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Music Promotion Plan – Make The Most of Your Releases
August 08, 2023 •
7 min read
For independent singers and bands, music promotion is really important. The emergence of streaming services changed the dynamic of the music market a lot and there are a large amount of free ways for you to put your songs on the streaming platforms, but the real challenge is to catch people's attention so that you can start profiting from your songs. Learning more about promoting your work and setting a music promotion plan can help you stand out among other artists.
In the streaming era, the amount of plays and listeners that an artist has is essential so that they’ll have the opportunity to invest more in their career. Knowing how to promote you and your music and tracing a music promotion plan is major when it comes to gathering supporters and new listeners
Amidst all the strategies that you can find when searching for music promotion and music marketing, it is crucial to have a filter about what you should and should not implement. For that reason, the music promotional plan is necessary. In this article you will know more about how to create a great promotional plan and schedule.
Create Your Music Promotion Plan
Organization is the key when tracing a music promotional plan. You have to know how to take the best of each strategy that you decide to follow. Some of the strategies may work better together and some may not, so be cautious when choosing what you want to apply for your promotions. Think on a big scale: which of them will make sense together? If you only choose strategies for the pre-release period, your music may be forgotten too soon. The same goes for choosing only strategies for the post-release period.
It's really important to set a well-thought schedule of promotion. Some strategies — like releasing snippets and pre-saves — work better when used before the song is out. Others, like social media challenges, will give better results when used after the launch. The music promotion plan must cover not only the release period, but also the pre-release and the post. So don't start to plan your promotions too late or stop just after your song is out: try to use all the time available to catch people’s attention.
Along with that, another important thing is setting goals. If you know exactly what public you want to reach, how you want them to perceive your work and all these details, it will be easier to set which approaches make sense for you and the ones that don't. Knowing your audience is key to a good promotion, so don't hold efforts to learn more about it.
If you're planning to release a new song, start your promotions at least 30 days before the actual release date. That will give you enough time to make the most of your release. That way you will start to build the hype around your launch and make people curious about what is coming. Releasing snippets of the song and a little spoiler of the music video — if you have one — can be really helpful strategies for the pre-release period. It's a way of building the buzz around what you're planning to launch and keep the public interested in what you have to show.
A pre-save campaign is also great for the pre-release period. Algorithms are really important, not only in social media, but also on the streaming platforms, and the pre-saves are a strategy that will help with that. The algorithm will understand that people are interested in your songs even before they are released. So it will not only help with the song you are releasing but be for your other future releases as well.
Release: Keep the Buzz
The period right after your release asks for long-term strategies. You need to find actions that won't let your song be forgotten as soon as it's out. For that reason, official playlists can be great during the release. Having your songs in an official playlist will help the reach of the song, and make the buzz last longer than it would if you were only relying on the listeners you already have. Playlists do not change that fast, so you'll have time to grow even more.
But remember that for platforms like Spotify, the songs need to be sent before the actual release to be eligible to make it into an official playlist. Again: organization is the key! Make sure you have all that is necessary for your song to be chosen. The more details you give about the song, the higher are the chances of actually making it.
Develop a text that tells the story of the song. What inspired you, what references you had while making it, what did you mean with the lyrics. All of this counts a lot to the curators. It will tell them if your song suits the concept of the playlist, and if it doesn't, it may show them that the song's perfect for another playlist.
Post-Release: Make Your Mark
Don't try to rush your releases. You need to leave enough time to get the most out of each of your records. You can make lots of content after your song is out for some time. Showing the behind the scenes is a good way to keep people interested in the song but not in a repetitive way. You can share the process, the inspiration, what you struggled with. This will strengthen your relationship with your listeners as well.
Furthermore, you can choose a different strategy than releasing everything at once. If you are planning to launch an album, releasing a single before the full album can be a good way to keep people wanting for more and talking about your work for a longer period of time. You can also use this strategy with music or lyric videos, feats with other artists and remixes. If you launch more content about a previous release, the buzz will last longer and get more people to enjoy the song.
Make Appearances
Playing in live concerts or even radio music stations can be a huge help to your releases. They have a different approach than in social media and streaming platforms, so it will boost your reach even more. Electronic press kit — more known as EPK — is a must have, especially if you are trying to get more media appearances and straighten your relation with the press and reviewers.
An EPK should contain the basics about you as an artist: the genre of your songs, your branding, a little artist biography, relevant press appearances or any awards that you were nominated or won. EPK’s are used to present yourself to the press and events that may suit your concept, like music festivals. You should also add photos and links to your songs and social media.
These appearances in live events will get you new listeners more organically. So invest in finding events that have the same target audience as you do. Send your EPK so the organisers will know more about you and about what kind of music you make. If you have a well-made press kit, your chances of making it to these events is higher. So make sure your EPK tells all they need to know about you.
Put you Music Promotion Plan on Social Media
You can boost all of the strategies presented if you have social media by your side. Having your profile settled in all the main social networks is almost mandatory if you are trying to reach new audiences and promote your work. They're a really useful tool to share content about the song and build a stronger connection with the fans.
Platforms like TikTok and Reels on Instagram are becoming more and more popular. They're great for artists, since the main resources that they use are music and video. Many songs went viral because of this two social media apps, so investing in content to upload there may be great for your music promotion plan. Other places, like Facebook and Twitter don't have these tools, but can help you boost your reach to potential listeners as well if you adapt your content.
Don’t stop Working!
Be realistic when choosing the strategies that will compose your music promotion plan. Not all of them will be achievable right now, but they may be in the future. Different content asks for different strategies. Put in action the approaches that make sense for you, your public and the goals you want to reach. The results of the promotions will help you to invest more in your productions — and in even more promotions!
And do not forget to keep analysing your numbers! Most social media have tools that enable you to keep track of your promotions performance and reach. So always keep an eye on the results of your promotions. That way, you'll be able to know which approaches worked. Make the necessary changes for your next releases so you will reach the goals you set even faster.
