Hey there, everyone! We are thrilled to welcome guest contributor Angela Mastrogiacomo back to the site for another set of tips to help up and coming musicians make the most of their publicity efforts. If you want to learn more about Angela and her work in music, check out Muddy Paw PR at your earliest convenience.
I’ve been in the music industry for about six years now, and in those six years, I’ve been a journalist, a publicist, a promoter, a social media expert, a bio/press release writer, and a few other things along the way as well. I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of amazing, and talented artists, but nothing gets me down more than seeing passionate artists with a ton of talent miss the exposure they deserve because they don’t run a proper PR campaign. Of course the obvious answer is if you have the funds, hire a publicist. But sometimes, funds are tight and that just isn’t an option. So for those DIY moments, I’ve compiled a list of four basic, yet essential elements of a successful PR campaign.
New Content
One of the most common hiccups I see bands encounter is trying to secure press for themselves when they don’t actually have anything happening. It’s incredibly hard to run a PR campaign around old releases, which is why I always ask my artists to have something new. It doesn’t have to be a whole new album, but what about a new music video? Lyric video? Remix? Cover song? Acoustic session? Anything, really. But without something new to promote, you’re grasping at straws to get anyone to notice.
Artist Participation
Artists seem to think that PR campaigns are kind of a one and done deal. Either you pay a publicist and then just rake in the reviews and features, or you send out one email to a couple blogs and expect the rest to come back to you. But that’s not how it works. If you’re hiring a publicist, you’ll still need to be on top of communication to make sure you’re getting your publicist everything they need (answers to interview questions, guest blogs, photos, etc) in a timely manner. If you’re going the DIY route, it’s even more imperative that you get comfortable with persistence and participation, because you’re going to be sending out a whole lot of emails, follow up emails, thank you emails, and, if you’re a good sport, posting any coverage you get all around your social media accounts. Successful PR campaigns, like anything in life, don’t just happen by magic. They require a lot of blood, sweat, and yes, sometimes even tears.
An Excellent EPK
Your EPK is a blog’s first impression of you. The way you sound, the way you look, the way you present yourself. This isn’t the time to cut corners. That isn’t to say you need to hire out. It just means you need to put a lot of time, attention, and detail into the pieces that make up your EPK. As they say, you don’t get a second chance at a first impression.
Connections
This is one of those necessities that is really at its core, incredibly simple, but incredibly crucial. Without the proper connections, almost none of the above will matter. Sure, you might get lucky and snag an article or two. But the majority of a successful PR campaign really comes down to connections. So if you’re not hiring a publicist who might already have these connections, you better get networking. Talk to anyone and everyone you can in this industry, and don’t just stick to the internet. Social media is a great tool for connecting to bloggers, bands, and fans from across the world, but some of the most important and meaningful connections I’ve made have been from getting out into the community, and various events (SXSW, CMJ, Warped Tour, etc) and meeting people in person. (You know, like the old days!) Never underestimate the power of your connections. Oftentimes even if a connection isn’t right for you in the moment, they’ll be able to point you in the direction of someone who is. And hey, you might even make a few friends along the way!
Angela Mastrogiacomo is the owner of Muddy Paw Public Relations. Muddy Paw specializes in working with up and coming artists on personalized campaigns designed to bring their careers to the next level. To date, we’ve secured placements on sites such as AbsolutePunk, Substream, Property Of Zack, PureVolume, Anti-Music, and many more. You can find us at www.MuddyPawPR.com
