If you have a release coming up, you can’t rely on it selling itself. You need to plan ahead to reach your music’s maximum potential when release day rolls around. It’s time to come up with a marketing schedule, if you haven’t already.
Your music marketing plan can look however you want it to look. Whatever works best for you. Have a look at different digital calendar options and find one that has a layout you can get onboard with. It doesn’t really matter which one you decide on, as long as it is something you can work with. Try out different colour codes to make each task stand apart from the others. Keep it neat and organised otherwise it will end up being more of a challenge than a useful tool. Here are 5 things we would suggest including in your plan 
Pre-save
This one is one of the most important. In order for your music to be heard on streaming platforms, your audience need to stream it. Sounds obvious. What if they can’t find it on the day or simply don’t have the time to search for it? Apps like Instagram only allow one link in a bio, so it’s not like you can post every streaming link to your profiles.
Certain stores will allow a Pre-save option, where your fans can save your release so when it drops, it will be placed into their library. Be aware Pre-saves will be placed into their album’s section rather than their liked songs. It saves your fans the job of looking for your release and allows you to know that people are saving your track, ready for it to go live.
Update your social media accounts
Before release day, you need to ensure your social media accounts are updated with your latest work. You can’t go months without posting and then suddenly drop a single and ask everyone to listen. In that time, it’s likely you’ll have lost some of your following by being inconsistent. Make sure you are active throughout the whole creation process. You don’t have to let people know you’re creating music if you don’t want to, although this would help for your fans to feel a bigger part of it. Just ensure you get posting with enough time to drive the momentum before dropping your links.
Keep your artist image recent. If you’ve drastically changed your look, but your profile photo is 10 years old, it isn’t representing you any longer. Add a new artist image, maybe even one from a promo shoot for your new track. Ensure you’re posting the album artwork with enough time to drum up interest. Change your theme up to fit in with your latest artwork if needed. Make sure everything flows together.
Add your Pre-save link to your bio. This way your followers can save your music before it goes live, so they know on release day, it will be in their library. It ensures you will have streams and interaction on the day your tracks become available.
Most importantly, let everyone know what’s coming. Unless you’re Beyoncé, it’s unlikely you can just drop an album and everyone goes wild. Without posting and increasing the hype, how will most of your audience know you’ve released new music? Make sure you’re posting across all social media channels, interacting with fans and asking them to share your promo.
Prepare your artist profiles on streaming services
Have you already claimed your artist pages? If not, you should do this before your release goes live. You can customise your pages to represent yourself as an artist. This will make your profiles look more professional as they will all fit into your artist brand.
Keep these pages updated, just like you should with your social media profiles. Outdated information or images shows your audience you don’t care enough. Make sure you list your achievements where you can and if you’re updated your artist image elsewhere, update it on streaming services too. For consistency, we would suggest all of your artist images being the same across all platforms. This way, your fans instantly know it’s you without needing to look for your name.
Reach out to influencers or music bloggers
As much as we want all of you to go viral instantly without having to work for it, we know this may not happen. You don’t need someone to reach out to you asking if they can use your sound to make it. Reach out to them instead. The more publicity you can get, the better. Contact different music blogs and see if they’ll review your new release ahead of its launch. You may be able to get your work featured within their platforms and then all of their audience will know of your work.
You can also reach out to influencers across social media. Once your release has gone live, you could see if they’ll use it within their next reel or TikTok video. They don’t even have to be a music related channel. Anyone with a platform can add your song into their latest video. If they’re doing a haul, it could be playing in the background, or if they dance, it could be a song they make up a fun routine to.
There’s no harm in asking. Don’t be disheartened if they don’t respond. The bigger the influencer or blog, the more requests they must get. To avoid your email or message getting lost in the sea of messages they receive, try giving it plenty of time before your release is live. The more time they have to respond, the better chance you have. It’s unlikely you can ask someone to review your release that goes live the following week, as that’s putting a lot of pressure on their already busy schedule. The worst they can do is say no, and that’s fine. Try again with someone else.
Try a release listening party or live stream
Why not go live with your fans at the time your album is due to drop? You can share the excitement together and interact. They’ll feel part of the release, and it will be something they always associate with that particular album. It allows them to get to know you a little better. Fans love to see who is behind the artist. You may be completely yourself as an artist, but many have an alter-ego of some form. Showing them your true, authentic self will only spark their engagement with you further.
During a livestream, you could talk about how you came up with the song, what inspired you to create it and what the lyrics mean to you. You can discuss the artwork and the time that went into creating your release. It will give them some behind the scene’s knowledge they’d never have known. All of you listening to the release together, most of them for the first time, is an experience the majority of fans would dream of. It’s likely you’ll gain more of a following as people click on the live. They may never have heard of you as an artist before or your work, but seeing a live pop up on their social media accounts may encourage them to check it out.
Each release promotion will be different from your last. Change things up and figure out what works best for you and your fanbase. In order to get the most success out of your new music, you will need to have a solid plan and prepare for any hiccups along the way. It’s never too early to start preparing your marketing plan, but it can definitely be too late. The more promotion you give, the more people will know about your music.
