Promoting music on YouTube

Why is video so important in promoting your music?

You can earn money every time someone views your music video.

Optimize your profile

First impressions count. Big-time.

Make sure you are ready to go when you launch your YouTube channel.

This is our checklist that covers the essentials.

Has your channel got:

– A well-designed and optimized YouTube banner image

– A fantastic profile photo or logo

– Organized Content – i.e. Content organized into playlists or thematic sections to suit specific types of videos (official music videos, official remixes, and ‘live performances).

– Links to your official website and social media

-A description of your “About” section (e.g. A clear statement about your mission and voice as an artist (along with any hashtags that may help the algorithm pick your channel up)

– High-quality thumbnails, either those suggested by YouTube or ones that you have customized via apps such as Canva and Adobe

Spread the word

You don’t have to give up on social media marketing because you want to grow your YouTube audience.

Instead, it would be best to use online communities and groups to interact with people and discuss topics of interest.

SoundCloud and Reddit are two of the most popular online communities for musicians. Reddit, for instance, allows you to join subreddits specific to your music style or genre, as well as general ones such as ‘r/listen to this.

Consider how you can add value to these group dynamics. Is your video deal related to certain important themes or topics for this group? If so, that’s awesome! Upload your video, encourage others to view it, and upload an eye-catching thumbnail.

This means being on all major social media platforms to increase your reach, the hype around upcoming developments, share music videos and create other engaging Content.

You can prepare clips of your music video as teaser content across your social media – as either a 15 second Instagram story or 30 second Facebook post.

Get in touch with others via similar channels.

Engaging and interfacing with channels similar to yours is one of the best ways to encourage engagement with your channel.

To be successful, you can’t market yourself every day. Others are needed to enhance your offering.

Target similar channels:-

If they post similar music and people subscribe to it, you have your target audience!

You can also build a community with other musicians by searching for channels compatible with your music style and taking their Content seriously.

This can be done by searching YouTube for similar artists and general music vibes.

If your music is Lana Del Rey-related, you can search for YouTube channels that cater to that style. This could be artists like Lana Del Rey or the indie dream wave.

You can then like & comment on YouTube videos by similar artists. This will help you get noticed by YouTube users and other artists. If your comment is popular, it may be pinned to the top, making your channel a prominent viewing destination.

TOP TIP –you also can comment on the channel’s community tabs to interact with their social media feeds!

Don’t go to sleep alone! It is important to cover all bases. This means that you need to incite conversations in the comments section for your videos. There’s always something to talk about, no matter your videos.

Make sure to schedule your videos.

So that your subscribers and fans know when you expect to upload new videos, create a consistent and frequent upload schedule.

It’s not about posting videos all over the place – it’s quite the opposite.

It is better to deliver than underdeliver. Don’t expect to post three videos per week and miss two because you were on tour. This will leave your fans disappointed and hurt.

You can decide how often you post videos. It’s best to post once per month so that fans don’t lose interest while they wait for your next video release or if your channel is still active.

You can see that Lil Nas X updates his YouTube channel every 3-4 weeks. He posts consistently and leaves his fans wondering about his next video.

It’s good to post during peak times to ensure your videos reach as many people as possible, especially if you have listeners from different time zones. Fans could be forgiven for not tuning in to your latest video if it was posted during the evening or on Friday nights.

You can tailor your release schedule to your viewers by going to the Analytics tab on your channel. You’ll see the breakdown of who is watching your videos. This information can be used to schedule your videos for the best days and times. Handy, right?

Create engaging video content

Your YouTube channel should not be used as a simple archive of your tracks. It should do more than that.

It should contain other Content to add value to your music and your fans’ viewing experience. Content that allows them to connect deeper with you is especially important.

To help you organize your Content and decide what videos to promote, brainstorm content ideas.

These are some ideas to help you get started.