Promote Your Music With These 5 Unique Ideas

When you want to promote your music, you have to think outside of the box. This doesn’t include email lists, social networks, networking, posting up fliers on the streets, etc… The best way to promote your music is to have fun and be unique. Use the following techniques along with your current promotional methods. Here are 5 ideas on how to promote your music thinking outside of the box.

Merch

Aside from the normal merch most bands offer such as shirts, stickers, posters, etc.., partner up with local companies and release some stuff other bands usually don’t release. For example, if fans know you or your band as a party type act, you could put out some bottle openers and drink coasters. You could sell or give these items to local bars and pubs and that way, your band is being promoted. 

If your band is geared towards the older folks, you could sell tooth pics, golg tees, etc.. Just find what suits best for your genre and sell it and get local companies to help promote your stuff.

Go Old school

Today, people consider the 90’s as a period of nostalgia. Old musicians used to release their tracks on cassettes and send out postcards. Today, releasing cassettes no doubt would be a bad idea but you could send out newsletters of promotional postcards via postal services. People love getting stuff in the mail even if it’s just advertisements. This may cost some money but it will definitely bring in a lot of attention.

Local Morning Shows

The big morning shows such as the Today Show and Good Morning America fail to bring in some loacl news. Local producers however are constantly looking to fill in the gaps with local content. If you watch these shows, local producers always plug in local events. This is a great opportunity for your band. Offer to play live and promote upcoming local gigs. The morning people are a perfect audience to perform for.

Let The Fans Do The Work

Today, there are tons of social networks and social sharing apps. You fanbase is your best bet for promotion. Host contests and tell them to create short videos on Vine to share online. Reward the best video producers with free tickets to your show or free music.

Create An Alter Ego

Picture a world where up is down, black is white etc.. Now, do the same thing with your band. Play a surprise gig as your band’s alter ego. Play to the smaller crowds at first and they’ll tell everyone about your secret. Basically, they’ll be surprised that your band is doing something different.

Another famous example is Tyler Cassidy aka. Froggy Fresh the rapper. He is well known for making pretty stupid yet humorous hip hop music videos and he uses that alter ego to in a way promote his real music under the name of Tyler Cassidy. 

Some of these may or may not work for you, but just play around and see what works for you and your band. Keep thinking outside of the box and promote your stuff based on your band’s style. Remember, better promotion = more fans and more fans = more money. 

Leslie Edwards ss a musician and a blogger. She is one of the founders and bloggers at Musician Makers which is a site with tips and guides for musicians