By now you probably know that the thing that will help you create a long-lasting career in the music industry is communicating with your fan base regularly and consistently. This means sending a monthly newsletter.
But a lot of artists still struggle with sending a monthly newsletter!
There are many reasons why you are not – probably because you don’t have a system for organizing your newsletters, or you think that you are “annoying” your fans when you send newsletters because you don’t like it when other bands spam you. Or perhaps you don’t have a schedule and a system mapped out for sending your newsletters.
I’m here with a post packed with monthly email management solutions!
Ready to take your email life more seriously? Click here to get your email and social media organizer.
This organizer helps you with 2 vital aspects of your newsletter: organizing your topics and gathering new contacts! This social media organizer also covers all social media channels, which helps musicians get a holistic look at their online presence. Because you’ll be gathering the majority of your contacts through your social media channels, it can be very helpful to organize your channels together!
FIRST and foremmost you must use an email managemnt system! (Yes it costs money, and aside from when you are in front of fans IRL this is the only direct pipeline to your fans, so it’s worth the investment) We love both MailChimp and Convert Kit!
If you are struggling with exactly what to write, read this article to structure your newsletter using my 3G’system
5 Critical Things to Keep in Mind While Crafting Your Newsletter:
1. Keep Your Subject Line to 55 Characters
Most e-mail programs cut off the subject line after 55 – 60 characters and nowadays many people are opening emails from their tiny phones, so keep your subject line short and sweet; five to six words max.
2. Get Personal
Saying something personal brings you closer to your fan base. So share a photo of something you love (your pet, your kids, your friends), or something fun and non-music related you did recently like a vacation.
3. You Don’t Have To Have A Show To Send A Newsletter
How about just inviting everyone on your newsletter out for drinks evening, or to join you for a show, or share something fun that you’ve done recently; again, or maybe you just purchased a new album and you love it, and you want to talk about it.
4. Mailing Address & Unsubscribe Link
Know that by law you need to put your mailing address and an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each of your newsletters. If you are uncomfortable adding your home address, then open up a P.O. Box and use that.
5. Personalization Gets Attention
Use the first name of each person you send your newsletter to in the subject line or the greeting.
It’s catchy, and it gets people’s attention immediately to the subject of your e-mail.
You are probably aware that your email list is just a part of your strategy when it comes to email. If you’re looking for help putting together a total marketing plan for your next release, including newsletters, check out our Total Tuneup Marketing Plans.
Thank you – loved this post. Helpful nuggets on which I can act right away!
Glad you found this helpful! Go get it done.
I Love your content. It was very helpful. I know that there is tons of information that we need to know as a small self promoting group. We look forward to working with you in the future.
Thank You
Glad you find the articles helpful!
Great article, Ariel. I would add that the worst thing you can do with a monthly newsletter is to sell, sell, sell. If all you’re saying in your newsletter is buy my music, see my show, then you’re just another sales pitch.
As you point out, the email list is your opportunity to create and deepen your relationship with your fans. Some great things I’ve seen artists do with their newsletter:
– Tell the story behind a song and post the lyrics
– Share a book, poem, TV show, movie, etc. that inspires you
– Talk about your struggle
– Share your stories
– BE REAL
You don’t need to share things that you want to keep private. I know a lot of artists won’t post about their children for example. And that’s fine – you have a right to your privacy. AND the more you let your fans know who they are, the more they’ll buy from you.
Because people buy from those they know, like and trust. So be real. Let them get to know the real you. And if they write you back – always respond!
Hi Ariel,
Thank you for this, and for your ongoing gems of wisdom! 🙂
Could you please help me gain clarity on this bit: As much as I’d like to personalize my emails, my mailing list is growing as I am refining my database through various methods. Now, if I have a couple of 1000 contacts on my Mail Chimp (or more), how can I practically address each individual or company, by name?!
Please share a hack or something!!!
Thanks & Bless,
Maham.
Hello Maham!
MailChimp will actually let you add the first name of each user – that’s the first step in personalizing. And YES it is hard to write individually to thousands of fans – Kudos for growing your list to that size BTW. My best advice is when people respond to your emails don’t ignore them and be sure to replay and foster two-way communications – its a nice way to get to know who is on your list as well as teaching your email provider (Mailchimp) that a real human reads the emails!