Email list vs. social media - why it's better to stand on two feet as an artist!

This article is a guest post by Oliver Bohstedt, founder & CEO of Musikerkanal! He is a mentor in the field of music marketing for talented, success-oriented musicians, bands & producers. His mission is to help musicians, artists and bands turn their music into a successful business with the help of the internet.

Email marketing for musicians is a topic that is often underestimated. You might think that email marketing is old-fashioned or not as exciting as social media. But let me tell you: it’s one of the most effective ways to reach your fans and build a loyal fanbase! The greatest benefit: it puts you in control of your communication with fans!

Building your own email list

So, if you don’t have an email list yet, now is the perfect time to start. Building an email list does take some time and effort, but the benefits are huge. You’ll build a closer relationship with your fans, get more engagement for your music and ultimately boost your career. In this blog article, we’ll give you a step by step rundown on how to do it. Ready? Let’s get started!

Email list vs. social media

Social media is great for reaching and interacting with new people. But if you want to build a deeper, more lasting relationship with your fans, an email list is essential. Here are a few reasons why:

• – Full control over your communication: With an email list, you have direct control over your communication with your fans. You don’t have to rely on a platform to decide if and when your message is seen.
• – More effective interactions: On average, emails offer significantly higher engagement rates than social media. Email marketing has average open rates of around 18% and click-through rates of 2.6%, which is significantly higher compared to social media, where average engagement rates are often below 0.6%.
• – Independence from algorithm-changes: Social media platforms are constantly changing their algorithms. These changes can drastically affect how many of your followers see your posts. Email marketing, on the other hand, is much more stable and reliable.

Preparation: Important tools and platforms for musicians

Before you can really get started with email marketing, you need to lay a solid foundation. This includes choosing the right tools and platforms and setting up your email list. Let’s go through what you need.

Choosing the right tools is crucial to the success of your email marketing strategy. Here are some platforms that can help you:

1. Mailchimp
2. Description: Mailchimp is one of the most popular email newsletter tools for musicians. With its free version, it offers a wide range of tools and features for your email marketing. It’s ideal for getting started with email list building.
3. Advantages: It’s user-friendly. It has extensive features. There is a free version.
4. Cons: Some advanced features are only available in the paid versions.                                                       activeCampaign
5. ActiveCampaign is an established email marketing platform ideal for musicians and their email marketing needs. With extensive email marketing automation capabilities, it’s perfect for musicians who want to automate their email marketing processes to save time that could be better invested in other areas of their music.
6. Advantages: Extensive automation features, personalized emails, CRM integration.
7. Disadvantages: Higher costs compared to other platforms. More complex to set up
8. IndieFunnels
9. IndieFunnels is an all-in-one solution especially for musicians. Not only can you use it to build your email list, but you can also create your entire website, store and funnels.

   -Advantages: Easy to use, tailored specifically for musicians, comprehensive features.

   – Disadvantages: Monthly costs, possibly a bit oversized for beginners.

   Brevo

   Brevo is an all-in-one marketing platform that is particularly popular in Europe. It offers extensive features for email marketing, SMS marketing and more, which is extremely suitable for musicians.

   Advantages: GDPR compliant, affordable pricing, extensive features including SMS marketing.

   Disadvantages: Limited templates compared to other platforms. Support might be slower compared to the competition.

10. CleverReach

    – Description: CleverReach is a German email marketing platform that is specially tailored to the needs of European companies. It offers a user-friendly interface and extensive functions for designing and analyzing e-mail campaigns

    – Advantages: GDPR-compliant, extensive evaluation options, good user-friendliness.

    – Disadvantages: Higher costs for larger lists, limited automation functions compared to other platforms.

    Choosing the right tools and platforms is essential for the success of your email marketing. Now let’s dive deeper into creating effective email campaigns.

Developing the perfect email strategy

Developing an effective email strategy starts with precisely defining your target group and creating a compelling offer. Only by understanding what your fans want and offering them exactly that, can you successfully build and maintain your email list. Let’s go through these steps in detail.

– Define the target group

Before you start with email marketing, it is important to know exactly who your target group is. Analyze your existing fans by examining demographic data, psychographic characteristics and behavioral traits. Create target group personas to identify typical fans and segment your target group according to interests and behavior.

– Create a convincing offer (fan magnet)

A compelling fan magnet is key to getting people to sign up for your email list. Simply saying “sign up for my newsletter” is unsexy. You need something unique to offer your fans, something they can’t get anywhere else. I call such an offer a fan magnet.

Here are some specific examples that you can use to build your email list:

– Free songs: “Join our list and get our latest song for free.”

– Exclusive content: “Sign up and get access to unreleased songs and behind-the-scenes videos.”

– Free stickers or merchandise: “Sign up and receive a free sticker as a thank you.”

– Early Access: “Be the first to know about our upcoming tour dates. Sign up now!”

– Competitions and prize draws: “Sign up and enter our competition to win a meet & greet.”

Methods to build your email list

To build a successful email list, you need to use different methods. Here are some of the most effective strategies you can use to continuously grow your list.

– Inbound marketing: content creation on social media

Content creation is one of the most powerful ways to grow your email list organically. By sharing valuable content on social media, you automatically attract people who are interested in your offer. A call-to-action is crucial to get your followers to sign up to your email list. Here are some tips:

– Conclude your posts and videos with a clear call-to-action to sign up.

– Place a link to your sign-up form in the bio of your social media profiles.

– Use Instagram Stories to link directly to your registration form.

Outbound marketing: direct interactions with fans

Direct interactions with your fans can add a personal touch and increase sign-up rates. Here are some methods:

– Reply regularly to comments under your posts and invite further communication via email.

– Send direct messages to new followers and invite them to sign up.

Paid Advertising: Meta Ads and more

• Paid advertising on social media can be a quick and effective way to build your email list. Create a landing page with a clear design and run conversion campaigns by defining your target audience, creating engaging ads and targeting “leads”.
• You can also effectively collect email addresses at offline events such as concerts.
• – Registration forms at the merchandise stand: Offer small incentives such as stickers or discounts for those who register.
• – Prize draws and competitions: Organize competitions where participation requires signing up to the email list.
• – Interact after the show: Talk to fans in person after the show and invite them to sign up. Distribute flyers or cards with a QR code or link to sign up.
• Building your email list requires a combination of methods. Stay creative and adapt your methods to your target group to achieve the greatest possible success.

Content of your emails: what you should send your subscribers

• The content of your emails is crucial to the success of your email marketing strategy. Let’s look at what kind of content you should be sending your subscribers to keep their attention and pique their interest.
• – Regular updates on new songs and albums
• Your subscribers always want to know about your latest projects. Here are some ideas on how you can keep them in the loop. For example, announcements of new releases, exclusive audio samples, background information on new projects, exclusive audio samples.
• – Personalized stories and behind-the-scenes insights
• Personalized stories and insights into your life as an artist make you more tangible for your subscribers and create a deeper connection. Ideas for this could include: personal stories, behind-the-scenes insights, photos and videos.

• Exclusive offers and announcements (merch, tours)

Your email list is the perfect place to share exclusive offers and important announcements. This makes your subscribers feel special and valued. For example, merchandise offers, tour announcements, special promotions and competitions.

– Balance between added value and promotion

A good balance between added value and promotion is crucial to avoid scaring your subscribers away. Maintain a ratio of 80% added value to 20% promo and get regular feedback to better understand your subscribers’ interests.

Tips for long-term success?

To be successful with your email marketing in the long term, there are some important principles you should follow. Let’s take a look at what they are.

– Regularity and consistency

Regularity and consistency are key to gaining the interest and trust of your subscribers. Create an editorial plan to decide in advance when and what content you will send and set fixed sending days.

– Analysis and optimization

Analyzing and optimizing your email campaigns is crucial to continuously achieve better results. Monitor key metrics such as open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rate to measure the success of your emails.

Examples of successful musicians and their email marketing strategies

Amanda Palmer, an indie artist, has relied heavily on email marketing to mobilize and engage her fanbase.

Lindsey Stirling, a well-known violinist and dancer, uses her email list effectively to build her brand and drive sales.

Pomplamoose, a duo consisting of Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte, successfully uses email marketing to grow and nurture their fanbase.

Conclusion

Email marketing can be a powerful tool to build and maintain a loyal fanbase. The benefits are clear: you can build a deeper relationship with your fans, are less dependent on social media algorithms and achieve higher engagement rates. Don’t be put off by the technology or the first steps. With the right tools and a well-thought-out strategy, you can make rapid progress and build a long-lasting relationship with your fanbase.

Many thanks to Oliver Bohstedt, Founder & CEO of Musikerkanal! If you’d like to learn more about email marketing, take a look at our blog: musikerkanal.com