18: Get Personal

I imagine this advice won’t apply to “concept bands” that have a specific theatrical act or image, but getting personal with my fans is what keeps me alive. Good music is barely enough to get fans to hand out 99¢ anymore; they have to be emotionally invested in the artist if that artist wants their loyalty. Don’t get me wrong, there can still be a “fourth wall” during a live concert or video, but real, meaningful connection with the fans is what keeps me in their heads after the show’s over (heck, even your “char- acter” can interact with fans in-character). I chat with my fans via Twitter, Facebook, matthewebel.com and matthewebel.net, and as many other channels as possible. The more I interact with them between performances, the more I stay fresh in their minds and the more inspiration I draw from them.

- Matthew Ebel

43: Prove To Each Venue That You’re Going To Promote

Conquer Social Media Before You Book Shows by setting up MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and make sure your music/email list is on it. You as the artist are the voice behind those pages, but don’t spend more than 2 hours a day on it. Make sure all of the above is in place before you book shows. Once a Show is Booked, Promote it! Otherwise no one will turn up and you may not get another gig. Ask the venue if fliers work well in their market and ask for a local media/radio list you can send the show to. Offer fans guest list in exchange for postering around town and sending in photos of their work.

- Emily White

Amber Rubarth would call each venue and ask them how she could help promote her show. She would then do everything that they requested and stay in touch with them to let them know that she was working hard to promote her own show and she fostered relationships with the venue owners and bookers while she worked for her own promotional benefit.

- Derek Sivers

54: Use the Social Networks Properly: Build That List!

When people pass thru your social network profiles (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc.) get them to come back your own web site that YOU CONTROL. To do this, give songs away for free in return for email addresses. ReverbNation’s Fan Exclusive Widget will facilitate this. Offer fans something special that makes them feel like they are a real fan and you really care about them. Social networks are all good, but they should be treated as lead-generation sources. They are free billboards on the super highway of information. Be there, but have something that extracts value and move those listeners down the fan funnel to something valuable for you.

- Lou Plaia

56: Tweet, Please

Twitter has been really big for me and it gives me direct contact w the people who want to listen to me – literally. When I released my new DVD I asked people to check it out and within a few minutes my tweet made it to 100, 000 people who were pre-disposed to care about it, which is a remarkable marketing message. I sold hundreds of them online just using my Twitter connections. I use Twitter as another entertainment channel to say interesting things and show people interesting things and share photos. To share photos with your Twitter friends use these easy sites: http://www.twitpic.com & http://www.yfrog.com Between these 2 things Twitter has become my main focus. I no longer am always thinking about updating my blog – I’m always thinking about Twitter.

- Jonathan Coulton

http://www.jonathancoulton.com

57: Create Twitter Contests

We have had several different types of contests that have caused small frenzies on Twitter but the ones that I think are the most effective are the ones where we have asked people to post links to an actual song via blip or just download links. We have had hundreds of songs posted in a matter of minutes, which means that each of those people’s followers could potentially be listening. I estimated 10,000 potential listeners in just a few min with our last contest. We usually give away tickets to shows or CDs or other prizes. In fact, I should be doing one right now…

- Jason Walsmith / The Nadas

http://thenadas.com/blog

58: Actively Start Conversations With Your Twitter Followers

Artists need to foster the all-important online two-way conversation. Just using status updates for only promotional means is not the best way to do this. Ask fans to comment back/@reply/direct message and they actually will. The more intriguing the question, the more likely people will respond. For example, the other day I asked the fans on my band’s Facebook page “Who is cooler, Nicholas (the guitarist) or Christopher (me)? Please provide reasoning for your explanation haha.” There were 20+ comment-backs by the end of the night. Provide fans with quirky questions that fit your personality. Use status update/micro-blog opportunities to create an environment that your fans want to continually be a part of.

- Chris Gesualdi

64: No Money For A Tour Publicist? Artist Data To The Rescue!

If you don’t have enough money to get a tour publicist for tour press then no need to worry. Artist Data is tour press for musicians made easy! ArtistData allows you to update your tour dates at Jambase, Eventful, Sonicbids, MySpace Facebook and Twitter. It not only updates your social networking sites but it also allows you to submit each of your shows info to the calendar editor at local newspapers and magazines in the specific regions you are touring. www.artistdata.com

- Christina Duren

65: Ping.FM – 55 Sites Updated At Once – Hours of Your Life Back

Ping allows you to update over 55 social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and your blog all from one easy to use website simultaneously. There are no more excuses for becoming overwhelmed with logging into several websites. This one interface allows you to update all of your statuses at one click.

- Christina Duren

http://ping.fm/

67: Use Search Engine Optimization

When I first heard Jamie Foxx’ “Blame it on the Alcohol”, I fell hard for the groove of the song (although not the message), and considered writing a parody of the song. After searching online for the chords and tabs for the song, I also found a performance video of another singer/songwriter performing an acoustic version on guitar. I was so impressed with the cover version, I blogged about the tune, the cover video, and links to the chords and tab. By twittering links to my blog post, I unwittingly created more powerful links to my blog post. Soon, my blog post ranked on the first page of Google for this song, and to this day, that blog post is one of my most visited pages, which has also led to new readers and subscribers to my newsletter. Now I’m adding more chords and tab blog posts for cover tunes that are actually in my genre!

- Carla Lynne Hall

http://carlalynnehall.com

68: Scratch The Back That Scratches Yours Online: Give Thanks!

Many of the Billboard Maximum 100 “opportunities” and placements are the results of years of favors, legal agreements, negotiating and bargaining tactics, and just plain historical relationships from the labels and commercial outlets. They have little to do with the artist. I maintain all of my bands networking sites as well as my own blog www.dereknicoletto.com,

Youtube channel www.youtube.com/dereknicolett and http://twitter.com/dereknicoletto. My band and my music has been placed on 11 television shows, countless podcasts, radio programs, publications and video programs. For every single placement, I either re-posted the feature on a site, sent a tweet about it or let my fans know in some way. Most importantly, I said “Thank You.”

- Derek Nicoletto

72: Sponsored streaming single or album release through Reverb Nation, Pandora, imeem, Rhapsody

All of these media companies connect music with advertising on the vast platform of the Internet, which can help you, get maximum (and track able) exposure to your music. This is your Johnny Carson. This is your Oprah. If you get this, you will be exposed to over 40 million potential new & genuine music fans with high consumption rates on the web. All three companies have engaged in advertising programs which package a new release in a stream surrounded by an advertisement. Read about Reverb Nation’s DIY Song Sponsorships here, or Pandora’s sponsored album releases here.

Tip: All of these companies are engaging or about to engage in sponsored video streams. Prepare now. Get your videos together now. Watch their video series. Rhapsody has been promoting independent live shows for 3 years, with its Rhapsody Rocks series. Big Light was featured in Rhapsody Rocks San Francisco where every band was paid appropriately and then featured on a Rhapsody Rocks play list. Remember, these placements are just another 15 minutes if you don’t make a connection with every single person who connects with you about their experience with your music. Know who is listening and thank them.

Tip: You are not ready to begin pitching for this until you have 1000 true fans on Facebook and/ or Twitter (or whichever network you use).

- Corey Denis

http://notshocking.com

79: Accident Hash Podcast: A Podcast Hosted By A Social Media Icon

C.C. Chapman hosts one of the longest running independent music podcasts. Accident Hash receives several thousand listeners each month. An added bonus is C.C. is well known in the Social Media world and he has over 17,000 followers on Twitter (so if you connect with him there you will be sure to find some new online fans, and friends. Genres: Assorted (almost all) http://www.accidenthash.com

- Ariel Hyatt

http://www.arielpublicity.com

86: Twitter Karma: Piggyback Off Similar Bands on Twitter to Grow Followers

When you target new people to follow, it is always wise to make sure they already like your genre of music. If you somewhat sound like Radiohead, wouldn’t it make sense to target the followers of their various Twitter profiles? For the people who do not follow you back, check out Twitter Karma. It allows you to ‘bulk unfollow’ anyone who has not followed you back; it’s a great tool for Twitter maintenance. http://dossy.org/ twitter/karma/

- Chris Gesualdi

90: Start Your Own Subscription Service

In October of 2008 I started my own subscription service– http://www.matthewebel. net –with no clue whether the fans would like it or not. Part of the offerings were two new songs and one live concert recording every month. It seemed like a tall order to me, but something I could accomplish. Little did I realize that new releases every two weeks would be better than any good album reviews or press coverage. Giving my fans something new to talk about every two weeks meant exactly that: they talk about me every two weeks. They’re not buying an album, raving about it, and losing interest after a few months, they’re constantly spreading my name to their Twitter followers, coworkers, pets, etc. Regular delivery of quality material is damn near my one-step panacea for the whole industry.

- Matthew Ebel

100: Be Like Amanda Palmer: Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Money

Singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer had a major deal that was doing nothing for her, so she took matters into her own fans. By announcing impromptu all ages shows on Twitter, she found that her fans were willing to come out on short notice to hear her play, buy her CDs, and eat cake. She then began whipping her 30K+ twitter followers, aka “the losers of friday night on their computers” into a frenzy. She created a hand-designed t-shirt in real-time which made $11,000.00 in a matter of days. She followed that up with a webcast auction, and a twitter donation-only gig, which brought her month’s income to $19,000.00Amanda wrote an inspiring blog post about this topic here: http://tinyurl.com/amandapalmermoney-    Carla Lynne Hall     

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