If you're new to Songtools, it's completely normal to wonder when to start promoting, how to launch your first campaign, and what to do once everything is live, especially if this is your first real experience with music promotion.
The good news is: Songtools is built to make promotion simple, effective, and stress-free. Our goal is to help great music get heard by the right audience, with a straightforward process that isn't artificial and connects your song with real people. That's why we put together this short timeline guide: so you know exactly what to launch, what to check, and when to do it at every stage of your promotion journey with us.
Pre-Release
(The stage before your song is out)
At the moment, Songtools promotion tools are designed for the post-release stage of a track. That means there's nothing to edit or launch pre-release, because all of our promotion tools become available once your track is released on Spotify.
Once your song is live on Spotify, you'll be able to:
- Log into Songtools
- Search your track's Spotify URL and select it
- Choose whether you'd like to start with PlaylisterClub, Songfly, or our free tools to start promoting
Although you can't promote a song before it's released, you can still test the platform anytime by running campaigns for any past releases. This is a great way to learn how everything works before your next drop.
Release Day
(The moment your song is released and available for streaming on Spotify)
Once your track is released, launch your campaign and start promoting as soon as possible.
- We always recommend launching both a PlaylisterClub and Songfly campaign at the same time to promote your releases–combining them helps ensure you're getting the widest possible exposure to new listeners.
Mobile vs desktop: what we recommend
- It's easy to purchase and launch your campaigns on either mobile or desktop.
- However, for the best experience, we always recommend logging into your Songtools account using Google Chrome on a desktop. This makes it much easier to launch, edit, and track all your active campaigns.
Right After Launch
(Immediately after your campaigns go live and are actively running on the platform)
⚠️ Everything in this stage should be done on a desktop, not a mobile phone.
Now that your campaigns are live, there are two key things you should check right away.
For a PlaylisterClub campaign:
- Check your audio preview first–in your dashboard, click play on your song cover to hear the preview playlisters will hear.
- This preview is pulled directly from Spotify by default, and it doesn't always feature the most engaging part of your track. If you think there's a stronger section that will resonate more or drive better engagement, you should update this preview as soon as your campaign launches.
- Click here for more information on how to edit your campaign's audio preview.
For a Songfly campaign:
- Check your ad creative first–in your dashboard, click play on your ad to preview what audiences will see on social media. Your creative is one of the biggest factors in whether your ad will perform well or not.
- If you already have a high-quality music video, lip sync video, or any other promotional video material that features your song, turn OFF SmartCreative in your settings and upload it as your new ad creative.
- Click here for more information on editing and changing your Songfly ad's creative
While Songtools campaigns are designed to run smoothly with minimal effort from the artist, taking a moment to make these quick post-launch adjustments can help ensure your promotion is set up as strongly as possible from day one.
While Your Campaigns Are Running
(The days that follow your campaign's launch, before the last day)
⚠️ Everything in this stage should be done on a desktop, not a mobile phone.
This is the best time to track your campaign's progress and stay informed on how your track is resonating with playlisters and new listeners. How often you check in is mostly based on personal preference:
- If you want to track your results every day, simply log in on a desktop and stay updated as your campaign progresses.
- If you prefer to launch your campaign and let it run without checking in, just make sure you remember whether auto-renew is enabled, so you don't end up with any unwanted renewals.
The "First Week" Health Check
(On the sixth day of your campaign)
Before your first week of promotion concludes, it is essential to audit your metrics to decide on your next move. This is the optimal time to evaluate if you should renew your current push or pivot your budget to a different track.
For a PlaylisterClub campaign:
- Review your BEI & SEI metrics within your dashboard–A green SEI indicates that your song is converting listeners into active streamers at an efficient rate.
For a Songfly campaign:
- Compare the number of new fans acquired against your total ad spend–analyze your cost-per-conversion to ensure you are reaching your target audience effectively. Click here to learn more on how to analyze this metric.
Once you've reviewed your Songtools performance, the next step is to cross-reference your DSP data:
- Log into Spotify for Artists and other DSP dashboards. Look for spikes in saves, playlist adds, and algorithmic "Radio" triggers that correlate with your Songtools traffic.
Now that you have a clearer picture of your results, this is the best time to decide whether to keep auto-renew turned ON or OFF, follow these general guidelines when deciding whether to renew:
- If your SEI is green and/or your cost-per-fan is low, keep auto-renew ON and keep your campaign going.
- If your metrics are underperforming after 6 days, it may be more effective to stop the current run and shift your focus to promoting a different song in your catalog.
How to Pivot: Shifting for Maximum ROI
(Adjusting your strategy after the "First Week" Health Check)
If your campaign isn't hitting the benchmarks you expected, don't just let the budget run out. Use these additional scenarios below to help you decide your next move:
If PlaylisterClub is stalling but Songfly is converting:
- This can mean your track isn't matching the current curator mood, but new listeners are still responding and engaging out of personal preference.
- Next move: Scale back your PlaylisterClub budget and shift those funds solely into Songfly, so you're investing where fans are actively responding and clicking.
If Songfly has a high CPC but PlaylisterClub is "green":
- If your SEI is strong and curators are adding you to high-engagement playlists, but your ads aren't converting, your visual creative may be the issue.
- Next move: Double down on PlaylisterClub to ride the organic momentum, or swap your Songfly creative to a different video to see if that lowers your cost-per-fan.
If you're unsure what your next move should be, you can also always reach out to our team at support@songtools.io for further guidance.
Campaign Complete (Renewed or Ended)
If your campaign renewed…
- Repeat the tracking step and stay informed as your track continues to grow.
- Over time, we also recommend testing different genres, audio previews, or taglines to see what makes the biggest impact—then double down on what's driving the most growth.
If your campaign ended and expired…
- Now's the time to get a final sense of the impact your campaign made – Click here for more information on what each metric in your dashboard means.
- You can also check tools like Spotify for Artists to better understand the growth in listeners or followers you experienced while your campaigns were active.
- Open your "My Activity" tab (top left of your dashboard) to review how all your promotions performed across tracks, and see which track resonated the most.
If you're still promoting, always keep experimenting with edits to push even more growth. If your promotions have completed, use your results to guide what you promote next and what you create moving forward.
Key Takeaways
- You can only promote post-release: once your track is live on Spotify, launch ASAP (you can test Songtools anytime using a past release).
- Launch both campaigns together: we recommend running PlaylisterClub + Songfly at the same time for the widest exposure.
- Use a desktop for the best experience: you can still access on mobile, but Google Chrome on desktop is best for editing + tracking.
- Make your "right after launch" edits immediately: update your PlaylisterClub audio preview if needed, and optimize your Songfly ad creative.
- Renew based on real performance: check results during the run, decide on auto-renew within the final days, and always renew if momentum is growing.
FAQ's
Q: Should I promote my song the second it drops, or wait a few days?
In most cases, it's best to start as soon as possible once your track is released. Early promotion helps you build momentum faster, and it gives your campaigns more time to generate meaningful engagement while the release is still fresh.
Q: What if I don't have a music video or strong visuals for my Songfly campaign?
You can always keep SmartCreative ON to let our team adjust your visuals to improve engagement and boost your ad's click rate—giving you a better chance to reach and convert more new listeners.
Q: How do I know if my campaign is doing "good enough" to renew?
A good rule of thumb is that if your campaign is growing, gaining momentum, and showing clear engagement in any way, it's worth renewing–especially if you're only running 7-day promotions.
Q: I don't want to check results every day, will that hurt my campaign?
Not necessarily. Your performance is ultimately driven by whether playlisters and listeners choose to engage with your track. Checking daily is just a way to stay informed or make edits, not a requirement.
Q: What's the biggest mistake artists make right after launching?
There technically aren't any "mistakes" since your results mostly come down to listener preference. However, skipping key post-launch edits (like your audio preview or ad creative) can limit your campaign's potential, or forgetting to review your auto-renew settings can lead to an unwanted renewal.
If you follow this timeline each time you launch a campaign, promoting your music will start to feel less like trial and error, and more like a real process you can rely on. With every release, you'll get faster at setting up your campaigns, making the right adjustments, and knowing exactly what to check (and when), until it becomes second nature.
Most importantly, every campaign gives you valuable insight. The more you launch, refine, and track your promotions, the clearer it becomes which songs resonate most with your audience and what consistently drives growth. Over time, that consistency is what turns streams into momentum, and momentum into a real fanbase you can keep building.
