Ten ways to get music bloggers to notice your email
October 16th 2007 by Flick in Opinions
Music bloggers receive dozens of emails every day from agencies and artists vying for their attention. Here are ten ways you can grab their attention:
One: Include the blogger’s name in the first line of the email. Since Gmail and other email applications include a snippet of the first few words of emails while scanning the inbox, include their name in the first line. Even if you have a press release that you’re sending to everyone, opening it with “Hey Flick” will make your email stand out.
Two: Keep the email short. Don’t overwhelm the blogger with the opening chapter to your band’s novel. If you include a press release, find a way to separate it from the personal email.
Three: Break your paragraphs up. When the blogger sees a large paragraph he will quickly scan the first sentence to see if anything interests him. Ten lines in one paragraph will hold the eye for three seconds before the mouse scrolls down the page.
Four: Bold keywords to attract the eye. If David Bowie was involved with the album, don’t be shy to name-drop. But when you do, bold names so it catches their eye. First impression is key, and if you can impress them with a recognizable or respected name then make it stand out from the rest of the text.
Five: Provide an Mp3. Include Mp3 links, but don’t attach the file. If the blogger is using Mail or Outlook, your Mp3s will slow down the process of downloading the mail, and ultimately will take up space on the hard drive. Instead, include a link to Mp3s so the blogger can right-click to download the music.
Six: Avoid linking to WMA or WMV links. Typically only agencies representing major labels will include WMA or WMV files. If the label they’re representing is involved in the RIAA mob then Mp3s are forbidden. The reason Mp3s are preferred is due to the aggregators that read Mp3 id3 tag information, such as Hype Machine or Elbo.ws. Music bloggers aim to gain traffic from these sites and WMA files fail to help in that endeavor.
Seven: Include a link to your digital album. By adding a link to download your album for free, you’re saving yourself postage and the cost of the CD. A digital album is much easier to review, especially if the blog has numerous writers. Always mention that a CD is available upon request.
Eight: Link to the artist’s websites. Though this may seem like a no-brainer, you’d be surprised how often a blogger is forced to search for the artist’s website. Make it easy for the reader to click for more information.
Nine: Provide images. Since first impression means everything, you want the blogger to fall in love with the artist right away. Toss a JPG or PNG in the email, but not set to a massive size. If you have large press photos then add a link to the image instead.
Ten: Don’t pester. I once received an email from a manager who had sent me a CD. For whatever reason I hadn’t written about the album yet, and this manager was loosing patience. He ranted on how getting his band mentioned on blogs was part of his job; since I hadn’t reviewed the album or mentioned the band then I was somehow ruining his career. Needless to say, I didn’t write about his band.
Tags: tips
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October 16th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Hi!
Useful tips and they’re not limited to music bloggers only. Out of curiosity, I usually take a peek at personalized emails rather than instantly sending them to the trash.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Ten ways to get music bloggers to notice your email
Music bloggers receive dozens of emails every day from agencies and artists vying for their attention. Here are ten ways you can grab their attention:
One: Include the blogger’s name in the first line of the email….
October 17th, 2007 at 3:12 am
This article was very helpful to me as I am soon to be submitting my album to bloggers. Thanks for the tips!
-Mark
www.myspace.com/theinformati
October 17th, 2007 at 3:47 am
[…] have written a great post about how to get music bloggers to read your spammy email plugging your band. It’s a good […]
October 17th, 2007 at 4:45 am
Hey Puddlegum,
I’m an artist from Toronto, just thought I’d test out your own tactics on you. I haven’t played with anyone famous that I can put in bold.
But my music is pretty sick.
Some of my newest shit can be found at www.myspace.com/goodspellmusic , and a larger catalog can is at www.goodspell.ca. I play often around Toronto and Hamilton, and am just trying to get some attention, god damn it! Let me know what you think… or blog about it or whatever it is that you do…
October 17th, 2007 at 5:51 am
hey! great tips! I translated ythis article into Russian : http://atmoravi.livejournal.com/387124.html?mode=reply
October 17th, 2007 at 6:17 am
Great tips - one more you might want to think about is how does your email address appear? If its bob121454878754@hotmail or some such thing, I might think it’s a spammer and not respond or even open the email. If you have a band or any kind of website, use a professional, branded email for more notice.
October 17th, 2007 at 7:13 am
A sure fire way to get noticed is by getting your music on the unsigned bands and singers website www.incrediblemp3.com
October 17th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Completely agree with all 10 steps, especially #6 - no WMA, WMV files for God’s sake! Jeez…
October 17th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I have tried very successfully to create a viral campaign to spread my music across the internet and it is working! I have gotten all sorts of attention even from legendary performers who like my music! WOW! The internet is so powerful.
Check out my music here:
http://www.myspace.com/tonytomei
October 17th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I absolutely agree with and want to reiterate point FIVE: Do not include MP3s as attachments to the message. I always delete messages that contain an attached MP3 file before listening to them. They clog up my inbox — there’s nothing worse than having important messages bouncing back to senders because my inbox is full of unrequested mp3s.
October 17th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Freie Musik, aufmerksame Blogger und die UK-Charts
Heute geht es wild durcheinander, denn ich bin gleich auf mehrere Kuriositäten und Absonderlichkeiten gestoßen, die ich keinem vorenthalten möchte. Los ohne Umschweife:Bob Ostertag würden viele als verrückten Professor bezeichnen, schließlich leh…
October 17th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Very good info as always - thanks mate.
Just finished promo’ing our first release with http://www.EatDigital.com who did it nicely — the above tips are great for my followup work!
October 18th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
All good tips.
And it follows it’s own advice.
We all have A.D.D.
My band is:
CONFLICT IN THE SKY
We play alternative, electronic rock.
We are new.
Our music is good.
Our lyrics have meaning.
Here is our myspace (add us if you like it)
www.myspace.com/conflictinthesky
Here is our main site (full launch soon)
www.conflictinthesky.com
We hope HTML works on this page.
Or else this will just look silly.
Like a goose.
October 18th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
So you would mean that because Benjamin Koppel a world class saxophonist is in our new and exciting band playing music you can hear and download for free on our MySpace page , then we should remember to write his name in bold and otherwise keep our post short ?
We love you!
Mick Nye
http://www.myspace.com/micknye
October 20th, 2007 at 10:02 am
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October 20th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Ten ways to get music bloggers to notice your email
Music bloggers are a great way to get your band noticed by the world at large. However, format it the wrong way, and your email will end up getting ignored. Here’s a few tips for improving communication with music bloggers.
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October 22nd, 2007 at 5:05 pm
As a music blogger myself, I find that most emails from artists and promoters grab my attention, because it is a link to new music.
In my opinion, rule number 8 is key…provide links to the artists webpage…or better yet, their MySpace page. MySpace is the best way to hear a sample of a band…and good music speaks louder than anything.
The last example I can think of that exemplifies this is when I got an email from Company of Thieves…the email was standard but the music blew me away. www.bigapplemusicscene.com
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Hi, I am starting up a new music blog, send me a link to you music, and if i like it, i will post about you. I am into indie rock, and brit rock. http://chemicalfever.blogspot.com/
October 27th, 2007 at 11:40 am
all very good points thoug i would add 1 very important one - make sure material being submitted doesn’t suck! haha.
October 28th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
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October 30th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
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November 21st, 2007 at 2:53 pm
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