The competition for attention on MySpace is intense. Each
band, musician, artist, comedian, actor, etc, is vying for attention
and aiming to stand out from the crowd. But, with so many pages (and so
many more being added all the time), it can be very difficult to break
through the clutter.
Many artists on MySpace have started to
discover the benefits of building a MySpace mailing list. This means
they place a signup box on their profile and let their fans, friends
and family signup to receive special email newsletters, notifications
of new releases, show dates, etc. While these artists still have to get
fans to their page to signup, once they have captured their fans"
information, these artists can send fans targeted email campaigns that
take place off of the MySpace universe and away from some of that
clutter.
With the right email marketing software, this can be
very easy to accomplish. After all, these artists need to focus on
their craft. And although "marketing manager" is a hat that many
artists must wear, the management aspect should never overshadow their
core creative focus. Most email marketing software solutions require
little to no technical skills, so anyone can dive in head first and
start creating professional email marketing campaigns within a few
minutes.
The key towards making email marketing effective for
the MySpace artist is to build the biggest mailing list you possibly
can. Many artists have realized that placing their MySpace mailing list
signup box higher on their profile produces far greater results than
burying it deep on their pages. Also, in an effort to put their MySpace
mailing list growth on turbo, many artists have started including tag
lines in their private messages, saying something to the effect of
"Join my MySpace Mailing List by visiting our profile". Since many
artists on MySpace (in this case, they can be referred to as your
competitors) haven"t realized the value of a MySpace mailing list, this
is your opportunity to get an extra edge. When you couple that with
some easy-to-use email marketing software that offers lots of template
options so your create juices can flow, you rapidly move yourself into
a whole different league, way ahead of the competition.
Once you
have built your MySpace mailing list, you can put your email marketing
software to work in a variety of ways. Many bands have discovered that
sending out an email marketing blast to their mailing list announcing a
new song they have released can heavily boost the amount of ‘plays" it
receives on their profile. Your MySpace mailing list can also be used
to pack a concert crowd, as most email marketing software solutions
will let you send out invitation-type emails, where you can invite all
of your mailing list subscribers to attend your event - whether it is a
concert, comedy night, art show, etc.
Some artists are
harnessing the power of their email marketing software and MySpace
mailing list even more and have started to promote their merchandise
through targeted email campaigns. If you have an online store, you can
use your emails to showcase your latest product offerings and give your
mailing list subscribers one-click access to make a purchase. Not all
MySpace artists have merchandise to sell, but even if you"re thinking
about it, it"s good to know the variety of options you have after you
have successfully built your MySpace mailing list.
One very
important issue that needs to be addressed is spam. Anytime you are
launching email marketing campaigns, the issue of unsolicited email
(UCE) must be brought into play. Most email marketing software programs
will confirm your subscriber"s intent to join your mailing list, so a
large part of this is handled automatically for you. In this process,
once fans fill out their information on your MySpace profile, they
receive a confirmation email with a special link they must click. Once
they click this link, it confirms they want to be added to your mailing
list. (This is referred to as ‘double opt-in" or ‘closed loop".) Where
MySpace artists can run into trouble is if they start randomly adding
people to their mailing list who have not expressly requested to be on
their list. Just because your bass player knew someone 10 years ago in
high school, that does not give you the right to automatically add them
to your MySpace mailing list. While email marketing software can be
very powerful towards helping you achieve your goals, it"s important
that you don"t inadvertently send out spam and cause unnecessary
headaches.
MySpace provides an excellent platform to get
exposure on an international scale. When your MySpace profile is
coupled with a MySpace mailing list and email marketing software, you
can rise above the crowd and get more face-time in front of your fans.
This leverage can go a long way towards achieving your goals, whether
they are increased traffic to your page, more plays of a song, more
people attending your show, or anything else you may be seeking.