From The Desk Of: Vincent M. Newton
President: Torontogospel.ca
Congratulations on the completion of your Gospel album! All the
hard work, dedication, and countless hours making the CD have finally
paid off. I believe that music itself is a Ministry. Countless lives have
been transformed by Gospel music. I am sure you are very excited and eager
to promote your latest project.
Unfortunately, there are very few websites for Gospel
musicians to expand and promote their Ministry. I have discovered several
websites that cater to independent artists, but they all have one thing
in common – Gospel music is always left out! Imagine
that, the most beautiful music in world – excluded!
The few sites that sell Gospel music also sell a variety of other types
of music. People who frequent these sites are unlikely
to end up purchasing a Gospel album. Instead, they may purchase a Rock,
Hip-Hop, or R&B CD. As a result, your album ends up getting “lost
in the crowd.”
Attention
Independent Artists!
I also believe that there are lots of talented individuals and groups
who have not been discovered. They have decided to use their voices and/or
instruments to spread the Gospel. Since the major Gospel labels cannot
sign every artist, many talented singers and musicians are left out in
the cold. Lack of talent or motivation is not the problem. The
real culprit is lack of exposure. Album promotion is an issue
that every Gospel singer must tackle. If not correctly, your project may
have little success. Even worse, your album may not even get noticed at
all. Instead of reaching millions of people worldwide, your project ends
up collecting dust on a shelf.
Promoting Your Album
In order to successfully promote your work, it makes sense to place your
album in front of individuals who actually enjoy listening
to gospel music. These are the same people who attend church, gospel concerts,
and sing in the Church Choir. These are the people who will support your
Ministry. These are the people who will spread the word. This is where
you need to be!
What Is The G.A.P.P?
The Gospel Artist Promotion Program (GAPP) was developed
to ensure that your music Ministry touches as many lives as possible.
Your Ministry deserves all the exposure it can handle. By now, you have
probably performed at dozens of local Church events and Gospel concerts.
I am confident that countless individuals have been blessed
by your message in song.
There Will Always Be Something Special About Alive Performance!
Going out to a Gospel Concert is always fun. People will always enjoy a good concert. Having said that, giving live performances does have its limitations. For instance, you are limited by time and space. Your concert is scheduled at a specific date and location. Once you step off the stage, the music stops. You can no longer Minister to your listeners.
Share Your Ministry With Millions Of Individuals Who Love Gospel Music
You
need to add another dimension to your Ministry. Having
an online presence will allow you to reach Millions of people worldwide.
Everyday, I receive emails from people who want to purchase
Gospel music.
“Hi, I am writing you from the British Virgin
Islands (Tortola) to find out if the music of New Dawn is available for
purchase as I am most interested in adding them to my collection.”
--Ellsworth Flax
Here
Is Another Email I Received…
“I really enjoy your website. Where could I buy
the song Attitude of Gratitude by Favored? What CD is that song on?”
--Tracey S., N.J
Establishing an online
presence will allow you reach out to countless individuals from around
the Globe!
Canadian
Exposure...
Every week, thousands of people from Toronto, Montreal,
Windsor, and other Canadian cities visit my website. Expand your Music
MInistry beyond the American border!
The Canadian Gospel scence is virtually untapped.
How Should You Promote Your Project?
Some methods are better
than others. You could give out flyers at every Church in your city or
at your local mall. You could call and notify your local radio station
about your album release. Later on, I will reveal my innovative approach
to Album Promotion.
.
Why Should I Choose the GAPP For Promoting
My Album?
Great Ranking on Google / Yahoo
I am sure you have heard about the search engine Google.
If not, Google is the most popular search engine on the net. Each day,
millions of people visit Google.com in hopes of finding more information
about a product or service. They do this by entering keywords or search
phrases. Google then produces a list of related websites. Google has developed
a complex algorithm that determines
the importance and placement of each website. From Google's
perspective, websites that appear closer to the top are deemed "more
important.” There are a variety of factors that determine a
website's ranking.
Some of the major factors are:
1. Age of the Website
· Older and more established websites apparently outrank new websites.
2. Link Popularity (amount of other websites that link
to the site)
3. Structure of the Website
· Does the site have a good theme / silo structure?
4. Keyword Density
5. Directory Inclusion
· Is the website listed in the major directories?
6. Effective Use of Meta, Description and Alt Tags
7. The list goes on and on…seriously!
When somebody visits Yahoo or Google and types in "Listen
to gospel music", that person is actively
seeking a website where they can hear gospel music. As
my friend Dennis often says, "Conversion not required.
Please note, I am not suggesting that my website appears on the 1st page
for every single search phrase. That's impossible. For instance,
if you visit yahoo.com
and enter "listen to gospel music",
my site has the # 1 position. However, when you enter
"free gospel music" my website appears on the 2nd
page on yahoo.
So What's My Point?
Search engines are complicated creatures. Google is constantly tweaking
and adjusting its algorithm in an attempt to provide the most accurate
search results. Nevertheless, my website is highly ranked on all
of the major search engines for a variety of search phrases related to
Gospel Music!
I cannot tell you how many emails I get from people who stumbled onto my website after using Google or Yahoo. Many of you found my website because you were actually looking for gospel song lyrics:
"I have to
give you a standing ovation for the creation of the site, my brother.
Down here in Boston, we don't really have a place where we can listen
to gospel like you can on the site, so it truly is a blessing to see how
God is moving in the world.…I actually stumbled across the site
looking for song lyrics…"
--Bro Kenneth Pritchard Jr. (Boston, MA)
Once again, here is an individual who was actively seeking out Gospel
music and song lyrics. Notice the keyword, "looking." You do
not have to convince Brother Pritchard Jr. that Gospel music is good.
You do not have to remind him to support Gospel music. He already knows
that. His only concern is finding a place where he could enjoy some good
music. Here is the bottom line - You need to place your project in front
of people who actually love Gospel Music. You also need to find a place
that can provide a steady stream of exposure.
Traffic
Statistics
Torontogospel.ca now receives over 100,000 unique visitors
each week. This averages out to approximately 15,000 different
individuals each day! You can rest assured there is no better
place for you to promote your latest project. The week of June 5th, 2006
saw a remarkable spike in traffic. Click here
to view the chart.
A Long Term Approach
Charging you $700.00 for 1 week of advertising would not be fair. Seriously,
how much exposure could you possibly receive in 7 days? Most marketing
experts agree that you must expose potential buyers to an offer numerous
times over an extended period of time in order to achieve any tangible
results. For this reason, I have decided that the minimum “run time”
will be 6 months. Anything less would not be worthwhile. You need to have
a long-term strategy to help promote success.
A Three-Phase Approach Is Used To Highlight
Your Album Release
PHASE
1 - The
initial stage involves allowing users to actually see your face and/or
album cover. By utilizing a variety of standard ad units including banners,
billboards, doorway ads and our innovative iPOD Ads, your album will receive
instant exposure. Each advertising package will have different options
for you to choose.
PHASE 2 –
The second phase involves notifying our growing mailing list about your
Gospel album. This is commonly referred to as an Email Blast. Currently,
our list consists of over 3000 members. Each subscriber will be encouraged
to purchase your CD and also “spread the word.” This is done
to create a viral effect.
PHASE 3 - The third and final
stage is what sets Torontogospel.ca apart from other
websites. The Buy Link -
This is the fun part. As you already know, www.Torontogospel.ca allows
even the first time visitor to listen to Gospel music for free by simply
clicking on the song title. Once you join the GAPP, we will place a Buy
link right next to each one of your songs. Once clicked, users will be
instantly taken to your personal website. If you signed
up with Cdbaby.com, listeners will be sent to your CD baby page
where they can learn more about your Ministry and purchase your CD.
You Must Allow People To Hear Your Music!
I cannot overemphasize this enough. Long gone are the days of the 30 second
clip / sample. This is extremely annoying to people! Don’t believe
me?
Listen to what Mrs. Cenia J. Cliett of Middle Georgia
had to say:
“Thank you
so very much for having the heart to step out on faith for free to give
your listeners a chance to get acquainted with God’s kingdom without
getting annoyed with having to pay to sample an entire
song before purchasing the CD. This is truly an inspirational
move.”
Listening Versus Downloading – Read This!
Mrs. Cliett Went On To Say:
”I am truly impressed by your courage to keep this
site clean from downloading songs illegally as well as viewers downloading
to make there own personal CDs. This is a win / win situation all the
way around!”
This is a crucial point since many visitors would not feel comfortable
using the site if downloading was permitted.
But
Wait, There’s More! Listen To What Denise Had To Say…
”Hello there, I am just writing to say, I love this website…ever
since I discovered it, I must have purchased over 15 CD’s”
- Denise Morgan, Detroit MI
Listening
to Entire Songs v.s. Samples Increases Sales!
Allowing visitors to hear an entire song actually increases sales! It
gives listeners an opportunity to really find the songs they will enjoy.
If somebody really loves a song, they will buy it. You are encouraged
to strike some sort of balance. I am not suggesting that you make your
entire album available for listening. No way!
However, allowing listeners to hear a handful of songs is a step in the right direction. If you choose, you could add some tracks from past projects, or few new songs. The choice is yours!
Exposure
In Canada
It's time to
expand your music Ministry outside
of the United States border. Many American artists & record labels
do not realize that Toronto is an untapped market. Toronto, is Canada's
largest city and the 5th largest city in North America.
With a population of 3.5 million, Toronto continues to be the highest
selling market of Gospel Music in Canada. It is for this reason that you
must access this market.
The Gospel Artist Promotion Program can do this for you! In addition,
you will also increase your chances of getting booked to perform
live in Canada's largest city. All of the major event promoters
and organziers visit this website. These individuals are very receptive
to booking new and established artists for upcoming concerts & events.
Remeber, all of your booking details will be included in your Artist biography.
You will also gain exposure in other Canadian
cities:
1) Montreal
2) Vancouver
3) Brampton
4) Mississauga
5) Calgary
6) Ottawa (The Nation's capital)
7) Hamilton
8) London
9) KIngston
10) Halifax
For package rates, visit our contact us page, and select Gospel Artist Promotion Program.