How to Use Grassroots Marketing to Promote Music

Most bands don't have the promotional help of a large record company, so they are forced to take things into their own hands. Luckily, it's fairly easy to use grassroots marketing techniques to promote your music and gigs.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Recording equipment
• CD burner

1. Create a page on a free social website to host samples of your songs. These sites typically offer limited hosting space, so be sure to post your best work. Use the site to post your gig schedule and send out messages alerting people to upcoming shows.

2. Record a demo CD to sell at concerts. It's easy, but tedious, to mass-produce your own demo CD, so you may want to enlist the help of a copying company. You should only have to spend a few dollars for each CD, which you can then sell for profit.

3. Stay on top of community events and grassroots movements that your band could help promote. Lots of cultural and municipal events can provide you with an opportunity to play for a large crowd. You may have to play for free, but you can usually sell your CDs and other merchandise at the event.

4. Explore social networking sites for people in different areas who are interested in bands that have a similar style to yours. Send out friendly messages alerting these people to your shows if you happen to have a small tour. Sometimes you can work out a deal with the venue to give reduced admission to those concert-goers who come with copies of your Internet flier.

5. Send your demo album to local weekly publications and try to get some free media marketing. Most areas have at least one music and arts paper that covers the local scene. Time your CD mailings so that a review could help promote one of your shows.

6. Bring copies of your band's CDs to large concerts and give them out to people afterwards. Pay attention to the venue's rules for the use of this type of grassroots marketing, because it may be prohibited.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find quality, reasonably priced multi-track digital recorders if you shop around online. Be sure the equipment has a digital output so that you can import your music to the computer for editing and mastering.
• Pay attention to any user agreement you sign electronically whenever you join a social site. Some websites have clauses that state that any music you upload becomes the partial property of that site if you make any money from it.