It’s 2022, and TikTok is taking over. 

I hate Tiktok – there, I said it. 

There is no doubt TikTok is extremely powerful and has broken many artists through to massive audiences, but I’m pretty sure they’re under 30 and have the energy to put into it.

I don’t know if I’m too old, but it just isn’t for me. And that’s ok because it’s not the only way to grow your music career.

Music Marketing has never evolved as quickly as it has in the past five years, and new tips and tricks are released weekly to help get your music out to new audiences.

A lot of these hacks are phases that come and go. But there is one marketing strategy that I wholeheartedly believe in. 

Please note: One single strategy is not going to get you a headline slot at Madison Square Garden. Music marketing is a rich tapestry jigsaw that needs lots of pieces to make a whole picture, but the advice I am about to share with you does pack a mighty punch.

The #1 Music Marketing Strategy is….

Email Marketing. 

It has been around for decades, and it is still mighty powerful.

Big brands such as PayPal, Buzzfeed, Uber, and so many more use email marketing daily.

But many musicians overlook the power of email marketing, and I really don’t want you to be one of them. 

The main reason it has stood the test of time is… IT WORKS. 

Email Marketing is the secret key that gives you direct access to your fans. 

Social media is great, but if you spend your time getting 10,000 fans on a platform and then the platform deletes your account, you have lost all of that hard work and are starting from scratch.

Email marketing gives you a direct line to fans through their email addresses, which is a MASSIVE business asset that a social media platform can’t take away.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is when you send emails to a list of contacts who have opted in to receive communication from you. 

You can tell them about gigs, new releases, live videos, new merch available and anything related to your music.

Email marketing allows you to build a community around your music by creating an ever growing mailing list.

It’s where you can directly talk to fans and build relationships with them—letting them get to know your personality, not just your music.

Building your mailing list is an organic process that grows over time, but once it’s up and running, I believe, as a DIY musician, it is the most powerful tool in your arsenal.

How to start email marketing for musicians

To begin email marketing, first, you need a mailing list of contacts.

So how do we get people to sign up?

A common practice to encourage people to join your mailing list is to offer them an incentive. In the email marketing world, this is called a lead magnet. 

What can I use for a lead magnet?

As a musician or band, you have lots of options to offer as a lead magnet that a fan can have once they hand over their email address.

These include…

• A free MP3 of a song – an unreleased song or an acoustic version of a current release
• Unseen artwork from a release
• Live performance video
• A behind-the-scenes video 
• Lyric sheets
• Chord notation from your songs

Anything exclusive and can not be found anywhere else is the perfect lead magnet for your audience. 

Once you have chosen your lead magnet to draw people in, you’re off and running.

Hosting your mailing list

Next, you need to choose a company to host your list.

Many companies give you the tools to build your mailing list. These include; 

• AWeber
• Mailchimp  
• ConvertKit
• GetResponse 
• Mailjet  
• Constant Contact 
• Moosend 
• HubSpot 
• SendPulse 
• ActiveCampaign 

Starting your mailing list for free and not investing any money until you have a substantial number of followers makes sense.

Most companies require you to start paying for subscribers straight away or after a 30-day trial.

But there is a 100% free way to start growing your list!

We recommend using AWeber. 

Aweber is a super easy and efficient email marketing platform that puts you closer to your fans. 

Aweber is made for musicians. Their easy-to-use email marketing platform allows you to attract fans, promote gigs and even sell your merchandise.

Aweber allows you to;

• Convert visitors from your website into subscribers
• Create beautiful landing pages
• Build relationships with fans
• Provides easy-to-use templates for email marketing
• Send personalized content
• Earn an income from your music
• Sell products
• Automate your subscriber’s journey
• FREE for up to 500 subscribers

The last point is what makes Aweber stand out from the other providers. They give you the space to get your list up and running – 500 people can sign up before you need to invest any money to grow it further. This gives you time to find your feet and make your mailing list work for you.

Sign Up Forms/Landing Pages

Ok, now you have two options for capturing people’s email addresses. Let’s see what’s best for your setup.

1. Sign Up Forms

Sign up forms are embedded forms you can place on your website or blog so a visitor can sign up to receive a newsletter or email.

They look like this…

2. Landing Pages

Landing pages are stand-alone web pages designed specifically for a marketing campaign.

They have their own URL and do not need to be hosted on your website.

Landing pages are great if you don’t have a website and rely on collecting email addresses from social media posts. 

Landing pages look like this…

AWeber offers high-converting, easily customizable sign-up forms and Landing Pages, making your life easier than designing one from scratch. 

Email automation

So, once you have your sign-up form or landing page ready, the next step takes the work off you so you can concentrate on other music marketing jobs. 

Email automation is seriously a game changer. 

It does the all the heavy work, so you don’t have to. 

With AWeber, you can set up a sequence of automated emails triggered and sent out when a new subscriber subscribes from your sign-up form or landing page. Email automation is included in their free plan – which is the big difference between AWeber and ConvertKit or Mailchimp.

After new subscribers have gone through the sequence you set up, they are added to your main list, and you can email your whole list quickly with just a few clicks. 

Email automation allows you to send well-timed, targeted content to fans, increasing engagement and interactions.

Targeting your fans

Email marketing allows you to organize your fans into categories to send them relevant content. 

If you organize your audience into segments based on their interest, location, and more, you can send them content you know they’ll be excited about. 

Are you playing a show in London? Only send an email to fans in the area. 

Are you re-releasing an old album acoustically? Give fans who originally bought it access to the new version.

In addition, we like AWeber because they allow you to sell your music, merchandise, or memberships directly to fans. 

They have super low transaction fees, so you can keep more of the money you earn.

It’s time to get started

It’s time to get your mailing list working for you. 

Remember, mailing lists grow from 1 subscriber to 10, to 100, to 1,000 and beyond. 

So get started today!