BIG NUMBERS AIN’T THE ONLY THING

Carter Vail recently had 400 people pre-save a new song.

In a recent Instagram video, he shows how 1,072 unique users clicked through to the pre-save page.

Now, that’s a 37.3% conversion rate, and in the world of “getting anyone to do anything on the internet” that’s a fantastic rate.

The scary part though is that he’s got 211,000 followers, which means just 0.1% of his fans pre-saved his new track.

I’m using Carter Vail to illustrate that a huge following on Instagram doesn’t guarantee huge pre-save numbers or sales or people signing up for your thing.

But, I’ve worked with a client who had “just” 5,000 email subscribers, sent three emails, and sold over $3,000 in vinyl and shirts.

This is all about getting the right people to know what the fuck you’re doing, which is hard when you rely on third party platforms that limit your ability to reach your audience.

Like Rick Rubin says, “make cool things, show it to your friends.”

But it’s hard when those 200K friends are all on Instagram.

This also goes for who’s willing to pay and support your cool things.

Ira Glass lays it out pretty well in an interview with Vulture:

It’s just crazy to me that people are having a hard time earning money making something so many other people clearly want.

Well, part of the problem is that people aren’t paying for it, right?

Right. They’re accustomed to getting it for free.

That’s the hole in the business model.

Artists are having a hard time earning money making something so many people clearly want.

But most people ain’t paying for it.

A few are, though, right?

Do you know who?

Who bought your last album? Do you have their email? Can you let them know you’ve got a new record coming out?

Do you know who your top supporters are? Do you know who spent $1,000 in your store in the last three months?

Are your west coast fans aware of your upcoming west coast tour? Or did 70% of your social media fans miss that one post you made about it two weeks ago?

It won’t get any easier to reach your fans on social media, and all the time you spend building a following there means shit when over half of them never see your posts.

Take your power back.

Start an email list.
Send emails that entertain, with a few less BUY NOW buttons.
Update your website once in awhile.