Why independent musicians NEED a marketing plan
The importance of a marketing plan
As an artist the most important thing you have to and can do is cultivating your craft.
But if you want to make a living of your art there’s no way around dedicating some serious time to the business side of things.
Researching for and actually writing a business plan is a big task that requires hours of tedious work. That is, if you want to do it right.
Most business plans are written with the intend of gaining investments or other funding. Reason for that is, investors are usually smart business managers of some kind who wouldn’t spend a dime on a project not properly planned.
So why do you??
Everybody can sell music online, but the key to any success is WORK. Too many artists spend too much time building an image or character, loosing focus on what creates a sustainable career; a properly conducted and written business and marketing plan.
If you haven’t set up your business properly yet, maybe because you think you don’t need it or because you think you can’t do it, it’s about time to change your mind.
Creativity is emotional, business needs more reason.
It’s easy to post your work on the web and get on social media to promote it. But here’s the thing, promotion without proper marketing is a senseless waste of time and money.
Here’s why; Promotion of any kind, on- or offline, is just a part, if not the last, of the marketing mix. Before you can promote your work effectively, you should figure out the other three P’s first. That means product, price and place.
Is your material ready to put out? Who’s your target group? How much would they be willing to pay? How could you make the determined price more attractive to them? Where and when should you release your work? See, these are just a very few of the questions you have to conquer before you can promote your material efficiently.
A proper marketing plan helps you to objectively determine your strengths and weaknesses, personally and professionally. It can provide you with new insights and tactics you haven’t thought of before. If done right, it will serve as a reliable backbone to your music business.
Assuming you’re on a pretty tight budget, I understand you might want to spend the money you’ve got on equipment and promotion, but that might be an fatal misinvestment. Here’s my suggestion; You could find someone that is on a startup level like you. You don’t have much of a budget to offer and they need chances to prove themselves.
But beware, I am not talking about people or companies who offer you a certain amount of followers or views on your video. I’m talking about people who take this marketing thing seriously, those who are not trying to use your level for quick money.
There are a lot of freelancers out there who might be willing and able to help you.
If you’d like a consultation on where to start or more, you could let me know as well.
Pethos Media is a start up just like I was writing about.
For business inquiries concerning marketing and promotion please contact: pethosmedia@gmail.com
