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The Guide to Creating Content for Your Music Releases, Pre-Saves and Smart Links

Feature.fm

As a modern artist who needs to master digital marketing, creating amazing music is only the first step to success. To truly connect with your audience and build a career in the music industry, you need to also excel at creating engaging and compelling content to accompany your releases.

Feature.fm helps artists create Music Pre-Saves, Music Smart Links and more for your releases, but you can't forget about all of the content that helps you promote your music to get more streams on Spotify, YouTube and other platforms.

In this guide, we'll cover all the content an artist needs to create for various platforms and channels, including:

  1. Social Media Content
  2. Email Newsletters
  3. YouTube
  4. TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
  5. Album Artwork
  6. Merchandise
  7. Spotify Canvas

Social Media Content:

Social media is the artist's playground for building a fan base and connecting with existing followers. Social Media is also the perfect avenue for artists to drive fans to their Pre-Saves and Smart Links. To promote your music releases effectively, you'll need to craft a variety of content for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more:

    1. Teasers: Share snippets of your upcoming music to build anticipation.
    2. Behind-the-Scenes: Give your audience a glimpse of your creative process.
    3. Visual Storytelling: Craft visually appealing posts to engage your audience.
    4. Fan Engagement: Interact with your fans through polls, Q&A sessions, and shoutouts.

Email newsletters:

Email is still one of the most powerful methods of communication between you and your fan base. It's extremely important to be collecting your fan contact information, including emails. When it's time to promote your release, video, merch, tours or anything else around your business, you'll need to have an email newsletter ready to send out.

    1. Regular Updates: Send newsletters with updates about your music, upcoming shows, and behind-the-scenes insights.
    2. Exclusive Content: Provide your subscribers with exclusive content, such as unreleased tracks or early access to music videos.
    3. Personal Touch: Add a personal touch to your newsletters, sharing your thoughts and experiences as an artist.
    4. Call-to-Action: Include calls-to-action in your newsletters, encouraging fans to listen to your latest tracks or purchase merchandise.

With Feature.fm, when you run a Pre-Save, we'll automatically email your fans on release day to notify them your music has dropped with a link to listen in the service they use.

YouTube:

YouTube is a powerful platform for sharing your music and connecting with a global audience. Here's the content you should create:

    1. Official Music Videos: Produce visually stunning music videos for your songs.
    2. Lyric Videos: Create lyric videos for fans to sing along with your tracks.
    3. Vlogs: Share your journey as an artist, including studio sessions and tours.
    4. Cover Songs: Attract new viewers with cover songs or collaborations.
    5. YouTube Shorts: YouTube's short form video product is powerful for YouTube discovery. More on this is covered just below.

TikTok, Instagram Reels & YouTube Shorts:

TikTok, IG Reels and YouTube Shorts are all about short-form, engaging content. Use it to reach a younger demographic and go viral:

    1. Song Challenges: Create challenges around your music for users to participate in.
    2. Dance Trends: Partner with TikTok influencers to choreograph dances to your tracks.
    3. Storytelling: Share personal stories or inspirations behind your songs.
    4. Snippets of Music Videos: Share short clips from your music videos.
    5. Visual Effects: Experiment with filters and effects to make your Reels pop.
    6. Official Previews: These platforms tend to have their own versions of "Official Previews" that you can distribute and use in your short form videos to help with the pre-release phase of your marketing efforts.

Learn how artists who have gone viral used Feature.fm to be ready for their viral moments:

Album Artwork:

Your album artwork is a visual representation of your music. Make it unforgettable:

    1. Collaborate with Artists: Work with talented visual artists to create eye-catching designs.
    2. Share the Process: Document the creation of your album artwork for your audience.

Merchandise:

Merchandise is a great way to promote your brand and generate income. With your Feature.fm Smart Links and Artist Link in Bio, you can even direct fans to your store to purchase your merch. Design and market your merch effectively:

    1. Unique Designs: Create merchandise that reflects your music and personality.
    2. Limited Editions: Generate buzz by releasing limited edition items.
    3. Social Media Promotion: Share photos and videos of fans rocking your merchandise.

Spotify Canvas:

Spotify Canvas allows you to add short video loops to your songs on the platform:

    1. Visual Storytelling: Create compelling visuals that enhance the listening experience.
    2. Teasers: Use Canvas to tease upcoming releases or share the story behind a song.

In today's competitive music industry, creating content is just as important as making music. To successfully promote your music releases, engage with your audience, and build a loyal fan base, you must excel at crafting content for various platforms. By harnessing the power of social media, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, captivating album artwork, merchandise, and Spotify Canvas, you'll be well on your way to maximizing the impact of your music in the digital era.