Walking Advertisement

Marketing has changed a lot over the last twenty years that I’ve been a professional artist.

In the early 2000’s, marketing tools were physical – flyers, posters, and CDs. These days, most marketing is done digitally by way of social media advertising on Instagram and Facebook. There are a few physical marketing tools that have stood the test of time; one of them will forever be the T-shirt.

A well-crafted T-shirt is one of the best branding tools that an artist can have. It can be simple most of the best artist t-shirts are simple. An effective T-shirt simply displays an artist’s logo or at least their name. The more complicated the shirt, the less effective it is. A shirt needs to be able to be read from both close and long-distance. A busy design may make for a cool shirt, but it won’t do much for branding and marketing. There are two exceptions to this rule. If an artist has a big following, then a busy t-shirt can work. Their brand has already been established. If an artist has had a long career, then this can work too. Early fans of an artist will pride themselves in having the original shirts they released.

The true power of a t-shirt’s marketing ability is unlocked when it is worn. It’s guerrilla marketing at its finest.

When a fan dons an artist’s t-shirt they aren’t simply choosing a random t-shirt from their dresser, they are endorsing an artist by boldly proclaiming their support.

I’ve seen friends wear my t-shirt when they go on vacation and in their vacation photos.

I’ve seen my friends from around the world wear their shirts.

I’ve seen family members who have their shirts for over a decade.

An active, hardcore fan is fully conscious of the fact that they are endorsing their favourite artist.

They are the tastemakers that want to show that they are ‘in’ on something before everyone else.

The passive fan could be a family member. They could be a music fan that discovered the artist because they were opening up for the headlining artist that they came to see. The passive fan is often not conscious of the fact that they are part of the artist’s marketing team. They may just like the shirt.

Sometimes a t-shirt can spark discussion. I’ve had friends call me saying: “D, the craziest thing happened. I was wearing your t-shirt and someone came up and asked how do I know you? I didn’t realize you knew this person. Small world.” I’ve been amazed when I’ve heard these stories from friends that have seen my shirt worn in countries around the world.

T-shirts are also a great revenue stream and one of the last remaining merchandise items.

Similar to the boxes of unsold CDs that many artists have stored in their parents’ basement, a t-shirt becomes useless when it’s collecting dust. But there is a key difference. Nowadays music is shared via social media. The CD is a collectible item. An unworn t-shirt doesn’t just hurt an artist’s bottom line; it removes its marketing power. That’s why while artists should sell t-shirts, they should also recognize the value in the promo t-shirt – especially with family and friends.

Let’s face it, as artists, we find it difficult to do business with our family and friends. We value their support and they may even be our first fans and original backers, but it can be hard to say to them “It’s twenty dollars for the shirt.” Sometimes it becomes so awkward that we avoid asking for money and instead give the merchandise for free. I’ve given out countless CDs and t-shirts to friends and family over the years.

That is why it is important to embrace the promo t-shirt. To realize that the value isn’t only in selling for profit, but that it is a long-term investment in advertisement. The friend or family member may not be paying money, but they are volunteering to be a walking billboard.

In an age where a new generation has added the phrase “skip ad” to their lexicon from watching YouTube videos, it becomes necessary to cut through the noise by using age-old grassroots strategies.

Whether artist, or business, a t-shirt is something that may fade but never goes out of style.

Meant To Be

It was 9 am and I was sitting on a bench patiently waiting to start the show at a school. But first came the intro. Instead of reading the bio that I supplied, the principal began with a story. He said that my performance today felt like it was meant to be.

I grinned. What he called destiny, and what could be called serendipity, I call – effective marketing.

The principal felt that way because of a series of coincidences. First, he had received an email about my program. He found my work interesting. Second, his mother had told him about me – not something you hear every day… and finally – the clincher – one day he walked into his office and saw my brochure sitting on his desk.

Three signs? He felt like it was meant to be. Or, maybe it was just good marketing.

First, he wasn’t alone in receiving an email – I had sent emails to every principal in the school board. It took me hours to compile a database taking each principal’s email off of their respective school website. Though monotonous, I knew that this was going to be a great way to connect directly with an administration that had the power to book me.

Second, it was a chance encounter that his mother had met my wife. His mother was at my wife’s work and it came up in conversation when she asked my wife what her husband did for a living. That’s when she said, “Oh wow, and my son is a principal, I’ll tell him.” It was a chance encounter, but not unlike something that would happen between other family and friends when they meet someone that has a connection to an educator.

Finally, he received the brochure because I had sent brochures to every school on the board. I wanted the brochure to act as a follow-up, a reinforcement to the email that I had sent. I knew that holding something in your hand would stick out to some administrators.

This experience happened more than fifteen years ago, but it is always a lesson I think of when I plan marketing campaigns.

Connect with your consumers and your audience so that they feel that it was meant to be.

Nowadays there is more noise than ever. It’s hard to connect with customers

– or fans – and get their attention. It’s even tougher to get a response. It’s difficult to convert leads, to have fans click on a link to your new music, or to make promoters follow through with booking a show.

Focusing on one marketing technique will rarely work effectively. The best method is often to try a few different approaches.

It’s great when multiple methods connect. It can even lead to destiny.

Share It With The World

“Take what you want, take what you want But, you gotta share it with the world”

– Drake and Beatchild, “Share”

I was at the studio and set to record when my session was bumped. Some guy named Drake needed to come in and finish his mixtape. Back then Drake was Canadian famous – he was known for his role on Degrassi and only starting to become known for his rap skills. He was working with Beatchild and would

spend many days and nights at the studio crafting his early material. One of their collaborations “Share” would be featured on Drake’s breakthrough mixtape Comeback Season.

Part of Drake’s success is due to sharing. At the beginning of his career, his Myspace page (Yep, Myspace) was the biggest indicator that his popularity was on the rise. I admit, at first, I thought he had used the common practice of using a bot to achieve such high numbers of daily plays. He wasn’t selling his music. He was sharing it with the world. Same thing with his mixtape. Drake’s rise was viral. It was backed by word of mouth. You didn’t have to be told to share his music, you did it because it was so outstanding.

At the time, Drake was one of the first artists to use this strategy of giving his music away for free to build your fan base. Now Drake is one of the top-selling artists of all time. I’ve been fortunate to meet and connect with several successful artists before they had their first number one records or Grammy or Juno. One thing that they each had in common was that they possessed a skill so outstanding that I couldn’t keep it to myself – I had to tell someone about them.

Even though I am an artist myself, I didn’t view it as competition. I wasn’t jealous. I just knew that these individuals were doing something undeniable. It wasn’t unsettling, it was inspiring.

But as a veteran of twenty years in the business, I’ve seen artists chase success to the point that they’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars and been crushed by their lack of success.

You can spend money on online ads, hire a playlist promoter, or even pay for views hoping that it spurs interest, but no amount of money can pay for the best advertising tool – word of mouth.

The music industry has changed a lot over the last fifty years, that is one thing that remains the same even though the method is a little different now.

That is why I think that the most powerful button on the internet for creators is the share button. It’s the ultimate co-sign Attention is a valuable commodity especially in this attention-deficit culture. The share button means that someone has taken the time to check out what you are posting. They have listened to your song or watched your video which also means they didn’t just scroll past it. And even if they only listened or watched for a few seconds, it connected with them enough to make them take action.

They want other people to check it out. They are saying to their friends that your post is not only good, but that it is valuable and worth their time. They are also allowing it to be featured on their precious timeline.

For you, it means exposure. It means eyeballs. It means attention which can lead to a new fan and future sales.

And the best part? It’s organic – by far the best marketing tool.

Some people try to hack the share button. They tag you in their posts so that it will show up on your wall. And while that can work, it’s far from the same thing. If it’s a friend or someone that you are a fan of, then maybe you don’t mind that they tagged you. But most of the time it is just annoying. Especially if they are doing it a lot.

Not only have they occupied your precious territory without asking for permission, but now you get annoying notifications when people comment on the post. At first, you think people are responding to something you posted. Nope, it’s about someone else. As a result, the tag results in the opposite effect – you don’t want to check it out, you don’t want your friends to see and you may even consider blocking the friend.

If you don’t get the genuine share, the next best thing is the permission share. It’s when you make a post and ask people if they will share it.

Next level tip? Ask your friends and fans before a post if they mind you tagging them.

I love this strategy because you will often be surprised at who you will see pop up asking to be tagged. It could be a friend or fan that you haven’t heard from in ages. It’s great to see that they are still paying attention. This strategy is also a great way of showing that we are all in this together. Friends, family, and fans want to be on your team. They want to cheer you on when you get the success that they’ve been seeing you work hard at.