Most ad campaigns don’t start as winners.
Some never get there at all.
This is normal.
But there are ways to troubleshoot a failing ad campaign and turn it into a success.
Whenever I find myself struggling to get a new campaign or ad set off the ground, there are three steps I like to take to improve my results.
Start by doing the opposite
The first thing is to review your targeting.
Ask yourself, “what have I been doing, and how can I change that?”
Whenever I find myself in this position, I like to test the opposite of whatever I’ve been doing that hasn’t been working for me.
If I’ve been using more detailed targeting, I’ll open it up to a wider, less-defined audience.
If I’ve been going wide and using either open targeting or narrowing only for Spotify, I like to switch it up and go even tighter to see if I can guide things along a bit more deliberately.
This will result in a smaller audience size, but once educated, we can expand that targeting back out.
So I will try things like adding multiple genres, big and small, and I’ll add a few artists and non-musical affinities as well.
For example, if I’m narrowing to find the audience for my music, I’ll use things like Electronic Dance Music, Rock Music, Dubstep, Gaming, and Seven Lions. I’ve even added things like Fitness and IGN with excellent results in the past.
If the targeting matches the interests of my audience, then I’ve got a hit on my hands. If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Switch the ad creative
Ad creative makes all the difference, and the single biggest point of failure I see time and again with ads is the visual aspect of the ad itself.
If the visual isn’t good, the music usually can’t save it, no matter how good it is.
This doesn’t necessarily mean polished. It means effective. It means it resonates with your audience.
I’ve seen hand-drawn pencil sketches vastly outperform polished music video clips because the former was more authentic and more “on brand” than the latter.
It’s all about knowing what will work with your listener.
If you haven’t found that yet, it may be time to test something new. An alternative version of the album cover that’s in the same vein is a good place to start. If that doesn’t work, try a video performance clip.
If the visual is on point, then it could really just be the section of the song that’s not working.
I’ve had different sections of the same song vary in performance by 100% to 200% at times!
This is why I always split-test different parts of the same track—every time.
If you’re having trouble, look at how you might adjust the ad your audience is seeing.
Sometimes it’s just the song
Let’s face it, not every song is a winner.
And we are in the business of looking for the winners in our catalog—that’s why we keep releasing music.
If you’ve got a song that’s just not working no matter what you throw at it, it may be time to cut your losses and return to base.
Hopefully, you’ve got a winning ad that’s already working for you that you can fall back on.
If that’s the case, keep using that winning ad until you can tee up another one to test against it. Maybe the next one will be the ad (and the song) to unseat the reigning champ.
There’s absolutely no shame in pushing the same song for years if it continues to lift your catalog.
That’s called playing the long game, and the long game is what it’s all about.
Most ad campaigns don’t start as winners.
Some never get there at all.
This is normal.
But there are ways to troubleshoot a failing ad campaign and turn it into a success.
Whenever I find myself struggling to get a new campaign or ad set off the ground, there are three steps I like to take to improve my results.
Start by doing the opposite
The first thing is to review your targeting.
Ask yourself, “what have I been doing, and how can I change that?”
Whenever I find myself in this position, I like to test the opposite of whatever I’ve been doing that hasn’t been working for me.
If I’ve been using more detailed targeting, I’ll open it up to a wider, less-defined audience.
If I’ve been going wide and using either open targeting or narrowing only for Spotify, I like to switch it up and go even tighter to see if I can guide things along a bit more deliberately.
This will result in a smaller audience size, but once educated, we can expand that targeting back out.
So I will try things like adding multiple genres, big and small, and I’ll add a few artists and non-musical affinities as well.
For example, if I’m narrowing to find the audience for my music, I’ll use things like Electronic Dance Music, Rock Music, Dubstep, Gaming, and Seven Lions. I’ve even added things like Fitness and IGN with excellent results in the past.
If the targeting matches the interests of my audience, then I’ve got a hit on my hands. If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Switch the ad creative
Ad creative makes all the difference, and the single biggest point of failure I see time and again with ads is the visual aspect of the ad itself.
If the visual isn’t good, the music usually can’t save it, no matter how good it is.
This doesn’t necessarily mean polished. It means effective. It means it resonates with your audience.
I’ve seen hand-drawn pencil sketches vastly outperform polished music video clips because the former was more authentic and more “on brand” than the latter.
It’s all about knowing what will work with your listener.
If you haven’t found that yet, it may be time to test something new. An alternative version of the album cover that’s in the same vein is a good place to start. If that doesn’t work, try a video performance clip.
If the visual is on point, then it could really just be the section of the song that’s not working.
I’ve had different sections of the same song vary in performance by 100% to 200% at times!
This is why I always split-test different parts of the same track—every time.
If you’re having trouble, look at how you might adjust the ad your audience is seeing.
Sometimes it’s just the song
Let’s face it, not every song is a winner.
And we are in the business of looking for the winners in our catalog—that’s why we keep releasing music.
If you’ve got a song that’s just not working no matter what you throw at it, it may be time to cut your losses and return to base.
Hopefully, you’ve got a winning ad that’s already working for you that you can fall back on.
If that’s the case, keep using that winning ad until you can tee up another one to test against it. Maybe the next one will be the ad (and the song) to unseat the reigning champ.
There’s absolutely no shame in pushing the same song for years if it continues to lift your catalog.
That’s called playing the long game, and the long game is what it’s all about.
Most ad campaigns don’t start as winners.
Some never get there at all.
This is normal.
But there are ways to troubleshoot a failing ad campaign and turn it into a success.
Whenever I find myself struggling to get a new campaign or ad set off the ground, there are three steps I like to take to improve my results.
Start by doing the opposite
The first thing is to review your targeting.
Ask yourself, “what have I been doing, and how can I change that?”
Whenever I find myself in this position, I like to test the opposite of whatever I’ve been doing that hasn’t been working for me.
If I’ve been using more detailed targeting, I’ll open it up to a wider, less-defined audience.
If I’ve been going wide and using either open targeting or narrowing only for Spotify, I like to switch it up and go even tighter to see if I can guide things along a bit more deliberately.
This will result in a smaller audience size, but once educated, we can expand that targeting back out.
So I will try things like adding multiple genres, big and small, and I’ll add a few artists and non-musical affinities as well.
For example, if I’m narrowing to find the audience for my music, I’ll use things like Electronic Dance Music, Rock Music, Dubstep, Gaming, and Seven Lions. I’ve even added things like Fitness and IGN with excellent results in the past.
If the targeting matches the interests of my audience, then I’ve got a hit on my hands. If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Switch the ad creative
Ad creative makes all the difference, and the single biggest point of failure I see time and again with ads is the visual aspect of the ad itself.
If the visual isn’t good, the music usually can’t save it, no matter how good it is.
This doesn’t necessarily mean polished. It means effective. It means it resonates with your audience.
I’ve seen hand-drawn pencil sketches vastly outperform polished music video clips because the former was more authentic and more “on brand” than the latter.
It’s all about knowing what will work with your listener.
If you haven’t found that yet, it may be time to test something new. An alternative version of the album cover that’s in the same vein is a good place to start. If that doesn’t work, try a video performance clip.
If the visual is on point, then it could really just be the section of the song that’s not working.
I’ve had different sections of the same song vary in performance by 100% to 200% at times!
This is why I always split-test different parts of the same track—every time.
If you’re having trouble, look at how you might adjust the ad your audience is seeing.
Sometimes it’s just the song
Let’s face it, not every song is a winner.
And we are in the business of looking for the winners in our catalog—that’s why we keep releasing music.
If you’ve got a song that’s just not working no matter what you throw at it, it may be time to cut your losses and return to base.
Hopefully, you’ve got a winning ad that’s already working for you that you can fall back on.
If that’s the case, keep using that winning ad until you can tee up another one to test against it. Maybe the next one will be the ad (and the song) to unseat the reigning champ.
There’s absolutely no shame in pushing the same song for years if it continues to lift your catalog.
That’s called playing the long game, and the long game is what it’s all about.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.
Whenever you're ready, there are four ways I can help you:
Subscribe to the Newsletter: Join our growing network of artists, creators, and entrepreneurs by receiving The One Thing directly to your inbox every week.
Book a Consultation: Schedule a one-on-one call with me to improve your marketing across paid advertising, social media, and more.
The Spotify Traffic Accelerator: Join the hundreds of artists who have successfully learned to automate their growth on Spotify using paid ads on Instagram.
Become a DuPree X Artist: Hire our team to manage your marketing across streaming platforms and social media so you can focus on what matters most—making music.