Fanbase Growth and Income For Musicians
The #1 way to increase your income as a musician, cover band, or DJ is to grow an active fanbase.
The internet, and all its platforms, are a great place to turn to when marketing oneself. But they do take time and a strategy, and that is why we created JukeBox Live. Here are three things we think you should be doing (outside joining our app for its engaged music listeners).
ONE - Increase your number of fans
Get your current social media fans to sign-up for your newsletter, and then get super serious about talking with them and engaging them through email! This is the quickest way to make sure fans never miss a gig (if you aren't going to use JukeBox Live), and it quickly multiples your audience size because you can count them on your social media and again on your email list!
Don't know how to grow your list? No worries, we have a few ideas for you...
Shoot every new follower a welcome DM that engages them at their usual social media platform hangout and then leads them to your list so you can keep building the number of emails you have.
Invest in some clipboards with paper that you can pass out for the audience to write down their emails and social media handles. When you post later on social media, be sure to tag the audience members, and then send out a thank you email to them the next day!
Pro Tip: Consistent email messages need to be paired with content that gives fans a reason to open each and every email, so give it to them.
TWO - Make sure you have merch your fans can buy, and make sure it's easy for them to purchase!
Ask yourself: What are 3 things fans ask for consistently? OR What can fans purchase from me that will make me stand out?
There are so many ways to generate income from your audience, patreon, merch, private gigs, fan only events, etc. All you need to do is make sure you prove that fans want to buy what you are selling. We recommend a simple pre-launch sale.
THREE- Invest in long-term marketing and advertising plan to continually bring in new fans that don't break the bank and doesn't have you playing crap gigs.
Before you go spend THOUSANDS of dollars on promoters or publicists, look how you are currently gaining fans and see if you could ramp that up in any way (this may involve hiring, but on a cheaper scale).
To create momentum, we suggest you work with someone who knows how to build a long-term sustainable plan that understands your band's intentions and how to allocate the right resources and when.
Our next blog goes in-depth on how to start getting a fan base organically, so you don't have to hire an expensive promotor or publicist right away.