The truth is: if no one knows your music exists, you’re not going to get very far. Exposure is key to success and it’s imperative that as an independent musician, you do your best to get your music to the masses.

How? By creating awareness of your music and your brand. Here are a few tips to help you become your own best promoter:

• Book live performances. In order to remain top of mind in the eyes of your fans, they must see you and hear your music on a regular basis. Shows are a great way to get in front of people and they provide you with a reason to work on local media outreach to newspapers and blogs. Get your shows listed in local papers and promote your show on your website and social media pages. Live shows are also a great way to promote your album to the crowd by giving it a shout on stage and making it available for purchase at the show.

• Start a mailing list. At every show you should ask your fans to sign up to your mailing list. Email them with updates about upcoming shows, album releases, new songs, collaborations and other exciting news.

• Promote your CD. There are thousands of blogs that cover independent musicians. Send your disc (or a link to your music) to blogs for review. And don’t forget to let fans on your mailing list know about your album and where they can purchase it. Don’t have a full CD? No problem. Tons of blogs post and review MP3s. Submit your music to sites for review and share your reviews via social media.

What are some innovate ways that you’ve been your own best promoter? How have you gotten the word out about your music or your band? Drop us a note in the comments section!

Up next week: our social media series begins with a discussion about creating and promoting your Facebook page.

The SongCast Crew
Songcast on Facebook
Songcast on Twitter