5 Ways To Promote Your Next Project On A Tight Budget

As creators we often have many ideas and concepts floating around in our head. This is our passion, our drive for being. But while our imaginations are endless, our creations are often limited to time and financial resources. So much of the artists focus is often on the actual artwork; production, mixing, mastering, photoshoot, or music video. However, as a project trickles down the stages of completion, so does the budget, often leaving very little left to promote this great thing you just created - a rookies mistake. But fear not, I've put together a few great ways you can help promote a new project on a limited budget, or if you do have a budget, help your dollars go that much further!

Caveat: Most of these tips require you to have built a strong foundation with your fanbase. When you have fans and followers that love what you do you'll be able to harness it to help you continually propel forward. Like every project, we are constrained to the triangle model of: scope, time, and money; see the graphic below for a reference. If you don't have money, then it will take longer to accomplish what you want unless you are willing to sacrifice some of the scope. In this circumstance, you will require lots of time and effort to achieve our goal.

PICK TWO:

Any project is constraint by budget (money), deadlines (time) and effort (scope). When you do a project, without unlimited resources, you generally have to sacrifice one of the three.

1. Tik Tok

TikTok is undoubtedly the best resource for music artists currently. with over 1 billion (yes 1 BILLION) followers this is the perfect place to build your community and start conversations with fans. With the ability to add your own music to videos you will be able to earn streaming revenue off every share. TikTok has helped sign record deals for artists so it is an essential platform all artists should be getting on and a great way to spread your art. Promote your project by creating a TikTok dance or duet for your new single. Think outside the box, the aim is to get people to respond and engage so the more interactive you make it the better to help it spread like wildfire!

2. Instagram Filter

Now this one might take a lot more time and effort if you are not tech savvy. You can also check out Fivver and get someone to build an Instagram filter for as low as $35USD. By following the trends of social media and keeping your branding relevant this will help you stay in people's minds. Your fans will use the filter and, while looking pretty, they're actually be helping to spread the word of your new release!

Photo by @dole777

3. Create a give away and tag a friend.

Who doesn't like free stuff? I know I do and so will your fans! The more you engage and talk with your fans the stronger the feeling grows as if they really know you. And what better way than to reward them for their loyalty than through a giveaway. This works on multiple levels. By asking your fans to tag their friends and family to enter the giveaway, they are not only helping to spread the word but also finding you new followers! This is ultimately more powerful than an ad because each person who shares is essentially giving their stamp of approval that you're awesome.

4. Submit your music to online music blogs, magazines and Spotify playlists

While many blogs request a donation or charge some sort of fee to do a review this can be a really great option to get the word out you've just released a new project or single. This fee can range depending on what sort of promotion you're interest in, but there are some free magazines and blogs if you dig deep enough. If you do have a small budget this could be a good option to be reviewed, shared and posted by online music blogs. This publicity long term will give you more material to add to your bio/portfolio and in some cases they will even add your music to their Spotify playlist. Check out this Article for a list of popular Music Magazines you can submit to.

Photo by @GoodGoodGood

5. Reddit & Facebook

Probably one of the less explored routes is posting your track on social forums. Now, some Facebook and Reddit groups have subgroup rules that different from group to group, so do make sure to read and abide by the group rules. However, posting in appropriate and supportive groups can really bring a lot of awareness to your brand and potential new fans. Again, social media is about engaging people, so instead of making the post about this great thing you created try asking a question so your post doesn't feel like an ad. Some examples could be finding an emerging artist support group, or musicians community within your genre of music. This will also help you connect with others in the industry and further build relations.

As an independent artist, being able to harness the power of your fanbase and engage with others this is probably the most important skill you can learn as an artist. Without a large budget there is more groundwork to be done then throwing money at a campaign and clicking a button. However, you'll find that the fans and followers you gain from these suggested tactics will ultimately be more valuable as it is more likely to create true fans rather than just another number on your social media counters. Now doesn't that sound much more rewarding?

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