Ally Crowley-Duncan plays the bagpipe.

She posted a video of herself playing some Metallica songs, and of course an internet ding dong left a comment saying “bagpipes don’t belong in Metallica.”

Then Metallica leaves a reply, saying “this guy doesn’t speak on our behalf. You’re awesome.”

That’s magic.

What I’m getting at is this; don’t leave all that magic on social media, because (ahem) these sites sure didn’t.

Each one of those sites sold ad-impressions against that story. They made money from that magic.

That ain’t wrong or bad, it’s just how the internet works.

And it’s why you should be doing the same fucking thing.

Put your magic on your website, then arrange some of your merch items around it. Or tour dates.

Get enough people to your site, and people will buy something. Fans buying things is good, because then you can pay the rent.

Fill your website and newsletter with your magic; the videos, the wit, the sass, the live photos from sold-out festivals.

Your social media feeds are the party. Loose and free, filled with witty rants, spontaneous photos, lengthy captions.

The likes pour in, and the replies.

Party in the back.

Then you subscribe to a band’s newsletter and get their “email blast,” which is just a few vinyl mock-ups of their album, some text, a button.

No lively text. No attitude. No swagger.

Business in the front.

Don’t fall victim to mullet marketing – make your email newsletter and website as riveting as your social media feeds.

It’s all magic and machinery.

The magic comes first.

When asked for his music business “how to make it” insight, my dear friend says this; “write good songs.”

This is usually followed by “yeah but…”

But nothing.

Write good songs, that’s the magic.

If you’re not in a band, put out a great product, take great photos, write well, release good videos. Whatever.

Next is the machinery; a good bio photo, website, maybe a booking agent or a publicist at some point. An email list, too.

Sometimes you can make it on just magic, or just machinery.

I’ve seen talented acts over the last 20+ years go nowhere.

I’ve seen hardworking color by number acts make it, too.

Magic, art, design – its all mystical, and that’s what we’re dealing with here every single day.

This bit from Julia Evans is about email lists, and the myth of “you have to trick people into signing up for your email marketing list.”

If you clearly communicate who your mailing list will help, then people can easily filter themselves in, and the only people on the list will be happy to be on the list. And then you don’t have to send any unwanted email at all! Hooray!

I want to break down that first line a bit, and how it applies to all of us here at SOCIAL MEDIA ESCAPE CLUB:

If you clearly communicate who your mailing list will help…

Maybe not help, in our case, but delight. Excite. Who will love seeing our email pop up in their inbox?

Fans, right? People who enjoy what we write, what we do, the songs we play, the products we ship, the podcasts we produce.

So if you “clearly communicate” that, you’ll have “people on the list will be happy to be on the list.”

This means you can finally stop worrying about being spammy.

People signed up, right? So don’t be afraid to show up in their inbox more than once a month. Most of your fans won’t see your posts on social media because of algorithms, but most of your fans will open your next email.

Read the rest of Julia’s post, ‘A few things I’ve learned about email marketing,’ for sending out emails with less MARKETING vibes (via Kottke).

Do I want free donuts? Yes.

Do I want rewards? Well wait, what are the rewards? How do I get them?

I went out for a donut and iced coffee today.

The owner and I got talking about websites, social media, and email marketing of course – yes, I’m loads of fun at parties!

The owner told me the challenge of getting people into their reward program (buy enough donuts and coffee, get free donuts).

Her pitch is basically, “do you want to join our rewards program?”

And those go (usually) three ways:

1. Yeah, sure.
2. No, thanks.
3. Wait, what’s the rewards program?

For me, if you ask someone who’s buying donuts if they want free donuts, I think that changes the response a bit, to something like:

1. Uhh, yes.
2. Wait, what?

➡️ Think of this when writing subject lines.

Your “West Coast Tour Dates Announced” subject line is great for fans on the West Coast, but a horrible subject line for everyone else.

For someone like me in Pennsylvania, I have no incentive to open that email. Go have fun, West Coast!

But a subject line that says, “Do you remember when those cowboys got us back on the road when our van broke down?” – that’s for everyone! I want my van-repairing cowboys!

Then, of course (ahem), include your West Coast tour info later in the email, for your West Coast fans.

➡️ Think of this when asking your social media followers to subscribe to your newsletter.

When you say “sign up for updates,” people who’ve been on the internet for more than five seconds can already assume what they’re signing up for; deals, discounts, sales, bargains, big BUY NOW buttons.

Boring.

Make it easy for your fans to say “yes, I want that.”

Do you want free donuts? Yes.

Do you want more of my art? Yes.

Do you want more photos of my travels? Yes.

Do you want more writing? Yes.

Don’t tell me to sign up for updates, tell me what I’m getting.

Make your ask so good I have to say yes.

Don’t put all your online marketing into one social media basket.

“Six-in-ten Americans who have used Twitter in the past 12 months say they have taken a break from the platform for a period of several weeks or more during that span.”

If you’re only using Twitter to reach your fans, a lot of people have left the site, according to Pew Research.

“Among current or recent Twitter users, a larger share of women than men say it is unlikely they will be on the platform in a year (30% vs. 20%).”

If you saw a 30% dip in sales, or 30% less people showing up at your events, you’d notice.

Right now – today – is the time to think about your Social Media Escape Plan:

If anything happens to these platforms, we lose the ability to reach our fans.

So get in the habit now of asking your fans to subscribe to your email newsletter, then build a content strategy today on how and when you’re going to reach your fans with an email newsletter.

Seriously, don’t wait until you lose contact with your fans to start thinking about this.

At this rate Twitter seems like it could implode tomorrow.
Then what?

P.S. I deactivated my Twitter account this weekend. I’ve been on there since 2006, and was one of the first 3000 users. See ya.

It’s almost summer, and who wants to spend more time on their computer? This is why I’ve been shouting about re-using the stuff you post on socials for your newsletters.

Not everyone who follows you on social media will see every post. Hell, people who subscribe to your email newsletter won’t open every email, either.

Re-purposing the content you’ve already posted (on socials) means less time thinking about your next email newsletter, and gives you a jump on the creative process.

When I talk about re-purposing live action shots from social media in your newsletter, this email campaign from Pupil Slicer is exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m assuming those pics were posted on socials, but hey, how many live shots do bands post every week on socials?! A TON! Put ‘em in an email with your next tour announcement!

This email campaign from BATZION makes great use of product shots from their Bandcamp, combined with a fun mix of behind the scenes photos, which look like images you’d see on social media, right?

Why spend several hours a day on socials when you could just send out a newsletter?

Social media has conditioned us that if we’re not on their app several hours a day promoting our work, then we’ll get left in the dust.

Remember, people get paid lots of money to keep you on their platform. They are incentivized to show you LIKES and BEEPS and REPLIES, all while throttling who actually sees your posts.

Maybe just spend one hour a day on socials.

Then send an email once a week using the things you posted on social media throughout the week.

When you’re done, get outside for a walk, a dip in a creek, make some tea, or go out for ice cream!

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’ve heard the mullet described as, “business in the front, party in the back.”

Usually, an artist’s social media feeds is the party.

Loose and free, filled with witty rants, spontaneous photos, and lengthy captions.

The likes pour in, the replies, the engagement.

That’s the “party in the back.”

But then you subscribe to an artist’s email newsletter and get their “email blast.”

Some images, text, a button that says “BUY NOW.”

No lively text. No attitude. No swagger.

That’s “business in the front.”

Please, go ahead and break my inbox and my heart with your sad tales from the road. I can take it.

Show up in my inbox like you do on my social media feeds.

Make me laugh with your snarky videos, and your dry humor.

Include some photos from tour, the studio, and your practice space.

Instead of giving Zuck & Musk your best material for them to monetize, pour your magic into the emails that you send to your fans.