A big problem that a lot of upcoming artists have is that they try to promote their music to the wrong audience. This leads them down the path of building a fanbase slowly (or never) and usually quitting music altogether.
When promoting your music to the wrong audience, you’ll likely get little-to-no feedback, negative feedback, or a simple “it’s cool”. However, that can also mean you’re promoting to the right audience and your music isn’t good enough. So, it’s usually hard to determine based on feedback alone.
So in this article, I want to help you figure out how to find your target audience.
1. Find A Similar Artist
Look for an artist that’s similar to you, but more popular. I recommend you start with music when looking for similarities – It’s one of the most important factors for building your fanbase. However, a few of the similarities you can look for include:
- Music
- Image
- Story / Background
2. Identify Their Fans
Once you find an artist that’s similar to you, figure out who their fans are. A couple ways to do this include:
Search Twitter with the artist’s name. This will show you the tweets of everyone who’s mentioned the artist. These tweets will show you who’s a fan of an artist and who’s not. Keep a list of these people. You can create a private list on Twitter and add them to it or create a spreadsheet in Google Drive with their information.
Look through the artist’s Instagram account for photos of them rocking a style similar to yours. Go through the comments and look for those who are like that style. Make a list of them in Google Drive.
3. Research / Engage With Their Fans
Now that you have a list of people who are potential fans, start researching and engaging with them. This is much easier on Twitter but is still possible on other platforms. Pay attention to what they like & don’t like. If you start seeing similarities between what those potential fans like, make note of it – especially if it’s something you like as well. Similarities are not only good for shaping your marketing / branding but also good for getting content ideas.
Start engaging with these potential fans as well. Strike up a normal conversation by commenting on things they say. This engagement will not only start the relationship building process but also allows you to get to know your potential fan better.
4. Trial & Error
Start your music promotion process without spamming any of your potential fans. Indirectly promote your music and gauge the response. Make sure to take note of constructive criticism so that you can improve your music.
Don’t expect 100% of them to like it. It takes time before you get the perfect formula together for your music. It’s also possible that you may need to niche down even further from your initial list of potential fans in order to find your true target audience.
But regardless, do your research, be genuine, have patience, and respect the process. The more attempts you take, the closer you are to succeeding.
