INTRO  

How do bands with little or no marketing budget promote themselves? First of all if you're reading this book, you probably need the answer. There's the traditional way of DIY promotion. You'll run around handing out flyers, stapling posters all over college campuses, making phone calls to countless venues and fans, and doing anything else you can think of to spread the word. Yeah, that might get you a few fans, but it'll take years to build a fan base that way. With no fan base you'll be playing dive bars, barely making enough to cover gas, and all those CDs you had made will be gathering dust in your garage.

Once the Internet came into its own, many bands figured out that they could post and sell their music on sites like Garageband.com and CDBaby.com. Doing that can be one part of your strategy, but by itself it won't get you where you want to be. Face it – music fans aren't flocking to these sites looking for you. At best, they are visiting those sites to listen to or buy music from a band who they've heard already.   Luckily, Myspace.com exists. MySpace is a social networking site that anyone can join. Members can post blogs, share interests, talk about music and engage in tons of other creative ways of expressing themselves. MySpace is one of the fastest growing sites in the world – over 160,000 new members a day. MySpace even has a whole section that allows bands to create web pages for themselves. If your band does this the right way, you can go from zero fans and zero CD sales to booking tours all over the country and selling hundreds of CDs in just a few months.   Is it really that easy? Yes, if you know what you're doing. I've learned every aspect of promoting bands on MySpace because I was promoting bands that had no marketing budgets at all. I knew that MySpace had thousands of users who enjoyed the various genres of the bands I represented. For one of my bands, within three months of building a fan base through MySpace we had so many fans on the West Coast, that we were able to book a hugely successful tour in Portland (OR), Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Arcata(CA),Reno (NV), Prescott and Phoenix (AZ).

Another band I work with had zero CD sales. Within two weeks of our MySpace campaign, they had sold 157.   This book shows you how to successfully create a fan base which will lead to packed shows, selling a lot of CDs, and possibly getting noticed by a record label. The learning curve is eliminated. You'll be getting the exact information and how-to tips to turn MySpace into the best band promoter you'll ever find.  

If you follow the advice in this book, your band will have success on MySpace. To make it work you will need to spend time. It's much more than building a web page on MySpace and waiting for excited fans to find you. I promise you that if you follow all the advice in this book, it will not be time wasted.

CHAPTER V. Beyond the Basics of Promoting Your Band on MySpace:
The Tips and Secrets that Really Work  

So now you have the basics of promotion on MySpace. The opportunity for promotion on MySpace is absolutely what you make it. The wealth of available promotional tactics is never ending if you keep at it with a fresh perspective and some creativity.   I have compiled some marketing ideas that I have either used or have seen successful bands use on MySpace. Take for example the band “Room for Gray”. They have found tremendous success on MySpace.   When their MySpace account was only 9 months old they already had 2305 friends. They have several comments from their ever growing fan base. They even met a staff writer for a local magazine. This writer had the following to say about Room for Gray:

  “Hey guys, Your set rocked last night. Your presence was awesome and the music sounded really great. Thanks for being so friendly and giving me great material for your article, it will be a pleasure to write. Let me know where to send a copy. ~Katie”

  Katie actually found out about Room for Gray from a message that the band sent out. They did this not even knowing that she was a writer for a magazine and ended up making a great connection. They were featured in the magazine, and even got to advertise their next show, which happened to be packed.   Room for Gray's success is not all about luck though. When I visited their site, I noticed that they employed many of the same tactics described in this book. It is no accident that this band has gained success from MySpace. They take a very personalized approach to their promotion.

A. Does Your Band Have “Room for Improvement?”  

Room for Gray defiantly has the right idea about promotion on MySpace, although I will admit, there are a few things they could do to even be more successful.   They promptly send personal, yet professional sounding messages back to their fans. There are just a few things that would turn this site into a phenomenal success.

1. Improving Message Content   This is a comment that Room for Gray left on the page of a fan that left a comment for them. While it is a good attempt there are a few things they could have done better.  

“Thanks for the add Stephanie! Merry Christmas to you as well! We're going to be in Michigan late this spring. Hope to see you at a show!   Room for Gray”  

The first thing is how they approach their comments. There is nothing wrong with signing a comment with your band name; however, it does come off as slightly impersonal. My suggestion would be to make it a little more personal by adding your name. You can do this, and still get the “advertising” value of your name in there.   If I knew when my show date in Michigan was, I'd tell it to that fan when I wrote them. I wouldn't just hope the fan figured it our on her own. If you are not certain of the date or location, be sure to keep them updated. If they care enough to leave you a comment, or send you a message then they will probably be likely to come to a show. Especially since this is for an out of town show, you would want to be certain that they are aware of when and where you are playing.   This shows that you respect your fans and when you give out of town friends information about an upcoming show in their town you are letting them know that they're important to you and that you really want them there. Several bands do not even come close to understanding this concept, but it should be an important part of your promotion. Here's an example of how just a slight tweak would have made Room For Gray's response to Stepanie more effective:  

“Thanks for the add Stephanie! Merry Christmas to you as well! We're going to be in Michigan late this spring. We will keep you updated about when and where!   Karina Promotions for Room for Gray www.roomforgray.com ”

Room for Gray also returns their comments very promptly. This is another big deal. Sign into your account and keep your fans updated as often as possible.   If you receive a comment or message, respond right away. If you read the message and plan to do it later, it will probably not get done. You will then end up neglecting fans, and that is the very last thing you want to do!

Don't Forget about Bulletins!   Room for Gray should also work on their bulletin posting. Working in artist management, I always get friend requests from bands and add them but very few of them ever stand out to me. The very best way to get my attention is by sending out bulletins. I am busy and don't have time to check all of the bands pages every day to see if they have a new blog or have updated their websites.   However, I will look if I see a bulletin telling me that someone has updated their page, a band has a new demo up, or is now sporting some new pictures. There are only a few bands that actually use bulletins. Most bands either over use them or underestimate their importance and don't utilize them properly.   I actually heard about Room for Gray outside of MySpace. I was surprised to learn that they were on MySpace since I'd never heard anything from them. They never posted a bulletin, and when they did, it was just about shows.   I am generally too busy to attend shows, but I am always impressed by a band that doesn't just promote their shows. We know they make money at the shows, so it is in their best interest to promote them. If a band is putting in time sending out bulletins about daily dealings with the band, events and other random tidbits I am always impressed.   This does not mean that I want to see a bands picture on my bulletin board several times a day, but every once in a while it is necessary to send out a small update.    

Want more? You're going to have to read the book….