How To Promote Yourself As A Classical Musician In 2021
I find it absurd that self-promotion and career development haven’t received more attention in music schools across the country. Let’s talk about five basic ways you can promote yourself as a classical musician.
Leverage live performances
Every live performance is an opportunity to perform your best, but it’s also an opportunity to build personal connections with a new audience. Don’t take that responsibility lightly.
Are you bringing merch and publicity materials with you? This could be CD’s, business cards, or sheet music for sale. Ask the venue if they will allow you to display your goods.
Are you doing meet-and-greets or pre-performance lectures? Building individual, personal connections is so important. Even if you are an introvert, fake it ‘til you make it! I’m also an introvert, I feel your pain…
Make the audience like you. Don’t just ramble on about the history of the piece. It is good to educate the audience, but sharing your personal experience and opening up to the audience is always a good idea.
2. You need a website
Like now. Go make one today. Squarespace and WordPress are the most common platforms for hosting artists’ websites. Wix is a free alternative.
At a minimum, you should have a headshot, bio, recordings, and contact information. Think of it as owning your own corner of the internet. It’s yours to control.
Come back when you’ve done this.
3. Email List
An email list is one of the greatest assets in self-promotion. While social media sites are great, they control the distribution of your content through algorithms. Email lists are a direct pipeline to your fans.
Use your email list to keep your fans engaged. Keep them updated on performances and news. In terms of frequency, once a month can strike a good balance. You don’t want to be too spammy, but you also want to stay fresh in their minds!
If you don’t have any emails yet, start with your friends and family. Ask them if you have their permission to email them first! Make sure you have a newsletter sign-up on your website and social media.
In terms of storing emails and design, the free option is an excel sheet and Gmail. If you want to add an extra level of professionalism and analytics tracking, consider Squarespace email marketing or Mailchimp. You can create email lists with unique tags to segment your audience. You can also drag and drop design your email campaigns for professional and engaging emails.
4. Social media
You knew this was coming. At a minimum, classical musicians should be present on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Other avenues to consider include TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, and SoundCloud.
Remember that you want to provide value to your audience. Try posting funny or educational videos. It is also important to show aspects of your daily musical life as well. It can be humanizing and can help you connect with your followers.
Finally, social media should be social! Like, comment, and share other people’s posts. Respond to as many comments and DM’s as possible. Replying to comments with thoughtful replies is one of the best ways to keep your audience engaged.
5. Maintain a blog
While having a website is good, having a blog is even better. It can be a personal blog of news and updates about your career. This shows that you are active as a musician. Most importantly your blog should have a focus.
You could also write about trending topics in the classical music world and give your own opinion and insight.
Finally, you can maintain an educational blog. This is an excellent way to offer value to a new audience.
