Music Marketing

Promotions Guide
Over 21 Tested and Proven
Hollywood Marketing Strategies to
Promote Every Song You Release

By: Chris Greenwood

 Song/Album Launch
Checklist
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOUR RESOURCES IT’S
ABOUT YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS

Marketing doesn’t start when the song is done; it start’s when the pen
hits the pad.

The day you hit the studio or start writing at home is when you should
begin filming and taking pictures of the process. Especially once you
know you’ve got something that is going to be released.

I like to post photos and engage my fans doing Facebook lives, and
Youtube Lives days and weeks leading up to the single. I call this the
pre-launch of the song, EP or Album. Then you have the day of launch,
but it doesn’t stop there. Once the album, EP, or single is released, you
have what is called a Post Launch. A post-launch requires you to pour
gasoline on the fire to continue talking about your songs using the
tools, strategies, and ideas I show in this book.
 Song/Album Launch Checklist
SINGLE COVER
Your going to need a single cover designed that is eye catchy
and has your logo on the front. You don’t necessarily have
to have a photo of you. It could be an illustration or picture
that matches the song title or vibe of the song. Don’t cheap
out on this, make it look great because this is the first thing
people judge you on before they listen to your music. People
don’t hear you; first, they see you, and you only get one shot
at making a good first impression. There are websites like
Unsplash.com or pexels.com where you can get fantastic
royalty free images that you can use for commercial purposes.
So now you have no excuses. Choose a great photo, and you
will already be on your way to a great looking cover.

SINGLE COVER VIDEO

Your going to need a single cover designed that is
eye catchy and has your logo on the front. You don’t
necessarily have to have a photo of you. It could be an
illustration or picture that matches the song title or vibe
of the song. Don’t cheap out on this, make it look great
because this is the first thing people judge you on before
they listen to your music. People don’t hear you; first,
they see you, and you only get one shot at making a good
first impression. There are websites like Unsplash.com
or pexels.com where you can get fantastic royalty free
images that you can use for commercial purposes. So now
you have no excuses. Choose a great photo, and you will
already be on your way to a great looking cover.

LYRIC CARDS
Take some of your most passionate lines in the
lyrics and make lyric card images to post on
social media. I usually grab a snippet of chorus
lyrics or a phrase from a verse. Use a lyric that
your passionate about that gets the overall
message of the song across. You can quickly
create lyric cards using a free software online
called canva.com.
 Song/Album Launch Checklist
LYRIC CARD VIDEOS
Use the same lyric cards import them into
iMovie and add music behind them and
now you have a video of the Lyric Card.
Instead of just posting a photo which is
fine. Now people won’t just see the lyric
card they can listen to the corresponding
song that goes with it.

LYRIC VIDEO
Get a lyric video created. Did you know
that lyric videos are not only cheaper in
most cases than making a music video,
but they also tend to get more views?
Both are great but if budget is a concern
then make a lyric video. Hire someone or
be creative and do it yourself. Remember
to stay true to your brand in regards to
vibe colors etc.

MUSIC VIDEO
If you have the budget create a music video and if
you don’t have a budget still create a music video.
I did a selfie music video on my skateboard and
bike. If you google Manafest My Way Music Video,
you can watch it. Just have fun! Another idea is to
setup multiple iPhones and GoPros at a show for
different angles/cutaways. Then hire someone on
Fiverr.com to edit it together for you. The whole
point of this is, so you have different pieces of
content or assets to promote your song. The more
you have, the better because it’s just another
reason to talk about your song.
 Song/Album Launch Checklist
SONG EXPLANATION VIDEO
Film yourself sharing the story behind the song
and how it came together. Fans love to hear the
behind the scenes inspiration or something cool
that happened when recording it. Here is your
chance to connect with your fans on a much
deeper level. Write some interview style questions
and have a friend ask you them while the camera is
rolling. Get a mini interview out of it.

SONG TRAILER
Create a 15-30 second song trailer showcasing you
in the studio, behind the scenes featuring the song
or album cover. Hollywood does the same thing with
movies, and we should do the same with music. Song
promotion trailers help to create buzz about a song
and excitement that you’ve got a new release on
the way. Most artists keep silent and then bombard
people for a week about there songs. Then we don’t
hear from then again for months. That’s not how you
build a loyal fanbase. The reason we are creating all
these assets and promotional tools so you can keep
the lines of communication open with your fans.

EMAIL LIST
If you don’t have an email list, start building
one from your friends/family. Sign up with
an Email List Provider like Active Campaign
so that you can do automation as well. Here
is a link to get a free trial. You can also sign
up with Noisetrade.com to give your music
away through their massive database of music
lovers. I love social media, but the biggest
thing I rely on when promoting new music is
my email list.
 Song/Album Launch Checklist
PODCASTS
Open up the podcasts app on your phone and search for the name of artists similar to your
genre. Email them to see if they can interview you? Give them a compelling reason like you
have a compelling story to share or went through a struggle that you think their audience
would find beneficial. Remember when reaching out to any press you want to hit them up
months before the actual release. By planning months in advance you can separate yourself
from a newbie to a professional. Don’t wait until the song is already out, start planning
months in advance.

PODCAST PRO TIP

Ever thought about starting a podcast with you as the host? What if you created a podcast
about something you’re passionate about like music and interviewed other famous artists?
Having a podcast is a great way to leverage other peoples platforms and expose your music
to new audiences. Dream big!
 Ask Yourself
These Questions:
WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG?
THE ANGLE? STORY OF STRUGGLE THAT
YOU CAN RELAY TO YOUR FANS.
 Social Media
Pro Tip
I connect my Instagram account to Facebook which posts to Twitter. So
when I post once on Instagram, it gets posted to my Facebook and Twitter
too. By joining my accounts, it saves me a ton of time having to go to all
three social media accounts and manually post the same thing. I always
think of ways I can maximize my time. Another little pro tip when you’re
doing a Facebook, YouTube or Instagram live is to use your phone for
Instagram Live and your Laptop computer for Facebook at the same time.
I’ve done this and just talk to both screens going back and forth

TWITTER
When posting to Twitter you want to post lyric cards, album cover links to
listen to your music on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. Post 4-7 times
a day on Twitter 1-2 hours apart. Twitter’s newsfeed is a lot faster because
it’s a different social platform than Facebook or Instagram. Also, those
that are active on Twitter notice when your post has come from Facebook
or Instagram so if Twitter is going to be your primary choice to grow your
career post directly from Twitter.

INSTAGRAM
Before you upload a video or photo to Instagram make sure the cover
is terrific. It’s all about visuals when it comes to Instagram. I suggest
posting 2-3 times daily, 3 hours apart, so you stay on peoples minds
but aren’t spamming your followers. Make sure you put hashtags as a
comment underneath your post not in the post. You can include up to
30 hashtags which are how new fans are going to find you.

YOUTUBE
Every one of your songs should be uploaded to YouTube and in
different forms. Upload the lyric video, music video, song explanation
and any other assets you have to help promote the song. Don’t do
this all at once but stagger it each week to get maximum impact of
each asset. You also might want to consider running some YouTube
ads which I teach in my YouTube Accelerator course.
 Social Media
FACEBOOK
You can post 2-3 times a day 4 hours apart utilizing your content on
Facebook. Remember uploading videos work’s better than YouTube Links
because Facebook wants to keep people on their platform. Any post you
make with a link will get even less organic traffic than a post without a link.
Facebook never shows your post to all your followers because you have
to pay to play plus they want to keep the best experience for the users. To
help get more organic reach consider doing at least one Facebook live to
boost your engagement up.

SOUNDCLOUD
Just like YouTube all of your songs should also be uploaded to
Soundcloud. Every single, album or EP with covers and links to
purchase or stream your music. Once you have 10,000 listeners, you
can then monetize your channel through a 3rd party aggregator like
Repostnetwork.

BAND CAMP
I believe that your music should be available to everyone which includes
Band Camp. It’s free to set up an account and sell your music digitally or
physical merchandise too. I haven’t made a ton of money here, but I know
lots of artists who have.
 Press
Most magazines, newspapers, blogs are more interested in an
album then just a song. Unless you’ve got a music video or killer
Pro TipS

lyric video to go with it. Still reach out you never know!

When it comes to press you must reach out months ahead, not the
day of or week before. Show that your professional and actually
have a plan in place. This will set you apart from other artists.

Radio
Make a list of at least 10
radio stations that play
your style of music both
commercial,college radio and
internet.
MAGAZINE
List 10-20 magazines
physical and online that
feature your genre of
BLOGS music. Email them!

Look up 10-20 blogs that

feature your genre of music
and see if they’ll feature or
review your song/album.
 Out of the Box & Going
the Extra Mile
ARTISTS
Make a list of all your artist friends that you can ask to post
on your behalf. Email them and see if they’d be willing to post
for you. You don’t know if you don’t ask. Just make sure your
willing to do the same if they were to ask you for the favor.

Like Comment Share

FRIENDS/FAMILY
Email all your friends about it and ask them to share..
Not the iTunes link but just Spotify, YouTube. If they
ask to buy it then send them the link.

Chance
To Win! CONTESTS & GIVEAWAY
Once a week/month giveaway a signed
CD or merchandise item for whoever
shares your video, lyric card etc. Try to
engage your fans by being generous and
giving the stuff! It works!
 Live
YOUTUBE/
GOOGLE HANGOUT
Setup a google hang out via your YouTube
channel to per-form live, do a Q & A with
your fans at a show or studio. They will
love you for this!

FACEBOOK LIVE
Similar to Google hangouts where you can
interact one on one with your fans. The organic
reach you will get from this currently will blow
away any-thing else you post. This is some-
thing I would do 2-4 times a month at least to
increase engagement, especially during the
promotion of a new song.

REDDIT
Doing an AMA (ask me anything) on reddit
is another way to reach a new audience
and create awareness of your music.

Pro Tip Today I do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can

accomplish what others can’t
 Take The
10x Challenge DO THIS EVERYDAY!

I created the 10x challenge so that you would take massive action
towards your music career. The artists that make it are consistent
and show up every day and put in the work to build towards their
music career. Someone once told me the difference between an
amateur and a professional is a professional shows up every day,
sticks to a schedule and do the work even when they don’t feel like
it. I’ve listed below 10 actionable steps you can take every day or
week towards building your music career.
 Take The 10x Challenge

1
Send an email to the program director of 10 radio stations either Internet, FM or Online
stations. Never send attachments only send a dropbox link to one maybe two songs. Keep
the email short and too the point. Two paragraphs max and don’t be afraid to follow up a
week later.

2
Send 10 emails to book shows at (Festivals, Clubs, Bars, Schools, Churches). Again keep the
email short and include a link to your performance of you performing plus a few highlights
about your career.

3
Invest 10 minutes on Instagram & Twitter using the liking strategy to grow your fanbase.
Checkout my course Instagram & Twitter Accelerator for more details. Instead of following
for follow backs you are liking photos that people have hash tagged of artists that are
similar to your genre. For example #eminem #taylorswift #coldplay
 Take The 10x Challenge

4
Block off 10 minutes to schedule Facebook posts like Lyric Cards, Photos, Videos, and
promoting your merchandise. I say schedule because you can use the Facebook scheduling
tool for the posts to go out at a later time. Remember we are trying to maximize our time.
For more Facebook strategies checkout my Facebook Accelerator Course.

5
Play some music, login into your Soundcloud account and use the follow for followback
strategy of artists fans that are similar to your music.

6
Email 10 influential artists, managers or booking agents that you’d like to work with. Keep the
email short and tell an engaging story plus include a link to your music. Remember never to
include an attachment only links.
 Take The 10x Challenge

7 8
Invest 10 minutes on each social
media responding to comments
and engaging your fans. Decide
which social media platform
is gonna be the one you focus
Look up the contacts for 10 Online Blogs
& Magazines that feature or review your
style of music. It’s best to hit them up
when you have an album or EP coming
out. Lead time is normally 3 months
on and build it. Whether that BEFORE it’s released. If your music is
is YouTube, Soundcloud, already out then still reach out and build
Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. the relationship.
 Action Steps
Now that you’ve gone through the checklist and hopefully the video
training. We need to put a plan of action together so this doesn’t feel
overwhelming to you. If you didn’t buy the video training that is available
get that here now because it will help put things in perspective.
Action Steps
Step 1
Set a release date for you single, EP or
Album. Setting a date will give you a
deadline to work towards and hopefully
kick your butt to get it done on time.
Normally this is a Friday and I suggest
planning a couple months ahead at
least so it gives you time to create all
the promotional tools I suggest in this
promotions guide.

If you’re releasing an album or EP I

suggest releasing at least 2 singles off the
album before you launch the whole thing
at once. We want to use these singles as
buzz or mini trailers like Hollywood does
for films leading up to the release date.
In this case your singles are song trailers
that keep your fans engaged and get
them excited about the full album or EP.
If this is your very first release I suggest
doing an EP before a full length album.
The reason is your sound might change,
it costs less and you can get feedback
quicker. Let’s say a 10 track album costs
$10,000. That’s a huge investment for the
first album plus you still have to market
it. Why not spend $5,000 on an EP and
$5000 marketing it. The truth is whatever
you spend on making an album you be
spending 5 times that on marketing it.
Stop reading this book and go to your
calendar and plan out your release
schedule now.
 Action Steps
Step 2
Schedule your photo shoot for the album artwork
or if you’re not going to be on the artwork hire a
graphic designer to put it all together. Don’t cheap
out on this part. People don’t hear your music first,
they see you first. You only get one chance on a
first impression so when they see your single or
album artwork you want to impress so they take
the step to listen.

Step 3
When you get the final mixes of your
songs don’t forget to ask the engineer
to export the instrumentals without any
vocals. You’re going to need these for TV/
Film placements and I personally sell an
instrumental version of every album and
my fans love it.

Step 4
Plan a CD release party. This could be
online only or at a bar, church, club or even
house party. It’s important to celebrate and
bring much attention to the music you just
worked so hard on. Be proud of it and turn
it into an event. Have 1-2 openers and sell
tickets that include the CD for the first 50
people through the door.
By: Chris Greenwood

I hope you found this song promotions guide helpful. Don’t

get overwhelmed by it all. Instead choose 1-2 things you can
do a week or daily depending on how much time you have
to invest. Even if you do one small thing a day and check it
off your list. The music industry never sleeps because there
is always more you can do but if you set goals that will help
give you stay focused. There are going to be up moments
and down moments but choose not to give up. You were
born with a talent and gift that is rare so take the next step
to share it with the world. Dare to learn how to market and
share your voice with the world instead of hiding it. Learn
by doing and taking action.

“Most people overestimate what they can do in a year

and they underestimate what they can do in two or
three decades.”
~Tony Robbins

For 1 on 1 coaching visit:

www.fanbaseuniversity.com
For more books and programs visit:
http://www.smartmusicbusiness.com