The internet has revolutionized the way we do business. You can start an online business for less than $100.00 and start earning a decent amount of income off of it. Because of this, there has been an explosion in the 'Internet Marketing' world. I don't consider myself an internet marketer, but I've studied many of them and have learned some 'out of the box' techniques that you can easily apply towards bands. Here are just a few of the many tips I can give you:

Give First
One way to get something from other is to give to them first. In music, one way to build a fan base is to play at venues that do not charge a cover and invite people to come as your guest. You definately don't want to play a lot of venues for free, so you need to somehow communicate that you are doing this for your audience without saying it outright. You could say, "Hey guys, just to show you are appreciation, Flaming Onions would like to personally invite you to this special concert just for you! It's totally free, so bring your friends and we'll see you there!" They will come, because they believe that this is a gift from you and the won't want to miss out!

Another way to give first is through our products. Giving away products has gotten a lot easier since the development of the internet. Digital music is HUGE! Better yet, it costs nothing to duplicate. Have you thought about giving away one or two songs from your new album? What do you think would happen if you did, and left your fan's favorites available only if they purchased it? First of all, they're going to love the fact that you gave them part of your album for free! It's almost like a free trial that they get to keep. Because you were willing to do this for them, they will be more likely to buy it from you. Give first, and they will give back to you!

Cross-selling/Up-selling
Have you ever gone to McDonalds, ordered a burger and received the question, "Would you like fries with that?" Have you ever ordered one of their value meals and received the question "Would you like to Super-Size that?" What you heard, while innocent enough, was an amazing marketing concept that has been used by online merchants everywhere!
It is a way to increase sales to the same customer (who has bought a product) by introducing other products in your product range. If customers buy a Flaming Onions CD, you can ask if they want to buy a Flaming Onions t-shirt as well. Seems simple enough, but let's think a little more out of the box. Let's say the Flaming Onions' CD sells for $15 and brings in a profit of $10 per album. Let's also assume that their t-shirts sell for $10 and bring in a profit of $6 per shirt. What if the Flaming Onions Value Pack (consisting of 1 autographed CD, 1 tshirt, and the album emailed to them in MP3 format with bonus track for their iPod and a desktop background pic for their computer) sells for $25? I'm willing to bet that this approach sells more. The digital products, as I mentioned above, cost nothing to duplicate. You profit would be the same, but I guarantee you would sell more!

Email List
This is probably the most important tool that is used by online businesses. Internet Marketers swear by email lists and base many, if not all, of their systems around them. The concept is simple, you offer a list for fans to keep track of your band and all they have to do is give you their Name and email address. You now have a way to directly communicate to them, and better yet, they wanted it! You can promote upcoming shows and album releases. You can create contests and drawings for those that are signed up. You can give those who are signed up a special discount on merchandise. The possibilities are endless. One thing to remember is to only send them things they would want to know. They signed up to hear more about you, so they don't want to receive any forwards stating that if they sign up for this offer, they can receive a free laptop, blah, blah, blah! Don't abuse your list. Take care of them. This is an elite group of people who wanted to be a part of your success, so treat them that way.

Like I said these are just a few things you can do to market your music online (and even a little offline). Be creative and have fun with it. To help you out, here are a few resources to check out:

GigMinder: MySpace Edition - a free, automated mailing list for MySpace bands
Music Marketing Cheat Sheet Deluxe Package - discover the secret formulas that the most successful Internet marketers have used to make vast fortunes online applied to musicians!
The Professional Musician's Internet Guide - The bible for musicians wishing to take advantage of all of the opportunities the Internet offers for promotion, sale and distribution of music

FullTimeBand.com is a company that was started in June, 2006 with a simple automated mailing list program called GigMinder. GigMinder was created for a musician friend and was used to remind fans of upcoming gigs for the coming week. FullTimeBand.com has made this tool available for all bands and fans to use for free. FullTimeBand.com is planning on creating many more tools to assist bands in aiding in their everyday promotional and management chores. You may vist their site at http://www.fulltimeband.com. You can sign up fot eh GigMinder - MySpace Edition for FREE at http://www.fulltimeband.com/msgigminder.

Mike Cotton - EzineArticles Expert Author

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