7 Things Every Singer And Musician Should Have To Make Money!
Here are some of the bare neccessities every singer or musician should have when seriously pursuing music and looking to make money! Without these things, it will be hard to grow your base and income in the process.
Business Cards:
Have business cards with you everywhere you go. They should be like your second ID card. Make sure they have your name, email, a business phone number, and your official website printed clearly on it.
Try site's like vistaprint or zazzle.
Mailing List: (Online and Off-Line)
Your mailing List is the best way to connect with your fans and potential fans. They sign up because they want to know more about you, your music, where you will be performing next, what merchandise you'll be selling, and more.
You should have an online mailing list where people have the option to easily opt-out. Also, whenever you or your band perform, you should always have a mailing list sign-up list with you. Paper form or on a laptop or tablet that you bring. Performances are a great opportunity for new listeners to connect with you so take advantage of the chance to build your brand.
Official Website:
An official website is the go to for everything that you as an artist or band represent as well as a bridge to all the ways to connect with you. This site should be aesthetically pleasing, organized, and should have the details of what you do spelled out here.
For venues looking to book you and fans looking to find out more about you, this is the brochure. For an example, check out my official website: www.laraynemusic.com.
Social Networking Page:
This brings to mind social networking site's like facebook. These are also great to have, but they are not a substitution for a website. Social network pages and profiles should have quick information and be more of a way to have an open dialog with your fans / followers.
Booking Channel/Setup:
Booking you and your music should be extremely easy. Some choices to doing this is having a dedicated email account, a contact form on your website, or using widgets such as the one provided by gigmaven.com
Available Audio Or Video
Fans and venues want to get a glimpse of what you do and what you sound like so make it easily available. Soundcloud and Bandpage are great sources for having your music stored for streaming or downloads.
Youtube and Vimeo are great for uploading video, although Youtube is the most popular of all video viewing platforms.
There are also several sites and applications that will merge some of your music and videos from the above mentioned soundcloud, youtube, etc. to your website and social networks. Try BandPage and ReverbNation for starters.
Help:
Don't try to everything by yourself. Self sufficiency is necessary and great to have, but knowing when you cannot do it all or when someone can do something better than you will save a great headache.
You don't need to try to create a brand new website starting with the code. Use themes or if you have the extra funds, hire someone to create a website just for you or your band.
Just make sure you are the one writing your tweets and things to your fans. Personal is always better in that department. It shows your personality and brand!
Combine:
Make your life easier by combining how you spread the word about your music. There are several ways to do this using some of the tools and site's listed in Great Online Resources For Every Musician.
