In my previous article “Demystifying Marketing And Promotion For Rappers Part 1” I explained the difference between marketing and promotion along with how you can identify your target audience and I even shared one powerful technique on how to reach and promote to them.
In this article, I’m going to share another promotional strategy that I recommend. And don’t feel obligated to pick just one of these promotional strategies, but rather feel free to use as many of them as you can. If your promotional tactics are more diversified you will likely have a higher success rate in gaining fans.
On The Hunt
In a way, I like to think of promotional strategies to gain fans as like a trap hunter. If one trap hunter sets 5 rabbit traps and another hunter sets 50 rabbit traps, it’s highly likely that the one who set 50 traps will have a higher yield.
If you haven’t already, read my first article on marketing and promotion be sure to do that first because in this article we will be building off the target audience I helped you identify in that article.
Now let’s take a look at another promotional technique you can start using to get more fans!
Winning Over Influencers
Influencers are anyone or entity who has an existing audience.
This could be…
- Radio stations, DJ’s, Music Directors, Personalities etc.. (major as well as college radio stations)
- Podcasts
- Blogs
- Youtube Channels
- Popular social media pages
- Creators or Admins of popular playlists on Spotify, iTunes etc,
- Celebrities, Athletes, Actors, Comedians, Rappers, Musicians, DJ’s, Singers, pretty much anyone who has an existing following.
The Filter
Most rappers who do promote their music usually try this method first but many of them get frustrated and give up rather quickly. This is an awesome method and I highly recommend it but please keep this in mind. When you’re wanting to use someone else’s platform to promote your music you will have to go through their filtering process.
Meaning, you’re likely not the only person trying to benefit off their platform. In fact, they likely get approached quite often from people like you who are just wanting that “one favor”.
How To Get Favor
Here’s a quick little life tip for you. Favor isn’t given, it’s earned! And we as humans are driven by a rewards system. We typically don’t do things unless it benefits us in some type of way. When we are considering doing anything in life we ask this same ole question “What’s in it for me?”. Even doing a selfless act of charity gives us a nice sensation of the warm and fuzzies. 🙂
But when you are wanting to build good, healthy relationships with other people you need to not only ask “What’s in it for me”, but you need to also ask “What’s in it for them?”. This is what we refer to in the business world as a “Win-Win”, which means it’s beneficial for both parties involved.
So when you’re trying to win over influencers you need to make sure there is something in it for them. Let’s look at a few examples at how you can make it a win for them.
Ways To Add Value
- If you already have a fan base you can share whatever you do together with your audience.
- You can use your talent as leverage and make a song for them. I’ve seen artists have success creating walkout songs for MMA Athletes, Intro/Outro/Theme music for podcasts, Youtube channels, radio stations etc..
- If there is another talent you have that could benefit them in some way you could use that as well, such as building websites or doing graphic design for them.
- You could give them a tip on how to resolve an issue that you notice. This could be a malfunction on their website, a broken link on their Youtube channel, or grammatical errors you could correct in an article they previously wrote.
- You can shine the spotlight on them and use your social media pages to say something nice about the awesome work they’re doing. Or perhaps you make a cool picture that incorporates them somehow. Be sure to tag them so your followers can check them out and it will also let them know that you mentioned them.
- Money is another great incentive but be careful here. There’s a lot of scam artists out there taking advantage of the wallets of gullible and desperate up and coming rappers. If you pay anyone to promote your music on their platform, make sure that they are credible first and that they have your target audience. If they’ve promoted other artists before, reach out to those artists and see if it was beneficial to them.
Pros And Cons
With all of that said, there are lots of awesome influencers out there. With the “1 on 1” method I shared in the 1st part to this series, you’re winning over one person at a time. But if you win over 1 influencer it could lead to you gaining hundreds or even thousands of fans.
Both of these tactics are powerful and I don’t look at one as better than the other. Just like anything else in life, there are always pros and cons.
The “1 on 1” method is direct and unfiltered and doesn’t require permission to get you in direct contact with your target audience. While the “Influencer” method requires you to go through a filtering process first but you have the potential of gaining more fans at once.
You don’t have to pick between these two, you can implement them both in your promotional strategy at the same time.
Your creativity shouldn’t just be at work in your music, it should also carry over into your promotional tactics. Go on the hunt for influencers and do some research about them. Really follow them, engage with their content, figure out who they are, get to know them and what they’re about, and figure out the best way to get in touch with them. You may be able to contact some influencers directly but due to busy schedules, you may need to speak with their manager or assistant.
Getting Through The Filter
And remember once you do reach out to them try to keep the length of your message short and to the point. One to two paragraphs at the most. Make sure you’re adding value to them and be sure to acknowledge some of the great work they’ve already done. These three things will increase the odds of you making it through their filter for the following reasons.
- By not sending them an e-mail the length of a short novel you show them you respect their time.
- By adding some type of value you convey that you’re trying to help them out as well unlike those other narcissistic, self-centered freeloaders hitting them up for handouts.
- When you acknowledge work they’ve already done, it shows that you’re not spamming them and that you not only respect their work but them as a human being as well.
Who are some of the influencers you’re going to try to win over? And how are you going to add value to them? I’d love to hear from you so drop your comments below!
