Some say is a matter of just luck, but some others have shared the best tricks to bring new playlist followers.
Spotify playlists remind me a lot of those old cassettes and CDs that we used to trade and give away when we were younger.
I remember my friends used to gift tapes and make this sort of playlist, with all kinds of songs from different artists. The first time a friend gifted me a playlist that he had done all by himself, it totally changed the way I saw, listened to, and enjoyed the music.
I started making my own tapes, giving them to every special person in my life. I think that’s how I became obsessed with music because I found a way to create the soundtrack of my life, long before I even knew what a soundtrack was.
Fast Forward to the present, I love making Spotify playlists.
While I’m making playlists, I feel like I’m 13 again trying to select the best songs for my crush or my best friend’s birthday party.
I also enjoy creating them for specific moods or feelings, I feel like I’m creating something amazing, almost like playing with emotions.
Photo by Idin Ebrahimi on Unsplash
Playlist exchange is also a great way to discover new music, both when you are curating the list and when you’re listening to a new one.
Long gone are the days where you were listening to an amazing song and had to pay attention to try to catch the title. Now you just pick up your phone and see which song is playing and who is singing it.
My friends love when I make new Spotify playlists because they get to discover new artists that they wouldn’t know if it wasn’t for that playlist.
That’s why I started making more playlists and taking them seriously.
While doing that, I realized something… What happens when you spend hours curating an amazing playlist, with incredible artists, you post on your social media, you tell all your friends… and then no one listens to it?
What can you do to change that? How do I get more playlist followers? Is there a way I can get new followers on my playlist? How to see who follows you on Spotify to better understand your audience?
Well, Spotify, similarly to all social media platforms, has an algorithm. A system in which they promote the content created on Spotify.
Unlike other algorithms, Spotify is very well known. It is called BART, which stands for Bandits for Recommendations as Treatments.
You kind of have to play your cards very well, so the Spotify algorithm helps you promote the playlist. Still, that is not the only thing you have to make to grow your Spotify playlist followers.
Thanks to months of research, and after talking to several Spotify playlists curators, I have found some secrets!
1 – The most obvious one, create a great playlist
Yes, I know, groundbreaking.
But let’s digest it, your playlist needs to be a good one if you want to grow the following.
Yes, playlists are created to be enjoyed, but you can take some extra steps to gain more Spotify followers and even have a very popular playlist.
- Create very specific playlists: “beach songs” is a good theme, but don’t you think it’s a bit too general? Does that playlist apply to very specific beach days? A spring break beach day with your friends is not the same as a family day at the beach… Keep that in mind when creating your playlists, especially if you are adding your music to them. Think about your target audience, and what are the situations in which they will be listening to your playlists.
Remember! Spotify’s algorithm suggests new music based on what the listener has already listened to, even the newest songs are all rooted in complex statistics, so there’s more for those new songs, albums, and playlists to reach people that would probably like them. If you want more Spotify playlist followers, create a playlist for your target audience, that will keep the algorithm in your favor.
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- Don’t forget the classics!: People never get tired of listening to their favorite songs, so if there’s a playlist where you can add a few classic, old songs, don’t be afraid to do so! Listen to the radio for a while, you will find songs that have been around us for more than 20 years. Moreover, listen to the most famous Spotify playlists and you will find some oldies, so don’t leave them behind.
- Quality over quantity: Quantity is quite a topic in terms of Spotify playlists, in fact, there’s even some controversy among Spotify curators when talking about this. Some people say you should only make short playlists, other people say it actually doesn’t matter. I have personally seen famous Spotify playlists with hundreds of songs, but I have also seen some pretty short ones become insanely popular on Spotify. Either way, it is important that you focus on quality over quantity, you don’t want people to be skipping every other song, you want them to enjoy every single one! So be very cautious with the songs you are adding, if they are not all of your favorite songs, then they don’t pass the test.
- Put the best songs first: This is probably the oldest trick in the book, as the first songs of any album or playlist will generate significantly more plays than the subsequent ones. That means you have a very limited chance of hooking people to your playlist, so, include what you consider to be the best songs at the very beginning of your playlist. Next time you go over your oldies collection, take note of how the first few songs of the album are always the most popular and well-known ones.
- Finally, make playlists that you enjoy: I know this issue is about getting more Spotify playlist followers, but don’t get lost on the followers count; make playlists that you actually enjoy.
A phrase that is very well known regarding this topic is that you shouldn’t have songs in your playlist that you don’t 100% love. New followers, and most importantly, engaged followers will come to the playlists that they feel have been curated with love.
So, you know how to create a playlist with big chances of growing. Still, there are a lot of things you can do to grow your Spotify playlist followers organically:
2 – Listen to your own playlist
You created a perfect playlist for a beach day with friends, or you’ve gathered all your favorite songs for a romantic dinner, so, why aren’t you listening to your own Spotify playlist?
Spotify notices when a playlist is forgotten by its creator, especially when it comes to new playlists. Make sure you are an active listener of the playlist you have created. This one single change can make your Spotify followers start to grow.
Photo by Ilias Chebbi on Unsplash
3 – A great title and description go a long way
There you go, you have an amazing playlist, you thought about your target audience, what comes next?
Oh yes, making sure new listeners find it!
Here’s where keywords are essential. Adding a good title and a brief description for your playlist is the tool you have to make people find it.
The keywords are those terms people will search for to find the music they like, so you have to find relevant ones for your creations. You can use Google Trends to find out the best keywords related to the genre, artist, and overall feeling of your playlist.
Add a great title and a brief description to your playlist including a few keywords. Playlist makers usually go for creative, fun titles. A famous Spotify playlist always has a funny description, too.
Another thing that will boost the chances of growing Spotify playlists followers organically is to simply add the name of the music creators. That way, fans of those artists can find their favorite songs and songs that have a similar vibe that they might like. You could even appear on the artist page!
4 – Add a playlist cover image
Yes, we’re listening to music, but most people are still very visual. Like in most social media platforms, you need to look good to succeed.
Adding a random cover photo, or worse, not adding a cover picture at all will tell people that you don’t truly care about your playlists, which is the total opposite of what you want.
If you want to grow your Spotify playlist followers organically, you need to take care of every single detail.
You have a very well-curated playlist, make sure you have a playlist cover photo that matches it perfectly.
Even the average person casually making playlists can get a ton of followers on Spotify just based on the quality of their cover art and photos.
Visual content is still king for millennials and Gen Z, and Spotify cover photos are no exception.
5 – Be patient
We are too used to having everything delivered immediately, becoming viral on social media immediately. We want a thousand followers per hour, or a thousand likes per minute, after just finishing making playlists… This is not real, this isn’t organic growth either. Patience is key when you want to grow your followers on Spotify, so keep calm and notice the small progress that you are making each day.
6 – Be cautious with the trends
You may be tempted to use all sorts of trendy new songs in order to make your playlists more relevant, that is not always the case when it comes to Spotify followers.
See, many of the trendy songs we’re loving today won’t last a lot longer, they won’t become classics. So, you can add them to your playlists if you truly enjoy that new song or new artist, but don’t make a whole playlist just based on trends because it can die quickly.
7 – Check your playlist every so often
Notice how the greatest and most popular playlists on Spotify stay fresh.
There’s music coming out constantly, there is always a popular artist releasing new music, or you just discovered an independent artist that you loved…
So you can constantly curate and add a couple more songs that go well with the vibe. There’s no need to add new songs every single day, but rechecking once a month is a cool idea that can bring many potential listeners to your page.
8 – Use SoundCampaign
For playlist curators and new artists, SoundCampaign’s innovative platformis the ultimate way that will help you succeed on Spotify.
As you may know, Spotify playlist exchange is not only a fun way to have all of your favorite songs together or find new, interesting songs, you can also get a lot of new followers and people interested in new artists’ projects and music careers.
So, SoundCampaign is a great platform for emerging artists and curators to find each other.
As playlist curators, the platform allows its user to listen to, review, and add to their playlist all kinds of new songs from different artists that are trying to make their way into the music industry.
Moreover, as a curator, you get the chance of actually monetizing from an activity that you truly enjoy, while discovering amazing songs and helping aspiring artists grow.
As an artist, SoundCampaign offers you the opportunity of reaching a ton of playlist curators that will listen to your art, review your songs, and possibly feature you on their playlists; something that will open a huge window for more potential listeners, more followers, and more playlists.
SoundCampaign creates a unique, 14-day campaign in which your music gets sent to the curators. The magic happens because of the platform’s unique way to promote your songs, sending them to specific curators, all selected by genre.
This way, we guarantee that they only receive and review relevant songs.
Furthermore, you can even select very specific genres you’re aiming to, and even a specific budget if that’s what you want.>
Photo by Chad Kirchoff on Unsplash
Final thoughts…
Growing your Spotify playlist followers organically is not a matter of just luck, it’s a matter of lovingly caring about something that you truly enjoy, so you can reach a lot more people that care and feel about music the same way as you do. This creates a stream of genuine followers that are passionate about music and will help naturally grow your audience over the years. Music is timeless and great musicians that have already passed years ago still have legions of fans that keep their music alive by featuring them on Spotify playlists.
