It is so important to own your fan data. Having your fans locked away in social media or streaming services limits your ability to reach your true fans and promote everything you do. You don’t need contact information for all your casual listeners, just the 9% of fans and 1% superfans that collectively make up 94% of your income. Read Why Super Fans Matter to learn more about the economics of super fans, and Why Every Artist Needs a Contact List about why you need to own your fan data.
To kiskstart your fan list, here are the steps to import any list you might already have:
Step 1: Navigate to Contacts Management in your Artist Dashboard
In contacts management, you’ll see all your current contacts, when they joined, and what they’ve spent.
Step 2. Download a template
You need a template to know how to organize your list and upload it.
Simply click the upload list icon in the upper right and download either xlsx or csv template.
This template will have some example data, delete those out.
If you want to keep a complete doc around, you can also download your current list and just add to that.
Step 3. Edit downloaded file
You will see the headers in line one of the file, firstName, lastName, email, etc.
Leave those exactly, and paste into the file you list of contacts, keeping the columns identical.
Step 4. Upload contact file
Now click the upload icon, then upload your file that you just edited.
In the example, I’ve uploaded contacts-3.xlsx
Now just select import on the bottom right side.
After importing, you’ll see the new contacts. They are initially listed as contacts, you can then message them to turn them into followers.
At any time you can find those who are listed as contacts and email them to get them to join vyb.
Every time you perform you, have the opportunity to build your fan contact list. In the olden days, there’d be a signup list for the band. name address, then woah – we got emails! A hand-written list by the merch table that you hope to god Roddie the Roadie wasn’t too whacked on nicotine and extra-shot lattes to remember to grab after the gig. Then you have all these pages of illegible writing because they might have loved your music, but they also loved margaritas. Someone’s got to manually enter these all into a spreadsheet or something and hope you get them right.
At vyb we have several great features to help you build a fan list in the digital age, accurately and automatically.
Step 1: Navigate to Contacts Management in your Artist Dashboard
In contacts mangagment you’ll see all your current contacts. You can search and sort this list.
Step 2. Click Get QR Code
Click on the GET QR Code button in the top left corner
Step 3. Edit Poster
We automatically generate a poster for you based on your profile, using your Artist name, and banner and profile pictures.
Click the edit button on either picture to delete them or swap them for another picture.
Step 4. Dowload Poster
Click the Download Poster button to download a pdf to your computer and then print at any size you want. Keep a copy at your merch table, tape a copy to the walls, put posters in the bathrooms. Work that hustle!
The QR code is unique to your band – below is what happens when fans scan – they get a mobile-friendly, easy signup form.
Fan signup form
Other creative ways to use your QR code
Besides downloading the autogenerated poster, you can also download your QR code as a transparent PNG file. Here are some different ways to use this QR code:
Make your own singup poster and add your QR code. Feeling creative? Make your own poster and add your QR code.
Flash the QR code onto a screen before/after your live set with a message for fans to sign up.
Share the QR code to your socials and tell your fans to sign up for exclusives.
The base set of features in vyb is always free for bands and fans. At vyb our mission is to help artists build their careers, make more money, and ultimately sustain themselves with music. As such, we don’t charge monthly fees or any upfront fees.
We offer free email notifications for a lot of things in vyb. We want you to sell more tickets, sell more merch, so we are going to email your fans for free to increase your sales.
We take the long game, the more you build a fan base, the bettter you do.
We win when you win.
Fee structures
Below are the fees that vyb charges on different services.
Subscription: 20%
Ticketeted Virtual LiveStream Events: 20%
Tips during livestreams or GoLives: 20%
Selling of uploaded Videos: 20%
Merch
Customer purchases: 10% of item price, not including shipping and taxes paid by customers.
Artist Bulk purchase: 10% of base cost of items, before shipping and taxes paid by artist
No upfront costs or fees for merch store.
For an example of payouts for merch, please see the merch help here.
FREE services in vyb
A number of services are built into vyb and free to the artists:
Ticketed in-person event: FREE to artists, fans pay $0.99/ticket fee
Social Posting: FREE
QR Code and custom landing page for selling merch: FREE
QR Code and custom landing page for building your contact list: FREE
Automatic email notifications to fans: FREE
Emails to your fans: FREE
Automatic email notificatons of exclusive merch options for ticketed events: FREE
Hosting of unlimited GoLives: FREE
In all cases, artists cover Stripe credit card fees. We pass those on directly and do not mark up any transaction fees.
No minimums, get paid ASAP
We have no minimums for you to get paid. As soon as you make one dollar, we will pass it on to you. We will hold money in your wallet until you connect a Stripe account. The best way is to connect Stripe directly to your business bank account. Stripe has a basic processing time of two to three business days. We will payout immediately on that timeline. No waiting until the end of the month, or two payments a month, or even 90 days. You can literally be paid directly into your bank account each and every day.
On vyb, you can upload and sell videos that you have previously recorded. Your recordings of old performances are a great way to give your fans more – they want to buy from you. Maybe you had a really hot show last fall or you have early band videos. Maybe you want to sell instructional videos to your following. Here at vyb we can help do do all of that!
For your Super Fans, consider selling this only to Subscribers. That way you encourage and reward your most loyal fans. You can also open it up to everyone but give your Subscribers a discount.
Your videos are encrypted and can’t be downloaded. Fans can only purchase and watch them by going to vyb.
Ensure you have the rights to any video before you upload it, we don’t want to have to pull it down!!
Below are the steps to uploading your videos to sell on vyb:
Step 1
Uploaded videos are going to show in your Events Library.
Click “My Dashboard”, “My Created Events”
Click “Upload Event Video”
Step 2
Edit the Title and Event Description. Make them descriptive and fun to give your fans a reason to buy.
Add a thumbnail and cover image
Step 3
Edit in the date and time when the video was recorded.
Add the name of the venue and the Country, State and City
Step 4
Set the ticket pricing.
You can choose to make it exclusive for subscribers or open to anyone.
Choose the number of people who can buy the video, either unlimited or make it selective.
Set the pricing option. Free is only allowed for Subscriber Only. Minimum Price option lets your fans pay more, like a built in tip.
Set the pricing and the if your Audience is For Everyone, set the subscriber discount
Step 5
Now you can upload your video
After you have uploaded it, you can watch the video using the video controls to skip through and check the quality and audio.
Step 6
Now do a final check of the pricing and access, then hit Publish.
Once you’ve hit publish, your event is available to be purchased by your fans.
On vyb, you can build and nurture your fan base by directly connecting with you Fans and Super Fans through exclusive content and unique experiences.
Understanding your Audience
Your Audience is made up of three main categories: Listeners, Fans and Super Fans. It seems crazy, but there is a stark difference between these three and the smallest number of Super Fans really drive your income.
Super Fans – always buys a concert ticket, always buys the merch.
Less than 1% of your Audience
Over 50% of your income
Fans – buys music, a concert ticket or merch once in awhile
Approximately 9% of your Audience
A little over 46% of your income
Listeners – casual fans that might hear you on streaming services or see you on social media
Over 90% of your Audience
Around 3% of your income
1% of your fan base provides HALF your income
Very importantly, because those Super Fans are your main drivers, you want to really nurture them. Think of how you give them special content and exclusives. They want the behind the scenes stuff, the raw unfinished song, the setup for the big show.
Audience Types in vyb
In vyb we have three types in your audience
Subscribers: these pay a monthly fee to get exclusives and discounts. For you, they provide regular income and a very targeted list to market everything new you do. You want to get your Super Fans signed up as Subscribers.
Followers: These fans have indicated they want to be kept up to date with what you are doing. When you add people to your email list on vyb they are automatically signed up as Followers.
Fans: people who don’t follow or subscribe, but just are on the platform. These people can still buy merch, they can still buy tickets. We want to convert these fans to Followers and Subscribers
Subscriber Exclusives
Here is a list of some of the things you can do for your Subscribers:
Events
Discounted Event Tickets – automatically we’ll apply the Subscriber discount that’s in your profile, but you can also manually set that to an even higher level.
Subscriber-only events – here are some example ideas
Set up a virtual event that is only available for Subscribers
Set up a meet and greet event only available for Subscribers
Subscriber-only event tiers
For example, make the VIP seating event tier only available to subscribers.
To learn how to do these features for your subscribers, see Setting up Events
Video purchases
In vyb you can upload and sell videos. When you do, you can make the purchase exclusive to subscribers.
Discounts on Merch. Subscribers automatically get the discount in your profile
Subscriber exclusive merch. You can set up a group of merch, called a Collection, to be exclusive to subscribers. To learn how to do this, see Merch Collections
GoLive
GoLives are quick videos that you can take, think behind the scenes content.
Nurture your Followers and Subscribers, increase your success
By using these tools and putting some things for all your audience, some for Followers, and some only for Subscribers, you will excite your Fans and Super Fans. True Fans love exclusives. They want to be in the in-club. make sure you are nurturing them and you will increase your success.
