How to promote an album or EP: a practical plan
An album gives you more songs to talk about and more reasons to post — but also more to prepare. This plan breaks an album or EP campaign into stages you can actually keep up with.
Singles first: the rollout
Most albums and EPs today are released in stages: one or more singles first, then the full record. Each single is a small campaign that builds the audience for the next one. A common shape:
- Single 1 six to ten weeks before the album, with its own full campaign (how to promote a song).
- Single 2 two to four weeks before, announcing the album date and cover.
- Album release, with a focus track and content for every song.
For an EP, one or two singles are usually enough.
Choosing focus tracks
Pick the songs with the strongest hook in the first seconds — they will carry the short videos. Ask people outside the band which line they remember after one listen. The focus track gets the music video; the others can get lyric videos, live versions or visualizers (what to release for each song).
The album week
- Announcement with the cover and the tracklist.
- Countdown with a different song snippet each day.
- Release day: out now with the album cover, the focus track’s video or lyric video, and the Canvas for every song.
- A track-by-track post or video: one sentence per song.
Content for every song
A record with ten songs is ten reasons to post. For each track, aim for at least:
- a Spotify Canvas (Canvas maker),
- a lyric video or snippet (Video Lyrics),
- one or two clips: a live take, the story behind it, a moment from a session.
Tip: brand templates keep every song’s pieces in the album’s look. In TONTRIA, save the fonts, colors and logo once and every piece starts with them.
Promoting an EP: a 6-week plan
An EP (usually four to six songs) needs less runway than an album but the same order of steps. A plan you can follow week by week:
| Week | What goes out | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks before | Single 1 | Its own campaign: Canvas, lyric video or visualizer, 3–5 short clips with the hook |
| 4 weeks before | Pitch to playlists | Pitch the next single in Spotify for Artists at least 7 days before its date |
| 2 weeks before | Single 2 + EP announcement | Cover, title, tracklist and pre-save link |
| Release week | The EP | Focus track video, a Canvas for every song, a track-by-track post |
| Weeks 1–4 after | One song per week | Clips, lyric snippets and the story behind each track |
| Weeks 5–8 after | Live versions and milestones | A live session, a playlist add, a fan cover |
If the EP has only three songs, one single is enough: put it out four weeks before and announce the EP with it.
After the release
- One song per week gets the spotlight for the next two months: clips, lyric snippets, the story.
- Live sessions of album tracks give you fresh clips without new recordings.
- Milestones (a playlist, a show, a fan cover) are reasons to post again.
- Older albums count too. Songs from earlier records can get a Canvas, a lyric video or clips from old shows when the new one comes out: see back catalog promotion.
What to prepare in advance
Masters, covers (album and singles), lyrics for every song, release dates, at least one long video per focus track, and the promo kit checklist filled for each single. The day-by-day plan for each single fits the free release content calendar.