You’ll find many celebrity figures chime the phrase; all publicity is good publicity.

Sadly, this rule does not apply to music promotion. The world of music is crowded and it’s clamoring for innovative art. But how do you really get your art out there?

Tons of independent artists have found fame and critical appraise for their work and they’ve managed to do all this without a big budget. Just take a look at Chance the Rapper. The Chicago-born artist rose to cosmic fame after his 2013 mix tape Acid Rap began receiving millions of online streams. What’s the secret? Promotion!

A successful marketing campaign can work wonders for your career and you don’t need a team of professionals to do it for you. Follow our guidelines below and launch yourself into musical success.

Become part of a playlist

Streaming and playlisting giants like Spotify and Apple Music have launched the careers of some popular artists today. You cannot forego the opportunity of being heard by hundreds of millions of people who log into online streaming platforms every day.

If your track ends up in a well-known music producer’s list, you know you’ll be racking up thousands of streams in no time. Getting yourself onto a playlist not only publicizes your music; it also wins you precious royalty money.

Be active on social media

Did we really have to spell this out for you? Social media is where all the magic happens. It’s the most convenient way to interact with fans, create awareness about your music and network with other artists who could help your visibility. If you’re on multiple social media platforms—which you should be—make sure you’ve got the same handle everywhere so it’s easy for people to recognize you. For more tips on how to promote your work on social media, have a look at this.

Go live

Don’t just focus all your promotions online; step outside and perform for a live audience. Gigs and tours are a great way to establish your credibility as a full time performer. But you cannot be predictable. Repeating a performance for several audiences will lose you many points in the game. Keep adding new music to your name from time to time and if that gets hard then just try to do covers and medleys to shake up your live acts.

Practice your hand at music production software that allows you to compose, analyze and edit songs from scratch.

Release music videos

Composing music is only one half of the battle. Now it’s time for you to get visually creative. When you’ve released a song, back it up with a thought-provoking music video that attracts viewership.

Let your hair down and think outside the box. There are tons of visual themes that you can choose from. Depending on your musical style and aesthetic, you can also choose to make videos with some social commentary in it.

The promotional side of music may get a little tricky but one thing that is sure to get you a solid fan base is good music. Get creative with your art and learn the ins and outs of music production. Here’s a free demo of Music Jotter to help you get a head start.