Whether your band is the talk of the town or you’re still in the garage phase of the operation, you can never have enough fans. Likewise, you can never have enough subscribers to your email list.

Connecting with your fan base over email lets you broadcast messages free of charge, keeping your network informed and connected. Whether you just finished a new EP or you booked a gig next Saturday, your fans need to know. And with a well-stocked email list, spreading the word is as fast as your fingers can type.

Think of a large email list as an investment – down the road, it can even help sell your music on iTunes. Follow these tips from SongCast to grow your email list and (ultimately) your fan base!

1. Write awesome emails: If you want your subscribers to share your content, it needs to be remarkable. Nobody wants to read dribble copied from Wikipedia – be funny, unique, and tell your fans information they’re actually interested in. Write about how your latest song is coming along or other artists who inspire you, whatever’s engaging and distinctive.
2. Give them something: Whether you host a free online concert or send a free song in exchange for an email address, make it something your fans will be excited to receive. Lots of people are wary of giving out their email address, so sweeten the offer. Better yet, make is something their friends will want in on, too.
3. Use your resources: Broadcast your offers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, whatever! Grow your audience on social media sites, where many people list their emails freely. If you can’t just copy their email addresses directly, promote your offers in exchange for an email address over all your media platforms.
4. Don’t get unsubscribed: To grow a large fan base, you can’t lose the followers you’ve already found. Keeping your subscribers means contacting your fans regularly, but not too often. Though no Miss Manners has appeared to supervise internet etiquette, you probably know from personal experience that you shouldn’t bombard your subscribers with hourly emails in all capital letters. On the other hand, one email sent every 3 months certainly won’t hold their interest. Send fans consistent, interesting, unique content they’ll look forward to reading. Weekly emails should suffice.

For more tips to grow your audience base, stick with SongCast. We’re one-stop-shopping to sell music on iTunes and other web platforms we have an established relationship with.