Why Canva?
“I’m not a graphic designer, I just make music…”
-Every music creative on planet Earth that doesn’t like to do anything else other than their craft
Yes, I know and #same. 🤷🏾♀️ But the great thing is that Canva has pretty much everything you need as an independent music creative from fliers to album art to logos to merch!! There is pretty much nothing you can’t do on Canva and it’s very user friendly so if you don’t know anything about graphic design, you can definitely figure it out! I have 2 left left index fingers...or whatever people say when you can’t draw.😬😬😬 So trust me, you can absolutely do what you need to do if you can’t afford a graphic artist.
Here’s FOUR WAYS I used Canva to market myself!
1. Youtube Thumbnails
I am a nerd who doesn’t like to reinvent the wheel so I do lots of research on effective Youtube strategies and interesting thumbnails are one of the easiest and cost-free ways to give your channel some eye-grabbing swag!
Check out my favorite thumbnails and video creations!
2. Tour Marketing
I planned my own indie tour with Sofar Sounds in January 2019. I was so proud of myself because when I say I did EVERYTHING myself, I mean EVERYTHING!!! I had been following Sofar’s brand for a few years and saw on their blog ways to leverage their shows to create a tour. So that’s exactly what I did! I gained a ton of fans and really got good practice on building a show and the business of how to DIY tour!
I wanted to make a tour poster so I could give myself something to commemorate the beginning of the life I wanted! So for now, the signed poster is with my mom, where I keep everything I care about. 😂 Check out all the signatures below!
BONUS:
Watch my SOFAR SOUNDS Performance below!
Make Me Feel X Kiss LIVE @Moto Spirits Distillery in Brooklyn, NY
3. Event Marketing
My listening party was one of the most FUN concerts to date that I have produced! It was the first time my family and pretty much everyone who wasn’t a part of the project or concert heard my original music. I released singles and they were well-received but this was the moment to really see if people would enjoy it 🗣 LIVE and DIRECT!!
It was also the first time I had a marketing plan, executed it and it yielded the exact results I wanted! It is REALLY important for EVERYTHING you do to have a marketing plan!! More than a business plan, a marketing plan is KEY!
Canva gave me all the tools I needed to have everything automated and ready to advertise the concert and the SELF AWARE EP subsequently. I STILL use the content from that concert...AND will continue!
Catch my Listening Party Promo Reel BELOW!
Watch the Live Performance of “Best in Me” from this event BELOW!
4. Merchandising
I am not a graphic designer, nor am I a fashion designer! But what I am is RESOURCEFUL! I created my first round of merch with a friend and their merchandise company. This was helpful as an indie artist because I could easily make sales on the road and at home. I have since switched to dropshipping for this current line and Canva was the place that I designed the merch. I was able to take what I saw in my mind and use this super simple app to bring it to life for my fans and the FAM (see pics BELOW! 😜😉)
In Conclusion…
I wholeheartedly recommend that you get familiar and friendly with Canva if you are doing things independently! I have been able to unlock some cool features for a few dollars or if you are in a season where you are using it a lot, I suggest budgeting a few months of an upgraded subscription of Canva Pro so you can have what you need at all times and not pay each time for locked features. They put the stuff that makes you go “oooohhhh that’s cute...or that’s dope” under the locked features so I have definitely used both!
TL;DR?
What: Use Coupon Code ”BLOGFAM15” to get 15% off your SuperWoman Collection order!
Order TODAY: tamarajademusic.com/shop
Peace,
P.S.: What are some of your favorite apps you use for artist marketing? Put it in the comment section below!
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