It should go without saying that one of the most important things you can do for yourself as a solo artist or band is to focus heavily on PR. Unless you can gain an audience, no one knows you exist. How can you sell records that way? The answer is, you can’t!
Guest post by Boris Dzhingarov
Here is a bit of information on how to pitch your work effectively through press releases. PR is going to be the key that unlocks the door to fame so always make this a priority when you are ready to get heard.
Realistic Expectations
So, you’ve had thousands of copies of your album digitally copied with a service like Copycats CD duplication and you are chomping at the bit to be reviewed by the big guys. The problem is, how can you expect Rolling Stone or Billboard to review an artist they’ve never heard of? Again, you can’t! However, if you hit the ‘wires’ heavily with your own PR, chances are they will get the word. Just don’t get too frustrated at first if you aren’t reviewed. Lower your initial expectations to a realistic level so you don’t get discouraged early on.
Understanding the Distribution of Press Releases
Many musicians don’t understand exactly what it takes to get some good PR. Did you know that most of the better and well-respected sites actually charge to publish a press release? Sure, you can find sites online to publish a press release for free because they have other ways to monetize their site, but how big is their audience? If you want to quickly climb the ranks on the search engines so you get noticed, pay for top-notch PR and find high ranking sites to publish on. It’s worth a relatively small investment to get your name out there.
Why Do You Want to Gain Rank with the Search Engines?
It’s odd how the Internet has come to dictate almost everything we do in life. From getting noticed by some of the industry’s leading scouts to getting people to listen to your music, you need to be Internet savvy to make that happen – and sometimes almost overnight! Look at how just one music video with his former band propelled Arnel Pineda to the instant notice of legendary rock band, Journey, as they were seeking a front man to step up to the mic. So why do you want to gain rank with the search engines? To get heard, of course and SEO is going to be a key component in your PR that will direct a large audience to your YouTube vid.
And of course, enough can’t be said about YouTube’s role in PR. While literally every industry can benefit from video production, the music industry is by far the most impacted by YouTube views. Always seek to gain visibility with your press releases which can then direct readers to performances that will WOW the audience. It all works together and learning how to go from simple copy to instant fame on YouTube is what you are going to find is the very most effective way to pitch your work through PR. Join the growing list of stars who got their first big break with viral videos promoted in artistically crafted PR. In closing, pun intended – enjoy the Journey!