Do comments from fans on Bandcamp album pages make a difference for getting more listeners for your music? HELL YES!!
Let's break it down: it's hard enough to get fans to find your music amidst all the music on Bandcamp, so when they finally land on your album's page on Bandcamp, you want them to be intrigued and interested in listening to your music.
What you DON'T want is .... crickets. A page without comments is like when you show up at a restaurant but no one is eating there; most of us take that as a sign the food's no good and we go somewhere else. It's the same with your music -- no comments means no one cares.
Another reason that comments are so important is that comments appear in the Bandcamp feed of every fan who adds the album to their collection. So as their followers are looking at their Bandcamp feed, they'll see your album along with the comments -- this really helps to grab their attention! This is the social media network effect IN ACTION!!
But wait a second -- isn't it REALLY hard getting comments on our Bandcamp pages? For most of us (myself included!!!) the answer is a RESOUNDING yes!!
Why is that? If our fans buy our music, doesn't that mean they like it? Maybe even LOVE it? So why is it so rare that they will leave a comment on there? Because let's face it: our fans are busy enjoying the music and don't have the time to leave a comment. And, Bandcamp doesn't make it easy -- fans need to open up the main page of their collection from a web browser, or find your album in their Bandcamp app. That's a few clicks already. Then they need to think of something to say and many fans get self-conscious at this point.
And let's keep it real -- YOU listen to a lot of music on Bandcamp, but how often do YOU leave comments?
So if comments are helpful in getting more fans to listen to our music, how can we get them to leave comments?
I don't have a sure-fire answer for you, but I can give you some suggestions and ideas which you can try. Different approaches work differently depending on your music and fanbase.
- Always killer music!! Yea, this suggestion is obvious -- great music has more of a chance of getting comments.
- Just ask!! Once in a while, and especially after a new release, send out a message to your Bandcampers and simply ask them to leave a comment if they dig your music. Let them know how helpful and important it is, and most importantly -- how much you appreciate it!!
- Give a shout-out to fans who leave comments!! In your Bandcamp messages, maybe drop some love on the fans who have left you comments.
- Send a direct message!! Use the Bandcamp Artists app to send a direct message to fans who leave comments, and tell them how much you appreciate it.
If you've got a suggestion for getting fan comments onto your Bandcamp album pages, I'd love to hear your suggestion!! I'm at fuzzycracklins@gmail.com
