My online music marketing strategy

Here's the link: bit.ly/1fDGC4O

4. Allowed a song to be publicly dissected & mixed on a podcast

Part way through mixing the album I started to lose a little bit of perspective and was aware I could really benefit from another mix engineer taking a listen to one of my tracks. So, I contacted the seriously talented Kendal Osborne from one of my favourite audio podcasts The Recording Lounge.

Long story short, Kendal took the raw files from my song Gold In These Hills, and did a three-part podcast feature where he mixed the track step-by-step, exposing it to the world warts and all! It wasn't an emotionally easy thing to do but it was of huge benefit as new people were exposed to my music, which led to more email list sign-ups. Plus, I got a great mix of the song from Kendal, and the The Recording Lounge had a brilliant three-part walk-through of how to mix a song.

Here's the link: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/recording-lounge/

5. Gave away that song for free in exchange for email addresses

So, I found myself with a part-finished album and one completed track (Gold In These Hills). So, I thought I'd make use of this single track while I was working on the rest of the album and so I gave it away on Noisetrade in exchange for an email address.

New fans could have a permanent taste of my music at no cost, and I had the email addresses of more people who'd expressed interest in my music. So, when the album was released I had a very focused group of people I could inform.

Even better was that, even though the song was available free, some good people gave a donation for the download.

Here's the link: noisetrade.com/markpiercemusic/gold-in-these-hills

6. Made a lyric video of the free track

The web is becoming an increasingly visual medium, and YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the planet behind Google. So, it made sense to try and expose my free song in this arena. I could've tried to do a big budget production with multiple cameras and complex lighting arrangements, but I needed to focus on finishing the album. So, I decided on producing a lyric video - one with a bit of creativity and atmosphere to it, but simple and straightforward to produce.

Using a single camera, a few visual cues that tied into the song words, and hand-written lyric sheets I filmed it all in one take. The video has been shared on various websites and Facebook, and has led to (you guessed it!) more email list sign-ups.

Here's the link: http://bit.ly/1g8AGRN

7. Made use of social media

Even though it's far from being the main emphasis of my efforts, I've got a Twitter and Facebook account that I periodically post to. I realise some people do spend a lot of time on these platforms so it's silly to not be present. But I do always funnel people away and toward my email list. What if Facebook and Twitter radically change in the next two years and the following I build on there becomes obselete? I'd much rather have people on my email list than any following on social media.

As an experiment I did run a small Facebook Ad campaign. I didn't focus on getting more page 'likes' though. Instead, I sent my potential new fans to Noistrade for a free track. This had some success and I got a handful of new email list signups, and it may well be something I experiment with again in the future.

Facebook Fan page: www.facebook.com/MarkPierceMusic
Twitter: twitter.com/MarkPierceMusic

8. Ran a Kickstarter campaign

To help fund the physical production of the finished album I ran a Kickstarter campaign. I not only reached my target, but ended up with double the amount I was looking for! This was brilliant from a financial point of view and it also showed me that there were fans who were willing to financially invest in me and get behind my music.

The campaign also had the added bonus of creating a buzzing community of music fans who were all pulling together to reach the same goal. I used my email list and social media in tandem to help promote this campaign.

Here's the link: http://kck.st/1iInFN4

9. Gave away a bonus Christmas song (again - in exchange for email addresses!)

I've found that seasonal and topical events can be the perfect times to release certain songs. So, last December I recorded my favourite Christmas Carol O Holy Night and released it for free on Noisetrade. This proved really popular and led to more downloads (and email list sign-ups!).

10. Kept my fans up-to-date

As work on the album progressed, and the email list kept building, I sent regular emails out to my list, letting them know of all the latest developments. When I reached my Kickstarter goal I thanked everybody. When the tracks were sent to the mastering engineer I let everyone know that the mixes were done. When the album artwork was finalised I gave my fan list a sneak preview of what it was going to look like.

Keeping people informed and treating them as part of a 'special insider group' pays real dividends.

11. Made the album available on multiple platforms

I worked out that the easiest way for my music to be discovered is for it to be in as many places as possible! So, as well as physical CDs (which I sell at gigs and from my website) people can download my album from most of the major MP3 download providers.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/catapult/id849654905
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1feQlLg
CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markpierce2
Directly from my website: www.markpiercemusic.com

12. On launch I emailed my list

By now I had a list of people with a definite interest in my music and so when the album launched I sent them a series of emails - and many people bought a copy. All my hard work finally paid off!

Now it's your turn

I've learned first hand the benefits of building an email list, and I urge you start collecting email addresses at your gigs and online to help you build a strong and lasting relationship with your fans.