5 Tips on How to Create a Good Spotify Pre-Save Campaign

We explored the concept of a pre-save campaign quite thoroughly in our previous article on how to use Spotify pre-save. But to clarify what it really is, let’s recap briefly.

A Spotify pre-save is a tool, presented as a SmartLink, that enables listeners to add music to their Spotify library before the official release date. By doing so, they ‘pre-save’ the release—a track, EP, mixtape, or album—to ensure it automatically appears in their selected playlist on the day it becomes available and ready to be listened to.

There are several reasons why pre-save campaigns are meaningful for artists and musicians. Fundamentally, they help create anticipation for a release, starting from the moment it is uploaded to the distributor until the actual release date. Nothing gets fans more excited than knowing their favorite artist is dropping a new killer track. Are you saying they can save your upcoming single to their library and listen to it the moment it’s released? That’s brilliant!

By generating buzz around your release, you create a sense of urgency and exclusivity that encourages fans to actively engage in your campaign. However, it’s not merely about raising awareness for your upcoming music and getting your fans excited. There are deeper technical aspects as to why pre-saves are a powerful promotional tool.

An effective pre-save campaign can turn your fans’ curiosity into an avalanche of streams on the first day of your release, which, in turn, can catch the attention of Spotify’s algorithm, potentially launching your music to countless new listeners. A strong initial stream count on day one tells the algorithm that people are interested in your music and want to hear it, which increases the chances of your releases being featured in Spotify Editorial playlists like Discover Weekly or Release Radar.

Pre-saves also provide valuable data and insights into your listeners, giving you information about who they are, their ages, and their locations. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about their listening habits, all of which can help you when planning your future releases, concerts, or merchandise. For instance, if you discover that a significant amount of pre-save is coming from a particular region, you might consider scheduling a tour or selling special merchandise there.

Along with all the insights, with every pre-save, you get the opportunity to collect your listeners’ contact data, such as email addresses or phone numbers. This contact information can be extremely helpful for future promotional campaigns, allowing you to directly inform your fans about your upcoming releases, tours, and gigs, or any other news related to you via email (through email campaigns or newsletters) or even SMS.

Creating an effective pre-save campaign goes beyond merely using a SmartLink with specialized tools like LinkTree, DailyPlaylists, or iMusician’s music smart link tool, Release Pages. It requires a solid foundation and a well-defined strategy to successfully promote your upcoming release.

In fact, setting up and launching your Pre-Save link is just the start of your mission, giving you time until release day to generate as much buzz and awareness for your release as possible. Naturally, your marketing efforts don’t stop once your release is made available on Spotify and other streaming platforms; however, your approach might change. The goal of your Pre-Save campaign is to create a sense of urgency and get your listeners so excited that they listen to your release the moment it’s out.

To begin with, it’s essential to establish the goals of the campaign. Do you have a specific number of pre-saves in mind that you’d like to get? Next, you must define your target audience so you can tailor your content accordingly. The following step is to create a structured content calendar and social media strategy, deciding which platforms you’ll use, what content you’ll produce, and how often and when (days and times) you will post—all while keeping your goals and key audience in mind. Do you want to send newsletters with the pre-save link, too? No problem! A well-organized content calendar can maintain momentum and promote continuous engagement, keeping fans excited about your upcoming release.

You can create a variety of content, including teasers, behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive previews, or insights into the writing process. Additionally, countdowns can be extremely powerful in getting people in the anticipation mood, excited and eager for something they care about to become available soon.

It's also important to choose the tool you’ll use to set up your campaign. As we mentioned earlier, there are plenty of options available. With iMusician, you can create a pre-save page that, on the release day, automatically converts into an effective Release Page, a music smart link that will direct fans to their preferred streaming platforms.

For a moment, we need to return to the topic of the platforms you’ll be using for your pre-save campaign. We’ve discussed social media, but that’s certainly not the only type of promotional channels you can choose. Moreover, individual social media networks can vary significantly from one another, so it’s essential to keep that in mind.

For example, if you want to thrive on Instagram and TikTok, choose visually appealing images and short-form videos (known as Reels on Instagram), which are proven to be very effective for engagement. On Instagram, you can also create Stories to post countdown reminders. Additionally, both platforms are excellent for hosting live-streaming sessions.

Facebook is excellent for running ads aimed at both re-engaging your existing fans and reaching out to followers of similar artists in specific locations. Although Facebook may not appear as enticing as other platforms like Instagram or TikTok, it’s important to remember that it remains the world’s leading social media platform, with approximately 3.065 billion monthly active users. Additionally, it’s ideal for cross-posting in-feed content created for Instagram. Meanwhile, Twitter (now known as X) is effective for sparking conversations and hosting engaging Q&A sessions.

Another mighty social media channel that should not be overlooked is YouTube, the king of video. YouTube production might not be for everyone (like any other platform) since it often requires more time and effort to produce high-quality videos. Nonetheless, similar to TikTok and Instagram, short-form videos—known as YouTube Shorts—are becoming increasingly popular on YouTube. You can utilize the platform to share teasers, previews, or snippets of your upcoming release, a music video you’ve filmed in support of the release, or your creative/writing process. Just remember to always feature the link to your pre-save page in the video description.

In addition to social media, email marketing can be very powerful. In fact, a Forbes article from 2024 claims that email marketing is more effective than ever before due to its ability to be highly targeted. Leveraging such a method allows you to identify and clearly define demographics, behaviors, and interests with remarkable accuracy, ensuring that you not only target the right people but also reach them effectively. What’s more, unlike social media, email marketing presents a form of direct communication with your fans and potential listeners that’s not subject to the power of algorithms. Therefore, creating an announcement and/or last-reminder email with a personalized message, the pre-save link, and a catchy subject line can really make a difference.

You can include any information, type of content, or personal touch that you believe your audience will relate to, connect with, or find captivating, such as the meaning behind the song you’re asking them to pre-save to their library. You can also add contests, provide exclusive access to additional content, or feature special merchandise offers. Adding a personal touch or interactive elements makes the experience more engaging and increases the effectiveness of your campaign!

Last but not least, it’s important to mention the rise of text-based marketing, also known as SMS marketing, in recent years, allowing companies and businesses to connect with consumers in real-time and cut through the noise made by social media. The concept of SMS marketing is pretty straightforward, yet it’s been praised for driving considerable engagement and ROI, mostly due to phones leading digital communication and the level of personalized experience demanded by and offered to consumers. As Ty Morse, CEO of Songwhale, an interactive technological company focusing on enterprise SMS solutions and direct response campaigns, highlights, the open rate of SMS in campaigns reaches a staggering 98%. You can use SMS marketing for short and sweet, personalized messages with a clear, actionable CTA that deepens the connection with your fans. If you decide to turn to text-based marketing, make sure you obtain permission from your mailing list before sending them any promotional messages. SMS marketing is highly regulated, and sending unsolicited messages to people is considered illegal and can result in significant fines.

There’s one key thing to remember when choosing the platforms you’ll use: you can’t be present everywhere. It’s simply not physically or mentally feasible. Instead, focus on channels that you believe will work for you, your content, and your audience. And if you’re unsure—experiment! Data insights and analyses will help you determine whether your tactics and strategies are successful.

When creating content for your pre-save campaign, it’s crucial to treat some of it as an incentive for discussions and conversations with your fans and followers about the music they have or are about to pre-save.

One-way content can definitely be effective in capturing your followers’ attention. However, if you want to engage with them directly and maintain that engagement, discussing what you’ve created can be beneficial. You can achieve this by hosting Q&As or live streams, creating threads dedicated to specific songs, or simply responding to comments and messages from followers on social media.

Keep in mind that the goal is to entice your fans enough to pre-save your music and listen to it as soon as it’s released.

We’ve touched on this before, but monitoring the performance of your efforts and tracking the success of individual elements is essential. We mentioned earlier that your campaign needs to be based on a well-defined strategy. One thing we didn’t cover before, though, is that strategies don't always work.

Tracking and monitoring results in real-time once your pre-save campaign is underway can help you determine the effectiveness of your chosen strategy and make necessary adjustments to maximize the impact of your marketing efforts. Analyzing your data will give you insights into what is working and what is not, while your long-term data analysis can give you suggestions on what to change or how to improve.

If you feel that your campaign is not achieving the success you envisioned or planned (resulting in fewer collected pre-saves) and you’re unsure what specifically is hindering your success, the best approach is to test and experiment with the individual elements of your campaign. Perhaps your content isn’t engaging enough, or maybe you’re not posting on the platforms where your audience is active, or you’re not targeting the right audience at all.

Review the metrics from your previous content or campaigns to determine if you’re following a similar path as before and to identify what resonated most with your audience (and who that audience was). By continuously adjusting your strategy based on performance data, you can increase the number of pre-saves, leading to more streams later on, and build a more engaged and loyal fanbase.

A fan pre-saving your release isn’t the end of the journey. You still need to keep them engaged and connected. Including personalized messages across various channels helps strengthen your relationships with fans and listeners, which, in turn, can maximize the results and impact of your future campaigns.

One personalized message to consider is thanking your fans for pre-saving your release and engaging with it. As we previously suggested, this can be done through an email or an SMS sent after they’ve saved your upcoming release. This simple gesture helps foster and nurture deeper connections with those who truly support your work and passion.