It is that time of year again…. Holiday Music Promotion Tips for you!
As an artist, there is no better time than the HOLIDAZE to work on building engagement and connections with your fans.
Below are seven tactics for activating your fan base around holiday music promotion and ultimately building engagement, generating sales, or both.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #1: Create & Share Holiday Music and Content
Get social and get in the spirit at the same time! Use your favorite social channel (or all of them) to show your holiday spirit.
Record a holiday track—use this as your main content and supplement it with holiday memes, videos, or art you create! This post will be your guideline for holiday music promotion.
TIP: If you are recording a holiday classic, ensure you have all the necessary licenses – Easysong can help!
Facebook: Post holiday-themed photos and videos or ask holiday-specific questions (polls are always fun!).
Instagram: Make sure to share your holiday decorating, outfits, or party going on your Stories! Put your holiday music in the background to get some hype around it.
You can also pose Holiday-themed questions in your Stories & Reels
Spotify: Create holiday-specific playlists to share with friends and followers.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #2: Crowdsource Fan Contributed Content
Get your fans to join in on the fun! Pick a holiday theme (i.e., ‘All I Want For Christmas Is…’), and then request content from your fans that can result in a single, crowdsourced project.
Create videos announcing the project and ask your fans to submit their content.
- Ask fans to upload photos/videos and tag you. Track all submissions and then create a collective Holiday Fan Photo Album
- Create a unique hashtag challenge where fans can post their holiday-themed content featuring your music, like covers of your holiday song or holiday decor.
- Create a collaborative Spotify playlist and ask your fans to add their favorite songs based on the chosen holiday theme. If you have holiday music add your own (of course!) The result is a playlist that can be shared with your entire fan base and collectively listen to throughout the holiday season.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #3: Fan Voting for Exclusive Content Release
Creating a contest is an excellent way to engage your fanbase and create a strategy that showcases your merch without being overtly self-promotional! Your contest must be worthwhile to work, so make sure you set up a prize that offers something exclusive and valuable (examples: some holiday-themed merch, a free download, etc.).
- Ask fans to vote on exclusive content they’d like to see next—a holiday acoustic version, a new cover, or a live Q&A. Use Typeform to collect votes, making it easy and interactive. In exchange for voting, give participants a chance to win, whether early access to the winning content or an exclusive holiday item.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #4: Create a Holiday OR IRL Hangout!
Create a live streaming event for them? Use Facebook Live, Instagram Live, or go to Stageit or Volume and charge for tickets!
Or better yet – invite all your fans who live locally to meet you at a bar or a coffee shop for an IRL holiday hangout. Getting together to chat and toast each other is a low-key way of bonding with fans. Make it an ugly holiday sweater hang or do a sip and create at a local craft store.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #5: Create Bundles & Experiences
A brilliant tactic for boosting sales is offering a Black Friday-released bundle to your list through the end of the year. Fans may be less likely to purchase your album because they can stream it, but they may be far more likely to do so if you bundle it with other cool things.
The best way to make these bundles effective is to create multiple price points and focus on digital bundles. Here are a few levels of bundles that could work well:
Low-Price Level idea: Digital Album + Digital holiday card
Low-Price Level idea: A full anthology of all albums (possibly even including exclusive, previously unreleased content)
Mid-Price Level idea: Album + Tickets to an upcoming livestream show (if your live streams are free, maybe replace this with a shout-out during the live stream!)
High-Level ideas: Physical Album (or USB Drive) + Tickets/Shoutout + Merch + Phone call / Zoom Call with Fan OR record a favorite Holiday Cover as an exclusive gift a fan can give to a loved one.
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #6: Send A Dedicated Holiday Email
You already know the importance of your email list. During the holiday season, create a special holiday edition email where you can include an exclusive video or unreleased track on a private SoundCloud Page or create a funny card featuring the whole band. Remember that your newsletter should be extremely friendly, so talk about something fun – maybe your favorite Holiday memory. And if you ask for them to send their favorite memory back to you, it keeps them engaged with your list. 😉
Holiday Music Promotion Tip #7: Associate With a Charity
Hold a drive or a holiday show and get your fans involved. There are so many beautiful charities you can collectively support. Here are some to get you started!
Here is a complete guide we posted – The Musician’s Guide to Charity Fundraising.
Have A Fabulous and Productive Holiday Season!
The foundation for making these 7 holiday tips work is having a crystal clear vision of how (and who) to talk to, which will ensure that all your efforts resonate.
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