When you are teaching something, it's really easy to come up with lead magnet ideas...
But how exactly do you craft lead magnet ideas when you are a music artist so that you can actually start to build your email list?
Well, keep reading, as in this post, I'll break down for you 24 different lead magnet ideas for music artists and bands.
By the way, if you're just getting started and don't have any email subscribers yet, just sign up for my free email challenge below.
This challenge will show you how to get your first 100 email list subscribers in 3 days.
And even if you already have over 100 subscribers, the tactics I teach in this challenge can get you to 1,000 subscribers, or even beyond.
So just click the button below to sign up. It's completely free!
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Get Your First 100 Email List Subscribers In 3 Days
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What Is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is simply something you give away (usually digital) in exchange for an email address. This can take the form of a PDF guide, exclusive video, exclusive audio, or any number of things that your audience would find valuable.
Just asking people to sign up for your email list isn't going to yield great results, as nobody likes the idea of just receiving more emails.
This is why you need to communicate the value you are providing in the form of a lead magnet. Or, you can think of it as a "fan magnet", as it attracts fans to you.
why do music artists need a lead magnet?
Lead magnets are the best way to grow and email list. Musicians need an email list because it is the best way to turn followers (who never buy from you) into fans (who buy just about everything you put out).
This is because email allows you to stay relevant, and front-of-mind, whereas it's easy for your posts on social media to never even be seen by the majority of your fans.
Plus, just about everyone has email, they check it daily, and people are FAR more likely to buy something through an email than on social media.
But the bottomline is, if you want to consistently and effectively grow your email list, you need to give something away of value first (lead magnet).
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How To Make Your Lead Magnet Available
Now you may be wondering...
"Great, but how exactly do I deliver my lead magnet to my fans? I don't want to have to monitor my email 24/7 to see when someone signs up to send them something for free!"
No worries, as you will want to use an email autoresponder tool, like ConvertKit, to both house your email list and facilitate the delivery of lead magnets and emails.
You don't want to use your personal email account, as this violates anti-spam laws.
So you'll want to use some kind of email autoresponder tool, as it enables your subscribers to unsubscribe on their own if they wish.
Plus, it allows you to automatically deliver lead magnets, and even email your list for you automatically...
Which means email marketing is a relatively easy strategy to implement, but it has a massive upside.
All you have to do is invest a little bit of time upfront to create your lead magnet and automated email sequence, and then you're set!
Once you're signed up, you can easily use ConvertKit to create a webpage that looks something like what you see below.
As you can see, your fans will have the opportunity to put in their email address to get something from you (you can also collect a name if you'd like as well).
I'd recommend offering something other than just to be notified when your new album is released (maybe an early demo version of a song from the album?).
From there, in the backend of ConvertKit, you can input your "incentive", which will be automatically delivered to your new subscriber. This is your fan magnet.
As you can see in the picture below, you can have this fan magnet delivered via a URL link, or it could be simply something you upload.
In the example below, I'm giving away a free song, which I do by redirecting people who sign up to a dropbox link where they can download the .mp3.
It's super easy to set up, and just takes a few minutes.
Okay, with that preamble out of the way about lead magnets, what are some good ideas for lead magnets for musicians?
1. Exclusive Song
Giving away an exclusive song works great both for people who already know you, and those who don't.
You can share with your fans that you have a free exclusive song they can get just for signing up for your email list, and they will jump at the chance to sign up.
Likewise, you could also run a Facebook or Instagram video ad with a clip from your song to people who don't know you, and tell them they just have to click the button to get the song for free, and you'll also get good results...
Provided your song is good and you're targeting the right people.
I was able to rapidly grow my email list using this strategy.
2. Exclusive EP or Album
This is similar to the exclusive song, but even more valuable, as you're giving away more music, which makes the offer even more irresistible.
The downside is you need to have a ton of music to actually afford to give away an entire album...
Which is where an EP might be a nice middle ground.
3. Exclusive Audio Recording
Who says you just have to give away music. Maybe you have an exclusive audio recording of behind-the-scenes discussions between band members...
Or maybe you have commentary on one of your most popular songs you can give away.
4. Acoustic version of a song
An exclusive acoustic version of one of your popular songs also makes for a great fan magnet.
5. Live version of a song
Likewise, you could also give away a live version of one of your songs as an incentive.
6. Cover song
Cover songs are also great to give away, and can be very popular with fans.
7. Remix Version
I think you're getting the idea here. Any alternate version of a song can make a great fan magnet.
8. Behind-The Scenes
Exclusive behind-the-scenes content of you in the studio, or working on music, can make a great fan magnet.
9. Karaoke version with lyric sheet
Fans love to sing along to their favorite songs. Make this even easier by giving away a karaoke version of one of your songs (vocals removed), and provide a lyric sheet for good measure.
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Get Your First 100 Email List Subscribers In 3 Days
I'll email you a new strategy each day, for 3 days, to help you get your first 100 email list subscribers. These strategies don't cost anything, and you can easily implement them in just 3 days.
10. sample clip of a future single
You can also offer fans a sneak peak of a future release in exchange for an email address.
11. Audio book
You can offer your fans an audio book as well. This could be an audio autobiography, a history of the band, or anything you think your fans would enjoy in audio book format
12. Other creative projects
Do you like to create other things, such as fiction stories, poetry, artwork, etc.?
You can giveaway a sample of one of these projects as a lead magnet as well.
For example, my bandmate (who is also my wife) and I are writing a Space Opera/Fantasy/Cyberpunk science fiction novel entitled "Bleed", and we're planning on giving away a sample chapter or two as a lead magnet once the book is published.
I've also created my own trading card game that I'd love to publish and sell one day. I could potentially give away a limited time number of free packs to fans who sign up for my email list.
Not only is this a great way to build your email list, but it can also get your fans interested in your other creative pursuits.
13. Exclusive video recording
Have some exclusive footage that you think your fans would enjoy? Make it a fan magnet!
14. Exclusive PDF
One option that’s often overlooked is the creation of an eBook or downloadable PDF.
Some potential topics are:
15. Lyric Book
You can also give away a lyric book in exchange for an email address.
Physical lyric books make great products that you can actually sell, but you could also put together a mini digital lyric book, complete with pictures and scanned images of your handwritten lyrics (if you have them).
16. Stories-Behind-The-Songs
You could also giveaway a PDF, audio recording, or video of you and your bandmates sharing stories behind the writing or creation of your songs, and/or, what inspired them.
17. Stories-Behind-The-Band-Members
Likewise, you could give more information about each of their band members, their lives, and how they joined the band.
18. Comic Book
I don't know if anyone else has done this, but this is something I've always wanted to do.
I've wanted to create a world and narrative around my music and art, and depict it in comic book form.
I'd have to hire someone to do the illustrations, but this would be a sweet idea I think.
Obviously, this idea isn't so simple, so maybe you'd giveaway episode 1, or just a few pages for free, and then your fans could buy the next installments if they wanted.
Free Challenge:
Get Your First 100 Email List Subscribers In 3 Days
I'll email you a new strategy each day, for 3 days, to help you get your first 100 email list subscribers. These strategies don't cost anything, and you can easily implement them in just 3 days.
19. Live Online Performance
You could also giveaway free tickets to an exclusive online live performance that fans have to give you their email address to get access to.
You could just use YouTube live and keep it unlisted, and only provide the link to those who sign up.
20. Gated Website Content
If you have a website and blog, you can also make some of your content "gated" so that only those who are on your email list can access it.
21. Exclusive Fan Discord Group
You could also create an exclusive group for fans, either on Facebook or Discord, and require an email address for access.
This is a great way to build up a community, as it allows your fans to communicate with each other.
22. Quiz
You could also create a free quiz that is related to your genre/music culture that your fans must put in their email to receive the results.
If you make EDM music, maybe you could make a quiz for "Which EDM producer are you?"
And then have your fans answer a few fun questions before delivering a result.
You can use a tool like Thrive Quiz Builder to create the free quiz on your website.
23. Giveaway
Giveaways are a fantastic method for growing your list quickly. All you have to do is give away some service or product your ideal fans would love, and then have them opt-in to the giveaway with an email address.
You can use a free tool like King Sumo to run your giveaway and collect your email addresses.
This is also a great way to rapidly grow your social media followings as well, as you can have your giveaway entrants gain more entries (increasing their odds of winning) by following your social media accounts.
Win-win!
24. Coupon
Finally, if you have a merch shop, you can offer a coupon to everyone who signs up for your email list.
This is a great way to not only grow your list, but also generate merch sales.
Grow your email list fast!
All of these lead magnet ideas are great, but if you're looking to get your email list up and running as fast as possible.
Then click the button below to join my 3-day free challenge to learn how to get your first 100 email list subscribers in just 3 days!
Free Challenge:
Get Your First 100 Email List Subscribers In 3 Days
I'll email you a new strategy each day, for 3 days, to help you get your first 100 email list subscribers. These strategies don't cost anything, and you can easily implement them in just 3 days.
My Favorite Tools & Resources For Growing A Fanbase Online
DistroKid - Best Digital Distributor For Musicians
I've tried out and explored a several different music distributors, but haven't found any as good as DistroKid. DistroKid is designed to help indie artists succeed with its' affordable pricing plans that allow you to upload unlimited music to streaming platforms and digital stores.
ConvertKit - Best Email Marketing Tool For Musicians
Better than social media followers or even Spotify followers are email list subscribers. Email list subscribers are an audience of fans that you own and control (social media platforms can't take them away from you). Plus, these are fans that are engaged, and far more likely to buy from you, or join your membership. You will need an email autoresponder tool to get started with email marketing, and ConvertKit is the best one I've found for musicians.
Discover How To Generate Your First $1,000 A Month From Spotify In Just 30 Minutes A Day
This is my complete course walking you through how to get your music on Spotify playlists so that you can hack the algorithm and explode your Spotify streams.
Best Print-On-Demand Merch Provider
One of the best ways to monetize your fanbase is to offer them merch, but it can be expensive to buy a bunch of merch items in bulk that you're not even sure will sell. The solution is print-on-demand or what is otherwise known as "dropshipping". All you do is list merch items on your site that you design through Printful, and then Printful will handle the creation and shipping of your products. It's that simple! I've been using Printful for years, and love them.
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