This article was written by Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity.
1 CD Review + Repurposing = Maximum Exposure.
Quality music reviews are hard to secure these days. Once you get a review it’s difficult to figure out how to make the most of it. As you may have figured out strong marketing and PR is all about how you position yourself. You must take all the goodwill you have and spread the word. So, Here is a guide on how you can take 1 album review use it to generate interest.
1. Add Your Review Everywhere Your Music is On Sale
Add the review everywhere your music is available for sale online: Your website, Your CD Baby sales page, iTunes, Amazon, emusic, and more. These are great places to show off your review to potential fans who are thinking about buying but aren’t sure. A great review can make a big impact on their sales decision. Some studies have shown that albums that are reviewed at iTunes are far more likely to sell than their non-reviewed counterparts.
2. Facebook It – Of Course!
There are over 500 million people on Facebook, and all of them should know about your review! Fortunately, Facebook has several features that make it easy to put your review in front of a large number of people. However, always remember the cardinal rule of Facebook: It’s all about interaction. In all your Facebook messaging, make it about your fans/friends. NO: “Check out this awesome review about ME!” YES: “Hello fans/friends, your support helped get this awesome review of my album. Thanks so much. Read and enjoy.”
Facebook Steps To Take:
1. Post the review URL to your Wall: this puts the link on the news feed and home page of every Facebook user who is connected to the page where you post the link. If you post the link on both your Music Page and your regular profile, post at different times of the day.
2. Send an Update from your Music Page announcing the review. Be sure to include the URL to the review in the Update. Updates allow you to customize who receives it by geographical area, which can be useful is using the review to promote a show in a certain city.
3. Make a short video (30-45 seconds) telling your fans/friends about the review, giving them the link, and asking them to read it.
4. Take a picture of you holding the review, and smiling, and post it on your Wall (kitschy but could be fun!)
5. Post the review using the Notes feature
3. Add it on MySpace
I know you may be thinking that MySpace is dead but the truth is over 100 million people still actively use it, and they coming to your page to listen to your music. There are a few ways you can add your review to your MySpace profile here they are: 1. Add it as a new blog post so it will appear on your blog section. 2. Send it as a bulletin.
4. Place it on Your Blog or Website
For your blog: Create a reviews section on your blog and post them all there. If you have friends who have blogs and support your music, ask them to cross-post the review as well…Video makes blogs even better, so check out the tips in the “Announce it Via Video” section of this document and post the video on your blog
For your website: 1. Add a strong quote from your review it to your homepage. 2. Add a press area to your website and include the full review there. 3. Mix it in with fan quotes on the testimonials or quotes page.
5. Tweet! Share Your Review On Twitter
After you have posted the review on your site, your blog, or your MySpace page. Here is how to share it on Twitter. Go here: http://bit.ly/ create an account and then create a custom bit.ly link of your review. Cut it ad then and share it as a tweet on your Twitter stream. Voila!
6. Enhance Your Sonicbids Profile
Having reviews on your Sonicbids EPK™ will really make it stand out among the thousands of other musicians on there who are vying for the same gigs and festivals that you are, so post your review to your Sonicbids EPK™. If you don’t want to put the whole thing, pick out a few strong quotes and post those.
7. Announce it Via YouTube
You may not know this but YouTube is the second most trafficked search engine after Google and video is the most effective form of online content, and the best way to get a message out to your fans/friends. It also has the added bonus of feeling more personal because it’s your face, voice, tone, inflection, and movement, rather than just your words and still images. People love to click that thumbnail image with the play button in the middle, so meet them where they’re at and spread the word about your review via video. Video is also very share-able, and we love that. Here’s some on announcing your review via online video.
1. Keep it short. 30-45 seconds max
2. Thank the review writer by name. Mention the blog if they have one.
3. Make it about your fans/friends, not about you. Thank them for being the kind of groovy people who would be as excited about this review as you are.
4. Hold the CD in your hand on camera and make sure the album cover is clearly seen in the shot. To reduce glare, take the booklet out of the CD case and just hold the booklet.
BONUS! Merch: Add To Postcards, Flyers, & Posters
Put a strong quote on your business card, posters, and postcards and on your show flyers. People always respond to what others say even more than what you say! You can also add a quote to a t-shirt or a sticker!
Need your music reviewed? CD Baby has partnered with Ariel Publicity to get artists a special discount on their ReviewYou Service. Click HERE for more details.
Chris Robley is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and award-winning poet from Maine.
His Beatlesque indie-pop and milltown Americana songs have been praised by The Associated Press, No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, Boston Globe, NPR, American Songwriter, and others.
His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, and more.
Robley has received a Maine Literary Award in Poetry, Boulevard’s Emerging Writers Prize for Poetry, and in 2016 was selected by former US-poet laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize.