11 ways to optimize your Soundcloud Profile

As an artist and producer today, having a Soundcloud account to get your music out to the public is not exactly uncommon. We've listed 11 key points to consider to maximize the promotion and branding of your Soundcloud page.

First impressions

1. First impression - Your profile picture is the first thing people see when they visit your page. It's very important to give a professional impression to generate as much interest in your music as possible. A large profile picture is usually best but 500 x 500 pixels is usually enough. The most important thing is that the image reflects quality, a nice icon or text of your artist name with nice colors is a safe card and worth spending money on to get good, do not settle for something you have thrown together in Paint.

2. Use unique images for each song you publish. Your page will look quite boring and monotonous otherwise. A good tip to keep continuity but originality between each image is to have different background themes but the same icon or artist font in the foreground. (Tumblr is a good place to find your background themes)

3. Biography - A very underrated part of your profile is the biography but this is necessary to give your visitors and fans a personal impression. As long as you want to be down to earth with your audience, you should fill in some interesting information about yourself. Things like your name, age, city and country, and musical background are something many people enjoy reading about. Just keep it short and informative, no one has the energy to read a short story.

4. Spotlight - The Spotlight feature allows you to pin up to 5 songs to the top of your Soundcloud profile. These songs will be crucial for gaining new followers and the ability to build your fanbase. Pin your best songs at the top, also keep in mind the songs can be quite different from each other to show your breadth musically.

Community

1. Don't spam - No one likes to have their comments section blasted with links to other people's songs for promotional purposes. Set a good example, be constructive and fair when commenting on other people's songs. You'll have a better chance of getting a few more listens. Don't forget that people on soundcloud who show genuine interest in the music are the ones who get the most out of the soundcloud community. This also applies when you send promotional messages to both labels and artists. Don't throw your song out there for the sake of it and expect a response. A short, friendly and personal message will increase the chances of a response, no doubt.

2. Keep your profile active using the repost feature - Keeping your profile active is easier said than done. The best case scenario would be to post a new song every three days. But given the level of quality, this is probably not the best idea. That's why the repost feature is a pretty good one. People hang out on soundcloud to find good music. So it doesn't really matter to them whether the music on your profile is yours or someone else's, as long as it's good music. Therefore, repost your profile with music that resembles your sound every two or three days. People will start following you because you have good taste in music.

3. Use the comments section to your advantage - It's always good to have an active discussion with fans and listeners. If you are looking for a lot of comments or constructive criticism, then write it in your description. This not only helps you make better songs but encourages your audience to interact with your track, which can then also give them a better impression of your song. Remember, it's always good to respond to any comments you get, this makes you seem more human and nice instead of impersonal and boring. Who knows, someone in your comments section might have some awesome contacts and be willing to share them.

4. Use Soundcloud Groups - Soundcloud forums can be a great way to find like-minded producers. They can be great for finding new interesting songs that appeal to you and give you more inspiration for your own creation. If you then post a song in a group, consider making it a "Free Download", that way you can make a bigger impact. As long as you make music that others will like too, that is.

Promotion

1. Be creative with your promotion - Try to think outside the box to be seen in new ways. Throwing up posters or QR codes all over town may not be the most cheap or effective way to reach audiences and build your fanbase. Unfortunately, finding a unique way to get noticed is easier said than done, but use your creativity to get yourself and your music heard.

2. Keep your audience up to date - If and when you get to the stage where you start playing a lot, it can be helpful to use a reposting service such as Gigatools. Gigatools helps you save an incredible amount of time by automatically updating your social media, including Soundcloud, about where and when your next gig is. If you use their website, you can keep your posts continuous and organized. In other words, keep all your audiences updated about your next gig.

3. Give and get - Sharing other people's songs on forums in addition to soundcloud can be a great way to get your producer role models to notice you and maybe want to do something nice in return. If you help others, others will help you, no one has made it to the top on their own. Soundcloud has many different types of "embed" settings if you press "Share" under the waveform of the funnel. It's fun for everyone if your feed is not just full of url links.