Marketing music costs money! A lot of money in some cases. You have to spend money for merchandise, gas, flyers, websites, street team members, hotels, food, and more. The costs add up fast and they really never go away. Initially, when marketing a new artist or new song the costs can be very high just to get a base of marketing material needed for the campaign. Once you have your “base” material your physical product costs will run much lower, but your travel costs go way up. In fact, to fully push a project from conception to radio will run you somewhere around $300 - $750 a week not including any consultant, agent, or management fees. To most independent artists this is almost too much money to even think about spending. What is even worse is the fact that you will have to be away from your job or normal source of income while marketing your music on the road. Again, marketing music costs a lot of money!

If you are independently wealthy, good for you! Get to work and don’t look back. But for the other 99.99999% of independent artists reading this article... listen up! There are ways you can get your entire music marketing campaign paid for without selling your soul to the devil. It takes work, commitment, and massive follow through, but you can do it and you wont even have to give away a percentage of your company or your potential earnings. ... Best of all, it’s legal!

We are talking about corporate sponsorship. “...but you said I wouldn’t have to sell my soul to the devil!” Don’t worry, you still do not have to sell your soul. Corporate sponsorship has changed for the better over the past five years. Web 2.0, social networking, and the internet in general has made “interruption” marketing a big tabu by corporations. “Interruption” marketing is when you are interrupted for a commercial break, or when you receive an email saying “you have won... just send $19.99 and we will show you how to pick up your prize worth ten cents!” In the last five years “interruption marketing has stopped working. This is because of the popularity of the internet and social networking, particularly, how one-to-one communications and interactions are taking over how people spend their time at home where they used to be more open to hearing about something new or on sale. What it means for you and other independent artists is that corporations, large and small, are looking for a way to reach people that buy products in a new way.

As an independent artist or label you have something corporations and even small businesses do not have and never will have; masses of people watching you or your artists every move and wanting to get closer. These fans believe in what you say, do, think, and support. They go where you go, they read what they are told to read, listen to what they are told to listen to, and most important to corporations, they buy what you support and buy yourself. Your fans are worth millions of dollars to business folks.

Getting your hands on corporate marketing money is really not that hard. It does take time, effort, and follow through - meaning it will not happen overnight, but once you land one corporate sponsorship you can land ten more almost overnight. Corporations are like sheep. If they see another corporation or business has taken a chance by sponsoring you they will feel they are missing something and throw money at you just to see what happens. Really, it sounds a bit far fetched, but it is true!

Getting a corporate sponsorship to fund your music marketing efforts requires nothing more than research, a plan, a presentation, and the facts to back up your presentation. Be warned. Do not approach any business or corporation for sponsorship dollars without these four things no matter what! As you prepare for a corporate sponsorship you will talk about it to friends and family and you might get approached by businesses that heard about you and want to sponsor you. It does happen more than you would think. This is because it is the new way corporations and business are marketing their products and services! You may feel that if they approach you, you need to grab them while they are hot so they do not move on to the next artist to sponsor. Do not, under any circumstance - even if they beg, sit down to any sort of formal meeting with them before you have done your research, developed a plan, prepared a presentation, and gathered facts that will back up your plan and presentation. Do not blow them off, casually talk to them about what you are doing but do not say too much or give any numbers. It may be hard to believe, but this will make them want to give you money even more. Why? Because they will see that you are about your business and want to have the facts, figures, and plans in place before giving your presentation. They will wait, not forever, but they will wait for you to get your presentation prepared for a formal meeting.

Here is what you need:

Research
You need to know exactly what you need. Before you can ask for a dime of money from a corporation or business you need to know what you need money for, how it will be spent, and what you will receive by spending the money. Basically, you need a marketing plan. You need to create a budget to accomplish the goals of your marketing plan. These two items will detail what you will spend the money on, how many fans you will reach (sponsors want to know this), and what you expect to receive in return for spending the money; i.e. a lot more fans that will see the sponsors message.

Once you have a plan and budget, you need to research corporations and businesses. It is best to stay local, but look for local businesses that reach nationally. Examples would be T-Mobile, Subway, Western Outfitters, Etc. All these businesses have branches nationally but also have franchises locally in your market. This is important because if you start with a franchise and do good with them, you will be able to go to the corporate office and show them what you have already done using the business name. Once you find the corporation or business you want to connect with, you will need to find out who does what for the company. It is very important that you present your sponsorship package to the right person. There is no need to go to the owner of a company if he/she does not handle the businesses marketing and promotions.

You can do most research online at the company website. Search the site and look for a staff roaster or company directory. Is there a marketing department listed? If not, you might need to call the company to get the information. Do not try to be deceptive or just ask the first person who answers the phone “who handles your marketing” and then hang up. When you call state who you are, what you are doing, and what information you are trying to obtain. Be prepared. You might get a “we are not interested” or better yet, “hold on I will let you talk to the owner/CEO.” If you find yourself talking to the owner or CEO state who you are, what you are doing, and that as soon as you are ready you would like to submit a sponsorship proposal. Nothing more, nothing less. Again, by stating what you are doing you look a lot more professional!

While you are on the company website look to see what the company is involved with, how they currently market their products or services, if they have any other people/places they sponsor, etc. What you are looking for is information you can use during your presentation that will show the owner or CEO that you took the time to learn about the company. Remember, you want to show that you feel you can help them get customers and the only way you would know that you can do this is by knowing the business they are in.

Planning
Once you have a marketing plan and budget you will need to create a second marketing plan. This plan is not for how you will market your music, rather how you will market your corporate sponsor so they see a return for giving you money. You need to be creative, honest, and to the point. Corporations and businesses want to know how much they will get back if they invest in your marketing plan for their company. Remember, they are not giving you money because they like you, believe in your music, or need a tax deduction. They are investing in the marketing plan you create to bring them new business.

Your marketing plan must be based 100% on the fact that you have fans online, on the streets, and at shows that you will advertise their products and services to. This does not mean you have to sell out. But it does mean you have to come up with a plan to get their products and services in front of your fans not only in a way you feel comfortable with, but will also give the corporation a return on their investment. This can be in many forms; placement on your website, social networking sites, trailer, banners at live shows, announcements form stage, name drops during interviews, product placements in your music videos, t-shirts, writing a free jingle, etc. Fans understand sponsorships and endorsement deals. Do not worry about looking like you are selling out. It’s not selling out if you clearly state to your fans that your corporate sponsors are allowing you to continue by sponsoring your music marketing efforts. Selling out is wearing “Subway” shirts on stage while you are playing, not simply placing a subway logo on your banner or t-shirt.

As you come up with creative ways to market your corporate sponsors to your fans be sure you include ways to track your efforts. This way your sponsor will be able to see if your marketing plan is working and that will make them very happy. One great way of doing this is to create a “coupon” without the need of a physical coupon. Create a plan that the sponsor will discount their product or service by 10% if a customer mentions your “artist or group” name at the time of purchase. Corporate marketing folks love tracking methods and this will show them that you have put a lot of thought and concern into them seeing a high ROI (Return on Investment).

Presentation
Now that you know what you need, how much it will cost, where you will use the money received, and what you will give a corporation or business in return for giving you the money, you need to prepare to present the request for corporate sponsorship. Do not take this step lightly. You will be sitting in a room with one or more people asking them to invest in the entertainment industry during a time when nightly news reporters are saying “the music industry is doomed!” It is a tough sell, but not impossible if you go prepared. Remember, you have two things on your side; fans and the fact that the reporters have it wrong. The music industry, for the majors, is down, but the music industry for the indie artist is way, way, up! Your fans are worth millions of dollars to corporations. The more fans you have, the easier it will be to get a corporate sponsor.

How you prepare for your presentation is based on what you are offering. If you are going to place logos on t-shirts than have a t-shirt printed exactly like it will be displayed. If you are going to visit several sponsors do not get several different t-shirts. Use one or two shirts and put a circle with text in the middle that says “logo here.” This way you are not spending a lot of extra money on individual shirts for each possible sponsor. However, if you have the money to do so, it wouldn’t hurt to let them see their name on the actual t-shirt. The same goes for a banner, hats, etc. You don’t have to have the actual merchandise, but you do need some sort of mock-up of what it will look like. This can be in the form of a drawing on a poster board. Just make sure you create your mock-up on large scale. Do not make folks from across a room have to squint to see it!

If you plan includes you writing a jingle for the company make sure it is included in the presentation. If it is possible, perform it live at the time of the presentation. Do not ask if you can set up a full band or bring all your gear. If it can be done with a CD for backing music or an acoustic guitar do it, otherwise simply play a CD of the recorded jingle. You want to be able to walk into a meeting with only what you can carry alone, in your hands.

The very worst thing you can do is have a presentation that does not flow. If you are bad at speaking in front of a crowd then you need to find someone who can. It is not a bad thing to have someone present for you while you are in the room to take questions once the presentation is completed. In fact, it will make you look more professional for realizing your limitations and finding a solution. Keep you presentation to under ten minutes in length. Any longer and your audience will start to get board and loose interest.

Do not over dress. If you are a rock artist then look the part. If you are a hip hop artist than look the part. Do not over do it, but you are being judged by the entire presentation including your look. Think of it from their point of view. When they do regular marketing they spend days interviewing actors or models to find one that fits the image they are trying to put forth in the advertisement. You are giving them a marketing plan based on the entertainment industry. You have to look the part to get the role!

Facts
You have to present facts during your presentation. CEOs, owners, and marketing heads all love and need facts to make an informed decision to fund your project. Without facts to back up what you are saying you only have ideas. Ideas do not sell products or services. Facts do.

You need to have facts about your fans; how many, who they are, their demographic, etc. You need to have facts about the marketing plan you are presenting; how many shows will the money you receive allow you to perform, how many people are expected to attend each show, how many flyers with the company logo will you actually pass out for each show, etc.

Your website should be a big factor in what the company will get in return for sponsoring you or your artists. You have to give facts about how many visitors you receive daily, weekly, and monthly, how many of those visits are unique - meaning new fans, where those visits are coming from, and how long they stay on your website once they arrive. Website facts can be gathered from google analytics. Make sure you create an analytics profile well before your presentation, in fact, go do it now! This way you will have time for the facts to gather while you are doing the other work.

The thing about facts is that you can not stretch them. They have to be real. They have to be concrete, and they have to be verifiable. If they are not, you will not get what you are asking for. 99% of the time your facts will be checked as the company does it’s own research into you to see if you are a good investment. Do not lie!

If you are a new artist and just starting out it is ok. You just need a good marketing plan of how you will increase your fans, website hits, shows, etc. with the money you receive. Everyone wants to be a part of something new that is gaining momentum. In your case, you can give them the ride of their lives as you grow your fan base and stretch your reach in the entertainment industry. You just have to show them, and back it up with facts, what is possible, how you will do it, and how you will prove you are doing it. The more facts you can provide as a new artist the better your chances are at getting the money you are requesting.

Conclusion
Getting corporate sponsorship dollars is not hard. It does take a lot of work, follow through, and the ability to hear a bunch of “NOs” before you finally get a yes. Once you get a sponsor stay true to your word. Do as promised and document everything. As your marketing plan starts to work and the sponsor starts to realize the return on investment as promised, you will be able to use the facts of your first sponsorship to gain another. Be warned; new sponsors will talk to old sponsors. Make sure you do what you say, when you say it, and follow through with everything. The most important thing you can do for your corporate sponsors is keep communication channels open. Keep your sponsors informed on a weekly basis of how things are progressing, what you are doing, and how their money has helped you achieve your music marketing goals.

Peace,

Jai
“Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!”
©2009 Jai Hutcherson. All Rights Reserved.

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