Category: NewslettersCategory: Newsletters

Should you wait until you have a lot of email subscribers before sending your first newsletter?

No.

Learn from Chris Spencer of Unsane, from an interview with Echoes and Dust:

“We played a show at CBGBs, we got offered a show with Sonic Youth and we got there to find out that we were playing the graveyard shift, which was actually after Sonic Youth … we had to go out and the place cleared out and we went on to like twelve people!”

Got twelve people on your list? That’s enough.

Don’t wait for more people – level the room. Impress the people in front of you. Serve the people who signed up.

“Fortunately for us, Gerard Cosmos from Matador Records happened to still be there and offered us a record deal after that, so it actually really worked out.”

You never know who might read your newsletter, so don’t hold back.

If five people sign up, you’re writing an email for five people this week. Sit down and get to work.

Figure out how to write a newsletter for five people, because you’ve got a lot to learn.

Make your mistakes in front of a few people instead of fucking something up and sending out the wrong link to 5000 people.

Show up for the people who subscribed, who showed up to your gig on a Tuesday night, or who ordered your product.

I cry when I see a social media post like this:

This might be the only post a fan sees this week. Or month.

And even so, then what?

We can’t stop at just reaching our fans on social media, oh no.

We have to help our fans escape. To unplug from the system.

It’s not easy, though, like Morpheus says in The Matrix:

“You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”

We are at war, and our mission is to reach our fans without appeasing algorithms, making dance videos, or hopping from one new social media platform to the next. No.

So, the next time you’re thinking about posting something to get your fans talking, figure out a way to get those fans subscribed.

Once they are subscribed, you have a direct line of communication with them.

First, set up a landing page. This is where people go when you ask them to sign up for your email list.

🚫 Don’t ask people to DM you their email address
🚫 Don’t ask them to email you, and you’ll add them to your list later

Set up a landing page. Trust me on this.

Using Mailchimp? Read up here, here, and here.

Using Substack? Read here.

Using Squarespace? Read here and here.

Still no clue? Get in touch.

Once you have that sorted, make a social media post like this:

Once you’re ready to release your magic to the world, you send it to your email list first, and skip the rigged game of attention roulette that you play when you post on social media.

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Oh yeah, here are 25 things you can post to get people to click the link to your shiny new landing page:

1. New track is done, who wants to hear a snippet?
2. New product coming to the shop next week – get on my email list and I’ll send YOU the link first!
3. I’m writing a new piece on something near and dear to my heart – subscribe to my email list and I’ll send you my hand-written notes.
4. Working on a new photo project with a friend, and it involves a ladder and 30 gallons of red paint. Get on my email list for a sneak peek.
5. Shooting a music video next week. Want to see all the behind the scenes photos and silliness? Click to get on our email list.
6. Someone stole my guitar two months ago at a gig. Want to know how I recovered it? Sign up for my email list.
7. We’ve got like 20 ideas for the name of our next album. Help us narrow it down.
8. My writing isn’t just about opening the laptop and tapping on the keyboard for several hours. Let me show you my writing space, and how I maintain my creativity.
9. Love nu-metal? Our drummer has a shrine to nu-metal, complete with sealed vinyl, signed posters, and, well… get on our email list to see it!
10. I visited some creative friends this past weekend, and we had such an ah-hah moment, that we nearly cried. I’ll tell you all about it in my next newsletter.
11. We hit 23 cities on our last tour. 17 diners. 12 truck stops. 10 motels. And five… well, subscribe to our newsletter. Next week we’re gonna send out a big tour wrap up.
12. Thanks for all the love and support! Next week I’m hosting a Zoom call with you, my amazing fans. Get on the email list and I’ll send you the details.
13. Next week will be the two year anniversary of the release of my first book. Sign up for my newsletter because next week I’m sharing everything I’ve learned about releasing a book in those two years.
14. Over the last four years of running my podcast, I’ve asked every guest their biggest piece of advice for anyone just getting started, and I’m sharing my favorite bits in my newsletter next week.
15. I was 17 when I played my first show, and I told the sound man “fuck you” on the mic. Yeah, don’t ever do that. I’ll explain in my next newsletter what he told me after the show.
16. I’ve got over 200 effects pedals, and every week in my newsletter I talk about one with a quick video.
17. I found a store that sells horror movies on VHS, and I’m in love. Full story in my newsletter next week.
18. Did you know I broke two bass drum pedals on my first tour? It’s true. Sign up for my email list and I’ll explain how to not break all your gear when you’re on the road.
19. I’m halfway down with my new book, and want to celebrate the milestone with a rough draft reading. Get on my email list and I’ll send you an audio snippet.
20. The theme of my radio show this week was sad songs, and I had a hard time limiting it to one hour, so next week’s newsletter will have the songs I left off the show.
21. My favorite poet just celebrated their 60th birthday! Subscribe to my newsletter because I’ll be talking about my favorite pieces from them over the years.
22. Summer is coming up and that means SUMMER TOUR SEASON. In my next newsletter I’m sharing the story about the time I got left at a truck stop (without my phone).
23. When I was a kid I worked this summer job and made friends with this older kid who played in bands, and he gave me a worn out copy of Slayer’s ‘Hell Awaits.’ Ten years later I ran into him and you won’t believe what band he’s in.
24. I’m visiting my favorite record shop next week when I visit NYC. Make sure you’re on my email list, because I’m planning on spending lots of money there, and I want to tell you all about it.
25. I make sleepy time metal mixes every week. For some people it puts them to sleep, others say they’re great for working or studying. Subscribe and listen for yourself!

Use these as inspiration, or copy and paste them as you see fit. These ideas are your now.

Not everyone see your stuff. Not even all your fans.

There are plenty of “old” things you can repurpose and share with your fans:

• Upcoming tour dates, photos from previous tours
• Six month old releases, early product drops
• Old interviews, playlist adds, cool reviews

Remind people about interview you did earlier in the month (like my talk with Laura Kidd, an independent artist whose recent album ‘Obey Robots’ hit #14 on the UK charts, or the interview I did with Matt DeBenedictis, the Manager of Compliance at Mailchimp, or Zao drummer Jeff Gretz).

Your biggest fans might know these things, but not everybody does.

I bet half of you didn’t know I interviewed the drummer from Zao.

So with that, 70% of your social media followers probably missed that cool feature you shared, or a special you’re running in your web store.

Remember when Metallica released the first music video from their new album ‘72 Seasons’ (which just came out)?

Since releasing their video for ‘Lux Æterna’ on Monday, November 28th Metallica has not taken their foot off the gas:

Twitter posts: 17
Instagram posts: 18
Facebook posts: 19

That’s over 50 posts since MONDAY.

Remember – you’re an artist; get creative in repeating all the cool things you’ve done on socials, in your newsletter, and on your own website.

The multi-media world is busier than ever, so casually mentioning your latest offering once or twice ain’t gonna cut it.

Promoting your creative work should be art. It should spark curiosity, wonder, and delight.

Facts ain’t art:

• “We talked to Brad about how the band got started. [LINK]”
• ”Jen tells us how she launched their label. [LINK]”

Yes, you talked to Brad, and they told you things.
Jen talked about the start of their label.

They didn’t just say, “yeah, we started the band in high school, and played a few shows.”

They probably told you about their horrible first show, or that they met their guitar player for the first time at some weird diner on the far end of town.

Jen maxed out two credit cards, and sold their vintage NES collection to finance a record they believed in.

Tell stories, not facts.

Stop posting “NEW VIDEO [LINK]” on social media or in your newsletter.

Post how filming got cut short because a thunderstorm rolled in and all your gear got covered in mud.

• “We had to replace $3000 in music gear after shooting this video [LINK].”
• “We spent 17 hours in the blazing sun to shoot this video.”
• ”This is the same warehouse they filmed the fight scene from the Matrix.”
• ”The cell-phone we used as a prop in this video was actually our bass players from 2002 – who else had one of those?”

Your project isn’t just competing with other bands and labels in your genre, you’re competing with Disney and HBO.

• “Din Djarin found a baby Yoda. [LINK]”
• ”The Roy family run a company. [LINK]”

Unpaid interns can write those facts. That’s safe. That’s easy.

Sell it like a new movie, an up and coming TV show.

No one cares that you talked to someone. We all talk to people everyday.

But stories sell concert tickets, vinyl, recurring monthly subscriptions to Disney+ and Netflix.

Less facts, more stories.

If you give your fans a link, they’ll click it.

Well, hopefully 5% of your fans will click it, but hey, that’s how this stuff works.

That 5% is pretty valuable so make it count.

Like Toby Morse says, “one click, one chance.” No, wait…

See what Tegan & Sara did here in their recent newsletter? A nice personal message from Tegan to their fans about covering a song:

“I love the song ‘Sweet But Psycho’ by Ava Max. I somehow missed out on the moment this song was massive when it was released in 2018, but came across it recently when I was building a new running playlist. The song is a great, classic pop song. Easy to write off. Some of us are inherently suspicious when something is so catchy. But recently, Spotify suggested the acoustic version.”

All that, then a sweet note about learning the song as a warm-up while rehearsing for tour. Ahem, tour. WINK WINK. Tegan & Sara are going on tour.

You click the link, and you can see the dates and buy tickets.

My point is – if you’re an artist that’s maybe not as big as Slipknot, why not tell a story?

• First time on the road? Tell a story about the farthest you’ve ever drive for a show (I drove eight hours into a blizzard because my friend wanted to see Abnegation in Erie, PA. We saw Brothers Keeper in a big warehouse that weekend, too).
• First time selling at a market? Write about your experience of other markets you’ve been to, the people you met, why you started your creative project in the first place.
• Are you a grizzled road dog? Come on – you’ve got stories; TELL THEM. Write them out, make it a video, make an audio clip with your bandmates.

Sure, you could just drop the tour admat on socials and your email campaign, but everyone does that. An unpaid intern can do that.

But, no one can tell your stories.