This is me

In this industry, numbers are power. No better place to show your prowess than by your band’s mailing list.  But if you’re a nobody, what are some ways to use the newsletter effectively to grow your fanbase.

The purpose of the mailing list should be to reflect, inform, allude, display visible and effective calls to action, and to remember the power of “We”.

• Reflect on what you’ve recently accomplished: recent tour, an album, a new manager, someone got engaged (note: it shouldn’t always have to be music-related), your growth over the year, how an interview went with a blogger
• Inform them what you’re doing now as well as interesting aspects of the band or band members that people might not know about: rehearsing for an upcoming tour, writing new songs, in the studio, your drummer’s favorite salsa recipe, top 5 favorite beers, just finished a music video
• Allude to good things to come:  upcoming tourdates (headlining or opening slots), new album coming out soon, new band members, you have a contest coming up soon
• Calls to action: join our street team, buy our merch, tell a friend about the newsletter (very key), buy tickets to an upcoming show
• The power of “We” is simple:  minimize the I’s, me’s, and my’s because the fans are the reason you’re where you are (note:  see my “It’s about them, NOT about you” post), so include them as part of the newsletter in the form of We.

Inform and reflect are meant to invite your longtime fans, recent fans, and fans to be into your life.  The pretentious wall between fans and musicians that had been erected a long time ago has been ripped down for years whether you want to believe me or not.   It’s your story and your personality that make people fans because, most likely, there’s hundreds of other bands that sound almost exactly like you.  Fans want to know what your songwriting process is like as well as what’s in your fridge.

However, the most important part of all of this is to TELL PEOPLE YOU HAVE A MAILING LIST.  Have a sign up box on your main website, embed the box or periodically inform people on all your social networking sites, and bring a sign up sheet and make a reminder on stage at all your shows.  If people don’t know, it’s useless.

Now, you’re probably going to ask, “Well I figured out what content I want to have on the newsletter, but how do I actually make one?”

The answer is one of two possibilities:  use a free or cheap template provided sites like Fan Bridge or Reverb Nation or hire a designer (or do it yourself if you understand HTML and Photoshop) to make a unique layout and design.  That choice is dependent upon how much time you can realistically spend on this and what your money situation is.  A killer newsletter can most certainly get people’s attention and be a benchmark of your differentiation, but for a lot of people, money is tight and you just have to what you can with the resources you have, so the free/cheap version is most certainly a viable option.

I  just went over the purpose and suggested content of a newsletter, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me.