The most unpleasant moment in release promotion is finding working material when the entire budget has already been spent on the first launch. So it is useful to start the plan with the amount you will keep until observations appear. Distribute the rest between preparation and small checks.
All amounts below are a learning example, not market prices, advice to spend exactly this much, or a forecast of results.
First name the listener's action
For the first stage, you can choose a transition to the full song from your own release page. For another project, applications for an intimate concert or a subscription to the artist's news may be more important. Do not try to test everything at once with one small budget.
Write down where you will see this action. If there is no confirmation, replace the goal with a measurable one. A click on a music platform is available to your own page's analytics, but by itself it does not confirm a listen inside the app.
Divide 30 000 rubles into four parts
In our example, 9 000 rubles go to materials: editing, adapting the cover, and the landing page. Another 9 000 — for the first placements. 6 000 remain for continuation after the review, and the last 6 000 — a reserve that does not have to be spent.
Such a distribution is not an optimal proportion for everyone. If good materials are already ready, the expenses will be different. If the first fragment does not explain at all what song is coming out, fix it first. An additional placement of weak material does not answer this problem.
Include payment for work and related expenses in the estimate, and mark your own time separately. Two hours of independent editing do not disappear just because no invoice arrived for them. This is especially noticeable when comparing several releases.
Conduct the first check so that it can be read
Suppose the first 9 000 rubles are divided equally between two placements. Each has its own link and one prepared fragment. Do not change the song, audience, page, and success criterion at the same time: later it will be difficult to understand what exactly differed.
Let us imagine that one placement costing 4 500 rubles brought 150 visits via the tagged link. The cost per visit is 30 rubles. If 45 clicks on the music platform link were recorded, the cost per click is 100 rubles. This is a click metric, not the number of unique listeners. Neither the cost per visit nor the cost per click is the cost of a new fan.
The second placement may bring fewer transitions but more substantive questions or applications. You need to compare by the goal chosen in advance, keeping the absolute numbers alongside as well. With several actions, the result remains preliminary.
When to use the remaining money
After the first check, decide what exactly is missing: a different opening for the video, a clearer page, or a repeat placement. Allocate part of the continuation for a specific hypothesis. If the data does not help you choose, it is reasonable to keep the reserve.
Among the promotion options there are also Spotify's own advertising tools. The presence of a format in the help center does not mean it is available to every artist: the conditions are checked in the account. Spotify overview.
If you are considering the Boosted release package, compare its contents with the work already planned so as not to pay for the same action twice. Clarify the execution method and the form's mode. The demonstration calculation is not included in the actual campaign expenses.
✦ Choose a quantity and place an order →
After the release, keep the plan and the actual expenses side by side. On the next launch, it is more useful to know which decision cost money and what it taught than to remember only the total amount.