An effective marketing can revolutionize your type beat business. In this article, I'll share how I've developed a systematic approach to selling type beats online and why it's worked so well for many producers, including myself.
When I started producing type beats three years ago, I experimented with various marketing strategies. Initially, I had no concrete plan for how these activities would complement each other, but after some time, I realized I had unconsciously created a well-functioning marketing flywheel. Similar to how many successful beat-makers have built their empires through trial and error.
A marketing flywheel is a self-reinforcing system where each effort amplifies the next, creating momentum over time. Like a physical flywheel, it spins faster with continuous input, but it often takes years of deliberate work and iteration to achieve optimal results.
Generates Consistent Sales Every Month
I've previously written about how the long-term nature of our marketing strategy has led to an increasing number of beat sales over time. While the market has become more competitive, our marketing flywheel continues to generate consistent sales each month.
In today's saturated beat market, when it's harder to stand out, having an effective marketing system is more crucial than ever. Our flywheel has therefore been particularly valuable in recent years.
Our Type Beat Marketing Flywheel
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a great marketing flywheel - it largely depends on your style and target audience. I usually describe our marketing flywheel in five parts. While we do more things, these are the central building blocks of our system.
1. YouTube & SEO
Our primary marketing channel when we started was YouTube. We've continued this for three years, as evidenced by our channel's growth. One purpose is obviously SEO - ensuring our type beats rank well in YouTube search results. But it's not the only purpose; we also use our YouTube presence to create content for other platforms.
2. BeatStars & Distribution
After establishing our YouTube presence, we needed a professional platform to sell our beats. BeatStars has been our home for nearly three years now. We've deliberately chosen to maintain different pricing tiers, where exclusive rights target serious artists while lease options cater to emerging talents.
3. Social Media
Social media is crucial for reaching our audience with our beats. By consistently sharing engaging content, we gain more followers, which further enhances the wheel's power and speed.
Our social media focus has evolved over time. Currently, we primarily focus on Instagram and TikTok, though we maintain a presence on other platforms. Short-form content has proven particularly effective for showcasing our beats.
4. Email Marketing
Another vital piece in reaching our audience is our email list. Currently, we have over 2,000 subscribers, and for us, email marketing is the perfect way to announce new beats and special offers. Our newsletter includes monthly beat collections, exclusive previews, and announcements about upcoming collaborations.
5. Paid Advertising
Last but not least, we use targeted advertising. We allocate a significant portion of our budget to ads, particularly on YouTube and Instagram. We advertise both our premium beats and use retargeting campaigns to reach users who've shown interest in our content.
Challenging to Execute
On paper, creating a functioning marketing flywheel might not sound too difficult, but it's challenging. Multiple activities need to happen simultaneously, and you need to remain persistent over time.
Yet, this challenge is precisely what makes a marketing flywheel so powerful. Many of your competitors won't be willing to invest the money and time required to succeed.
Finding the Right Pace
For me, finding the right pace for activities has been key, avoiding going too hard too fast. A concrete example is our YouTube uploads, where we maintain a consistent schedule of two uploads per week.
Start Small
You don't need to start with a large wheel containing numerous channels and tactics. Start small instead. We began with just YouTube and gradually expanded our presence to other platforms.
Even though this was a very simple marketing wheel, it worked well for us and became a solid foundation for building our current flywheel.
What are your thoughts on marketing flywheels for type beats? Are you thinking along these lines? Feel free to comment below!
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