6 Content Creation Tips for Indie Artists on a Budget

Not everyone can afford to create elaborate videos, especially when starting out their music career. So, here are some helpful tips on how to create successful posts without emptying the bank.

by Sammy Hakim of Bandzoogle

For modern-day musicians, creating relevant content has become half of the job. Whether it be TikTok videos, photos, or, well, music, you’re constantly having to come up with more, and more, and more to give fans and keep that authentic connection active.

While social media has been a gift in the aspect of connecting with wider audiences, it’s definitely hard to stay on top of the constant demand to create, and the financial strain that can come with it. After all, quantity isn’t the only name in the game. Quality content is important too.

So, just in case you’re burnt out or in need of more financially feasible ideas to help sustain you in the content race, here are six tips to creating content on a budget, as a musician. 

1. Plan your budget

Perhaps the most important part of creating content on a budget is actually sitting down and setting your budget in the first place! It might seem obvious to some, but you’d be surprised how many people skip this step and end up struggling to get through all of their content needs by blowing all their funding on one big creation.

While consulting an accountant can be really helpful if you’re new to this, you can also just create a spreadsheet and decide how much money you’d like to allocate to each aspect of creation. For example, if you have $1000 to spend on everything, maybe you decide to do $500 on your new song, $200 on your video content for the month, DIY your photos, and use the rest on marketing.

This is just an example – we recommend sitting down and seeing what numbers work realistically for you, rather than going by the numbers we made up as an example. 

Quick tip: Before setting your budget, you may want to get a bigger picture of your marketing plan. Then you can see how money for content creation plays into the bigger picture with the rest of your music marketing tools. 

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2. Choose the right equipment

This may also seem simple, but quality equipment can really help save you money in the long run. For example, if you plan to be producing your music at home, taking your photos, filming, etc, you might actually save yourself money by taking the time to spend a little more upfront.

For example, even something like a ring light can help lift the quality of your videos and at home photos. While it may not seem important in the long run, it could help save you money on content creation by cutting down on some of your editing needs, and therefore saving you on applications.

The same goes for a quality mic: having a microphone that sounds good can make it a lot easier to achieve professional-quality vocals, again, without the need for a ton of plug-ins to overcompensate for your mic sound.

While we’re not saying to drop all your budget on the nicest piece of equipment around, doing your research and seeing which items to invest in is a great way to get started, and save you more money in the long run. 

3. Make your own sets

Making your own sets at home can save you a lot of money and add some quality and consistency to your TikTok and photo needs. This doesn’t have to mean that you need to go out and buy a fancy green screen and light projectors, but having a ring light and a blank wall, or even an art wall, that captures some of your ‘brand personality’ may give you a place to consistently film and save the money of booking out a studio to do so. 

Get creative with it too! Your set doesn’t have to be fancy to get people to associate it with you, and your content; TikTok star Natalie Jane even uses sets like a parking garage for her viral videos.Just make something your own! You’ll be surprised how much money it will save you on renting out sets and equipment, and how nice of a touch this personality can bring to your content.

And don’t be afraid to mix it up! You don’t have to film in the same place all the time, though the consistency can be nice for algorithmic platforms like TikTok. Instagram, and other social platforms have a tendency to be more varied. So remember, anything from your bathtub to the great outdoors can be your set. Just make it your own, and save your cash while doing it when you can. 

4. DIY it

We’ve mentioned a couple ways to do this already, but the best way to save money on your content is to do it yourself. These days an iPhone and a few simple pieces of equipment can bring you great quality video and photo content. You can build a home studio in your living room to record music, and YouTube gives you endless resources for editing all sorts of content.

Learning to DIY your projects can save you a ton in the long run. And while we do still recommend collaborating on creative works when budget allows (photographers, videographers, content makers, and your musical peers are all very talented and are professionals for a reason!) learning how to create something on your own can help you keep up with the rat races of content creation, especially on a budget. 

5. Know when to invest 

Knowing when to invest in your content can actually save you time, energy, and money in the long run. 

Why? Well, let’s say you spend $200 on your project only to realize you hate everything you’ve done. You spend a little more money to try to fix it and then come to the understanding that the only way to achieve what you wanted was to pay that original $300 to the creator you had wanted to work with in the beginning. Now you’ve spent more than you wanted on your own, and might even end up shelling out for that creator after all.

Be smart about how you want to spend the budget you have, to prevent overspending in the long run. 

6. Research, try, and try again

Last but not least, researching what your peers are doing can really help you develop content that will work for you. I know what you’re thinking: “It’s so easy to repeat content that’s been overplayed.” At this point everyone has seen videos of musicians promoting their music in their cars.

While formulaic content like this can really work wonders on the algorithm, the trick is to admire your peers’ work, and use it as inspiration to make something similar to give viewers something familiar but fresh. (Alluding to the content that inspired you is never a bad idea either, so be sure to give credit to other artists!) 

And remember, trying and trying again is the name of not only the content creation game, but the creative game as well. Experiment with new methods of filming, new DIY sets, new camera angles and other things you can do for free on the day to day until something starts to stick.

Tenacity is free, so don’t give up. 

As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, creating content is more of a building block than it’s ever been. While there’s no tried-and-true method to easy success, there are tips that work regardless of the content, platform, or budget: be creative, and keep experimenting. Decide when, where, and what to spend your budget on. And become a master at everything you can to help yourself get a leg up. But most of all, have fun. And remember: you’ve got this. 

If we forgot anything, feel free to let us know in the comment section below. After all, we’re always trying to help out our fellow musicians. Happy creating everybody!

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Sammy Hakim is an up and coming young songwriter based in Los Angeles. In May 2018 she graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Major in songwriting and a focus in music business. These days she spends most of her time in songwriting sessions with artists all over the country.