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Advertising is the process of communicating information about a service or product to build name recognition and trigger sales. A creative ad placed in the appropriate mediums over time can achieve incredible results and even become a part of pop culture.
Remember the ads that showed people choking on cupcakes with the caption that read, "GOT MILK?" Or how about the ads by Wendy's that showed the old woman at a take-out counter of a competitor exclaiming, "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" These ads spread like wildfire. I heard people using these expressions in schools and shopping centers practically every day.
But what's most relevant to note here, is that these ads weren't successful just because they were creative and funny, but because we saw them over and over again-over an extended period of time—till they were burned into our memories. Can you imagine what this type of advertising costs?
Even at the local level, running an ad in a newspaper or magazine is gonna' cost you a little bit of money if you count on making a significant impact. And perhaps this is more money than you can afford to spend right now.
This is why it so important to plan a realistic advertising campaign; one that will get you the most BANG for your advertising BUCK and guide you towards a number of FREE opportunities that exist.
From partnering with "like" bands & businesses, to getting listed in free online calendars and message boards, be sure to write the following points into your own plan.
Start a street team. Start a street team consisting of your dedicated fans who are willing to hand out CDs, flyers that announce your gigs, and other important information. Utilize your e-mail lists to send out a notice and request volunteers. Once you compile your own "personal army of advertisers," be sure to utilize their time productively. Have them hand out information in places that will reach your audience; for instance, at the venue in which you'll be performing or at similar or "like" venues. Have them promote in less obvious places as well such as at clothing stores, "head" shops, and tattoo parlors. Nurture your street team by offering them free merchandise (or exclusive limited merch with the words STAFF on the back), putting them on your guest list, getting them backstage, or thanking them on your Web site or CD liner notes. Your street team can be your best source and cheapest form of advertising.
Create useful advertising tools: postcards, samplers, CD-R flyers, and stickers. Advertising tools help to get your name out about your products and events. They can be distributed among your stream team members and kept on hand for yourself-you never know who you're going to meet in line at the bank or grocery store. "Glossy post cards" (5.47" x 4.21") are a like mini portable billboards that can be easily handed out to club goers on the streets. Any local print shop or online business like Over Night Prints (www.overnightprints.com) can help get the job done. "Three Song CD-R samplers" compliment your postcards and help people to make that much more of a connection with your band. Manufacturers like Disc Makers (www.discmakers.com) can have the job done in 24 hours and can even sell you "CD duplicators" to do-it-yourself. "CD-R fliers," samplers of your music with the dates and times of your gigs printed directly onto the CD-Rs, make for simple and handy marketing tools. Disc Makers also sells "On-Disc Printers" to help you get the job done. And finally, "Stickers" are like secret a weapon to be stuck on everything from bathroom stalls, telephone booths, and anywhere else that is visible to your fans. Companies like Sticker Junkie (www.stickerjunkie.com) and Sticker Guy (www.stickerguy.com) are two affordable choices.
Utilize your e-mail lists. Utilize your e-mail lists by sending regular announcements about upcoming shows and CD releases. This concept can't be mentioned enough since it is virtually effortless to accomplish. As long as your announcements don't look like spam, you include clear succinct headers in the subject line (i.e., ABC Band / The Whiskey / 00/00/00 / 9:00 PM), and you take the time to address each of your fans by their first names, e-mail can be a very effective and cheap form of advertising. Build your e-mail lists by collecting addresses at your live shows and by making new fans via community sites such as My Space (www.myspace.com) and Pure Volume (www.purevolume.com). You might even be able to benefit from the e-mail lists acquired by other like bands in your community. Do this by asking them to mention your show or CD for sale the next time they send out e-mails—and of course you'll do the same for them when they are playing-out or releasing a CD. You just have to be really subtle about this as to not piss-off fans and make them feel their privacy is being violated.
Seek music reviews. Seek music reviews (something that is viewed as being more credible than paid advertisements since it offers a more objective view) by submitting your music to local magazines and newspapers in your area. If you have an interesting or "news worthy" story around your band you might even be able to get a feature story or interview. Also submit your music to online sites like CD Reviews (www.cdreviews.com), and Indie Music Review (www.indiemusicreview.com). Check out the Indie Bible (www.indiebible.com) for additional sites that will review your music.
Register your URL with directories. Register your Web site URL on free directories and draw fans to your site. Check out directories like the one provided by Google (www.google.com) and MusicDish Genome Project (www.musicdish.com/genome). There's hundreds more. Just type something like "band + directory" into your favorite search engine.
Exchange Web site links. Exchange links with interesting and highly visited sites to attract new fans. Start with TAXI (www.taxi.com) that allows you to post a link on its site (as long as you're willing to post their link on yours). Also check out the Indie Link Exchange (www.indiebible.com), a service that allows you to post your URL and a short description of your site. Visitors that see your information can decide if they'd like to contact you to exchange links (and you can view other people's information and contact them as well). Also exchange links with your friends and other bands. By the way, exchanging links is one way to increase your "result ranking" on various search engines. This means you'll be closer to the top of certain search results lists when people are trying to find you online. So start exchanging!
Though these tips may help increase your exposure, be sure to monitor your marketing efforts to determine what works for you and what doesn't. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! You don't want to continue putting your time and money into an ad only to find out that one person out of 75 saw and responded to it. Don't throw good money after bad!
The Internet is perhaps the most practical method of advertising for artists on a limited budget because it offers a number of advertising opportunities for free. Though Internet marketing does require a great deal of time and persistence, you're certain to make substantial progress as long as you keep at it over the long term.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Energy and persistence conquer all things."
Article Excerpted from How to Market Your Music and Create a Buzz by Bobby Borg. Visit www.bobbyborg.com for more info.
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