An Independent Musician's Guide to Self Promotion

What's the first thing that someone is going to do when they hear about you? They are going to forget about you! Let's keep that from happening. You need to own a piece of real estate in your customer's (or fan's) mind. Here's how to do that.

Posters

Get some posters printed up with a blank place at the bottom to write where and when your gig is. This is a great self promotion tool. The more professional they look, the better. My recommendation is to make a big purchase on a large quantity of high grade posters. You'll pay less in the long run. Do NOT post them on telephone polls. You could get a fine. Stick to bulletin boards, store fronts and of course the venue where your gig is. Posters are an effective tool in self promotion.

Website

You need a website.The Internet is a great tool for self promotion. I'm not talking about your MySpace music page either. By all means, keep the MySpace page but you need a full website for you or your band. A regular myband.com or myname.com. Think of a website as world wide self promotion. You'll need to get traffic to your site. That will be covered in short later in the article.

Merchandise

Hats, T-Shirts, Hoodies, stickers, bumper stickers, and anything else you can think of. Have your name or your bands name on whatever it is along with your website URL. Think of merchandise as advertising that pays YOU. Merchandise or "Merch" is a great self promotion tool. That's YOUR name they're walking around with on their chest. YOUR name on that bumper sticker that everyone behind them sees. YOUR name on the brow of someone walking down the street. Merchandise is mobile self promotion.

A Banner

Get a banner made for yourself or your band. Hang it up behind you at every gig. Make sure the banner has a theme that has to do with your music and/or style. Think of a banner as your own self promotion billboard. Make sure you put your website URL on the banner as well. If you're opening up for someone and have not banner, make sure you mention your name a few times to the crowd.

A Mailing List

These days with the Internet, getting an email mailing list is so easy. A mailing list is a valuable tool in self promotion. Remind people at gigs to sign up for your mailing list. Have a mailing list sign up on your website. Do NOT SPAM them. Include only pertinent information in your newsletter. Get their first AND last names. Choose an email program that will allow you to write one email news letter and will fill in the first names "Dear John" or "Dear Sandy" so that John Daily and Sandy Churchel feel like you're writing to THEM. Do NOT address your customers as "Dear Fans". They have a name! At every gig, PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE your mailing list. When writing your newsletter for your mailing list do NOT fill it full of e commerce type things like, "Buy my CD" or you'll likely end up in their spam folder or they'll unsubscribe. Talk about gigs, gas prices, or anything that you're passionate about. Get to know your customers on a personal level.

Website Traffic

Get as much traffic to your website as you possible can. This will catapult your self promotion. Get familiar with keywords so that your website appears at the top of a Google search. Put your website URL on EVERYTHING. Put it on your posters, your merchandise, your banner, your CD s, your t-shirts and hats and anything else you can think of.

You want the people who hear you to remember your name. You want them to come out to gigs. You want them to buy your CD and maybe a shirt or other merchandise. You want them to tell their friends and family, "You have to check this band (or artist) out". The advise in this article will give you a firm hold on self promotion for yourself or band. Good luck.