want!
Just because we’re sales averse and price sensitive as musicians doesn’t mean that our fans are. Take those lenses off and start seeing the world as it is, not as you think it is.
Just because we’re sales averse and price sensitive as musicians doesn’t mean that our fans are. Click To TweetAnd more to the point, be intentional.
When you’re in creative mode, keep that creative hat on.
But once you have something to share with the world, hang up the creative hat for a while and put the marketing hat on. Engage only in marketing for a while.
Musicians generally understand this concept better than most marketers because they will keep touring the same album until demand completely runs out.
The truth is demand never runs out. You don’t go to see AC/DC to hear them play “The Furor,” though there’s nothing wrong with newer material. You go for the hits – “Back In Black,” “Thunderstruck,” “Highway To Hell,” and so on. There’s always a demand for the hits. If you’re an independent musician, trust me, you’re a long way off from over-saturating a market.
Your marketing hat looks good on you. Put it on when you have something to share and keep it on for a while. Otherwise, you will tend to get stuck in perpetual creative mode, and that doesn’t help you grow your career.
