10 Low Cost Promo Ideas Every Artist Needs To Know

As a musician, promoting your music can often seem prohibitively expensive, particularly if you're just getting started out. While this is certainly true in some cases, not every promotional technique has to break the bank, and several of the following ideas are as inexpensive as they are powerful.

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Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

Promotion doesn’t have to cost money to be effective and it doesn’t have to be only online either. Here are some ideas that can be powerful tools that don’t even involve a computer.

1. Don’t underestimate the value of something free. Fans love free items, either as part of a package (for example, buy a CD and get a T-shirt free), part of a contest, or just being one of the first ten fans to email. Sometimes items of seemingly little value have a wide appeal. Backstage passes, seat upgrades, seats on stage, tickets to the sound check, invites to a meet and greet, and downloads of live songs are all prized by a real fan.

2. Park a van or truck that has a banner on it across from a show by a similar act. It’s surprising that this isn’t done more since it works so well. Every fan entering or exiting the venue will be aware of you.

3. Free or low-cost entry to show “after parties” extends the show experience and rewards the true fan. These can be promoted along with the show, and even offered as a part of the ticket package.

4. Instead of sending a “thank you” email to a promoter, writer, interviewer, or just someone who’s done you a good turn, send a handwritten thank-you note by snail mail. You’ll be shocked how well this works. It’s unusual, it’s sincere, and it’s remembered. It’s also very likely to be seen, since we’re all getting fewer and fewer snail-mail items these days.

5. Consider asking your fans to help you with promo. Ask them to put up flyers or send out emails. Put a PDF of a poster or flyer online for fans to download.

6. Consider having a “meet and greet” after every show, but make sure that the fans know about it in advance. Fans always want a chance to meet the musicians.

7. Find your niche and market to it. It makes no sense to market to Taylor Swift’s fans if your music isn’t like hers, so don’t waste your energy marketing in that direction.

8. Make everything you do an event. What holiday is coming up? Is it a band member’s birthday? Is an anniversary near? Try a tribute to “Fans that just got laid off” or “Fans that just got hired.”

9. Use the power of your niche to widen your fan base. Flyer someone else’s show in a related genre. Sponsor somebody else’s event. Consider trading sponsorships and gigs with another band.

10. Align yourself with a cause you believe in. Causes often have a large PR mechanism behind them that can expose your music, but it has to be something you really believe in or it may hurt you in the long run.

These 10 ideas don’t cost much money (if any at all), and are extremely easy to implement quickly. Doing just one will make an impact on your ability to engage your fans, and gain new ones.

You can read more from the Music 4.0 Online Music Guidebook and my other books on the excerpt section of bobbyowsinski.com.