Congratulations! Your debut CD is now recorded, replicated, packaged, and ready for market. It's an amazing feeling to see the fruit of your labor in front of you, nicely packaged as a CD that's ready to be sold alongside the big wigs in the industry. One small problem: you don't have the backing and capital that the big wigs do to promote your CD... and you just know your CD can be a huge success in the market.
Promoting a CD can seem like a daunting task at first, especially if you haven't done anything like this before. Here are a few tips and ideas on how you can get started promoting, and selling your music CD.
1. First, you should plan a launch party. Tell all your friends and fans when the CD is going to launch, and generate some buzz. Let local papers and shops know as well, and have them help you spread the word.
2. Network - tell everyone you know about your new CD. Ransack that mental rolodex of yours, and hit everyone you know, and tell them to do the same. Believe it or not, this is probably your best resource!
3. Have a website before your CD launches, and use it to promote your CD. Set up a page on myspace and other similar sites that allow navigators to sample your new tracks.
4. Look into setting up an email list for your fans. Before the CD launches, send out an email letting everyone know. It's cheap, it's easy and it's a fast way to get the word out about this and other upcoming events.
5. Write a press release and put it on your website. You can find lots of examples and instructions of how to do this online.
6. Contact the music reporter(s) at your local newspaper(s). Don't leave out the smaller papers - sometimes they are the heart and soul of the local music scene.
6. Offer a free copy of your CD to local radio stations. Remember the school stations - they frequently tend to favor local artists. If they play it, it could pay off quite well for you.
7. Approach internet radio stations, and offer them the rights to play your CD for free. Every time they play a track, you receive free advertising.
8. Call DJ's and DJ companies and offer a free copy. If they play your CD, that's more free advertising.
9. Get a barcode for your CD. This can help encourage retailers to sell your CD.
10. Get your CD sold at online distributers, such as cdbaby.com or amazon.com
11. Sell merchandise with your name or the band's name on it. This is not only a little extra revenue - it's great advertising.
12. Find out if there is a music show on your local TV stations, and see if you can be featured.
13. Cross-promotional deals - Talk to another similar band, and work out a cross-promotional deal. ie. They promote your CD at their shows, and you promote their CD at your show. Or even better...
14. Work out cross-promotional deal with several bands. Each band contributes a track or two to a sampler CD. Then each band gives away the sampler CD as a "bonus" with every CD they sell of their own.
15. Naturally, you should promote your CD at every show you play
There are lots of things you can do to realize your dream faster. These are some simple ideas on how you can begin to promote your CD, and get the word out to your future fans. Good luck!