Promote Yourself

A key ingredient to any artist's success is promoting one's own work. Below is a brief list of tips to get you started on the path to success.

Engage your fans: As a musician your fans are your bread and butter, without them, you have nothing. Its important to actively engage and show your love for them. You can do this by commenting back when they get at you on social media, stopping and taking selfies with fans when they request, visiting the radios for interviews so fans can hear you. Treat your fans good, and they will be there for you.

Be active: In show business they say bad media is better than no media. In other words, as a musician, you want to remain relevant and active in people's mind. This means keeping things moving by doing live shows, community events, radios, TV, magazines. Be active and develop relationships with others musicians, producers, writers, media personnel etc.

Know your audience/brand: Put yourself in the shoes of your fans. Who are they? How old are they? Where are they living? What is it about you, your music, that your fans identify with? Try to understand what you represent and develop these aspects, this will help you create a unique brand for yourself to represent.

Get shows: These days most musicians would agree that they make most their money through live shows. Try to perform live as much as possible. Entertaining crowds is not an easy task, the more experience you have, the better your act will become and the more desirable you will be.

Grow your audience: Use social media, go to places were you can meet foriegners, talk to people and share your music and message. Don't limit yourself to the fans you already have, think of ways to encompass different people.

Be professional and reliable: In order for musician to make money, they need to think like a business person. When you get live shows, be professional, arrive on time, be prepared, conduct yourself with respect. If you want to get wasted, wait until after your responsibilities have been met. The entertainment industry is quiet small, people talk, a lot of times it is not about what you know, but who you know. Maintain respectful and professional relationships, this will allow others to open their doors for you.

Keep going: Above all, don't give up. Remember, winners don't quiet on themselves.