I read an absolute gem of a post over on Puddlegum during the week that I thought I’d share with you all today. It’s about how to get a music blogger to take notice of your email promoting your music.

I get a few emails a week from people promoting music, both established acts and unsigned bands (which I have a preference for). Either way, Flick’s list is quite comprehensive and a good way to ensure your email gets attention. A poorly worded or formatted email can easily wind up in the bin regardless of whether your band is the next Led Zeppelin.

Here are Flick’s tips in condensed form (visit Puddlegum for all the comments):

1. Include the blogger’s name in the first line of the email.
2. Keep the email short.
3. Break your paragraphs up.
4. Use bold keywords to attract the eye.
5. Provide an MP3.
6. Avoid linking to WMA or WMV.
7. Include a link to your digital album.
8. Link to the artist’s website(s).
9. Provide images.
10. Don’t pester.

There are a couple of additional thoughts that I think people should be aware of:

1. Research what music the blog covers first. If your artist doesn’t fit with the type of stuff we write about, we probably won’t write about them. For example, Ravi Shankar and Beethoven need not apply.
2. Avoid far-fetched marketing hype. We hear a lot of bands who all sound the same. So when your press release leads me to expect an uplifting, almost out-of-body experience, the music better be damn good.
3. Follow-up opportunities are good. Like the opportunity to interview the band, or a handful of free CDs for the readers.
4. Link back to us. If you liked what we said, it’s always nice to be referenced and credited. Do it from the band’s website or MySpace page. It’ll get the fans involved in the conversation.

If you’re interested in having your band covered by Unreality Music, drop me an email to gerard at unrealitytv.co.uk. Alternatively, you can use our contact form.