6 Ways To Ask Your Fans For Money

The new music industry is all about connecting people and removing some of the old tiered barriers between artists and fans. You can create stronger relationships by simply allowing your fans to help out when you need it.

By asking your fans to fund certain projects, you are strengthening your core fan-base, and giving yourself some added security.

The following are a few atypical ideas to help you ask your fans for money.

Donations

This is probably the least effective method but could still work for some people. It’s no harder then putting a PayPal donation button on your site and asking your fans to donate some money.

However, there are better ways to ask your fans for money. Give them a reason to give. Many artists are doing this with some spectacular results.

Tour Help

Instead of just asking for a random donation, ask your fans to help you out on specific projects. If you’re heading out on tour you can ask them to help foot the bill and perhaps give them incentives along the way like jazz band The Jason Parker Quartet recently did on a tour of California.

PWYC Downloads

If you’re already offering free downloads on your website (and you should be) consider giving people a pay-what-you-can option. This gives fans the power to reciprocate your offering with one of their own.

Fan Funding

Fan funding is a great way to raise money to record your next album. Using services like Kickstarter, Kapipal and many others, you can offer fans different rewards and packages for sending you money. Toronto guitarist Christine Bougie is currently raising money for her new album using this method. Help her out!

Tip Jar

The good ole’ fashioned tip jar can be an effective (and highly underused) method for raking in a few more dollars at each show. Simply, set the jar at your merch table or at the bar, and ask the audience to tip if they like what they hear.

This method might not be for the purists, but, it all depends on your persona. If you’re outgoing, you can make this method even more effective by walking around the crowd after your show with your tip jar and mailing list in hand. People will be much more likely to part with their hard earned cash if you get out and meet them personally.

Subscriptions

Create a specialized part of your website entirely for premier content, targeted toward hardcore fans. To access this content have fans sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription.

If you are going to go this route, make sure it’s worth it. Provide tons of exclusive content that you aren’t already offering on your website for casual fans.

Some ideas can include:

• private web cam concerts for subscribers
• videos of you playing your songs and teaching others how to play them
• an intimate look into the writing process
• explanations of song lyrics
• access to backstage footage and unseen photos
• access to concert pre-sales
• and anything else you can think of

Warning: If you are going to create a subscription site, make sure you still provide plenty of interesting goodies on your main site to entice casual fans and keep them engaged as well.

I’m sure not all these methods will be ideal, or even embraced by all artists. But, that’s the point. Be an atypical artist by creating your own success, using whichever methods work best for you.

There is no right or wrong way to do this. Not all artists need to hold auctions on Twitter like Amanda Palmer, or take fans to Disneyland like Josh Freese, but those specific options worked well for both those artists. There’s nothing wrong with asking your fans for money, just make sure you do it your own way.

What atypical ways have you raised money for your art?

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Image by: Teb