An excellent way to grow your fan base
Most bands rely on social media to get the word out about their music, shows, tours and merchandise. What many bands don’t know is that sending out an e-newsletter on a regular basis is a great way to increase the number of fans you have, introduce your music to new people and keep them coming back for more.
When you establish one of the band members as your newsletter editor, readers get the “inside story” about the band and feel like they get to personally know a member of the band. If the band member/editor is a thought leader for the industry — has opinions about the state of the music industry or where a certain genre is headed — even better. He or she can start a dialogue with readers and continue to pique their interest. The more readers you have, the more people who will share your newsletter and ultimately grow your fan base.
How do you get started?
Consider the types of topics you want to cover: How about a news section where you describe what the band has been up to? Consider a section on touring that can link to Twitter while you’re on the road. You could also have a section where you rave about the latest technological advances in the music industry or the underground music scene. Consider what you think your target audience would want to know. Also, consider your band’s brand (see the article Brand Basics) and try to use a consistent voice throughout that represents your band well.
Regarding design, there are many newsletter templates out there for the layout of your newsletter, and businesses such as Coastal Media Publishing will set up a newsletter and write content for you. Plan to use an easy-to-read Web format with consistent navigation, articles in well-marked sections and regular positioning of contact information and links back to your own website and/or social media sites.
Determining the frequency
Set a realistic schedule for your editor and production team. Send the e-newsletter out at regular and “memorable” intervals over a sustained period of time.
This e-newsletter behavior reinforces the message that you are reliable, but only if readers remember that you are sending the e-newsletter on regular basis. Reader memories generally start to fade if the interval between issues is longer than one month.
Growing your subscription list
Author Meryl K. Evans recommends using your blog to inform readers about the newsletter. She says a blog makes a great landing page for a newsletter. “There, you can have a subscription box. Social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook act as focused search engines that lead readers back to the newsletter’s content, which lives on the blog.”
In her article on 7 Ways to Grow Your Mailing List, she provides business development ideas such as sponsorships, reciprocity agreements, links to other articles and partnering with other newsletters to offer choices in your subscription opt-in landing page. Keep in mind that the bigger your mailing list, the bigger your fan base.
Need inspiration? Read the Bandzoogle blog on Why Email Newsletters Are Still a Vital Marketing Tool for Musicians and Hugh MacIntyre’s 6 Tips to Ensure Your Band’s Email Newsletter Rocks. Check out the Top 7 Music Industry Email Newsletters and find out why Lena Dunham says 2015 was the year of the email newsletter.
Tamara Halbritter is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance writer and editor who develops content for music, transportation and green industries.
