Build Your Audience First as a New Christian Artist
As an experienced Christian music industry consultant, one of the most common questions I get from new Christian artists is "how do I get started if I have little to no budget?" The answer may surprise you - before spending thousands on professional recordings and marketing, focus first on building an audience organically through short video content.
I’d like to share some practical tips for new Christian artists to strategically build a fanbase from scratch using free social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. The key is creating a high volume of quality short, vertical video clips showcasing your artistry through covers, snippets of original songs, behind-the-scenes content and more.
Here are the main steps I recommend:
Set up accounts on the major video-friendly social platforms that make sense for the audience you want to attract.
Use your smartphone to record 15-30 second vertical video clips of you performing cover songs that represent your vibe as an artist. You can also tease short snippets of your original songs.
Aim to release 3-5 of these short videos per week across your platforms. Get creative with different locations and visuals.
Always include captions since most people watch muted, and write engaging descriptions that give context about the song/lyrics.
After posting 100 of these short clips consistently, you should have a good gauge of whether there is an existing audience interested in you as an artist.
The key is to be patient through this audience-building phase before investing heavily into music production. Let the data and engagement metrics guide where you invest your money. An audience-first approach allows you to validate your artistic vision before overspending.
Need help? Let’s work together.
