YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE NOT YOUR FANS
I am going to defend your friends and family from your growing lack of faith in them; because it’s not their fault that they don’t spend their lives making sure that every one of your posts has enough likes, comments, and shares. The problem isn’t them, it’s you.
The ego tells us that our dreams are important, and they are, to a certain degree, but so are the dreams of others. Any artist trying to break free from the realm of obscurity will tell you that half the time they feel like they should walk away from their project because it feels like no one is listening at all; not even grandma!
I get it, I really do, the great big internet, with all its peoples trying to connect, and somehow yours is the one song that reaches next to no one, your brand new music just falls flat to the sound of crickets, and it can be absolutely soul-crushing for the artist that has yet to see the bigger picture.
It is in times like these that we lean on our friends and family to do most of the attention heavy lifting, and even then, most of them don’t really show up past a few posts. What started out as an impressive, albeit, padded number of stats, ends up being just a few hanging on for dear life to keep you from walking away from your music or friendship altogether.
I know, you feel like they are your friends and your family, and of course, they should support you every step of the way, isn’t that what love means?
But in your search to be the better you, it is you that has also forgotten that among your growing friend-list you yourself have also been a silent watcher, only wishing “Happy Birthday’s” because Facebook won’t let you forget that one special day; and besides, you need to make sure that someone will show up to praise you on your special day, right?
The truth is, you have not been there for all of your friends and family either, and that’s ok, because you know that if they really needed you, you would be there in a heartbeat, and besides, no one would have a life if they had to always concern themselves with others.
I know that you are not looking at it this way right now though, you just released a new song and almost no one showed up, and you are feeling a bit slighted by this, but don’t be, they all still wish you well, but the truth is, they may not have even have seen your post.
Facebook has a follow option. If you look at your friend-list you will see a large number of friends (hopefully) and very few of them are actively following you, and here is the kicker, only the ones that are actively following you will even see your post in their feed.
Five people showed up to like your latest status update, maybe that’s pretty good considering only seven people follow you, I would say you are doing great in that case.
But why wouldn’t they all follow you?
Because your friends and family are not your intended audience, you made music for you, and chances are, the music that you made goes a bit deeper into your psyche than they want to go. They just want you to be happy, they don’t want to know that you are secretly hanging on by a thread and that music is quite literally saving you one beat at a time. So, let them absorb your art from a safe distance, don’t worry, they will show up in throngs as soon as you make it big! HAHAH, just kidding……not really.
What now? If cousin Tobias doesn’t show up, then who will?
Well, in business it is widely known that it is not the client’s job to find you, but your job to find the client. It is the very same for you and your fans, and you would do well to highlight this very fact. Say it out loud a couple of times for good measure and commit it to memory.
Your only job after you have finished a song is to create a pre-release plan and then go on the hunt to ‘find your people.’
Please note that your people are not the entire world itself, because no matter how hard you try to be liked by everyone, there will always be a few people that dislike what you are laying down.
This is the part where you look inside and then way beyond, and you completely avoid seeking support from your friends and family. At this critical point of self-discovery and outreach you are all about being a lone wolf, now get hunting.
Grab a pen and a pad and listen to your song closely. What other bands does your song resemble (and do not say that what you have created has never been done on some level before, that’s just the ego trying to step in to offer you the gift of satisfaction before you have earned it)? Be humble and real about it, try to be objective and fair, and place your latest track into a genre box. Is it rap that takes hints from Eminem or Tupac, perhaps beats inspired by Dr.Dre or Skrillex? Have you created a prog-rock piece that would land you an opening gig for TOOL or Periphery? Maybe you found yourself listening to an unknown indie band for inspiration while you created your latest piece? Either way, your song fits in with a specific crowd, and that crowd is your people.
Now that you have finally found your people it is time for you to say ‘hello.’
That’s right, time to introduce yourself and start supporting them in their goals to reach more people. This can go for musicians that you like, journalists for magazines that you want to get it, venue owners, radio hosts, whoever you think should be on your journey, then start liking their posts, start engaging in their world, start leaving personalized comments, and not just for one single day either, no, this time you are going to stick around for a while, and they will take notice of your continued support, and then when you need their support they will be there for you because you showed them that you value them along with your own dreams.
The internet is about making connections, real human connections, and when you approach someone sincerely, they become your fans. When you take the time to help them on their journey, they will take the time to return the favor.
Like for a like only works effectively when the likes are authentic.
Do not waste your time following musicians or anyone else that is not in line with your own style, they will never buy an album and never take the time to appreciate your posts, just don’t do it.
We all want our art to escape obscurity, and that will only happen if you take the time to plan effectively and reach out authentically.
There are tricks and tips that you can use to get your music heard more and more every single day, and I am willing to teach you those if you want because if you are an artist that has created music worth listening to and you are serious about your music getting heard then I want to work with you. I could sneak this into the post somewhere using a link or a clever photo, but I am showing you what it means to be authentic here. I want to help you release your single because I own a Music PR and Marketing Agency, and I want to plan your pre-release countdown (ok, I snuck in a link) and I want to offer you one more powerful option to help you get your music noticed in an ocean full of other options).
I am an artist too, and I once waited for my friends and family to show up, and when they didn’t, I was feeling slighted as well, but I took time to search out the answer as to why, which is the birth of this article, and that is why they are let off the hook, along with yours; because it is not their fault at all.
I learned how to do proper outreach and I worked with many bands to hone my craft, and that is why if you have made it this far that I would like you to submit your music to Empire Music Promotions Music Marketing Agency (www.empiremusicpromotions.com) because we have a Pre-Release Countdown Campaign that will make sure that your music has an audience waiting for your latest single, and because I actually do care about you getting your music heard because I know exactly how shitty it feels to hang out in obscurity for far too long.
I look forward to hearing your music!
LAUNCH YOUR SINGLE, EP OR ALBUM WITH US TODAY WITH OUR EFFECTIVE PRE-RELEASE COUNTDOWN CAMPAIGNS!