What You Need to Know about Mailing Lists

Part Two

In the first part of this series we looked at the importance of mailing lists and how they could help to grow your fanbase.

So, the $64 million question is… how do you get people to sign up?

Well, obviously you have to make it attractive. And this is where you put your best suit on and, horror of horrors, act like a salesperson.

What? Me? An Artist? Become a salesperson?

Don't be afraid! Remember, the Art side of things you take care of in the rehearsal room; once you're outside it's Marketing all the way!

Is that a bad thing? Not at all.

You put your heart and soul into your music, don't you? So it's not demeaning to believe that people deserve to hear you. (What is demeaning are some of the record contracts that artists sign with major labels, but we'll look at that issue in a future article.)

And people will only hear about you if you make the effort to promote yourself.

Where to start

In addition to the Arkade sign-up button, you should have a personalised message on your Arkade webpage giving people the benefits of signing up. "Sign up for our mailing list and we'll keep you updated with all our latest news, plus loads of exclusive stuff just for you!" That sort of thing.

What more can you do to entice people? Well, you can:-

• Give them something for nothing. It could be a free song, it could be photos of the group, it could be a free t-shirt. Just make sure that it's something exclusive to members of the mailing list.
• Give them numbers. If you already have a huge mailing list then don't be shy about saying so. People are more likely to sign up if they think they're part of something huge. Equally, there are lots of people (myself included) who like cult groups, and feel especially privileged when only two or three people in the world know about them.
• Give them energy. Write about your group with the passion you have for your music. If you can make people excited just reading about you, how will they feel when they actually listen to your tracks?

Ultimately, the single best way to get people to sign up for your mailing list is to make music so irresistible that people can't get enough of you!

Of course, signing people up is only the beginning… In part three of this series, you'll get some great tips for the tricky task of writing your mailing posts. See you there!