Two Story Media’s
One-Two Punch
for Spotify Growth
Successfully run Facebook ads and get your music placed in Spotify playlists.
Major labels would never bet on just one tactic. You don’t have to, either. Learn both ways to grow on Spotify, and reach new people who want to hear your music.
This stuff works.
Here are some nice words and cool results from past students and clients.
⬆️ This is literally the campaign you’ll watch me set up in the course.
“Jon is the best. Don’t be stupid.”
(I asked if he’d be willing to give a testimonial and he sent this. Idk.)
(Click on an image to blow it up)
Does your Spotify profile look lonely?
I get it.
Four years ago, my brother Tom had like three monthly listeners on his Spotify profile:
That’s his Spotify for Artists listener data.
As you can kinda see, Tom’s been putting out music for the last five or six years. Back in 2018, basically nobody listened to it.
But in 2020, things started to change.
First, he got songs on a couple of awesome playlists. (You can see the spikes on the screenshot up there – and then you can see where his new normal settled after.) And then he followed those up with a series of solid releases. Momentum has built, and now things are growing pretty steadily.
It’s all been nice for Tom’s ego.
But it’s not just about vanity metrics; the little numbers in the Spotify for Artist dashboard are really only the start of the story.
Numbers can lead to real-life relationships.
In 2022, Tom played a series of house shows to hundreds of people, collecting a couple thousand bucks along the way.
And here’s the really the cool thing:
Most of his house shows were hosted by fans who first found him on Spotify.
In other words, his Spotify growth has led to a) a nice bit of money through playing shows, but more importantly,
b) meaningful relationships built around his music.
This is why I think Spotify growth is so cool.
It’s not just because it makes you feel good to see nice numbers next to your name. It’s because, if you do it right, legitimate community can come from it.
Tom’s journey has convinced me that Spotify can help you build a real fanbase.
And here’s the good news for you: Tom’s far from unique. (Sorry, brother.)
I’ve worked with dozens of artists on Spotify growth, ranging from major label acts with multiple millions of streams to indie artists who are just starting out.
And I’ve found that there’s a proven, two-process approach to building an audience on Spotify:
- Get in good playlists.
- Run good ads.
That’s how you get to a place where people are consistently finding you on Spotify and actively engaging with your art.
“But wait!” you’re thinking.
“I’ve heard that [insert Facebook ads or playlist pitching here] is a scam!”
Well, yeah – that’s not surprising.
There are plenty of well-meaning people who have latched onto one method, and who believe (often quite strongly) that the other method is bogus, usually because they’ve had a bad experience with it.
Here’s the whole truth:
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can waste a ton of money on Facebook ads to get 30,000 clicks and no streams.
I’ve literally done this. I took a course on ads, tried the approach, and wasted a few hundred bucks. It felt awful, and I actually gave up on ads for a few years because of it.
But eventually, I started running them again – using the right approach – and got hooked on the high of seeing real followers come in. When you use ads correctly, the saves / streams ratio is as good as it gets.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get your music onto playlists packed with bots and mess up the algorithm.
Sadly, I’ve seen this, too. Playlists can be risky – they’re inherently less engaged than ads, and yeah, if you don’t know what to look for, you can wind up with artificial streams.
But still – it makes no sense to ignore playlists, because Spotify is literally built for them. And when you get on the right one(s), they can give you career-changing growth. I’ve seen it again and again.
They’re the single fastest way to drive streams on the platform.
Long-story-short, both methods can be done poorly.
And when either is done poorly, it produces distressingly bad results.
But if you avoid all forms of Spotify promo, you’ll probably be stuck at the 3-monthly-listeners level until the day the music dies.
Sure, either tactic can go wrong, but you’ve got to try some tactic to grow. That’s why I recommend learning about (and implementing) both promotional methods.
A one-two punch makes growth faster and less risky.
Think of it like filling a pool – things go faster if you’ve got two lines pumping water in.
And if one line has an issue (if you have to straighten out a twist or something), your overall progress still won’t stop.
Bottom line: There is a right way to run ads. And there’s a right way to vet and pitch playlists.
If you use both tactics together, you can give yourself the best chance at the best results – and you can start to generate steady growth.
In this course, I’m going to teach you how both processes work, and how you can put them to use to generate more streams, listeners, and followers on your own profile.
I think the results of a two-process approach will feed your ego, but my goal isn’t just to get you more vanity metrics. When you use these processes correctly, you can:
- Reach new people…
- While building meaningful relationships…
- All without breaking the bank or your heart.
If that sounds appealing, keep scrolling to find out how to make it happen.
The One-Two Punch Curriculum
Module 1
3 videos
Intro & How to Think About Spotify Growth
Too many artists get burned out because they make Spotify something it’s not. In this module, you’ll learn:
- The actual biggest factor in Spotify success
- What Spotify is good for
- How the algorithm works
Module 2
8 videos
How to Get Your Music on Good Playlists
A good playlist placement can make your career; a bad placement can get your song banned. In this module, you’ll learn:
- The three types of Spotify playlists
- How to pitch Spotify’s editorial team for big-time placements
- How to quickly audit user-created playlists to make sure they’re healthy
- How to find and pitch curators for placements that lead to long-term growth
Module 3
8 videos
How to Show Your Music to Engaged Listeners Using Facebook Ads
A good ad campaign is the surest way to generate good Spotify data – the kind that leads to automatic algorithmic growth. In this module, you’ll learn:
- How to find people who will actually like your music
- How to show those people your songs for as little as $10 per day
- How to optimize your ad campaigns (and avoid wasting your budget)
- How to make sure growth doesn’t stop when you turn off the money
Module 4
2 videos
Conclusion & What to Do Next
We’ll wrap things up by helping you to think through whether playlist or ads (or both) are right for you. In this module, you’ll learn:
- How to choose the right method of Spotify growth for your needs
- The clear next steps you need to take to grow on Spotify
Bonus
3 videos
How to Use SubmitHub
SubmitHub certainly has its drawbacks, but at the end of the day, it’s an efficient way to reach more playlist curators. This bonus module includes:
- Advice for how to view SubmitHub as a part of your overall Spotify strategy
- A step-by-step walk-through of how to set up a successful campaign
- An exclusive interview with Jason Grishkoff (SubmitHub’s founder) where he shares how to get the best results with your Spotify pitches.
Curious about any of the info listed above?
FAQs are here, and if you have more questions, feel free to reach out.
A final note on Spotify growth...
I’m not going to lie to you: Promotion is definitely not the only factor in your success.
You can know ads inside and out and be an expert at every playlist pitching trick in the book. But without two key factors, none of it will matter.
You need to lock in:
- The quality of your music
- The consistency of your effort
To be brutally honest, most artists are missing one of those pieces.
The reason Tom (and pretty much anyone else) has been able to grow a following on Spotify is mostly because the music is really dang good, and because he’s been putting stuff out consistently for four years.
If your music doesn’t sound good or you don’t release stuff consistently, it doesn’t matter how beautiful your ads are, and it won’t matter if you somehow get it placed in a playlist. Without consistent quality, people won’t become fans.
You aren’t crossing your fingers, hoping to score a viral hit by spending as little effort as possible promoting mediocre music.
You’re pushing a snowball that grows over time.
With that in mind, both of these tactics should be viewed as long-term vehicles to drive good music forward.
Millions of streams won’t materialize overnight.
If you’re only willing to try pitching for a week or if you’re hanging your hopes on the success of one ad campaign, this course isn’t for you. Yes, your momentum will grow with each release, but there’s no way to magically teleport from the bottom to the top.
You’ve got to step up the stairs. But when you do…
Quality + consistency is undefeated.
Want to make sure it’s worth it? No worries. We’ve got a sweet…
60-Day, No-Risk Guarantee
If you’re not getting value from this course, just reach out within sixty days of your purchase and we’ll provide a 100% refund, no questions asked.
Ready to get the One-Two Punch for Spotify growth?
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We've honed our processes by helping artists like you.
Just skimming?
Hey, if you hit this page and just scrolled down here without reading, I forgive you. It’s a long page. Here’s the quick recap.
The One-Two Punch for Spotify Growth is a course to help you use playlists and Facebook ads to find new listeners.
This is for you if you:
- Want to grow on Spotify
- Have a plan to release songs
- Are willing to commit an hour or two each week to promo
- Have a few hundred bucks to spend on ads (You don’t need money to learn, but if you want to run ads, you’ll need it eventually.)
By the end of the course, you will:
- Know how to evaluate and pitch playlists that generate lots of good streams
- Know how to get new people to find your music every day using Facebook ads
Your exact results will vary, but if you implement the tactics here for three months, you should be able to reach thousands of new monthly listeners, get significant numbers of new followers, and drive tens of thousands of streams.
FAQs are below (and for more info, you can always read the rest of the page ha).
FAQs
Classic question. Here’s my short answer: Probably. But also maybe not.
Here’s my longer answer: There are four factors that’ll determine if this will work for you.
- Is your music actually good?
- Will you be able to release more music consistently?
- Will you have a few hours each week to spend on promotion?
- Will you be able to consistently spend a couple of hundred bucks each month on ads?
If you can answer yes to all of those questions, then this is almost certainly going to work for you. Three out of four, and you’re in good shape.
Two out of four, and it’ll be rough going.
Less than that… don’t get the course. Buy yourself a new pair of headphones or something instead.
You don’t have to. In fact, there’s a video in the course where I walk through how to choose between the two options (if you need to pick one).
But you’ll probably have the most success if you do.
I made the analogy higher up this page of two lines filling up a pool; another analogy is stocks.
Playlists are high risks stocks – they can give potentially huge returns, but you’ve gotta play the long game to get good odds.
Ads are steady stocks – you aren’t going to see insane growth with ads (unless you’ve got a million bucks, and in that case, why are you taking a course when you could pay someone to make you famous?). But you will see consistent, meaningful growth with very little risk.
It’s awesome to have a balanced portfolio because you get the best of both worlds.
24 days.
Just kidding.
Honestly, it’s kind of up to you. You could take this course, watch the ads module, and start running a campaign today. You’d start seeing followers / streams come in tomorrow. Or you could pitch one curator, get on the playlist of your dreams, and blow up immediately.
But I recommend giving yourself at least three months.
Growth can be hard. Your first playlist pitch will probably be ignored. Your first ad campaign will probably be your worst.
But your 10th pitch might garner a placement. Your next ad campaign might get more followers at a lower cost.
Like anything else, you’ll get better at this the more you do it. Or, put another way, you’ve got to keep doing it to get better.
So, yeah, 24 days 
Well shoot, this is the wrong question. There’s literally no way for me to guess a number of streams.
I can give you some ballpark estimates…
- A good ad campaign should get people to hit your Spotify profile for less than 30 cents a click.
- 50 playlist pitches should get you anywhere from 2-15 placements. The streams you’ll get will be dependent on the lists.
But yeah, the general question is kind of meaningless. The number of streams you will get is dependent on so many factors (strength of song, genre, budget, time commitment, famous friends) that it’s not worth answering.
Who’s asking these FAQs anyway? Whoever put this list together needs a stern talking to.
Truth be told, some of the other classes on the market are pretty great. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John Gold’s Spotify Growth Engine and Andrew Southworth’s Spotify Growth Machine (which is my favorite ads-based course). The framework I teach for ads campaigns was laid by these two guys, although I do things a little differently.
That said, I think a one-two punch is better than putting all of your eggs into Facebook’s basket. Facebook’s basket is sketchy.
I believe in both playlists and ads as methods toward Spotify growth. Most courses only teach one (and most times, it’s ads). I don’t think there’s another course that teaches both methods in as much detail as I do.
Kind of. But you don’t need a new release, either.
Here’s the thing – Spotify’s algorithm tends to favor newer tracks, so you may see better ancillary results if you run a campaign for a newer release.
But playlists and ads can drive streams for any song, regardless of when it was released.
The main thing is that you generate good data; if Spotify sees a lot of streams and saves coming in, they’ll usually give your song some algorithmic love regardless of whether or not it’s a new release.
Here’s what you should probably have to put this material to use:
- A song on Spotify
- A plan to put more songs on Spotify
- Video editing software (I teach Premiere Pro, but the concept is very basic and works with free software)
- A Facebook page for your music
- An Instagram account for your music
- A few hundred bucks. Ideally, you’ll plan to spend $300 per month on ads for as long as you want to run them. If you have less than that available, you probably should stick to playlist pitching.
I thought you might… this is kind of complicated stuff.
Shoot it over to jon at twostorymedia dot com.