Hey Friend,

Do you know how to use free music to your advantage? 

To be effective, you need to get something valuable in return - like an email address, or a commitment from a fan.

Free songs are a tool to introduce people to your music and get permission to contact them again and should not be mistaken for music distribution. That's where most people go wrong...

You want to choose a few songs as your “freebies” (like a single or an unreleased track) but the challenge is to get people to stream your music or buy merch from you.

Use the free songs to reel people in to connect and make them want to listen again and maybe buy a full album, or some tickets or merch or just learn more. 

When done correctly - and paired with an awesome email or SMS marketing strategy - trading songs will make you more money.

Next week we have a Music Success Challenge that kicks off with a music promotion webinar. You might want to tune in and see what strategies are working for people.

For those of you who ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE...

Q: It feels like no one cares on social media. How can I get past this apathy and actually build a fanbase?

A: On platforms like Facebook and Instagram, feed algorithms are increasingly affecting how people see your posts. And IF people see your content at all. So if you’re not getting good engagement on your posts, it may not be that your fans “don’t care” but instead that they’re not seeing your posts at all.

That’s why it’s SUPER important to craft all of your posts with engagement in mind. Ask yourself, “If I saw this in my feed, would I leave a comment?” If the answer is no, try rethinking your post and your message.

How do you create engagement? Ask direct questions, ask for feedback or opinions, or share a relatable story or inspirational message.

It will be slow at first, but don’t get discouraged. Over time you’ll start seeing more comments, more likes, and more fans who care about you and your music.

More on engagement and how to promote your music in our live session :)

On Monday, March 25th at 1PM EST my friend Dave Kusek and I will be answering all of your music promotion questions in a live webinar. And I'll be sharing 6 super actionable, easy-to-implement things you can do to grow your fanbase and promote your music.

We haven’t announced the CHALLENGE to the public yet, so there’s still a few more days to register early.

Bobby