Fan Based Marketing For Independent Bands

By Author: Gabe Sullivan
Total Articles: 10
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Being an independent musician has its ups and downs. The obvious down part is where most of the time, indie musicians feel handicapped in that they don't have the power of the big distribution companies to help them sell their CDs. For indie bands, selling products after successfully producing your own CDs in a CD production company that gives you a good price on a quality printing, is the hardest part. To do it all alone is possible, but let us warn you, it's bound to be exhausting.

One of the ups of being an indie band is, you have some loyal fans who want you to succeed. If you know how to do it right, you can have your fans actually help you sell your CDs. Don't be too literal and recruit your fans to be salesmen, but have them spread the words about you, and this is something they will do naturally if they are excited about your band. Word-of-mouth is the generally the best form of advertising, and your fans are one of your best resources. The key is to channel that momentum into generating a buzz about your record. Here are a couple of ways you can do this.

STREET TEAMS

Street teams consist of ...
... fans who are willing to promote your band in a number of ways in return for perks like free merchandise, admission to concerts, etc. Gather your street team through email lists or your website and such. Because the street team's bound to be working for free, be extra clear about what you'll offer for their help. Don't try to get your street team to sell the CDs directly—after all, they aren't a sales team. Rather, just have your street team create a buzz about the band itself, try to encourage their friends to attend shows, or point people to a website where your CDs are available for purchase.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

These days, almost everybody are into social networking, including these fans of yours. If you can connect with them on places like Facebook and Twitter, you can use this to your advantage. Put interesting information, YouTube videos, and fun stuff online (along with mentions of your CD for sale), because your fans are more likely to spread the word by Facebook and Twitter to their own circles of friends. Be a friendly artist because it's okay to occasionally ask your fans to share about your CD specifically. Don't be overly aggressive with sales here; just interact naturally with your fans, and they'll spread the word about you, and you know what that means kah-ching!

Don't be too greedy about gaining fans and growing fan base, because it's better to have fan loyalty to get exposure for your band.

The author works for Mixonic, a leading CD and DVD production service, which deals duplicate CDs and duplicate DVDs as well.