10 Tips For Indie Artists To Start 2016 Off On The Right Foot

Alright artists, it’s time to really buckle down. 2015 is coming to an end, so how are you going to make sure that next year is really your year? Here’s a few tips to start you off on the right foot:

1. Make Google Your Best Friend – There’s so much free information out there for you to utilize, the fact that most indie artists do not research every little thing is really baffling. If you want to know how to book shows, if you want to know how to promote your music, hell if you want to find someone’s contact info, 99% of the time you can find the information online. You just have to look for it. So in 2016, make a vow to yourself that you will research every little thing that you are unsure of and read more articles like this one EVERYDAY. To help you out, here’s a few sites to bookmark: exclusivepublic.com (shameless plug lol), Sonicbids Blog, raprehab.com, hypebot.com, and musicthinktank.com to name a few.
2. Spice up your social networks – If utilized the right way, social media can really be an awesome asset to your music career. For 2016, make sure that all of your social networks have the same name, same profile photo and same mini bio, that way you’re both easily searchable and easily recognizable across the board. Also make sure that your photos are high quality (go take a photo shoot if you don’t have professional photos).
3. Create Your Website – One of the first steps to really stepping things up a notch in 2016 is making sure that your digital presence is professional. Having a website that represents your brand, where people can go to listen to your music, watch your videos, get updates and subscribe to your newsletter is extremely important and helps tremendously when it comes to promotion. If you don’t already have a website, my contact info is at the bottom of this article. If you do have a website, give it a new look for the new year.
4. Plan Out Your New Releases – The days when you recorded a song and then posted it online as soon as you hop out the booth are OVER. You really have to utilize your time wisely and plan out your strategy for success. This year, make a vow to build anticipation for your new music by creating a strategy for each release (and don’t drop a project until you have an army of fans checking for it!). If you need our help, contact info is at the bottom of this article.
5. Curate Your Own Show(s) – This year it’s about making waves for yourself and not waiting on anyone to grant you an opportunity. This year, instead of paying for a showcase slot or relying on people to book you for shows, I want you to go find a venue, book it yourself, book a few other upcoming acts for the line up and put on your own show. It will be extremely fulfilling and you will learn a lot. I promise.
6. Organize Your Contacts List – Do you have a spreadsheet that contains all of the blogs, writers, DJs and outlets that you can send your music to? If not, you’re totally missing out. Before you start promoting your music, you must know WHO you can send it to. You should never just “wing it” you should have a plan. Create a spreadsheet using google docs or Excel, write down the names of your contacts, their email, their outlets and their social media. This will save you a huge headache.
7. Create a Mailing List and send out your first newsletter – Imagine getting an INSTANT 500-1000 views on your new video the hour it drops? Imagine selling out your latest show within the first week? Imagine selling enough merch to support your music career? Having a mailing list and sending out consistent newsletters to your fans is a great way to accomplish this. Go to mailchimp.com right now and create an account. Start asking your fans to sign up to your newsletter if they want your new music first. If you need help with this, contact us.
8. Delete all Unmixed music from online – First impressions are lasting impressions. If your music is half finished and not even close to being mixed or mastered, it has no businesses being anywhere near your soundcloud. Before 2015 is over, clean up everything that you have online that doesn’t give people the best first impression of you. The last thing you want is to make a bad impression because you put up your music before it was ready.
9. Create an email signature with your links – Do you know how many emails I receive whether it’s for business inquiries or music submissions that do not have any links or contact info? TONS! In order to avoid this in 2016, I highly suggest that you create an email signature (you can do this in your email settings) that contains your contact info and social media links, that way you don’t have to worry about it.
10. Make a Vow not to spam anyone this year at all – What does this mean exactly? DO NOT SEND A LINK TO YOUR MUSIC TO ANYONE THAT YOU DON’T KNOW. Effective promotion engages people. It’s not pushy or spammy. The best way to reach new people is to get the people that are already in tune with you promoting for you. If you can’t make 10 of your friends share your music to others, you have to ask yourself how hot your music really is. So in 2016, engage, do not spam. Resist the urge to @ people and tag people that you don’t know with a link to your music. Instead, engage with them. Retweet them. Join in on their conversations. Ask them how they prefer to receive music submissions before you send a link to your music.

Make 2016 YOUR YEAR, FOR REAL THIS TIME!

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

If you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly: brianna@exclusivepublic.com or @BreezyB215

10 Tips For Indie Artists To Start 2016 Off On The Right Foot