You probably have a few thousand followers spread across Instagram, TikTok and Spotify, and you don’t control how many of them see what you post. After one algorithm change, the same kind of post can reach far fewer people than it did last month.
Email works differently. When someone gives you their address, you can write to them whenever you want, without paying for a boost. The easiest place to start collecting those addresses is the link you already have in your bio.
Why followers aren’t the same as fans you can reach
A follower tapped a button once. A subscriber gave you a way to contact them, and you’ll feel the difference the day you announce a show or launch a crowdfunding campaign.
On social media, only some of your followers see any given post. On streaming platforms you can’t message listeners at all. An email goes to the inbox of everyone on your list. Not everyone opens it, of course, but the people who do tend to be the ones who buy tickets and merch.
Your list also outlives the platforms. If you switch tools or start a new project, it comes with you.
Why your link-in-bio is the right place to start
Your bio link is where your most curious listeners end up. They heard a track or watched a clip and wanted more, which is when they’re most likely to say yes to hearing from you again.
Most artists use that page as a list of buttons: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, tickets. Fans click one and leave, and you have no way to find them again. Add a sign-up to the page and some of those visits turn into contacts.
If the page itself needs work first, start with our guide on how to optimise your link-in-bio to get more streams and fans, then come back here.
Step 1: Give people a reason to sign up
Few people sign up for something called “my newsletter”. Far more will sign up to get an unreleased demo before anyone else. Offer something that feels exclusive or useful, for example:
- An unreleased track, demo or acoustic version
- Early access to tickets before the public sale
- A discount code for your merch
- A private link to a live session or behind-the-scenes video
- A first listen to your next release, a day or two before it’s out
Pick one and describe it in a single short line on your page.
Step 2: Put the sign-up where people will see it
If your sign-up sits below eight streaming buttons, almost nobody scrolls down to it. Put it near the top, ideally right after your current release, and keep the form short. An email field and a button are enough. If you want to know one more thing about your fans, ask for their city. You’ll use that when you plan shows.
Pick a button label that says what happens next, like “Get the demo” or “Notify me”. “Submit” tells people nothing.
Step 3: Say thank you straight away
The first email should arrive the moment someone signs up, and it should deliver what you promised: the track, the code or the link. Add a couple of lines in your own words about who you are and what you’re working on. Write it the way you’d write to a friend who came to a show.
Fans who get something good on day one are more likely to open your next email.
Step 4: Send people to the page
A sign-up only works if people see it, so mention your offer regularly. Some places to push it:
- Stories and posts, e.g. “The demo of X is in my bio for the next two weeks”
- The end of your YouTube videos, and their descriptions
- On stage, between songs, with a QR code on screen or on the merch table
- Your email signature, so promoters and labels see it too
Change the offer every few weeks so people who come back have a new reason to sign up.
Step 5: Use your list (without spamming it)
Collecting emails and never writing is a waste. Writing every day is worse. For most independent artists, one email a month works, plus extra ones around a release or a tour announcement.
Segment when you can. If you’re playing Lyon next month, write to your fans in Lyon instead of your whole list. They’ll read a message that’s about them, and everyone else won’t get tired of you. For ideas on what to write, see our tips on making newsletters that promote your music.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying or importing lists. Only email people who signed up to hear from you. In Europe that’s required by GDPR, and fans notice when they get emails they never asked for.
- Hiding the unsubscribe link. Let fans leave in one click. A smaller list of people who want your emails is worth more than a big one that ignores you.
- Only writing when you need something. If every email says “buy my ticket”, people stop opening. Send a demo or a photo from the studio now and then.
- Not looking at your numbers. Check who opens and which offer brings in sign-ups. It tells you what your fans care about.
Where Groover fits in
If you’d rather not juggle a link-in-bio tool, a form builder and an emailing service, Groover has all three in one place. On your Link-in-bio at groover.me you can add sign-up blocks called Drops. Every subscriber goes into your own Audience, and you can email them from your Groover account.