PART 2! More info about why mailing lists are important for you, whether you’re a professional or an emerging musician. (Find Part 1 here).

As we discussed in the previous part, the mailing list may become a very useful tool for connecting with your audience, especially for updating them with your upcoming shows, new album releases, merchandising – developing your connection with them as they learn about you on your journey creating your work!

In Part 2, we will cover how to start your mailing list, what content to include, and which design works best for you and your brand. So let’s get started!

THE POWER OF LEARNING FROM OTHERS

Email marketing is something that most of us undoubtedly experienced at some point; we regularly receive marketing emails from our favourite companies, artists, brands, venues, etc.

While working on your own mailing list, why not look into the work of your favourite artist or company? What is it that they do that just feels so natural and comfortable to read? Try to study several mail outs  so you understand the reader’s experience more. This will help you to observe what the experience is for your own reader when they’re reading your mailing list, so you understand the audience’s experience more. What grabs your attention, what info do you like to receive, and what do you connect with most.

DESIGNING AND STYLING YOUR MAILOUT

When deciding on your mailing list style, think about consistency. For example, if you’re an established artist, perhaps your other social media already has a distinct style and design? Think about connecting to the same colour palette, branding, and tone of voice with your mailing list.

If you haven’t found your style yet, now can be a good opportunity to experiment with creating your own look and feel, that becomes your look/brand that best describes you and your musical work.

THE BEST WAYS TO PRESENT YOUR CONTENT:

• Clear and spacious headers
• Good-sized font
• Strong images to accompany text
• Not too much text
• Stay on message

But ensure that all is connected and consistent throughout your mailouts, and social media outlets!

WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR MAILOUT?

• Subject + Preview Text

Subject and Preview Text are really important because they are the first things your subscriber will see when they receive your marketing email! Depending on how strong or weak your subject is, it can influence whether or not the person opens the email.

Essentially, the subject has to convey the main idea of your email, so if you’re announcing the official release of a new album, for example, make sure to include it in the subject and preview text lines – it could be something along the lines of ‘MY NEW ALBUM RELEASE 2023’.

• Content

Similarly to the subject and preview text lines, you want to keep the content inside the mailing list short and sweet! 

So let’s say your first mailing list is about your new album release. If this is the main topic you want to share with your audience, make sure to begin your email with this information. But first always say hi, and be welcoming to the people you’re communicating with.

Also make sure you don’t overload them with info, what is your purpose for contacting people. Stick to one message and make sure you are clear as to what that is so they are also clear why you’re contacting them 🙂

• What’s your call to action?

It’s very important to always include a ‘call to action’ in your marketing email. If you’re promoting your new album release, for example, make sure to include buttons such as ‘Share’, ‘Listen Now’, ‘Buy’, etc. The buttons will encourage your recipients to take action rather than simply reading the email.

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We’ve only touched on a few ideas for making your mailing list look a little better and more interesting to read. Of course, there are other ways to improve your mailing list, either by reading more articles or by analysing other’s work.

Plus if we’ve missed anything out and you’ve any great ideas we should share with everyone, do let us know and we’ll include that too!

To read more: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-design 

To find out more about how to start build your mailing list, available mailing list services and GDPR, read our Part 1: 

https://connectsmusic.com/industry-nuggets-what-about-my-mailing-list/