Just as it’s important for individuals to make New Year’s resolutions for self improvement, the same goes for bands. In fact, making resolutions with a group of people, and setting a date to reach those goals, can be more effective than individual resolutions, because more people know about it and are working together towards that goal. If one person begins to fall back, others can pick up the slack and keep the rest of the group inspired. Is your band making New Year’s resolutions? If not, consider doing so, because it’s a great way to advance your career.

Here are some goal-making tips and ideas to help you get started.

Set smaller, achievable goals. Be realistic. Don’t declare, “We’re going to have a major label deal and be selling out areas by the end of the year.” That sort of lofty goal is admirable, but it’s also the type of resolution that get discouraging in short order. Instead, set a believable and challenging goal.

Everyone must be on-board. Your band may have a leader, but it should still operate as a democracy. Every one gets to vote on the resolution, and every one should agree on the ones that get pursued. If one band member is hesitant, find out why and consider his point of view.

Make a song-by-song resolution. The goal is to write a song and have a demo ready to go within a certain time frame. Give a finish date for each song — every three weeks is a good example. At the end of each three-week period, you should have a new song complete. By the middle of the year, you could have enough material for a new CD. If not, keep plugging away.

Record and release a new album. This is a good resolution for acts who already have enough material finished and understand how involved, time-consuming and expensive it can be to put out a new CD.

Play new venues in other parts of town, and in new towns. Many acts tend to become stagnant by only playing the same clubs over and over and over. Unless you’re broadening your base, these crowds will dwindle with time and you’ll no longer be asked back to play at your “home” club. Like the song-by-song goal, make a gig-by-gig goal of either playing in, or getting booked at, a new venue each month.

Get a certain number of likes for your fan page. Say you only have 48 fans on your Facebook page, make a goal of getting 500 by year’s end. This is easier than it sounds, as long as you’re out there gigging enough and doing the proper online social networking. If you’re really working it, getting into the thousands is possible. Just beware of constantly spamming people to like your page, it can be annoying, which can lead to becoming ignored.

Get a song played on the radio. Do commercial stations in your area have a locals-only type show? If so, find out the contact info for that DJ and get in touch. Public and college stations are much more accessible for indie acts, as they play a wider variety of music and are much more open to putting unsigned bands in their rotation.

Let us know what your band resolutions have been in the past, or what they will be for 2013. And have a happy, music-filled New Year!