View source

Before I start I need to admit straight out – I’m not a musician. But I am a marketer and designer and I’ve been helping musicians and artists present and promote themselves on MySpace the last few years. I was asked to write this article to share what I’ve learned with you…hopefully you’ll learn from me and take advantage of the massive opportunity MySpace offers musicians as well as some easy tricks to getting ahead on both the promotion and design front, too. 

The other thing is, I know there’s a lot of hype about MySpace the truth is, if you aren’t on MySpace yet for your Music I recommend you get on. Yesterday. Because most fans aren’t asking you “do you have a MySpace?” they’re asking: “what’s your MySpace?” And record labels are using MySpace to search for the next big thing – and that could be you! 

Ok, let’s cut straight to tips &amp; tricks: 

'''1. Set Yourself Up with a Musician Profile AND A Personal one.''' 

If you haven’t already done this it is a critical first step. 

'''Why?''' The main reason for this is to get maximum exposure and flexibility for promoting your Music through your&nbsp; [http://www.wix.com/myspace/layouts MySpace layouts]: 

*'''Better features:''' Regular accounts don't have the same music features, such as song uploads and tour dates, that the artist accounts offer. And these features are essential in presenting and promoting your music. MySpace artist profiles for musicians are different allow you to upload up to six MP3 songs. 
*'''More Potential Fans:''' You will show up in the search results&nbsp;Under two headings and have the opportunity to significantly increase your “friends” ie more fans!!! double your fans. you will get a lot more fans by showing up in the search and browse results as a musician, and as a private person with his own special likes and dislikes..” It’s quite likely that you’ll be able to double your friend requests by doing this.

'''How?''' To sign up for an artist page, you simply go to MySpace.com and click on the Artist Signup to open an artist profile. If you already have an artist page, create a regular profile page via MySpace.com signup 

'''Quick Tricks:''' 

*'''Link Your Profiles:''' Don’t forget to link both your profiles to each other - this will increase the amount of people and fans who will be listening to your music.

*'''Link to your Website.''' If you DO have a website, don’t forget to link to your MySpace layouts page&nbsp; – and from MySpace to your website. (You can easily make one on Wix.com. Hit Create &gt; Music)

*'''Promote Your MySpace Profiles in All Your Marketing.''' Let all your contacts know that you have a MySpace page. Put it on your website, your flyers, your gig invites and cds…the main reason for this is in addition to having more people finding out about you, lots of friend are essential to making MySpace a powerful tool for you!

<br>'''2. Upload Your Best Songs''' 

Enough said, really. Choose your best and plug those. Change them up if you release new songs. And because there is a counter on how many times songs are played, you can see which songs your fans are more popular. The other cool thing is that when you upload your own songs to MySpace there is a cool ‘add’ feature underneath – which means fans can upload your tunes to their own pages…meaning your Music is already moving to a wider audience! 

'''Quick trick: Add Music to Your Regular Profile.''' While artist pages give you the opportunity to plug a range of songs, you’re also allowed to add one song to a regular profile! So be sure to add your current favorite that’s also one of the songs on your artist profile. This means you are clearly promoting your music from the start! (Just don’t forget to link both your profile pages). 

'''3. Customize Your Profiles – Design a '''[http://www.wix.com/myspace/layouts '''free MySpace Layouts''']'''to Match your Music with Wix.com''' 

As great as it is that you have a MySpace page, I’m sorry to say, it ain’t enough! Customizing your free&nbsp; MySpace layouts is a HUGE key in making the most of your MySpace profiles – after your Music of course! 

'''Quick Trick: Use Wix.com:''' Now you can customize all the design aspects of your profile using Wix.com Flah website builder. I know the plug may seem shameless (it is) but I haven’t found a better platform out there! Wix’s music section offers everything you need to promote your Music in one single platform. 

For instance, you can create a new free MySpace&nbsp; layouts from scratch, or use it to organize your music in cool players. You can upload photos of yourself and your band, MP3, tour dates, and videos. There are widgets like viral cds to release singles, easy to create comments and e-flyers…and Top Space to plug specific events… 

How? Visit Wix.com &amp; hit the Music section in [http://www.wix.com/create/website create]<br> 

All this means that getting a look on MySpace that matches your Music is easy with Wix.com. And more importantly, it makes your profile more interesting to potential fans and record labels… 

'''4. Get as Many Friends As Possible''' 

This is really important! The more friends you have on MySpace, the more popular your Music will seem to new potential fans. (In case you don’t know enough about “friends” on MySpace, this is how people link to your page.) And, the more friends you have the more people you have to market your gigs and music to! 

*'''Promote your MySpace profile to your existing fan base.''' Email your friends and fans and ask them to add you to their MySpace. Of course it’s about MySpace so you don’t need to be that direct&nbsp;;)

*'''Use MySpace Search &amp; Browse Feature''' Target audiences that you think could be potential fans. You can search by people’s general interests, ages, locations…And then “Add Friend”

Seek out new friends and ask that they listen to your music or post your music on their own page. Send out bulletins, comments &amp; eflyers announcing any gigs or band news. (see tip 6) 

'''5. Use MySpace &amp; Wix To Promote Your Music, Gigs, Album releases….''' 

*'''Bulletins:''' One of the easiest ways to inform fans about upcoming shows and new music by creating an eye-catching e-flyer and sending it as a bulletin. It’s easy with Wix Flash builder&nbsp; and there are quite a few templates to customize if you don’t want to start from scratch. When you are ready to send makes sure your bulletin message is sent to all your friends with your flyer attached. Use simply titles like “Coming to Texas” and “Upcoming Gigs” to entice them to open the bulletin and read more.

'''Quick Trick:''' When you send out the bulletin, also put the flyer as the default picture on you MySpace profile. That way all your friends will see your profile picture change – as well as anywhere else you’ve left messages…this way all sorts of people beyond your fan base are now aware of your gig! 

*'''Comments &amp; Widgets:''' You can use Wix to compile your music with comments to be shared by your friends when you release a new song. There are also viral widgets to be sent that are easy to create!

*'''Create an Event Invitation:''' MySpace offers you the opportunity to create an event (look for Events in the '''MySpace''' menu and click “Create an Event”). You can put all the info about your next gig inside and invite your friends. This is also a good way to connect with fans who don’t look at bulletins and also, to invite new potential fans!

'''Quick Gig &amp; Tour Promotion Tricks:''' Get the word out wider! And get it our early! One of the most important things with promoting big tours and gigs is to start telling people early on…and don’t forget to utilise the browse and search functions and add friends and send messages to new potential friends who are fans of other bands on your tour, or interested in your Music genre, are in the location you are touring in and/or are friends of the music venue you’re performing at! 

'''6. Keep Your MySpace interesting &amp; Up-to-date:''' 

Keep updating your free MySpace layouts&nbsp; (and your designs) with the latest news of your tours, new songs and more so that when fans and friends visit they always find something new and interesting… 

All these tips &amp; tricks for presenting and promoting your Music on MySpace will serve you on your way to growing your fan base, getting your music out there – and I hope, getting you signed!!<br><br> 

== See also  ==

*[[Take the Planning Challenge: 6 Quick Steps – And why it’s worth it!|Take the Planning Challenge: 6 Quick Steps – And why it’s worth it!]] 
*[[What’s the Fuss about MySpace|What’s the Fuss about MySpace]] 
*[[Spice up your MySpace with a great looking layout|Spice up your MySpace with a great looking layout]] 
*[[Go Fast – Edit and Customize ready-made MySpace layouts|Go Fast – Edit and Customize ready-made MySpace layouts ]] 
*[[Create your own MySpace layout|Create your own MySpace layout]] 
*[[Expand your MySpace with ExtraSpace|Expand your MySpace with ExtraSpace]] 
*[[Earn Money While You Sleep On MySpace: With Wix TopSpace|Earn Money While You Sleep On MySpace: With Wix TopSpace]] 
*[[How to Grab & Embed MySpace Layout & Widget Code in Seconds|How to Grab &amp; Embed MySpace Layout &amp; Widget Code in Seconds]] 
*[[MySpace Marketing 101: 15 Secrets From The Pros|MySpace Marketing 101: 15 Secrets From The Pros]] 
*[[Designing professional business layouts|Designing professional business layouts]] 
*[[Design an Effective Banner Ad|Design an Effective Banner Ad]] 
*[[Express yourself with MySpace comments|Express yourself with MySpace comments]] 
*[[Your Secret Weapon To Powerful Marketing Flyers|Your Secret Weapon To Powerful Marketing Flyers ]] 
*[[Web Writing Made Easy|Web Writing Made Easy]] 
*[[6 Easy Steps to Promoting Your Music on MySpace|6 Easy Steps to Promoting Your Music on MySpace]] 
*[[6 Reasons to Present & Promote Your Music On MySpace|6 Reasons to Present &amp; Promote Your Music On MySpace]] 
*[[Promote Your Art on MySpace|Promote Your Art on MySpace]] 
*[[Promote Yourself With A Custom MySpace Layout|Promote Yourself With A Custom MySpace Layout]] 
*[[How Do You Promote Yourself on MySpace? Answers From The Pros|How Do You Promote Yourself on MySpace? Answers From The Pros]] 
*[[The Quickest Way To Promote Yourself With MySpace Comments|The Quickest Way To Promote Yourself With MySpace Comments]] 
*'''Back to:''' [[Design your MySpace, Your Way|Design your MySpace, Your Way]]