I’m going to say something that’s been true for years and that most musicians still ignore: your email list is more valuable than your social media following. Every single platform — Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, Facebook — can change its algorithm, reduce your reach, or disappear entirely. Your email list is the one audience you actually own.

Building an email list isn’t glamorous. It doesn’t go viral. But it’s one of the most impactful things an independent Australian musician can do for their career. Here’s how to do it properly.

Why Email Matters

The numbers are stark. An Instagram post reaches roughly 5-10% of your followers organically. A TikTok might reach more through algorithmic distribution, but the conversion to meaningful engagement is low. An email reaches nearly 100% of the inboxes on your list, and a well-written email achieves open rates of 25-40%.

For practical purposes: if you have 1,000 email subscribers and send a newsletter about an upcoming show, 250-400 people will see it. If you have 1,000 Instagram followers and post about the same show, 50-100 will see it. The difference in ticket sales is real.

Email also converts better. People who’ve given you their email address are already invested. They chose to receive your communications. That’s a fundamentally different relationship than a casual social media follow.

Getting Started

Choose a Platform

You don’t need anything fancy. The free tiers of these platforms are sufficient for most independent artists:

Mailchimp: Free for up to 500 subscribers. The most popular option, with templates and analytics. The interface is straightforward.

MailerLite: Free for up to 1,000 subscribers. Slightly simpler than Mailchimp but with most of the same features. I personally prefer it for musicians because the templates are cleaner.

Buttondown: Free for up to 100 subscribers. Minimal and text-focused. Good for artists who want their emails to feel like personal letters rather than newsletters.

Create a Sign-Up Form

Every platform above provides embeddable sign-up forms. Put yours in three places:

Your website. If you have one (and you should), the sign-up form should be prominent. Not buried in the footer — on the homepage, above the fold.

Your Linktree or link-in-bio page. Many fans will click through from your social media bio. Your email sign-up should be near the top of your link page.

At your merch table. A physical sign-up sheet at live shows captures people at peak engagement. Have a pen that works, keep the sheet tidy, and enter the addresses into your platform after the show.

Growing the List

Offer Something of Value

People give their email addresses in exchange for something. The most effective offers for musicians:

Early access to new music. “Sign up and get new songs before they hit streaming.” This costs you nothing and creates genuine exclusivity.

Free download or bonus track. Offering a track that’s only available via email is a proven lead magnet. Record an acoustic version, a demo, or a track that didn’t make the album. Give it away in exchange for an email address.

Behind-the-scenes content. Studio footage, demo recordings, lyric notebooks, tour stories — content that’s too personal or informal for public social media works well as an email exclusive.

Promote Consistently

Mention your email list regularly on social media. Not every post, but frequently enough that followers know it exists. A monthly reminder in your Instagram stories, a mention in your TikTok bio, and a prompt in your Spotify bio all help.

At every live show, mention the email list from stage. “If you want to know about shows before anyone else, sign up at the merch table.” Simple, direct, effective.

Use Every Touchpoint

Every interaction with a fan is an opportunity to grow your list:

• Include a sign-up link in your email signature
• Add it to your Bandcamp page
• Mention it in podcast interviews or radio appearances
• Include a QR code on physical merch (the inside of a vinyl sleeve, the back of a poster)

What to Send

The biggest fear artists have about email lists is: “What do I even send?”

The answer is simpler than you think. A monthly email covering:

What’s happening. Upcoming shows, new releases, projects you’re working on. Be specific and enthusiastic.

Something personal. A tour story, a reflection on the creative process, a recommendation (book, album, podcast). This is what makes your email feel different from a press release.

A clear call to action. What do you want the reader to do? Buy tickets? Stream a new song? Pre-save an album? Pick one thing and make it easy.

Keep emails short. 300-500 words is plenty. Write in your voice, not in marketing speak. If your stage banter is casual and funny, your emails should be too.

How Often to Send

Monthly is the sweet spot for most independent artists. It’s frequent enough to stay in people’s minds but not so frequent that it feels like spam.

If you have a lot happening (album release cycle, major tour), you might bump to fortnightly temporarily. If it’s a quiet period, monthly is fine. Even a brief “Hey, I’ve been in the studio, here’s what’s coming” email maintains the relationship.

Don’t send emails only when you want something. If every email is “BUY TICKETS” or “STREAM MY NEW SONG,” people will unsubscribe. Provide value between the asks.

Measuring Success

The metrics that matter:

Open rate: 25-40% is healthy for music emails. Below 20% suggests your subject lines need work or your content isn’t resonating.

Click rate: 3-5% is typical. If you’re getting higher, your calls to action are working well.

Unsubscribe rate: Under 1% per email is normal. If it’s higher, you’re either sending too frequently or the content isn’t what people expected.

List growth rate: Aim to add 5-10 new subscribers per month through consistent promotion. It’s a slow build, but it compounds.

Start today. Even if your first email goes to twenty people, those are twenty people who care about your music enough to read what you write. That’s worth more than a thousand passive followers who’ll never buy a ticket.

Your email list is your career insurance policy. Build it before you need it.