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This is a question that I am most commonly asked. The answer is pretty simple ' most independent artist do not understand that concept of marketing let alone online marketing.

Obviously I can not cover an entire marketing course in this article but I can however give you a few facts that will put you on the right road.

The first thing that you MUST do is learn to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience or in this case your fans. That is a lot easier said than done. Without a fan base you do not have a music career.

As a independent artist it is crucial that you own your own domain name. If you have MySpace as your primary internet presence you are making a huge mistake. Now before you go on a rant allow me to explain.

If you are using MySpace as your Internet presence you are placing your entire career in the hands of another company. Lets say that you have spent your time and effort in promoting your MySpace page and everyone knows that is where they can find you. You wake up tomorrow to realize that MySpace has decided to shut down while the getting is good. Where does that put you? I'll tell you where back at square one!

No I'm not suggesting that you forget about MySpace I'm just telling you it is a bad idea to have MySpace as your primary website.

MySpace should be used to drive traffic back to your domain, where you have control over your destiny.

Another common mistake that I see independent artist doing is they fail to invest in the business aspect of their careers. No I am going to guess that when you just read that last sentence you probably said to yourself, 'I do invest into my career.' If you do not have at least one Internet Marketing book or eBook you my friend are on the wrong track.

I can pretty much bet that you have your webpage set up all wrong.

Nine out of ten independent artist's websites are what I like to call, 'look at me websites.' The harsh reality of it all is nobody knows you! When a potential fan comes to your site they have one thing on their mind and one thing only, and that is WIIFM! That stands for 'What's In It For Me!' They want to know what do you have to offer them ' why should they come to your website over the million other independent artist? This is were your marketing strategies come into play!

I know this is going to sound a little crazy but lets role play for a few minutes. Let's say that you are a country music fan (the genre doesn't matter) and you go to a website and a video pops with a young lady on it and she says, 'I just want to thank all of my fans, for showing up at my last concert, and I appreciate your support' In fact I have two free tracks that I just posted for you online' Let me show you where to go download them now.' POW the video ends and you are automatically taken to a special download area exclusively for the fans!

How do you think that would make a fan feel? Do you think that someone would actually go and download the special fan tracks ' located is an exclusive area' Your dog on right they will.

I hope that this article sparked that marketing genius that dwells deep inside of all of us. I wish you the best of luck with your music career and I hope that I have the opportunity to do a personal interview with you real soon.

Tim Beachum ' Owner of the http://MusicBizCoach.com, http://MusicBusinessInaBox.com, http://Jackin4Beats.com, and author of the audio CD 'The Ultimate Guide To Self-Promotion'. You can contact Mr. Beachum via email at: timb@musicbizcoach.com.=