Best email marketing for musicians and bands
Give away an unreleased demo for an email. Tag fans by city. Email before tickets go on general sale. SendFox is free up to 1,000 contacts, then $29 once for 5,000.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
Streaming apps own the listener. Social apps own the follower. The email list is the one thing a band owns, and it's the thing that sells out a 200-cap room in a city you've never played.
The example is Night Bus Choir, a made-up four-piece indie band. The band isn't real (yet). The setup, the emails and the screenshots are.
The form, field by field
- Fields: Email only. Every extra field costs signups.
- Button: "Send me the demo"
- What they get: The unreleased kitchen demo of "Last Stop".
- Where signups go: the Fans list, which starts the welcome automation.
Use it as a hosted link (your bio, a QR code, the back of a book) or paste one line of code to put it on your site.
Trade a demo for an email
"Join our mailing list" is what everyone says, and nobody joins. "Get the demo we didn't release" works because it's something fans can't get anywhere else.
Put the link in every bio, at the top of your YouTube descriptions, and on a sign at the merch table. Say it from the stage once a night. Once. Not after every song.
Lists and tags, with exact names
Create these on day one, with these exact names, so every email has an obvious place to go.
FanslistEveryone who downloads the demo.
city-chicagotagOne tag per city. Show emails go only to that city.
superfanstagFans who reply and share. Give them the presale code first.
The first automation, and the city trick
It runs when someone joins the Fans list. The second email asks what city they live in.
- Right away"Here's "Last Stop""The demo download link and the story of the kitchen recording.
- 3 days later"What city are you in?"Asks fans to reply with their city so the band can tag them.
- 10 days later"The 3 songs we'd play you first"Links to three tracks and one line about each.
When people reply, tag them by city in SendFox. Then when you book Denver, you email Denver, and nobody in Boise gets an email about a show they can't go to.
The tour announcement
Dates, when presale starts, the code, the link. And a reason not to wait.
Copy the text of this email
Hi,
We're going on tour in November. Six cities, six small rooms:
Nov 6 Chicago
Nov 7 Milwaukee
Nov 9 Minneapolis
Nov 12 Denver
Nov 14 Salt Lake City
Nov 15 Boise
Presale for this list starts Wednesday, October 14, at 10am local. Use the code NIGHTBUS. General sale is Friday.
[Button: Get presale tickets]
These rooms are small. Chicago holds 180 people. If you want to go, don't wait for Friday.
See you out there,
Theo, Maya, Jules and Sam
Presale codes are the best reason to be on a band's list. Use one every tour.
From the SendFox teamTour announcement month
- Mon Oct 5
Behind the scenes: "We're booking something. Can't say yet."
- Mon Oct 12
Tour announcement (above) to all Fans.
- Wed Oct 14, 9am
Presale starts in 1 hour. Code again.
- Fri Oct 16
General sale. Post it on social now, not before.
- Each show, 2 days before
That city's tag only: set times and doors.
Email your list before you post anything publicly. Fans who get tickets first stay fans. Fans who find out on Instagram after it sells out stop opening your emails.
Say you have 1,200 fans on the list and 150 of them tagged Chicago. If half the Chicago tag opens the presale email, 75 people see it.
If 20% of those buy in the presale, that's 15 tickets gone before general sale, in a 180-cap room.
Rough math, not a promise. Round numbers for illustration; they aren't SendFox data, and your list will do its own thing.
What a band uses in SendFox
Tags
Tag fans by city. Send a show email to one tag.
Every planScheduling to the minute
Presale reminders go out right on time.
Every planFan referrals
A built-in referral program gives fans a share link. You pick the reward, like a signed poster.
Every planPaid newsletters on Pro
Sell demos and early tracks to superfans by email, on your own Stripe account with no SendFox platform fee.
ProSubject lines
Don't buy followers. Don't buy emails either.
You'll see offers for "50,000 music fan emails". Don't. Those people never asked to hear from you, they'll mark you as spam, and inbox providers will start filtering you for the fans who did sign up.
Grow it slowly and it'll actually work. 300 people who chose to hear from you will buy more tickets than 30,000 who didn't.
And ask for replies. "What city are you in?" and "What song should we play in Denver?" get answers, and those answers tell you where to book the next tour.
Settings for a band's list
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| From name | Night Bus Choir | Fans recognize the band name before a person's. |
| From email | An address you actually read | Replies go to your from address. Replies are the best signal you'll get. |
| Send time | On-sale or release day, 9am local | An hour before the public post. Campaigns schedule in your time zone. |
| Double opt-in | Leave it on to start | Confirmed subscribers mean fewer typos and fake signups. Single opt-in is available on Pro, or on Lifetime after a one-time domain setup. |
| Lists and tags | Fans, city-chicago, superfans | So each email goes only to the people it's for. What each one is for is spelled out in the lists and tags section. |
| Engaged only | On for promos, off for must-read news | It sends only to people who opened in the last 90 days or joined recently. |
| Footer | Nothing to add | SendFox adds your mailing address and an unsubscribe link to every campaign. You'll need to enter your address before your first send. |
What it costs
Free
1,000 contacts, 3,000 sends a month. 1 Smart Page, 1 form, 1 automation.
Lifetime
5,000 contacts and 300,000 total sends. Unlimited automations, Smart Pages and forms.
Pro
From 5,000 contacts and 100,000 sends a month. Paid newsletters, teammates, no SendFox branding.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | Sends | Smart Pages, forms, automations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 | 3,000 / month | 1 of each |
| Lifetime | $29, once | 5,000 | 300,000 total | Unlimited |
| Pro | From $19 / month | 5,000 to 250,000 | From 100,000 / month | Unlimited |
Free and Lifetime emails carry a small SendFox footer; Pro removes it. Pro also adds paid newsletters on your own Stripe account, MCP access and teammates. Current plans: sendfox.com/pricing.
Free up to 1,000 fans. $29 once for 5,000. Paid newsletters are on Pro, from $19/month. Everything else here works on Free and Lifetime.
How that compares to 12 other tools at 5,000 to 100,000 subscribers: email marketing pricing compared.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing platform for musicians?
One that is cheap, simple and lets you time emails to a release or presale. SendFox is free for 1,000 contacts, then $29 once for 5,000, with signup pages and scheduling on every plan.
How do I grow a mailing list as a band?
Give away something fans can't get elsewhere, like a demo, and put the link everywhere fans already find you. Mention it from the stage once a night.
Can I email only fans in one city?
Yes. Tag fans by city and send a show announcement to that tag.
Can I sell exclusive content to fans?
Yes, on Pro. Paid newsletters run on your own Stripe account with no SendFox platform fee.
Copy this setup this afternoon
Free for 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Import from Mailchimp, Kit or a CSV.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
Keep reading
The example senders on this page are made up. The screenshots are from a SendFox demo account set up to match them, before any emails were sent.