The Glorious Unseen E-Card
One popular method to promote albums is an e-card. I haven't seen them quite as often I used to, but I do still see them pop up every now and then. One e-card I particularly enjoy is for a new on Tooth & Nail Records called The Glorious Unseen. Their debut album, "Tonight the Stars Speak", is a new form of worship music that includes a very ambient sound that has become popular as of late.
The artwork used in this e-card is straight from the album cover. This will help people become more recognized with what the album will look like if they want to buy it in a store.
I think the two most important features of an e-card are the media player and the downloads page. First off, the media player is pretty much obvious. A lot of the time, the e-card comes out before the album is released. This is most listeners first chance to hear new songs off the record. Its the most exciting part. As for the downloads, this page usually contains wallpapers and AIM icons. I know that I love to find good looking wallpapers, especially of bands I really enjoy. I then will use the wallpaper for awhile. To me there's nothing better than a great new wallpaper. Bands can use this almost as a marketing tool as well. When people use it as their wallpaper, other people see their wallpaper and ask about it. At least that's the way its worked for me in the past.
I enjoy how e-cards allow people to send their friends and family information about favorite things they share in common, in this example, music. It gives a personal touch to otherwise usual advertising. The fact that it opens up into a host of extras is a nice touch as well. Giving a nice big link to I-tunes makes it easy for the recipient to see where they can buy the album as well as how much it costs. It is a simple idea, but effective. Only bad thing is it probably doesn't reach a large market, as someone has to send the advertisement first. This is, of course, hoping the sender is not just "spamming" such advertisements out.
Submitted by Silento on Mon, 03/03/2008 - 13:13.