Using ‘Atomic Habits’ to Help Promote Your Music
After reading ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear I have been trying to incorporate some of the principles into my daily workflow. It has made me consider how this approach could help you as Music Artists.
What are Atomic Habits?
Atomic habits are small, incremental changes or actions that when implemented consistently over time can bring big transformations and improvements. The word ‘Atomic’ implies that the habits are small like atoms but also that the effects can be big like the nuclear energy in atomic bombs. If we focus on making tiny adjustments to our daily routines and behaviours we can create positive habits that move us towards our goals.
As Music Artists you may already have habits and rituals that help you with the creative process. For instance, setting your environment up for writing, setting time aside for creativity, lighting candles for ambience, organising regular times for collaborations and noting down ideas when inspiration hits. You may also have habits and rituals for practice and preparation such as warming up your voice, setting aside practice time, arranging rehearsals, writing out lyrics and set lists etc.
However, most Music Artists I work with find promoting their music difficult and this area is where these principles could really help and make a big difference. We all know that the key to maximising your music promotion is consistency and persistence but using Atomic Habits for this may help keep you on track and help you maintain the consistency needed to move the dial. Atomic Habits can be utilised to increase your visibility, expand your reach and grow your fanbase.
There are a million ways we could develop Atomic Habits to improve an artist project but we need to keep our goals achievable. I have to admit after reading the book I was both inspired and overwhelmed in equal measure. I have been processing it subconsciously for a few months and now feel changes could be made and new habits formed in my own daily Artist Management tasks. In this blog I am only going to choose two aspects of music promotion to consider so that I don’t overwhelm you. My suggestions are micro and simple to execute.
Social Media Engagement: We all know that consistent engagement helps to build a loyal fanbase and that we need to comment, interact and share content. Setting aside specific times each day can help you achieve this. However, stacking this habit onto another can reinforce it. For instance, doing this every day on your train commute to work, while you drink your morning coffee or in the first ten minutes of your lunch break. But what more can we do to push a project forward?
Write a short ‘hello and thank you for following me’ type DM for whatever social media platform you use. No selling, just conversation, write it in your artist tone of voice so it sounds genuine.
Store it somewhere you can easily copy and paste from (Apple notes would be my choice for this as it is on all my devices).
Copy and paste your message to three followers every day. Keep the number small so you are more likely to successfully form the habit.
Write a short ‘hello and introduction’ type DM.
Look up an artist’s profile who you think has a similar fanbase to you.
Send your copy and pasted DM to three of their followers who don’t already follow you
Outreach to Press/Blogs/Playlists: If you are doing a DIY press pitch then you will only feel you are doing yourself a good service if you are contacting people and ticking them off your list. Make this easy for yourself by having an email prepared that you copy and paste introducing yourself and pointing them towards your EPK. It would help to get them on your side if you add a bit of personalisation relevant to the recipient.
The time involved in this task is taken up by researching who to send the email to. Develop habits of noting down new information. Screenshot posts and store them in an ‘info’ album on your phone. Keep your eyes open for artists who post ‘thanks for writing a review’ or ‘thanks for the playlist add’. Log anything that helps you build up a bank of people to contact and some context for personalisation. For example, ‘I love the review you wrote about ****’s latest single’.
Even if you sent one outreach email a day you would have sent seven by the end of the week and thirty by the end of the month! This habit exposes your music to more people and can expand your network.
Daily Tasks: 3 X hello DMs to followers, 3 X hello DMs to non followers, 1 X Outreach email
The important thing is to create a system that you know you can stick to. By focusing on small, manageable changes and consistently practising them we can gradually transform our behaviours and achieve long-term positive outcomes. The cumulative effect of these small habits over time can lead to significant growth and increased productivity.
What system are you going to create for yourself and your artist project? I would love to know!