As an independent artist, I can say first hand - it’s a big deal to have supporters. We’d love for you to buy our merchandise, buy our albums, and come to our shows. but we know you can’t do it all. We realize you have a family, responsibilities, and you can’t just pick up and support us for every single thing. We understand. Let’s face it, money can be tight sometimes. But there are ways you can support us without money! Sometimes that’s where we most need your support. Here are a few ways you can support your favorite artist without money.
Like and follow us on social media platforms.
Social media is a pretty big deal for independent artists. It’s how we communicate with our audiences. It’s also how we show how much street cred we have. When venues, talent buyers, and other people in the industry look up our social media pages, they’re looking for you actually. They’re looking for how much engagement we have on social media, how many genuine followers we have. That’s you! That’s why it’s so important to follow your favorite artists. Share their posts, comment and like their posts. Share they youtube videos. It goes a very long way in making us legit!!! When professionals in the industry see your activity, it gives us credibility and makes us stand out.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
We send out emails to our supporters and we need you to be a part of our community. It’s super important because that’s where we have the most control over our message. You’ll get the real artist here. Even though you see us on all the social media platforms, the truth is that they are heavily censored and monitored. We have to be careful what we post there. And a lot of our posts don’t even get seen because of unfair algorithms and glitches. But if you’re a part of an email list, you’ll likely get the real deal. It’s not as censored there and we have more freedom to bear our souls. Our newsletter is one of the most intimate places you can be in an artist’s world. If you’re on it, you’ll get the inside scoop on practically everything. It’s important for us to build that list because that’s how we can most effectively communicate and get the word out with no extra strings attached. Unfortunately, building our artist mailing list is one of the hardest things to do. Most people don’t want to have their inboxes filled with so many messages on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. And believe me, it’s a challenge to find the right balance between adding value to your inbox and being just like all the other SPAM you get. That’s why I make it a personal priority to send meaningful messages about things that I’m learning along my journey, what my music actually means, giveaways, prizes, and stories about how art is making a difference in the world in addition to my latest news and music. But, if you find the right artist that fits your life, you most likely want to hear what they have to say. However, if you’re still leery about adding yourself to another list, consider filtering messages into folders and reading messages on your own timetable. Or just set up another email all together just for your favorite artists to send mails to, and read it at your convenience.
You can join my mailing list here.
Leave comments on blog posts.
If your artist keeps a blog, read the posts and leave a comment. Leave reviews of their songs, even if you haven’t purchased anything. Surely, you’ve seen a Youtube video or heard an audio stream somewhere along the line. Write up a short review and leave it somewhere online public such as CDBaby, Amazon, YouTube, or wherever they are selling their music. You don’t even know the depth at which your comments and favorable reviews really go. I mentioned about street cred earlier in this post. The same goes here. You’re giving your artist that extra boost of credibility when you leave a comment or a review.
Does your artist friend have freebies? Take one and give one away.
If your artist provides any free mixtapes or albums, take one and take an extra one to give away to someone you think would appreciate it. (With the artist’s permission, of course.) In reality, the freebie is there to promote exposure. So you’d be doing us a huge favor if you take a freebie and give it away to a friend.
Host a House Concert
It doesn’t cost you anything extra to host a potluck with your friends and family and live music for the evening via a House Concert. House concerts are so much fun because it’s the most intimate setting where you and your friends and family can enjoy a safe night in while listening to live music. You just can’t get that at a venue. What’s awesome about hosting a house concert is that you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg. In fact, you could probably get it done for free if you invite enough people and make sure they know to bring a small donation. If you can open up your living room or backyard in this way, you’d be supporting the artist without having to go into your own pocket.
There are many ways you can support an artist without involving money. Here lately, I’ve been leaning more to a mindset independent of money. There’s so much this world has to offer. A lot of times money just gets in the way of that, don’t you think. Why should we let money stop us from doing what we want? It surely shouldn’t stop us from supporting one another! Learn more about hosting a house concert HERE.
