5 steps to creating an effective music marketing plan
So you've got an amazing song and a great sound, but how do you get people to listen? Music marketing can be daunting, even for the most seasoned artists. But if you're willing to put in the time before you hit "post," it's possible to reach your fans and grow your audience without spending a fortune on ads or hiring an expensive PR team. In this article, we'll walk through five key steps to creating an effective music marketing plan that will help you reach your goals and attract more fans— all without breaking the bank!
# Ordering Tasks
The order of these tasks is variable because some tasks depend on others being completed first. For example 1) You can't define your audience unless they have listened to at least one song (so this depends on step 3). Thus, I would recommend ordering these tasks as follows:
Step #1 – Know Who You Are
The first step to creating an effective music marketing plan is knowing who you are and what you want to be. This means figuring out your strengths and weaknesses, as well as understanding what makes your music different from other musicians in the industry. It’s also important to know who your target audience is and how they will react to your music when it’s released. Having this information on hand allows for a more accurate assessment of whether or not the steps that follow are necessary in order for them to reach their goals as an artist.
Finally, before moving forward with the rest of the steps in creating a marketing plan, it’s imperative that one has established their budget (or lack thereof) and any other resources available at their disposal—including time spent outside of working hours on promotional activities like networking events or interviews with bloggers/media outlets (more on these later).
Step #2 – Define Your Goals
Define your goals before you start. Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve? Are there any deadlines or deliverables that need to be met?
You should define a clear set of goals for yourself and be ambitious. You'll want a goal that's achievable in the short term, but also has room for growth as you develop and improve your skills over time. Be specific and don't fall into the trap of making them too vague! For example, I want 50% more streams on my top three tracks by next month, or We will have reached at least 20 new fans by our next show.
You can also set intangible goals like improving your social media presence or gaining more recognition within your local music scene/community as well as setting up opportunities with other artists from around town (or even outside it).
Step #3 – Define Your Audience
Determining your target audience is essential before you can create a successful music marketing plan. The first step in defining your audience is to identify who you are trying to reach and why specifically. Once you know their needs, wants, and desires as well as what makes them unique you can tailor content to speak directly to them in the most effective way possible.
Once you've identified the type of person who's likely to purchase or listen to your music (and why), it's time to find them! Knowing where they congregate online will help determine how best to reach out with ads or other forms of marketing that will translate into sales for your project.
Step #4 – Build Your Distribution Strategy
The next step in your music marketing plan is to build a distribution strategy.
What is a distribution strategy?
A distribution strategy involves deciding which channels you want to use to distribute your music, and how you're going to get it into those channels. The main goal of this step is choosing the right channels for distributing your music so that it reaches as many people as possible.
The most popular channels for distributing music are Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube (in order of popularity). There are other platforms out there but these three have come up time and again in my research and conversations with artists who have been successful with their own DIY strategies. If you want more information on how they work then read through our 'How To' Guides below:
Step #5 – Keep Measuring, Testing & Adjusting
Keep Measuring, Testing, and Adjusting
Once you’ve implemented your marketing plan, it’s crucial to measure results and make adjustments as needed. Use the various tools available (e.g., Google Analytics) to see how people are finding your content through search engines and social media platforms, who they are listening to on streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, what they’re doing when they land on one of your videos or other digital assets—and whether or not that leads them back to purchasing something from you in some way (such as buying tickets for an upcoming show).
Follow these steps to create an effective music marketing plan that will help you reach your goals and attract more fans.
Define your goals
Define your audience
Build your distribution strategy
Measure, test, and adjust
Conclusion
In conclusion, a marketing plan is essential to your music career. Without a solid plan that outlines your goals and strategies, you won’t be able to reach as many fans or generate as much revenue. It can also help avoid common pitfalls like wasting money on ineffective tactics or being blindsided by changes in the industry. With that in mind, we hope this article has given you some ideas for how to create an effective plan for yourself!
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