HOW DO I CREATE A BUZZ FOR MY MUSIC?
In short….marketing. Lots of people, particularly artists, see marketing as the evil corporate thing. It’s not. Simply put, marketing is just letting people know that you exist. That’s it.
The basics of marketing are really simple. Traffic leads to Awareness leads to Conversations leads to Conversions.
Here’s how it works
1) Drive traffic towards your platforms. This can be via ads on Facebook or Instagram, collaboration with similar artists who have a following (preferably a larger one that you!), hiring influencers, etc.
Note: Make sure you have your branding and image on point so that when people hit your socials or website it looks pro. Reference big artists that you are similar to and take note of the type of logo/font they use and the type of photos/images they use. Your optics need to match this standard.
2) Once people are aware that you exist you need to create interest. In order to do this, you’ll need a compelling story or cause(s) to create initial interest and great-sounding music that preferably relates to your music. This is what provides real value to people. It makes them feel happy/sad or laugh/cry.
3) When people engage you need to make sure you respond, start a conversation with them. If possible each response should contain a question for them (hyper-engage). Remember, great sounding music is essential, but it’s the relationship with you that cause people to buy your merch, tickets for you gigs, support you via patreon/membership scheme, etc.
4) These random people will be converted into followers. This allows you to create content that these people will bring further value into their lives. Make sure that you include a call to action to direct followers to your merch site, spotify profile, youtube page, or whatever you’re trying to build at that time.
Remember that this takes time at the start, you need to go get one fan at a time, but as this grows it can also cause a snowball effect. The most common way that people find out about new music is through recommendations from friends, so each person that becomes invested in you will likely become your sales-person!