It’s completely normal to feel lost when promoting your music independently, and even more normal to stumble a couple times along the way. There’s no timeless rulebook for how managing a music career should go, as strategies, opinions, and algorithms are ever-changing. There are some rules of thumb to follow that can help you navigate the business, though.
The following is our shortlist of mistakes to avoid that will stay relevant for many many years to come, no matter the medium or format, along with solutions to help you prevent becoming a victim of these common pitfalls and turn them into strengths of yours instead.
1. Stop: Trying to Keep Up With Everyone Else’s Social Media Presence
Everyone will tell you that social media is king, but not everyone will remind you to participate only to the extent that makes sense for you.
It is certainly recommended to post as much as possible, but for those of you who aren’t Instagram or TikTok lovers to begin with, it may actually hurt you more to post just for the sake of posting than to be selective with your content.
The name of the social media game is authenticity, and it’s far from authentic to post a piece of content you don’t believe in. Those who are chronically online can sniff out forced promotion from a mile away, so instead of feeling obligated to post something just because, aim to post what you really want the world to see and what you are confident in.
Instead: Make a Plan that’s Realistic for You
If you struggle with coming up with ideas for posts and dread the looming “what should I post next” dilemma, the biggest hack is to go big before going home. Film one big long-form video (ideally a music video) that you can then chop up into a dozen snippets, BTS videos, teasers, etc. and slowly post over a long period of time. One filming day and one editing day can turn into months of content.
Another similar strategy is to plan one big media day to film/shoot everything during. Adding a photoshoot with a couple different outfits to the filming schedule is an excellent way to get both video and static content to work with in one day.
Doing it all at once will eliminate the need to 1) constantly come up with new ideas, and 2) have to create something on a deadline, which are usually the two biggest culprits of social media inactivity.
2. Stop: Automating Your Social Media Ads
Perhaps unsurprisingly, music and social platforms want you to pay for their services whenever possible, and ad campaigns are a great means to that end.
When you create an ad campaign to promote your music through Spotify or Instagram/Facebook (both run by Meta), they will offer to push it to a suggested target audience and number of users, making the process seemingly very simple. However, these target audiences are not actually very targeted – automated ad campaigns tend to push ad content to what seems like a large number of people, but a very small number of them will actually belong to the demographic that listens to your music.
As you track your ad campaign’s progress, you may not see the results you want (conversion from viewers to streams/follows) despite the ad having reached a large number of users. This will then prompt you to run another campaign and pay more money to the platform.
Instead: Choose Your Own Target Audience
You may think that platforms know best because they have all the data, but so do you! With a public or business account, almost every platform allows you to view your own insights to better understand your following (or listenership, on Spotify for Artists).
Use your insights to run more precise ad campaigns. You’ll not only be saving money, but you’ll also increase your chances of viewer-to-listener conversion. Begin by studying your following’s age, gender and location to best figure out where to push your content.
Your audience demographics will very likely differ by platform, so make sure to cater your ad content specifically to each. Allow your campaign a week or two to really take, and another week or two after its run to study how it’s influenced your media activity and listener trends.
3. Stop: Contacting Every Music Account, Outlet, and Industry Person
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Does it really make sense to be hitting up a music discovery Instagram page when you haven’t released your music to streaming services yet? Or emailing demos to a label when they haven’t been mixed and mastered?
By contacting someone in the music industry every time you come across their social media profile or email address, you may be setting yourself up to hurt your own feelings. When you don’t target people strategically, you’ll only increase your chances of getting a “no” because they may not work with the type of music you make or be offering the service you’re looking for. A pop radio station will not answer a hard rock pitch, and a folk blog will not accept hip hop artists. Save yourself the time and energy by being selective with your outreach.
Instead: Research and Create Personal Relationships
Do research on blogs, review sites, labels, music discovery accounts, promotion platforms, and anyone else you’d like that specializes in your genre of music. Make a list of who you’ll be contacting, and craft a message that is specific to them.
Whether you get what you’re looking for right away or not, building a relationship with the people you’re contacting is a great long term investment. They may ask you to send them new music whenever you have it, or alert them of an upcoming release in the future. You never know when your network is going to come in handy, so it’s worth taking the time to selectively contact those who you’d like to work with at some point and maintaining personal ties.
4. Stop: DMing Media Outlets
Though it may seem like the easiest communication channel, Instagram DMs are not the place to turn when you want to contact someone who can truly help you with your music.
Almost all media outlets, websites, companies, and big accounts have a social media manager or team behind them whose sole job is to run their social accounts. They are not journalists themselves, and receive far too many messages to relay every single one to the person you’re actually hoping to reach.
Above all, it’s simply unprofessional, as email is still the ruling means of communication in any big industry. Only use DMs to ask for the email address you should use to get in touch if you don’t already have it.
Instead: Pitch Where They Actually Read
Structurally, emails can do what DMs simply cannot, especially when it comes to links. Here’s what you should include in the perfect email:
- The pitch: 3-4 sentences maximum to present your project, keeping it short and impactful, and using descriptive language when describing the music so your creative direction can be understood quickly.
- The bio: 3 sentences introducing yourself as an artist, who your influences are, and what you’re currently doing.
- Private links: SoundCloud, Untitled, or YouTube allow private link sharing, so include your music using one of these (not a streaming platform or file attachment).
- Dates: Include the date of your upcoming release and shows if you have any.
- Visuals: Include the link to a Dropbox that contains press photos or videos for outlets to use if they write about you.
- Socials: Include your social media profile links so they can be visited and/or added elsewhere.
In terms of wording, be polite and professional. Being overly casual is frowned upon and will likely get ignored. Respectful messages have a much greater chance of getting a positive response.
Also, Groover can help you with promoting your music! The music promotion platform allows you to contact the best media, radios, playlists, labels and professionals of the music industry. Guarantee being listened to and have feedback within 7 days.
Finding and listening to music has never been easier or more complicated for the millions of users on streaming services. It’s up to you, as songwriters, music producers, independent artists to get noticed by promoting your music well!
Want to gain visibility or find a professional audience for your music?
Send your music to Groover – guaranteed to be heard and feedback within 7 days. Promoting your music has never been easier!