With all the competition online, you need to target your audience. Turn up and learn how to promote your music online to generate sales.

Are you desperate to make a living off your music? Do you spend hours working on new tracks, only to feel like they never get the attention they deserve?

If so, you need to start promoting your music online.

Massive stars including Justin Bieber, James Bay, and The Weeknd were discovered online. You could be next!

Don’t have a clue where to begin promoting yourself? We’re here to help.

Keep reading for some foolproof tips on how to promote your music online as an independent musician.

1. Start a YouTube Channel

Those stars we mentioned above? Most of them got their start via YouTube.

The video-sharing site is a great platform for getting your music out to a wider audience. If you’re struggling to get many views, there are a few smart strategies to help you get attention.

Try posting covers of popular songs, then linking to your own music in the description or using annotations during the video. Fans of the original song might check out your cover and get excited about listening to your other work.

If you enjoy teaching, try posting tutorials to help other learn to sing or play popular songs. Fans of your teaching are likely to check out your own music.

YouTube is also a great place to experiment with creating your own music videos.

2. Share Your Music on SoundCloud

Want to know how to promote your music online while reaching a huge audience?

SoundCloud is a seriously popular music sharing site, with more than 175 million monthly listeners. That’s a massive audience of music lovers that you need to be tapping into.

Uploading songs to SoundCloud gives you access to detailed analytics. You’ll be able to see which tracks perform best and which songs still need some work.

You can also submit your work to special interest groups, which is ideal if you have a niche style.

Songs which are uploaded to SoundCloud are easy to share and embed on your website and social media pages. It’s a handy place to keep everything organized.

Users are given the option of following you on SoundCloud, so it’s a great place to build an engaged community of fans.

3. Create a Website for Your Music

While using external platforms like YouTube and SoundCloud can be valuable, having your own website is just as important.

You’ll use your site to create your image, share details of upcoming events, and invite visitors to join a mailing list.

You’ll have complete control over your site, so there won’t be any limitations on what you can share. You could start a behind-the-scenes blog, run regular competitions, or sell fan merchandise.

You don’t need loads of web design knowledge to create your own site. Just use a simple online site builder. You’ll pick a theme, assemble your site using drag-and-drop widgets, and easily upload content.

Be sure to link to your site from your social media pages to drive traffic and let fans know it exists.

4. Reach Out to Music Bloggers

If you’re just starting out with music, contacting influential music bloggers can be a great way to get the word out about your work.

Try reaching out to bloggers who often share music similar to yours. Invite them to a show or ask them to review your album.

It only takes one good shout-out for you to earn some serious street cred. Focus on building strong connections with bloggers you like.

For the best chance of success, interact with bloggers for a few months without asking for anything. They’ll remember you from previous interactions and will be less likely to hit ‘delete’ without listening to your tracks.

If you’ve got your own music blog, you could pair up with other musicians and agree to promote each others’ work.

Making it in the music industry is all about who you know, so don’t neglect relationships with other musicians.

5. Start a Mailing List

How will your fans know when your new music is out or when you announce a new show? If you don’t have a mailing list, lots of them will miss the news.

While social media is a good place to share updates, it’s all too easy to get buried in the newsfeed. Half your followers may never even see your posts.

When you create a mailing list, you’ll be right there in your fans’ inboxes so they won’t miss a thing.

Make a mailing list sign up form prominent on your website. Collect email addresses at your shows. Encourage fans to sign up on social media.

Offering exclusive content to mailing list subscribers, like early show details and sneak previews, is a great way to build hype and encourage sign-ups.

6. Interact with Fans on Social Media

How are you currently using social media? Have you been spamming links to your songs using a million hashtags (and wondering why you aren’t getting anywhere)?

Stop. To build an engaged community on social media, you need to interact organically with followers.

Don’t act like you’re a music-promoting robot. Get involved in conversations about your genre, share interesting music news, and post updates that encourage discussions.

Take time to comment on the music of other up-and-coming musicians, and they might do the same.

Social media should be about interacting with others, not just promoting yourself. Always keep that in mind when posting.

How to Promote Your Music Online (With No Experience)

You don’t need any experience to learn how to promote your music online.

All you need is a passion for what you do and the desire to interact with fans and musicians online.

Start by uploading your songs to YouTube and SoundCloud. Then create a site for your music, share updates on social media, and start a mailing list.

Before you know it, you’ll stop wondering how to promote your music online and start wishing you had more time to spend interacting with fans!

Want more tips on building your music career? Check out our blog.

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