Being a successful musician can take time and effort, and all musicians initially start at zero fans, so what things can they do to build a fanbase?

A hip-hop artist from Little Rock, Ark., WordPlay T. Jay has some advice for what works best when trying to build an audience.

The least helpful thing, he said, is actually social media. Although musicians can build a following via likes and shares, ultimately, that following belongs to the social media platform and would disappear without it.

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post or utilize social media,” T. Jay said. “It’s just that once you build that fanbase, they belong to that platform. You have to convert them to a platform that is one-to-one where you can communicate with them.”

T. Jay suggests getting fans onto email or text notification platforms and using websites like www.patreon.com to build loyal support.

A more effective tactic for building a fan base is targeted ads.

“You can make ads to draw in new fans, but if not executed properly, you can spend a lot of money putting ads out to people who are not interested in them,” T. Jay said. “You have to start big, then boil it down and target people most likely to interact with your ads and become fans of your music.”

Finally, T. Jay said the best way to build a fanbase seems like the simplest — make good music.

“That’s the best way to build and get a following,” he said. “A lot of times, musicians work on their business but don’t focus on the music and the songs they are making. A good song has its own marketing built in because people will share it and grow your popularity.

“I understand first-hand how hard this can be because sometimes it takes me 20 iterations of a song before I get something I think is good enough.”

For more information about building a fanbase, check out T. Jay’s video below!