Finding Your Target Audience

There are a lot of different ways that you can go about finding your target audience. You can come at it from a very analytical and business-like standpoint, checking every platform to see who is noticing you, what they do, where they live, and anything else you can learn. Keep in mind that it is important to know who you're talking to, but only after you have said what you came to say. The best place to start when looking for your target audience is with yourself. Because your music is so influenced by your lived experience, think about things that you like to do, outside of music, and find other people who like to do those things. Chances are, they'll also like your music. Then you can think about your message and who needs to hear it. Look at artists who have a sound and a message that are similar to yours. Take note of their target audience and see if you want to market to those same people. You could even ask to collaborate with these artists on a song or on social media to connect with their audience. There are a lot of technical ways to collect your audience. If you focus on putting out work that is honest and accurately represents your message, the people who are meant to hear it will come. The most effective way is to find the balance between focusing on these two approaches - the message vs. the technical tools. People love to find music that they can relate to. Once you find these people, you can use the technical tools to make sure that you are still able to reach them (because the algorithms on social media are always changing). Also, if your audience grows sizably, you'll need those numbers to help learn about your audience. You won't be able to connect with them as much on a personal level. If it takes a while to find your people, don't be discouraged! Everyone has to start small, and with a smaller audience, you'll be able to connect with them on a more personal level. Learning about your smaller audience is important because the people who are attracted to your music at the beginning of your career will likely be similar to the people who find you later on. It will give you a sense of who these people are for the entirety of your career.

"Make obtaining 2000 paying customers a priority over getting 10,000 social followers or a million streams." ~ Jill Riley CEO/Owner