This is the second part on how to get featured on the right hip hop blogs. If you haven’t read my last blog or even listened to my last podcast, I recommend that you do so, so that you can catch up and gain the necessary tools needed to make things easier to understand in this blog.
Last time, I talked about a cheat sheet that I use frequently when I want to contact certain hip hop blogs. If you don’t have it yet, go ahead and download it from my web site. It’s free so there’s no need to worry about paying for something this helpful.
Now, since I’ve told you guys how to find and contact these blogs, I’m going to tell you what else you need to do to maintain contact and eventually get featured by more and more bloggers and artists.
But first, you’ll need to think about what these blogs want. If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s obviously the influence you have, in exchange for theirs.
Not only will you be exposed to more people from their fan base, but you’ll do the same and give them the same exposure to your fans. If you’re just starting out and don’t have as much fans as you’d wish, it’s time to think about what sort of assets you have to could benefit the blogger and that you could offer without missing a heartbeat.
Email Marketing Out Reach For Musicians
I talked about this previously, but having an e-mail list is the best thing you could have to offer to a blogger.
It shows that you have the will power and independence to ask for people’s e-mails and that you’re consistent enough for them to stay in your e-mail list.
If you don’t know where to start on how to create an amazing e-mail list, there’s this quick and easy course that I offer on my web site, so go and check it out.
It’s going to be a lot of help when you need to get an e-mail list for not just yourself, but potentially for other bloggers and hip hop artists.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get right back into what you need to do and say to land that feature blog on anyone’s blog post.
There are a lot of errors that can be made when you want to e-mail people to get them to respond back to you.
Other Similar Music Promotion Posts
Crafting a music video doesn't have to break the bank! In this blog post we delve into low cost music video concepts
Crafting a harmonious track is a blend of art and science, where each instrument, vocal, and the beat finds its place within
In this article, I am going to be talking about email marketing for musicians. This is my guide to show how to
Most musicians, hip-hop bloggers, rappers, and artists focus on one platform to connect with their fans and build a following to promote
Luckily for you, I have some quick and easy to apply tips so that you can get a response even when you weren’t expecting it.
Honestly, you’re going to be very lucky when you get a response from the first e-mail that you’ll be sending. It usually takes a few tries over the span of weeks or even months before you get a reply back.
But not to worry, it’s not because they deliberately chose to ignore you, (unless you made an error), but simply because these blogs get tons of e-mails from numerous blogs and artists that want to be featured as well.
One error that you can make here is that you spam them with fifty messages in a day.
Don’t do that.
No one wants to get tons of e-mails a day from just one person. It’s both unprofessional and annoying.
Another way to get noticed from a first e-mail is creating a simple template that you can edit to make quickly specify your intentions and be straight to the point, and then send it to them.
I wouldn’t suggest CC-ing every blog’s e-mail in one go because, that’s just rude and comes off as uncaring.
Also, never add any links in your first e-mail.
It should just consist of a quick introduction followed by your request of being featured. If they respond back then that’s when you can talk more about what you do, how you can help them in return, and show them what you have to offer. A link or two is acceptable in the second or third e-mail, depending on whether they asked for one.
Things To Watch Out When Doing Emails
Yesware
A tool I use whenever I send out an e-mail is called Yesware. It’s an amazing tool that can store your templates, tracks your e-mails, and tells you when an e-mail you sent has been open or not.
With this you can send a secondary e-mail to the blogger and gently remind them that you sent one a few days ago.
Pretty handy, right?
Unfortunately, it comes with a price. You can avail the free trial and, if you enjoy using it, can decide on whether or not you want to pay for the service.
Don’t worry if you don’t get a response quickly. Give it time, a week, a month, or maybe even a few days and send an e-mail again. The key here is to try and stay fresh in their minds without coming off as annoying or overbearing.
Use A professional press pack, or press kit
Now, when you get a response, some blogs will actually want a press pack. But what is a press pack?A professional press pack, or press kit (also known as a media kit), is a page on your website that contains resources and information for reporters and publishers.
The point of a press kit is that it easily gives reporters, writers, bloggers, etc., a quick way to learn about you, your brand and your content, with the added bonus of having photos that they can use when they want to write about
you.
So why should you have one? It makes the job of introducing yourself to people much easier and is
generally less of a hassle to talk about what you do and what content you create.
A great way to create an amazing press kit is by using this website that I use frequently called Canva.com. It helps you make amazing, high quality photos that you can then include in your press kit— all for free!
If you don’t know how to use Canva, there’s a really helpful course on my blog that shows you the basics of how to use it. Just go and look it up when you’re done with this blog.
Another place to get amazing artwork and somewhere to get the grunt work out of the way so that you can focus on creating more content, is called Fiverr.
Fiverr is a place where freelancers are waiting for work to be given to them for a small fee.
I usually go on this site when I don’t want to blog, and as a blogger, that’s terrible news. I don’t like writing but I’ve gotten fonder of blogging and podcast making.
But when I don’t have the time, I go on Fiverr and find someone to transcribe my audio podcasts for a great price.
Another little tip that I’m going to leave here is that, I’ve received a ton of e-mails where people use street talk.
I say, leave the street talk for when you’re on the streets and don’t bring them into the e- mails.
It’s going to come off as unprofessional and very, very odd. Also remember to always listen to what the blogger wants in return for getting you featured. It’s going to make them cooperate more than you’d think.
That’s all for this blog. I hope these guidelines are helpful and you can even adapt them into your own personal way, so that they’re more useful to you. Tune in next time for the last part about ways to get featured on hip hop blogs.
