When was the last time you thought about music promotion and making love at the same time? Been a while? Well, by the time you finish reading this column, you may do it more often. (Thinking about the combination, that is. How often you “do it” is up to you :-)

This whole idea started when I ran across an article by Desiree Gullan called “The Kama Sutra of Marketing.” (In case you don’t know, the Kuma Sutra is an ancient Indian text widely considered to be the first manual on love and human sexuality.)

It reminded me of an analogy I’ve often used: Marketing is a lot like dating.

But most self-promoting musicians don’t think of it that way. And because of that, they struggle to get noticed, connect with fans, and make more money.

So, here are some valuable lessons from the Kama Sutra you can apply to your music marketing efforts: