Get New Fans by Cross-Promoting with other Artists

Competing for gigs with other artists is a real issue to contend with because there’s only so many stages on any given night. However, there’s no such thing as competing for fans.  A fan who likes rock music will appreciate MANY independent rock artists, not just one. If your business model is geared to establishing a network of super fans, then cross-promoting with other artists in the same genre would be beneficial.

There are many ways to cross-promote, and today I will focus on one of them.

Mixtapes.

When I think of mixtapes, my mind goes back to the 80s and early 90s when we would record songs we liked from the radio or burn different songs on to CDs and give them to friends. It was always fun to receive a mixtape because it was a very suspenseful 30 minutes trying to find out what songs were going to be on the new tape (or CD). It was a great way to discover new music. I was open to hearing new tunes because each song was personally recommended by my friends. What if you could emulate this as an independent artist with your artist friends to reach new fans?

Cross-Promote with Mixtapes. (Today they are called playlists, but you get the point.)

Pull together a few songs each between you and other similar artists. Then, upload the songs on Soundcloud as a streaming playlist. You can go as far as creating artwork for the playlist as well. Remember to include buy links and artist bios for each song in the playlist description. Promote the playlist to all of your networks. It would be even cooler if you could tie it into a current topic, holiday, or theme to make it more relevant.  If everyone promotes the playlist together, you could double, triple, or even quadruple your reach.  If someone listens to the playlist and likes your track, you’ve won a new fan. If they buy the track, you’ve earned some money.

Use the Playlist to Get New Subscribers.

Take it a step further by using the playlist as a launching pad to pull people into your website and potentially get new mailing list subscribers. Create a squeeze page specifically designed for listeners of this new playlist and include a link to it in your playlist bio.  On the squeeze page, make an offer for them to get even more music in exchange for their e-mail address. Once they are added to your e-mail address, you can establish a rapport with them and turn them into a super fan.

This form of cross-promoting is awesome because you can offer fans and potential fans a free streaming album as well as do a soft sell by offering buy links to your music without looking like a slimy salesman. If you apply the squeeze page tactic, you could increase your subscriber base which is very important for an independent artist.  This method is really easy to do and only takes a few clicks of the mouse to execute.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I thought we could try this together. Let’s make a Valentine’s Day Playlist!  If you have a love song and it’s original, send me an MP3 of your song and I’ll add it to the list.  I will create a Soundcloud playlist and fans can access and stream it for free. I will also include your bio and a link to buy the track in the description section of the playlist so that people can learn more about you if they like your song. To make this a success, everyone on the playlist will need to promote it on all of their networks. I don’t want this to be overwhelming for fans, so it will only be about 12 tracks long. Send your tracks to me (anitrajay@thecraftymusician.com) to be considered. Don’t worry, I’m not going to be a snob. As long as your music sounds decent, I’ll add it if there’s still room.

UPDATE 2/13/2017: Submissions for The Valentine’s Day Playlist are closed.  To listen to the playlist click here.

If you missed this one, there will be more cross-promoting opportunities to get involved in on our Facebook Group! Join us and let’s be #BetterTogether.