Zuzula - Zuzula Artist Tips

Additional Artist Aid - tips for effective mp3s

Be sure to fill out all tag information for each song file. Tag information is entered differently for each encoder, so be sure you've included all the essential facts, most importantly the artist name, the song title and the CD that the song came from. This will make it much easier for customers to keep track of all your important artist information.
You'll need to decide what bit rate to encode at. Generally, higher bit rates translate to better audio with a tradeoff of producing larger mp3 files. For example, 50 MB of mp3s encoded at 192 kb/s would play out to approximately 38 minutes, at 160 kb/s would be approximately 45 minutes, and at 128 kb/s would be approximately 53 minutes. Whatever encoding you choose, remember that it's representing your music and you need to feel confidant that it's an accurate reflection.
Listen through to all the mp3s you make before you upload them to your page. Most encoders do a good job of capturing the audio on your CD, but if there are mistakes you'll want to catch them before anyone else hears them.
When naming your songs, try to avoid keyboard characters like #, $, !, ', &, % and so on. This seems to very often confuse computers and software.
Be sure to include ".mp3" as the suffix for each song file. Otherwise, your customer's computer and software may be clueless as to what to do with the file you just downloaded.

Maximizing Your Sales

Remember that Zuzula is essentially a store where anyone in the world can go and instantly check out your music. So while you're selling your CDs at live shows and other distribution channels, you can be reaching a whole different audience online.

Imagine a few scenarios. First, say you get your CD reviewed in a magazine, newspaper or online. A person reading the review might be very interested in checking you out. The question is, will that person be highly motivated to find the address of your record company, write a letter stating that they want your CD, write a check for your CD, address a letter to send the check and letter, and then wait 3 or 4 weeks (if they're lucky) to actually receive your CD? It's doubtful. However, if that same person reads about you and can then go to Zuzula and not only hear samples of your material but also directly buy your tracks, they'll be more inclined to try and buy.

Or, say you're playing live and announce that you've got CDs for sale. Some people in the audience may have the 10 or 15 dollars to spare for an unplanned purchase. It's likely, however, that many won't be able to spare the extra money. But, if they like your music and have a chance the next day to download some of your material, you could pick up additional sales while you're still fresh in their mind.

Or, maybe you've recorded some new demos that sound pretty good. Since they're not available on CD yet, upload them to Zuzula.com and tell your fans. They'll still get the CD when it becomes available, but until then they can enjoy your new music and you can get feedback on your new material.

The fact is, you've got the ability to reach a much greater audience, but it's up to you to guide your fans here. Remember, Zuzula is not intended to take the place of selling your CDs. It's another sales tool that can help you maximize your exposure and give real returns on your music investment.

Consider these ways to promote your music using Zuzula.com;

Use our Zuzula Shop feature to embed your list of Zuzula songs into your very own web site. Fans can initiate a purchase DIRECTLY from your site without having to go to a different address. Find out how simple it is to add your songs here.
Include your Zuzula.com address on any emails or flyers you send out advertising live dates.
If your music gets reviewed online or on paper, be sure to include your Zuzula.com band address along with your site address.
Tell your audience at live gigs about your music on Zuzula.com.
Encourage your fans to sign up for Artist Alerts from you (when they're signed in on Zuzula.com, there's a check box right on your artist page). That way they'll know EVERY time you upload new songs.
Tell other artists about Zuzula.com and encourage them to sign up and link to your page with the logo below. Fans can easily click on this logo to check out and purchase your songs. Simply copy and paste the code below it into your web page (substituting your artist ID number, which you can find in the address to your Zuzula page, where it says YOUR_ARTIST_ID_NUMBER), and viola! You have linked directly to your artist page on zuzula.
(Instructions for using this logo are also found at the bottom of each "Edit Artist" page. When you're signed in, go to your artist page, click on "Edit Artist" and scroll to the bottom. The code on your "Edit Artist" page also automatically contains your artist ID number, no substitutions necessary!)


Or use the randomizer!