Zankme.com Launch - Helping Musicians to Easily Connect with Fans

San Diego, CA – February 19, 2013 – Zankme com, is putting a new spin on download cards with a simple way to help musicians connect with their fans. Zankme allows musicians to upload music, videos, photos or other digital media and immediately print custom download cards that can be sold or offered as promotional giveaways. Fans redeem the cards, and artists learn an array of information about their listeners including their email address and location.

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Hal Leonard Publishes Less Noise, More Soul

Thought-provoking essays on the search for balance in the art, technology, and commerce of music

MONTCLAIR, NJ (February 11, 2013) – Less Noise, More Soul features the unique perspectives of highly accomplished performers, engineers, and producers on the question how modern technology has influenced and shaped the way we create and consume music today.

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The impact that blogging has had on my music career

Houston Hip Hop artist Rob Jay explains the impacts that blogging has had on his career and how artist can get started with it. http://www.robjay.com

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Creating an Unstoppable Kickstarter Campaign: Start With the Fans

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire. He was launching a new podcast series called “The Great Business Experiment: Kickstarter.” It featured interviews with ten successful Kickstarter campaigns to talk about what worked, what was learned, and what can be done for the future. 

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Moupp, The First Mobile Fan App for Bands and Artists

The first ever mobile app for bands & artists to market and promote themselves. The app alerts fans to notify them of their favorite bands at the right time and right place. Bands increase their fan base, expand their reach and increase earnings.

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Joe Solo: Commonsense advice sprinkled with gems

The more emails and tips I get from this guy, the more his great advice sinks in - and I’m not a working/recording musician. It’s just damned good advice. A mix of “DOH! slap me up side the head” commonsense stuff that we need to be reminded of constantly - sprinkled with brilliant gems of creative advice. I heard him speak at a couple of different songwriter workshops and conferences within a 3-month time span, and then I signed up for his free email tips and video nuggets. It’s THAT good that I suggest y’all do the same at his website joesolo dot com. Did I mention that it’s FREE!!!!  End of public service announcement. :-)

Hip-Hop and Social Media. Promotion vs Spam

This blogpost discusses social media spam and online music promotion through platforms such as Twitter and how to avoid being ignored online.

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Facebook Edgerank for Musicians 101: Increasing Fan Engagement

The latest update to Facebook’s ‘Edgerank’ algorithm is a bit confusing and has many of you concerned about losing access to your Facebook fanbase. There are differing opinions on why the change was made (whether it was to force you to pay for ads or — the more likely scenario — to take clutter out of newsfeeds).

Here are some tips to help you avoid your Facebook posts getting lost in the clutter:

1. Don’t beg your followers to click “show in newsfeed”

Some bands are asking their fans to click “show in newsfeed,” which ensures that the band’s posts will… show in their fans’ newsfeeds! This is not recommended. Yes, it will work for those fans who can’t see your posts in their newsfeed, but Edgerank changes went into effect in late September; if your fans can already see your post in their newsfeed asking them to take such an action, having them go to your page and check a box that is already checked may cause confusion and even some accidental un-checks!

2. Don’t ask your followers to click “Get Notifications”

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10 Steps Ever Artist Must Take to Promote Their Tour

Do you have a tour or one-off show coming up? Let’s talk about how to promote it.

Now, I understand that there are many debates on where the responsibility of promoting lies (some argue the venue/promoter, some argue the artist). Those debates aside, let me say this: the time and money that goes into strategically promoting your shows will always provide a good return on investment. Who doesn’t want to gain a reputation as a hard-working artist willing to do nearly whatever it takes to make the show a success?

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Online marketing for new bands

A quick bit of advice on how both new and established bands can improve their online marketing efforts to better engage their audience.

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Music Marketing 2.0: Bethel Music Leverages Affiliate Links to Boost Revenue

Musical group Bethel Music now earns additional revenue on top of music sales by promoting its newest album–For the Sake of the World–through refer.ly iTunes affiliate links, giving them more resources to make the music that they and their fans love.

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How to Get More Fans on Facebook

During a consulting session earlier this week, I was asked “How do you get more fans on Facebook?”

I began by talking about the usual techniques: advertising the Facebook page, better cross-promoting with other sites, increasing engagement, etc. However, the more that I thought about the question, the more I realized it was the wrong question. Many artists are constantly looking for ways to increase the number of followers on their Facebook or Twitter. They even buy fake followers to do so. But the bigger question isn’t amount how to get more fans on Facebook, it should be more about how to get more fans, period.

When you are staring at your Facebook fan page and are thinking about how to increase the number of likes, think about the bigger picture: how can you increase the number of fans. Who cares if you have a large number of followers but no one buying your music or attending the shows? When you increase the number of genuine fans, your social media metrics automatically increase.

So how do you get more fans? Many of the important thoughts about this are covered in The Best Social Media Site for Bands as well as in How to Develop a Hardcore Fan Base. Enjoy 

How to Market Your Band Effectively

So you’ve managed the (not inconsiderable!) task of getting your mates together, figuring out who can play what instrument, discovering that your vocalist can’t actually sing and hurriedly recruiting another, and you’re well into practicing for your first gig. Lamentably, however, most music scenes are not very accommodating to new talent. It is important to remember that it is less a case of “build it and they will come” and more a case of “build it, market it and they will come”. Skip the marketing, and the reality is that you’ll be disappointed to find there will be no-one at your first gig. So how can you ensure your band’s popularity?

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Are you engaged?

From BRASH! - A Music Marketing Blog

Getting involved with your following

When I speak of being engaged, in a Marketing perspective it doesn’t mean to “Put a ring on it”. As we all know, you can be engaged with people by becoming involved whether its in a business aspect or a relationship.  As an artist, you should want to have engaging conversations with your fans, interested media outlets, and industry professionals.  This will help you to expand your brand and exposure in the industry.

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