GrindEFX

On GrindEFX we’re always talking about fan relationships. Connecting with your fans is a vital component of marketing your music. If you have that personal relationship with your fans they will want to support you by buying your music, merch, concert tickets etc.

“But what does that mean?”

Well, here are 7 ways you can start connecting with your fans today.

Social Networking

The obvious first step is social networks. Hopefully you already have a Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc. But are you using it in a productive way? I see a lot of musicians that I follow on Twitter only interacting with friends and associates, never their fans. To me that makes them look like they think they’re above conversing with their fans, interestingly enough it’s often the artists who are struggling to stay relevant.

So how can you use social network sites effectively?

• Be yourself. It’s easy to spot a fake on Twitter.

• Tell fans what you’re doing and ask them what they’re doing. Show an active interest in their lives.

• Ask your fans for their opinions on certain matters. Maybe what they think of so-and-so’s new album, or what their view on a political matter.

• Give them something exclusive every now and again; share a photo with them or a snippet of a new song you’re working on.

• Answer fan questions. If you have a lot of followers/friends/fans then just answer a few, show them that you are making an effort.

• Ask for help or advice. This will strike a personal connection with your fans, espcially if you take their advice and thank them for it.

Webcasts

Live webcasts have become quite popular over the last year or so, I see more and more artists using sites like Ustream.tv and Justin.tv to connect with their fanbase. Allowing fans to watch you live in studio sessions, band rehearsal, interviews or just having a general natter is a great idea.

Webcasts are probably better for a Q&A with fans than Twitter because you can answer more questions and it’s a more personal way of doing it.

Something that has become very popular lately is artists doing live broadcasts of their music making process, whether it be songwriting, beatmaking, recording, mixing etc. Giving fans an insight into how you make your music, and even asking for their contribution, is an excellent way to strike a connection and make you fans feel a part of your music.

Free Music

Why not throw your fans the odd free track? This is very common practice in hip hop, where artists often release “throwaway” or unfinished songs to the public. Or tracks that were made for a specific record but didn’t make the final cut. Why keep them locked up? Let your fans hear them: “Here’s a track me and the fellas were working on the other week, never got finished. What do you think?”

Of course they don’t have to be “throwaway” tracks. If you’re a regular GrindEFX reader you’ll know I’m an advocate of free as a business model. I.e. giving the music to your fans for free and encouraging them to spread it around, then making money in other areas.

Fans appreciate free music. If the music is free they are much more likely to share it with their friends, which creates new fans, who will then share it with their friends. Before you know it your website traffic has increased ten fold and you’ll have fans knocking down your door trying to buy merch, concert tickets, CDs, collectors items etc.

Blog

Blogs are free, easy to use and extremely popular with music fans, so it amazes me how many artists don’t have one. Blogs are a great way to share things with your fanbase and keep them updated with what you’re working on.

“Why do I need a blog if I have Twitter?”

Twitter is great for instant messaging and giving quick updates. But your tweets are usually only relevant to those who are online at that very moment, which will always be a small percentage of your fans. Blog posts are more permanent, fans can log on at any time and see what you’re talking about. And with the 140 character limit on Twitter blogs are better for sharing more detailed stories. Having both will ensure all your online followers have something to connect with.

You can set up a blog very quickly, here are some links; Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr.

Newsletter

In my opinion a mailing list is one of the most important things an artist should have. It requires no effort from your fans and you can update them whenever you like.

All of your fans won’t watch your webcasts, or follow you on Twitter, or read your blog. But they all will have an email address, so communicating with them via email is a very strong tool. Set up a mailing list on your website and promote it on your blog, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and wherever else you can. Try to get as many of your fans email addresses as possible.

It’s up to you how you do your newsletter. You can send a weekly update or you can just email them when you have an announcement to make. One thing I will say is don’t send them too often, if you update your fans everyday with crap they don’t really care about then they’re likely to stop reading them, or certainly not read all of them. Then they might miss something really important that you have to say. Keep the emails valuable, so when a fan sees you in their inbox they know it’s something worth reading.

YouTube Videos

YouTube is another great tool that is very popular among musicians. Video blogs (vlogs), like live webcasts, give your fans a visual interaction, making them much more likely to engage. We’ve seen YouTube catapult people to fame and revive careers.

You could argue that having a vlog is more effective than having a blog. First of all it requires very little effort on the fans’ behalf, you can watch a video whilst doing other things, whereas when you’re reading something you have to focus 100% on it. It is also much more likely that a non-fan will stumble across the video and maybe even become a fan. Over a billion YouTube videos are watched every day, that’s a severe amount of traffic and potential viewers. And finally a video is a lot more personal, people can get a far greater sense of who you are through a video than they can through text.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable to have both a blog and a vlog too, as long as they both serve their own purpose. You could turn your blog into more of a diary and just vlog on special occasions, or vice-versa.

Competitions and Polls

Competitions and polls are a great way to get people actively participating and interacting. Set up a bi-weekly poll on your website asking fans for their opinion on something. You could even relate the question to your music, this way you connect with fans and do a bit of market research. When each poll is finished you can post the results on your blog and share your own thoughts.

Competitions are another great way to get fan participation, and I’ve seen them work really well in the past. Try and make the competition and prize unique, for example; ask fans to write a song. You choose a winner, record their song and release it for free download on your website.

Another concept I’ve seen work well are remix contests. Release the acapella for one of your songs and ask fans to make a remix.

Conclusion

I come across aspiring musicians every day, some of them close friends of mine, and when I ask them how it’s going most of the time I get a response such as; “we’re submitting tracks to record labels” or “we’ve got a good connection over at We Will Rape You Records, we’re just waiting for them to call us back”. “Industry” relationships don’t mean shit in the current music business, you should be focusing on fan relationships and doing everything you can to connect with them. They are the ones that decide your fate, not managers, not A&Rs and not record execs, so make them your top priority.