Hi, Caitlin here.
There's this pattern I see artists get stuck in, and it's completely understandable: you know you need marketing that stands out, but the examples you see working are all following similar templates. So you follow them too.
Same rollout timelines. Same press shot aesthetics. Same content formats. It makes sense - these approaches work for other artists, so they should work for you, right?
The thing is, when everyone's pulling from the same playbook, it becomes harder for any individual artist to break through. Not because the strategies are bad, but because they're not distinctively yours.
Here's what I've learned: the artists whose marketing really sticks aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the most polished campaigns. They're the ones whose marketing feels like a natural extension of who they are.
But here's the part no one really teaches you: how to figure out what "distinctively yours" actually means, and then how to communicate that to the people you work with.
Know what's actually yours
Start with what catches your attention outside of music. What films do you rewatch? What art makes you stop scrolling? What places feel like home to you? The things that consistently draw you in are clues to your aesthetic instincts.
I've had one non-specific Pinterest board that I've been adding to for 15 years, since I was a teenager. It's helped me enormously to dial down what I like and separate that from any one creator or trend. I send this board to every collaborator I work with for my own projects - it's become my aesthetic shorthand.
Look at your influences honestly - musical, visual, conceptual. What specifically draws you to each one? Their use of colour? Their sense of humour? The way they balance different moods?
Understanding your own taste well enough to give proper direction to collaborators is the foundation of everything else.
Stop defaulting to proven formulas
Here's a pattern I see all the time: "We want to work with [photographer] because we love what they did for [successful artist]." It's completely logical thinking, but you're trying to recreate someone else's creative chemistry.
What made that collaboration work was how that specific photographer's way of seeing aligned with that specific artist's vision. When you hire them hoping for the same result, you're asking them to repeat a creative process that belonged to someone else.
Look for collaborators whose existing work resonates with your instincts. Someone whose personal projects make you think "this person sees things in a way that feels right to me."
Learn to give direction
Most of us were never taught how to brief creative collaborators. We default to "make us look cool" or showing mood boards of other bands.
Try: "We want to feel approachable but not casual, like we take the music seriously but don't take ourselves too seriously. We're drawn to [specific non-music reference] because of how it balances X with Y."
When working with anyone - photographer, designer, videographer - give them:
Three things that consistently catch your attention (and why)
One thing you definitely don't want to look like
The feeling you want people to have when they encounter your work
References from outside music that capture that feeling
Permission to experiment
The best artist brands evolve. Start with one distinctive element per project and see what sticks.
Maybe it's working with a photographer whose style complements your sound in an unexpected way. Maybe it's content that actually sounds like how you talk. Maybe it's campaign timing that follows your creative process rather than industry standard.
Pay attention to when people respond differently - when they say "this feels very you" instead of just "this looks professional."
You're already doing the hard work of making distinctive music. Let that distinctiveness carry through to how you present it. You have permission to try something that feels more like you, even if it's different from what you see other artists doing.
Yours in creative courage,
Caitlin xx