… or: Marketing doesn’t have to be a dirty word

In arts circles (in which I would group independent music), marketing is often considered a dirty word. This has always confused me since the people referring to it this way are the people who are trying to make a living from it.

There’s nothing shameful in telling people about what you do and trying to see if they’d like to buy it. It’s called business, and we all need it so that we can eat and pay bills and such. My entire blog site is dedicated to helping those in the music business market their art better so that they can continue to make a living from it. If independent music doesn’t thrive as a business then there will be less of it for us to listen to … and that’s a shame.

One of the reasons that many artists are ashamed of “marketing,” is because of the spammy way in which it’s sometimes employed. Marketing doesn’t have to be a shouting radio commercial for a used car lot or a Crazy Eddie Clearance Sale in which “prices are INSANE!”

Marketing can --- and should --- be done in a manner that meets your customers’ perception of your business and your shared relationship.

In this blog, we’re going to go through which marketing tactics are considered OK by web visitors and which are NOT OK. (Hint: It’s all about moderation.)

People get that they’re going to be marketed to on the Internet, and in fact, lots of people are out on the Internet with the exact purpose of engaging with a business and taking an action; such as buying something or signing up for a list, saying: “Hey I might want to buy something in the future, so keep me updated on what’s up.”

Those of us in the independent music business have the added advantage that people who end up taking actions with us do so because they have an active interest in the music. They’re not dispassionate like you might be about buying tissues (although, let’s be honest, most of us are passionate about not using the scratchy kind).

So, let’s start off with eCommerce:

OK: Selling Stuff

OK: Asking for Signups

NOT OK: Making it impossible to do other things on your site

The theme here is: Selling stuff and asking people to get updates from you is not only ok, it’s expected and sought after by most web visitors.

If someone is on your site looking at your stuff, they’re interested. So, wouldn’t it make sense to say: “Hey, if you like my stuff enough to pay money for it - here’s how you do it”? Why make them hunt for it?

Are you an event? Put the “Buy a ticket” right in front of them. You won’t offend them - people know that shows and festivals cost money.

Are you a musician or a record label? Get the songs right up front and make it easy to listen, download, and buy. Sure, background info on the artist is well and good but the #1 thing we care about is hearing the music. Don’t make us work for it. Put a big “Listen” button and a “Buy our new Album” banner right where people can see it. That’s not offensive … that’s helpful.

Have you ever wondered why stores have salespeople? It’s to engage customers and move them along the funnel toward making a purchase. You don’t have salespeople on your store (your site), instead you have buttons, pop-ups, banners, text, photos, and videos. Let them do their jobs. Don’t hide their purpose. If you’re selling tickets, sell them. If you want email signups, ask for them. Selling stuff is considered OK by web site visitors.

What’s not cool, though, is having purchase or sign-up actions that don’t let people bail out easily. You’ve seen those shopping cart or email pop-ups that don’t have a close-button, right? That’s a bad user experience. Always give people the option to say no. They might not be ready to buy yet because they want to listen to a few different albums first, but since you’ve annoyed them, now they’re going to leave. Another no-no is making your site so obnoxiously commercial that the casual browser gets turned off. Give them additional value in order to establish a relationship with them —- and they’ll be back.

There is a difference between being the helpful salesperson and the obnoxious guy in the bad plaid jacket and wide tie who “won’t let you leave without buying something!”

Here are some other examples of acceptable marketing behavior and going too far:

OK: Sending a marketing email promoting a sale
NOT OK: Filling the customer’s inbox with irrelevant and redundant emails

OK: Sending an abandoned cart email or showing a display ad on a 3rd party site when a customer leaves without buying
NOT OK: Spamming a customer with so many offers that they can’t even connect the ads to their original visit

OK: Having an early-bird sale
NOT OK: Always offering that same sale to all customers just called something different.

OK: Giving first-time visitors/buyers something special
NOT OK: Not rewarding loyalty and making previous customers feel like they’re getting screwed.

OK: Having a quick pop-up upon entry asking for an email sign-up in return for a coupon
NOT OK: Having multiple pop-ups throughout the site experience after the customer has dismissed the first

OK: Promoting your new album for sale on your site
NOT OK: Hiding your store among layers of menus and clicks. Don’t make them work for it.

OK: Mentioning your products or events within your blog or content articles
NOT OK: Making every blog article have sales-focused copy that’s just BUY, BUY, BUY (instead, showcase the music and then have a link to buy)

OK: Trading contact lists with like-minded organizations in a respectful way, keeping it within the music or arts family and don’t overdo it. (I’m a proponent of trading or selling for events or products that my customers would think is relevant. You’re going to get advertising online or in the mail, so why not it be about something you actually want?)
NOT OK: Selling your customer list to non-related companies and those that are known junk mail spammers. .

A few parting thoughts on marketing concepts:

Sales are not bad. Sales do not have to be gimmicky and they don’t mean you’re a sell-out. All companies do deals … even luxury companies, so you can do deals, too, you just have to do them in a way that matches with your brand.

Ask for the email, nicely. Asking for an email address is so commonplace today that people don’t care, just don’t be obnoxious about it.

Sell your stuff. Selling things online is totally cool - in fact, people want to buy your stuff, so make it easy for them.

Take care of your people. Reward your best customers and fans with deals, specials, sneak-peeks, something. Let’s face it, the customer pool is limited: Reward loyalty.

by Scott Atkinson, April 16, 2020

Inspired to do more marketing but need some help? Contact me to see how we can grow your online business.