It’s that time of year again. If you went shopping at all this past weekend you probably noticed that the shelves are full, deals are advertised everywhere, and many stores are staying open late. Nothing unusual for this time of year, right? Can you imagine if Best Buy or Target decided they weren’t going to advertise, put together any deals, or extend their hours for the holidays? How do you think that would work out for them? It doesn’t take a genius to realize that such a strategy (or lack thereof) would be a monumental waste of an opportunity. So why then, do 99% of all bands out there do nothing extra to promote themselves this time of year?!
If you are selling CDs, downloads, and merch then you’re in the same business as the stores where you do your holiday shopping! Problem is you may not fully realize this. You need to compartmentalize if you’re going to maximize your success as an independent artist. Learn to think like a marketer, a salesperson, and a strategist. You shouldn’t sell shirts or CDs like a musician any more then you should play guitar like a retail executive. Play guitar like a guitar player and sell your products like a salesperson.
So where to start? If you’re going to run a successful holiday promotion (or any promotion) you’re going to need these fundamentals:
1. Products (Merch, CDs, Downloads, Tickets, etc.)
2. Demand
3. A way to contact the people who have expressed interest in your products (mailing list, shows, website)
The first action to take is to brainstorm ideas for holiday gifts, stocking stuffers, etc that you can offer. What do you have that someone would want to give as a gift? What could you create that would be a good gift? Don’t have merch? You can sign up for an account on Spreadshirt.com where you can upload your designs and they will print your merch as it sells. Customers can order by December 17th to guarantee delivery by Christmas. Looking for more to offer? How about offering to write a personalized song? You could charge $50 or $5,000. It’s all up to you. Be creative.
Once you’ve got your products and promotions in place then it’s time to get the word out. I hope you’ve got a mailing list (if you don’t then you need to start one immediately)! Send out an email to your list telling everyone about your holiday offers and specials. Include photos, any necessary links, and some well-worded text that lets people know why your products would make great gifts. A lot of the people on your list would probably like one of your offerings as a gift themselves. Encourage them to forward your email to the people who might be shopping for them. You could even ask them to give you the email address of someone who is shopping for them so you can send them a personalized email to let them know that you’ve got something that someone on their list wants.
Also, be sure to promote special deals at your shows. Advertise on your website. If you really want to go all out you can sell CDs in the streets wearing a Santa costume. Whatever you can come up with. Again, be creative. If you study the careers of the most successful artists you’ll often find that they had some ingenious ideas that they weren’t afraid to try!
While most artists are sleepwalking through the holiday season, seize the opportunity to stand out. Offer people a viable way to cross off the last few names on their shopping list. Someone who buys a 42″ plasma TV for her husband probably won’t balk at spending $10 on your CD as a stocking stuffer. All you’ve got to do is connect the dots to make it happen.
Article by Scott James of The Independent Rockstar Blog.
