But when they announce that the album cover has been designed, that’s cause for celebration, because it means the music will soon be on its way to the world— and a single or video premiere is probably around the corner.
The unveiling of your album artwork is a great opportunity to:
1. get press attention
Find a blog that will “premiere” your album cover artwork. This will give you an exciting way to announce the “reveal” to your fans and you’ll probably see some extra reach because the blog will share the news with their readers too.
This approach also gives you the chance to reiterate the story behind your album. So be sure to provide the blogger with any links to previous online announcements about the album, or write a new press release that gives them some context for how the album art is related to the music or the story behind it.
2. Drive email signups
If you’re concentrating on building your email list, another thing you could do with your album cover artwork is unveil it in your email newsletter.
Then, in the weeks leading up to the reveal, you can use your social channels and talk to your fans from the stage and say, “Hey, next Tuesday we’re going to show you the amazing cover art for our new album… so make sure you subscribe to our email newsletter so you won’t miss it!”
3. Boost pre-sales
If you’re using a service like PledgeMusic to sell pre-orders for your new album, it makes sense to reveal the album artwork on that platform, as the content is exclusive to those who’ve purchased the music in advance.
You can create a video announcement, photo diary, or just write a short blurb with a special link that’s only available to pre-order customers. BUT… be sure to tell EVERYONE (at shows, via social media, through your email list, etc.) that they’ll be among the first to see the album cover only if they pre-order before the “reveal!”
4. Get your fans excited about your new music
The first three suggestions all had an exclusive element to them: a blog exclusive, an exclusive to email subscribers, an exclusive to pre-order customers. But sometimes it makes more sense to just blast the news to the whole world and make it accessible to anyone who’s interested in sharing it with their friends.
If that’s the case, there are a number of creative ways to publicly post your album artwork:
* Make a YouTube video that shows the designer hard at work on the album cover
* Post it on your blog with a short description about the meaning of the artwork and how it relates to the music
* Instagram it. Or even better, make an Instagram video with 15 seconds of music from one of the upcoming tracks
* Share the evolution of your album artwork, as in this tweet below:
The evolution of Clinton Reno’s artwork for my album: pic.twitter.com/HBZI2S7kfD
— shannon hurley (@shannonhurley) June 2, 2015
There’s probably plenty more things you can do with your album artwork that I haven’t mentioned. Got some ideas? Let me know in the comments below.
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