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Guerilla Marketing is the use of
unconventional marketing techniques intended to get maximum results
from minimal resources, which let's face it; most indie musicians have
minimal resources. Today, guerrilla
marketing is a non-traditional, low-cost, and highly effective
marketing endeavor, which when used properly can reap many rewards for
the diligent user.
So what can you do to use guerrilla
marketing to help further your music career? The first piece of advice
I can give you is to think outside the box. Don't do what everyone
else is doing. Here area few ideas to get
you started:
- Use podcasts to broadcast your music, helping to expose your music to
a lot of people who may have never heard it before. Make sure that you
plug your website and where they can purchase your products.
- Why not go to your local library and see if they will allow you to
do
a free concert there in exchange for a percentage of your sales of
product after your show. Libraries are in dire need of funds.
- Another easy and free way to get your name out there and seen is to
write reviews on every product your own, have used, read or heard.
Then
post the reviews on places like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
Make
sure to put a small two or three sentence bio at the end of each
review
that has the name of any CD projects you have done. You can't post
your
URL there; they will delete your bio. When you post your reviews, put
your vanity email address inside your "real name." While those sites
won't allow you to post your URL, if your URL is part of your "real
name," they don't say a word. Check out amazon.com and look for one of
my reviews. This is what you will see: "Jaci Rae - The Rae of Hope.
raeofhope@jacirae.com." (Don't use a real email address or you will
end up with a lot of spam. That is my website, but the email address
is
fake.) Why is this an important step? Because people will read your
reviews and you get your name out there. Most consumers are Internet
savvy and if they are interested in you, will check you out.
These are just a few ideas. A very important part of the guerilla
marketing process is the business side. In order for all of the ideas
you come up with to benefit you, you have to be registered with the
correct places so that when your hard work begins to paying off, other
people know it as well. Here is a list of some of the places you must
register:
Broadcast Data Systems
attn: (find out who is in charge at that time)
Los Angeles
6255 Sunset Blvd., 19th Fl
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-817-1506
323-817-1511
www.bdsonline.com
SoundScan
www.soundscan.com
Retail 914-684-5505
retail@soundscan.com
Venue 914-684-5506
Fax 914-686-1556
venue@soundscan.com
I list more ideas as well as places to register your music that will
be
crucial to your music success in, The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing
and Money and its companion The Indie Guide to Contact Information.
There are a lot of Guerrilla Marketing techniques I am sure you can
come
up with yourself. If you want different results and what you have been
trying in the past always turns out the same, then you must do
something
different! Guerrilla marketing is what you need to do differently. Go
after your audience with fervor and diligence, but think outside the
box
to get the results you desire and the exposure for your music that you
need. |