Make Money with Your Music - the Top 5 Ways
Songwriters dream of making their living by writing, and
sometimes performing, their songs. But until that day comes
they've got to make a living somehow! Sound familiar?
With a little imagination, you can probably find a way to
convert your love for music and songwriting into a means of
making money. To help you get started, here is a list of ideas
worth looking into:
1. Sell your tapes and/or CD's online.
It is really remarkably easy (and pretty darn inexpensive) to
set up your own web site and begin selling your tapes, CD's, and
whatever else you have to offer. And, although it's beyond the
scope of this article to tell you in detail how to do this, as a
minimum you will need: a website; a web host; a means of
collecting money (you can get a merchant account or use a
service such as PayPal); and, of course, visitors to your
website. 2. Write and sell an eBook about your music expertise.
An eBook, or electronic book, is extremely popular these days on
the Internet. The benefits to you include ease of production and
very low delivery cost. Customers benefit from the instant
gratification of downloading the book immediately after
purchasing it.
Don't forget, information is the hot product for today,
especially on the Internet. With a little effort, you can surely
come up with special information that others would be willing to
pay for.
3. Organize contests.
Why not organize a songwriting contest for all the songwriters
in your area? Or, better yet, use the Internet and start one on
a national basis! Let's say you collected 250 entries at $10 a
pop... that's $2,500. Even if you offered up $500 in prizes, you
still walk away with $2,000! You might also get local
songwriting clubs, music stores, etc., to help with the
advertising and even contribute to the prize offerings.
4. Publish an online newsletter. Publishing your own newsletter,
or "ezine", can be an excellent way to earn some extra money.
And, although some folks have succeeded at offering a fee-based
newsletter, it's much easier to publish a free one.
Three of the most common ways to make money with your free
newsletter are: sell advertising space, promote affiliate
programs, and advertise the sale of your own products, such as
your tapes and CD's.
5. Start your own jingle business.
There is alot of money to be made in writing jingles. And, as a
songwriter, you probably already have all the equipment you will
need to get started. It's also good training because it helps
you learn to "write on demand".