How to Build a Fan Base
by Dj Roots Queen
Learn how to build your fan base with these simple steps
Building a fan base begins with creating your signature story with a recognizable brand, tone, and content strategy that fits your narrative on social media. Things to think about when creating your brand as a musician are:
- A unique voice
- Memorable look and feel
- Trustworthy reputation
- Your WHY – The reason you make music
- Consistent and compelling content
The more thought you put into your appearance, as in how you look and present yourself and how well designed your logos, fonts, and artwork are, the more easily you will attract fans. So get creative with your online appearance.
How you define your brand voice will determine your fanbase
A brand voice refers to the personality and emotion that is infused within your brand as a musician. Are you sarcastic, dry, intellectual, funny etc? Find out by taking this brand archetype quiz.
Always take care and choose brand messaging that attracts the fan base you want. Believe it or not, you have control over who you attract, so be careful about what you choose to give your attention to online, or you may end up with with a crowd of right wing conspiracy theorists at your shows freaking our your fans. This really happened, trust me.
Create compelling content
Always document the recording and creation journey for your fans. What may seem mundane to you may be really exciting to a loyal fan. Behind the scenes journeys of your music release is a great way to create a connection and show off your personality and brand voice with your current fans.
Create official music videos and tag them so people will be able to find them when searching for you. Keep in mind that people gravitate to remixes and cover songs, live videos, important updates, and any interviews you may do.
Start with social media
You have built your brand, found your brand voice, and have been creating compelling content. Now it is time to start with social media. Every musician should be signed up for these social media platforms at a minimum.
- Youtube
- Bandcamp
- Soundcloud
The first step is to invite all of your friends and contacts to like and follow your pages, then ask them to ask their friends to do so as well.
It’s important to post regularly. People who are serious about social media schedule their posts with a tool like HootSuite. Remember all that footage and pictures you documented when you were creating your first project? Now is the time to start posting and talking about it. Please make sure you check your social media mentions. You can’t afford to ignore brand new fans who are reaching out to you on social media.
It is crucial to optimize each social media profile for SEO (search engine optimization). If someone is looking for you on social media, don’t make it hard for them, as that would be the opposite of building a fan base. It’s surprising how many people create social media profile names that aren’t searchable.
Social media isn’t just used to post your content and call it a day. You need to be talking to a minimum of 10 new people a day. This does NOT mean sending your link to as many people as possible without context. Developing a custom pitch and creating genuine dialogue will help you go a long way. I cannot stress enough the importance of this step because it GOES DOWN in the DM (fan base building). So invite people to your shows, offer to buy someone lunch, give someone words of encouragement, just do something!
Sharing other people’s content can help you get new fans, as well as encouraging them to create user generated content using hash tags. These are tried and true methods that many brands use. Contests are another fun way to get people to interact with your brand. Some people say the interaction isn’t genuine, but I say; even if that may be the case, it offers the opportunity to convert someone into a loyal fan.
The only list an artist should be worried about is a mailing list
We all know that social media engagement can be low if a post doesn’t stick and create quality organic engagement. This is because social media platforms are driving businesses to buy ads. Although ads are essential, that is a conversation for a consultation once you have clear campaign goals and an ad budget.
No ad budget? No problem. Just work on creating an email list of people who would like to hear from you. Email campaign engagement is at an average of 25%, whereas social media engagement is only about 2% to 6% of your audience on social media.
Get creative when it comes to getting emails. From creating a landing page with a submission form, to throwing an all inclusive meet and greet event at a trendy spot, the possibilities are endless when it comes to persuading fans to sign up to receive email updates from you.
Please remember that you need explicit permission from someone to send them promotional emails, so using an opt-in form on their website is the way smart people do it. If you plan to do a networking event, be sure there is a disclaimer on the email sign up sheet letting them know what they are opting into.
If someone gives you their business card, this is not the same thing as opting into your email subscription. As a matter of fact, it is illegal and you could be fined $43,280 for not complying. Don’t let that deter you, just be ethical about collecting email addresses.
Get your music featured on Spotify Playlists
Every artist’s dream is to get their music on top Spotify playlists, and this is a great way for artists find loyal fans, but before you hire a PR firm to help you complete this goal, be sure to check out my in depth tutorial: The Truth About Spotify Playlists before going any further and don’t worry, I will answer all of your PR questions in future blog posts.
Do you need help picking your single to help start or grow your fan base?
Have your music reviewed by record-breaking DJs and industry tastemakers. We can help get your music featured on:
- Radio Shows
- Podcasts
- Social Media/Blogs
- Perform at live shows
- Have your music playing in clubs in the South East region
Dj RootsQueen is an American dj based out of Atlanta, Ga. Originally from Tampa, Florida, she began spinning when she was 17 years old. She found a niche djing fashion shows, artist showcases, club and industry events which put her in place to Dj for Young Jeezy’s Gourmet brand in 2013. Later that year, She launched her award winning radio show, Rude Girl Radio, on Dj Clue’s Desert Storm Radio.
In 2015, she was signed to Zaytoven and subsequently moved her radio show to his radio station Digital Dope Radio. She is now a Zaytoven’s official tour Dj, having performed at such events as “Red Bull Producer Round Table” with Zaytoven, Sonny Digital, and Metro Boomin and “Piano Night’s” with Gucci Mane and Zaytoven. Dj RootsQueen recently appeared on Team Zaytown Global for the Red Bull Music Culture Clash 2018 and the Maxim Big Game Experience with Diplo, Future, Jaimie Fox, and Yo Gotti for Super Bowl 53.
”With over a decade of experience in the music industry, my specialty is music marketing with a focus on project development. As a professional dj, I have an eye for music trends and discovering new talent. Some of the major artists I have helped develop are YFN Lucci, Future, Usher, Young Dolph, and Zaytoven. I create music advertising launches with successful marketing strategies by planning and preparing advertising and promotional materials to increase the sales of products. I dj and host celebrity album launches, multinational company events, concerts, and festivals. I initiate promotions and create successful social media campaigns surrounding these events and album releases. I have extensive experience producing and programming podcasts, radio shows, and live broadcasts for syndicated and internet radio. I produce and engineer high profile, award winning radio shows with celebrity interviews. What I play at live shows and on air is reported to media base and is tracked via BDS. I discover and cultivate famous music artists through project development, picking hit songs, studio session management, music consultation services, social media marketing, and playlist curation. I understand that everyday, new content is being released to consumers at an exponential rate. My promise is to develop appealing music marketing messages that will attract the attention of your target audience. I will help brands build their fan base using my network and audience in a way that increases brand awareness and product sales, whether it be bookings, merchandise, streams, or album sales. “
