The Internet has revolutionized the way we do business. You can start  an Online business for less than $100.00 and start earning a decent amount of income off of it. Because of this, there has been an explosion in the ‘ Internet Marketing’ world. I do not contemplate myself an Internet marketer, but I’ve studied many of them and have learned some ‘out of the box’ techniques that you can efficiently apply towards bands. Here are just a few of the many suggestions I can give you:

• Give first One way to get something from other is to give to them first. In music, one way to build a fan base is to performance at Venues that do not charge a cover and invite individuals to come as your guest. You definately do not want to performance a lot of Venues for free, so you need to somehow communicate that you are doing this for your listeners in the absence of  saying it outright. You may say, “Hey guys, just to show you are appreciation, Flaming Onions would like to individual ly invite you to this special concert just for you! It is totally free, so bring your companions and we’ll see you there!” They will come, because they believe that this is a gift from you and the will not want to miss out!

An additional way to give first is through our products. Giving away products has gotten a lot easier since the development of the Web. Digital music is HUGE! Better yet, it expenses nothing to duplicate.

Have you thought about giving away one or two songs from your new album? What do you think would happen if you did, and left your fan’s preferreds available only if they purchased it? first of all, they are going to love the fact that you gave them part of your album for free! It’s al most like a free trial that they get to keep. Because you were willing to do this for them, they’ll be more like ly to buy it from you. Give first, and they’ll give back to you!

• Cross-selling/Up-selling Have you ever gone to McDonalds, ordered a burger and received the question, “Would you like fries with that?” Have you ever ordered one of their value meals and received the question “Would you like to Super-Size that?” What you heard, while innocent enough, was an amazing marketing idea that has been used by Web merchants everywhere !

It is a way to increase sales to the same customer (who has bought a product) by introducing other products in your product range. If customers buy a Flaming Onions compact disc, you can ask Assuming that they want to buy a Flaming Onions t-shirt as well.

Seems simple enough, but let’s think a little more out of the box. Let’s say the Flaming Onions’ CD  sells for $15 and brings in a profit of $10 per album. Let’s furthermore assume that their t-shirts sell for $10 and bring in a profit of $6 per shirt.

What If the Flaming Onions Value Pack (consisting of 1 autographed CD, 1 tee shirt, and  the album emailed to them in MP3 format with bonus track for their iPod and a desktop background pic for their computer ) sells for $25? I’m willing to bet that this approach sells more. The digital products, as I mentioned above, cost virtually nothing to duplicate.

You profit would be the same, but I guarantee you would sell more!

• Email List This is could the most important tool that’s used by Web organizations. Web Marketers swear by email lists and base many, if not all, of their systems around them. The idea is simple, you provide a list for fans to keep track of your band and all they have to do is give you their Name and email address.

You now have a way to directly communicate to them, and better yet, they wanted it! You may  encourage  upcoming shows and album releases. You may create contests and drawings for those that are signed up. You may give those who are signed up a special discount on merchandise. The possibilities are infinite. One thing to recall is to only send them things they would want to know. They signed up to hear more about you, so they do not want to receive any forwards stating that If they sign up for this offer, they may receive a free laptop, blah, blah, blah! Do not abuse your list. Take care of them. This is an elite group of individuals who wanted to be a part of your success, so treat them that way.