Growing your audience is a key goal for most bands and artists. In order to achieve this, a combination of networking (both in physical and virtual realms), marketing, PR, and strategy planning around releases is required. Ultimately, this is a large workload for independent and underground bands especially, and it can become overwhelming with the number of tasks. This is why it is important to set realistic goals that a) drive your progress forward and b) can be carried out sustainably. There are only so many hours in a day, and alongside jobs, family and day-to-day life events, balancing music promotion can be tricky. By setting realistic goals, it can help you make tangible progress without burning out.
Things to consider:
- How much time daily/ weekly/ monthly do you have available to spend on music promotion tasks.
- What is your monthly/ annual budget (where applicable) for creating content (e.g., photography/ videography), website hosting, commissioning new merch designs etc.
- How much energy do you and your band mates have to dedicate to these tasks. Consider this when dividing up the workload. Some one with more time but less energy may be best assigned fewer more time consuming tasks and vice versa.
- How do you define success? Is it reaching one new person who loves your music, selling X pieces of merch a month, going on tour? Success looks different for everyone. Think about what your idea of success is and plan steps to reach it.
You will notice the time stipulations that have been suggested alongside these points. By placing a time constraint, be it daily, weekly, monthly, annually, etc., this provides a deadline of sorts that can assist with motivation in order to complete a goal. However, make sure these are realistic time frames. Aiming to get 10,000 new TikTok followers in a week, for example, is not impossible but is highly improbable and would most likely lead to burn out.
It is also important to acknowledge the disheartening feeling that can come with not meeting a particular goal. Sometimes, it can just be an unlucky scenario, however, it is often due to having high and impactable expectations. By managing your time and expectations, it can help to prevent these unpleasant situations occurring.
Tip: it will most likely take a bit of time to work out what realistic goals look like for you, as well as figuring out the balance of a sustainable workload. Consider this initial stage as a means to practice and plan. In the long run it will be beneficial.
Remember, overnight fame and glory isn’t realistic and is very much the exception not the norm. Steady, sustainable and consistent work is the best means to achieve your goals and success, whatever that success looks like for you.
For further advice and tips on promoting your music, check out some of our previous blog posts:
Mastering the Art of Social Media: YouTube, TikTok, and Threads Strategies in PR
Building Your Image: The Importance Of Branding
Beyond Paid Ads: Why Emerging Musicians Should Focus on Organic Growth