After a lengthy talk with a client, I wrote this down. It’s a simple outline for your next 500 customers.

First, all you need is a repeatable and reliable customer acquisition process that never runs dry. Easier said than done. But not even close to impossible. A lot of independent artists have this already set up. 

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about here, let me give you an example. Someone discovers you through Instagram Ads that target your ideal audience. By retargeting the right people - aka the people who engaged with your ads to some degree - you get some of these people into buying something from you. Then you upsell to them your higher-tiered products. Finally, you get them to become superfans that evangelize and do everything in their power to help and support you.

It doesn’t matter if you have already one up and running or are going to build your first. What’s important though is to focus on only one thing at a time. So if you focus on an Instagram Ads campaign, set it up correctly and analyze your data before you engage in the next process. 

Once you have a customer acquisition process up and running, it’s just a matter of numbers.

2-10% of your customers are interested in upsells. So if you have e.g. 100 customers, this could be 2-10 people. That’s why it’s a good idea to get a lot of “entry-level” (tier 0) customers before you focus on creating a bigger product. I would say a good number is 300 to 500. 

And then rinse and repeat. Because of these 2-10% customers interested in tier 1, 2-10% would be interested in the next tier. So let’s assume you have a conversion rate of 5% for each tier. With 10,000 entry-level customers (tier 0), you could get 500 customers (tier 1), to which you could upsell your next-level product (tier 2) with 25 people purchasing it. From there, a next-tier product might target only one person. But then again, if you only have one person investing 10k into you, it might be worth the risk. 

What I’m telling you here is not something you have to follow step-by-step. I know artists who started with higher-priced products. And you know best who your fans are and what they are willing to invest in you. From my experience, it’s always good to have a higher option for these few people that just have money to invest in you. Even if it’s just a virtual donation hat on Paypal.

As for the products, this could be anything and everything. Tickets, merch, digital stuff, memberships, and much more. Be creative. Innovate the market! Also, keep in mind that memberships add up over time. So if you have a monthly $5-membership, this adds up to $60 per year. That’s above the usual “entry-level” customers in the music industry. 

I noticed that having a reliable and repeatable customer acquisition system is the best option in most cases. 

How do you currently attract your customers?