Simple Tips for Succes: Start a Mailing List
Hello loyal readers!
I’m going to start a weekly column geared towards providing simple yet detailed steps to help you with your musical, artistic, or entrepreneurial career. Although it is may seem impossible to 100% guarantee success, it is often the simple things that people tend to overlook that contribute to failure. It is my goal to help you avoid that!
If you have any comments, questions you want answered, or want to contribute, post a comment on the blog or shoot me an email.
Simple Tips for Success: Part 1
The Mailing List
What you may think it is:
- a simple list of names, email addresses, locations, etc.
- a hassle
- old news
- boring
What it really is:
- one of the best ways to connect with your fans
- tour support
- permission to engage with your audience
- a way to stay fresh in the minds of your fans
Ok so now that we’ve shifted our perspectives on the concept of what a mailing list can be, how should you go about using it?
Get the Names
You have to be on top of the game. Be talkative. Be a networker. If you’re touring, bring that clipboard to every show and do your best to get out into the audience after the show to find and connect with your fans. For one, this helps to build your a positive vibe with your dedicated fans, and two, it increases the likelihood of whether they’ll sign up.
Who do you think would best inspire someone to put down their contact info — you or a roadie?
But it doesn’t stop there! After you get the names, you have to send out an email to begin the dance with those new members of the list: say hello, thanks for coming!, we appreciate the support, or simply ask them a question. “What was your favorite song?” or “got any good pictures?” would surely do the trick. The real point of the follow-up is to initiate the communication; you have to remind them that they’ve signed up for the list and being to court them.Who to Email and How Often
You should only be contacting the “right” people concerned and shouldn’t do it more than once per month. If you follow that rule, your emails shouldn’t become bothersome. What that means is that if you’re going on tour, don’t blast everyone on the list with every date — they can get that on your website — instead, send an email out based on geographic location; if you’re playing in Memphis, send out an email to the people in Tennessee.
How to manage it
There are quite a few ways out there to manage it. Firstly, you could try to use your basic email programs like Outlook, or set up a contact list in Gmail. They work, but don’t offer all the features of some dedicated services.
If you’ve got a standalone website, your hosting service may provide you with a free and functional way to administrate your email list. I have had an extremely positive experience with this back when I was taking care of the business side of my band, using the web host 1and1. They offer a free “newsletter” service as part of their packages. If that isn’t the case, however, there are other dedicated solutions.
For those, I would recommend ReverbNation. It is extremely easy to sign up (I just made an account — it took 30 seconds) and offers a slew of features outside of their email list management. The website may be a little overwhelming, but it offers a great free way to take care of business.Overview
The mailing list is an amazing way to connect and re-connect with your fans. Do not underplay it’s role in helping to construct the perfect gig. Get out there and get on it, and use the free and simple tools at your disposal online to get the job done right.
