Low-Cost, High-Impact Music Promotion Ideas That Work (III)

Continuing from last week’s article…

8) Record a seasonal or current events song

Unless you have friends in high places, your independent CD release barely stands a chance of getting radio airplay on commercial stations. Even the college and community stations require a lot of effort to get a substantial number of spins on the airwaves.

One way to sneak into a station’s rotation is to use your creativity and come up with a novelty song that relates to a current topic in the news or an upcoming holiday. For instance, Christmas songs almost always get some airplay during the Yuletide season. But stretch further.

Optional approach: Since you may have a lot of competition during Christmas, try doing songs that pay tribute to more musically obscure holidays – such as Thanksgiving or Groundhog Day. (Come on, how many Groundhog Day songs can you think of?) And what about Easter, President’s Day or Columbus Day?

More ideas: What about songs pertaining to a local political scandal, sports team or election? How about putting a local slant on Halloween, the Fourth of July or Valentine’s Day? Or have you considered recording a jingle or theme song for one of the popular morning radio shows? Use your imagination. Anything is possible with this marketing angle.

Believe it or not, novelty songs have a much better chance of getting commercial airplay – which will get your name out there and possibly pave the way for your more serious songs later. Just make sure the novelty or theme song you write and pitch to the station is in line with your overall musical style and identity.

9) Multiply your press exposure

When you get a review or feature story published in the press, make copies of it and send it to everyone on your industry contact list – including radio stations, record stores, music publications, nightclub owners, and booking agents. If the story appears on the internet, simply email a link to it. Reinforce your recognition factor with the people who are most likely to help you get even more exposure. And don’t forget to include excerpts from positive reviews in messages that go to your fans

10) Target specific cities and regions for best results

You don’t need to do live shows across the country, coast to coast, to effectively promote your music. In fact, it will probably be better for your exposure level and music sales (not to mention your sanity) to zero in on a predetermined number of cities

Example: “You shouldn’t spread yourself too thin,” says Rob Squires, bassist for the Denver, CO-based Big Head Todd & the Monsters. Before landing its record deal, the band took this approach: “To establish ourselves, we’d hit Chicago, San Francisco, Austin and the Colorado cities every other month,” Squires told Fast Forward, a newsletter put out by Disc Makers.

Result: “Our plan worked out great. There’d be more and more people at shows each time we revisited those target cities.” By focusing on a limited number of geographic areas, Big Head Todd & the Monsters was able to build a following and was later signed to a record label that could give them nationwide support.

11) Ask nightclubs to play your songs in their radio and TV commercials

Surely, of all the venues at which you perform, at least some of them advertise on radio and television. And practically all of those commercials use music underneath an announcer’s voice or video right? Why not encourage the club owner to use one of your original songs for that purpose?

Lession: it’s the next best thing to being put into regular rotation on a radio station, even though you’ll only be able to squeeze a verse and chorus, at most, into a commercial. But just think, you won’t have to pull teeth with a program director and compete with hundreds of other new releases to get your music on the air. All you have to do is sell the idea to the club owner.

Warning: You might have to negotiate with the owner to get this special treatment – remember, he or she is footing the bill for the paid ad spot. Some things to offer might include performing at the club for a reduced fee or offering part of your pay to help cover some of the ad costs. Either way, it might be worth it to get a minute of your original music on commercial radio or TV.

12) Offer an inexpensive CD sampler of your music

If you’ve ever visited a Sam’s Club or a large grocery store on a busy weekend, you’ve no doubt encountered lots of opportunities to sample free food. Whether they’re promoting new and improved pizza rolls or a new brand of zesty sausage, food companies love getting free samples into the mouths of potential buyers.

In the same way, you should be whetting the appetites of music fans with free and low-cost samples of your music… then reeling them in to purchase your full-length recordings.

How to do it: Pick two or three songs off of your current or upcoming release. Or, if you have a few releases out, create a short “best of” compilation. Then produce a couple hundred of these sampler CDs – whether you burn them yourself or go through a replication company.

Don’t worry too much about frills at this stage. Pour all your artistic detail into the final full-length product. Keep these samplers simple and low-cost, so you can give away and sell a lot of them without losing your shirt.

Some bands successfully sell sampler CDs for one or two dollars to cover costs. Fans who are willing to part with a buck or two will probably be more willing to spend $10 to $15 on your full CD. If you give away samplers, you should consider requiring fans to sign up on your mailing list before they get the freebie.

Important tip: While the CD sampler artwork should be inexpensive, one thing you absolutely must print on it is your website address and specific instructions on how to order your full-length releases. That’s the whole point of these music samplers: To increase your notoriety, your mailing list, and the sales of your recorded products.

13) Ask your fans to help you get gigs and airplay

A wise person once said, “You won’t get things in life unless you ask for them.” Use that same philosophy when it comes to your fans. Don’t be shy about asking the people who like your music the most to be a part of your success story. There are two key ways to accomplish this:

1. In all of your mailings to your fans, include the call letters and phone number of radio stations (or the web address and email for online shows and podcasts) you are targeting for airplay. Then encourage your fans to contact these stations and request that your music be played. You can also distribute fliers at your live shows that offer this same radio contact information.

2. While you’re asking your fans for help with airplay, why not ask for their help in getting paid gigs? You never know who among your fans knows a club owner or someone having a private function with a budget for live music. You might even entice your fans further by offering a 10 per cent commission on whatever you make through the job they help you book. Why not? That’s free enterprise at its best!