How to Show Appreciation to Your Fans: Part One
Watch virtually any Grammy acceptance speech and you'll notice a common theme of musicians thanking their fans. Any musician will tell you that great music and hard work are important parts of succeeding in the music business, but without fans, who will listen to your music, come to your shows, buy your merchandise, and otherwise show their support? You've probably realized now that your fan base is invaluable, so try and show your appreciation whenever you have a chance. Here are some tips to pay it forward to your fans for being loyal and supportive:
Free Music- If they're fans they obviously already love your music, so why not give your fans more of what they love? Offer a few tracks on your website that are free to download. Fans particularly appreciate B-sides, covers, live tracks, and never before released tracks, so dig out some old demos and upload away.
Free Stuff-Play a Free Event- Thank your fans by hosting a contest where they can compete to get your band to play at an event of their choice. Your fans can compete to get you to play at their party, wedding, or school, and you'll be thanking a lucky fan and getting your band's name out.
Free Tickets- Give out free passes to your show generously. Let your street team into your show for free, and give them free passes for their friends. Give some passes to local DJs and they may even plug your show on-air. It's a great way to get more traffic to your shows and a way to recruit new fans. If there's no cover for your band, talk to the venue about reserving a special "fans only" section reserved for the subscribers to your website or friends of your JBA profile.
Anything you can think of to show appreciation to your fans is a good idea. You definitely want to keep fans happy and helping you to build a community of people who listen to your band, come to the shows, and share your music with their friends. Next blog we'll talk about even more ways you can say "thanks" to your faithful fan base.