Getting your music featured in blogs and webzines can be a highly effective technique for promoting your music to the world. Not only are they fantastic resources for music fans but many music industry professionals scout new talent on the blogosphere. For this reason, a great feature on a blog can be an important stepping stone in building a fan-base and landing on the radar of a label, publisher, manager, or booking agent.
Before you start sending your music out to blogs there are some important things to consider that can maximize your visibility and the likelihood that a blogger will write about your work. Through trial and error of our own, talking with artists we’ve worked with, and speaking directly with bloggers we thought of some tips to help you prepare for a successful blog campaign. Here’s where we think you should start:
1. Be Specific, Do Your Research, and Make a List
Every blog has its specialty and every blogger has their favorite style(s) of music. There are blogs that specialize in a specific genre and blogs that offer a variety of flavors. You MUST do your homework and find out which resources best suit your music.
Make a list of the bloggers you think might like your music. If your band sounds like Led Zeppelin but you’re contacting a blogger who likes Lady Gaga, you might be barking up the wrong tree. It takes some leg work, but the extra time spent researching the right bloggers to send your music to can save you more time in the long-run and you’re more likely to strike a chord with someone whom you know likes the kind of music you’re making. Keep your contacts in a spreadsheet or google doc so you can return to them on your next release and always make special note of the blogs that have already featured you.
2. Make a Personal Connection
When you reach out to a blogger, it’s important to make a personal connection. Why so? How would you feel if you were inundated with music from countless bands, labels, and managers on an hourly basis who didn’t take the time to really get to know who you are and what you’re about?
Being thoughtful goes a long way! A blogger may not know your band but they’ll be happy to know that you’ve taken time to get to know their work. A simple acknowledgment will do cause you can definitely scare someone off if you come on too strong. It’s worth building up these relationships for a multitude of reasons; bloggers can be fantastic resources to other bloggers, some bloggers have day-jobs in the music industry, and you share something in common - you each love music. They can be valuable connectors for you, so make your connection with them more personal and it can pay dividends in your marketing efforts.
3. Make your music available on multiple services
It’s typically easy to find out which services a blogger prefers to receive your track from. Many blogs and webzines will give you instructions on how to submit your music, whether they want a Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, or iTunes link. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if it's not listed as it may not be clear based on the posts they've made to this site. If you don’t know it’s important to ask them!
For the sake of maximizing your visibility, we recommend you make it as simple as possible for bloggers, fans, and music professionals to find your music. Put your track (or album) on Youtube perhaps with a picture of the album art, the lyrics, or a music video. Make a point to post your track on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Topspin, Facebook, ReverbNation, Twitter Music, and even Instagram Video. Not everyone uses the same service and you never know where your next hardcore fan might discover you.
Stay tuned for more tips on how to prepare for a successful blog campaign.