No matter how gifted you are or how equipped to rock a venue with your performances, without proper promotion, you and your music will go nowhere. Harsh as it may sound, that’s the sad reality.
But do you know that even without unloading a hefty amount from your wallet you will still be able to promote yourself as a musician quite effectively?
Well to quote Barack Obama “Yes we can”.
All it takes is a little imagination, effort and time and you’re on your way to making yourself known, or at least, taking the first few steps to get your name out in the world.
This post is inspired by an article by Marlin Bressi on bukisa.com. Thanks for the info Marlin.
1. Post-It notes
Who says that this invention meant for the office should only be confined to office works?
This bundle of partly self sticking paper can actually be used to let your community know about your musical genius.
With a couple of bucks, you can have a rubber stamp bearing your name, website address and other information you deem necessary made for you and then stamp it on the Post-Its.
What are you going to do with the stamped Post Its?
Post them wherever your fans hang out: at the gigs or in the music store, there are loads of places to spread your word!
This will arouse the curiosity of those who’ve seen it. And you know how an individual can be responsive when curiosity engulfs him.
Just make sure though that it’s legal to post them in the places you find or you might get busted by the cops.
You have been warned…
2. Dollar Bills
Do you realize how far your one dollar bill can go?
I don’t mean in terms of purchasing power but in the sense of physical travel. Let’s say you pay a one-dollar bill to purchase a milk shake and later on that same bill will be used as change by a tourist who is from another state.
This may be a little shady but it can still do the trick in terms of getting attention of mileage.
Write your website in pencil on the bill! (Check with your lawyer first 
This gives your website the potential to be seen by many thousands of people.
Although they are not going to be targeted fans so don’t base your career on this. It’s just a fun little test.
3. Be an environmentalist
Some states, like the state of Pennsylvania, reward those who volunteer to clean the highway for a couple of hours a month with the opportunity to have their names appear on a metal sign along the road. If you do so, you will have a billboard of sorts for free, not to mention that you have done your share in cleaning the environment.
4. Contests and Promotions
credit: cambodia4kidsorg
One of the best ways to promote yourself is to invest some time, creativity and yes, a little money, in contests and promotions.
Be creative in coming up with an event.
You can probably come up with a lip-sync contest, fan-art contest or any other activities.
You can award the winners with a limited edition customized T-shirt, your own CDs or other stuff that will serve as memorabilia.
You can add a viral aspect to the competition by getting your fans to re-tweet their entry.
5. Mailing List
When you have a small gig or even a major show in a big venue, never fail to offer to the fans a chance to join the mailing list.
Once you have their email addresses and their names, you can start sending them regular newsletters that will update them on your upcoming shows, merchandise and other promotional items and events.
This will not only enable the fans to be in the know of you and your music, this will also make them feel valued and appreciated.
If you have any other ideas let me know below…
Good luck,
– Chris from www.promoteyourmusic.com
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