How To Use Intro Messages To Increase Engagement? – Musosoup

Your introductory message is often the first direct communication an artist receives from you. It's your opportunity to make a strong impression, demonstrate genuine interest in their work, and explain why collaborating with you would be valuable for their release.

While it's quick and easy to send automated offers at scale, this approach rarely delivers strong results. From an artist's perspective, it's important to feel that the curator reaching out is genuinely interested in their music and motivated to share it, not simply sell a service.

Tailoring your introductory message to each artist and release is one of the most effective ways to improve acceptance rates and build lasting relationships with artists.

Why Personalisation Matters

Artists on Musosoup receive multiple offers every week. When an artist reads a personalised message that references specific details about their music or campaign, it immediately stands out.

Personalised messages show the artist that you've:

Actually listened to their release

Read their pitch and understood their goals

Taken time to consider why the collaboration makes sense

Approached them as an individual, not as part of a mass outreach campaign

This builds trust and makes your outreach feel personal and considered, significantly increasing the likelihood that the artist will accept your offer.

Minimum Personalisation Standards

At a minimum, your introductory message should include:

The artist's name

The release title

These basic elements show you're addressing a specific person and their specific work, not sending a completely generic template. However, this level of personalisation alone is often not enough to significantly improve acceptance rates.

Strengthening Your Message with Specific Details

You can make your introductory message much more compelling by including specific, relevant details that demonstrate genuine engagement with the artist's work.

Mention Something You Enjoyed About the Track

Reference a specific musical element, production choice, or creative decision that stood out to you.

Examples:

"I really liked the groove of the bassline and how it drives the track forward."

"The production feels very polished, especially the vocal layering in the chorus."

"The way you blend acoustic and electronic elements creates a really distinctive sound."

"The track's dynamic shifts kept me engaged from start to finish."

These comments show you've actively listened and can articulate what makes their music distinctive. Artists appreciate when curators notice and acknowledge specific creative choices.

Explain Why the Release Fits Your Publication

Help the artist understand why their music aligns with your publication's focus, audience, or editorial approach.

Examples:

"Our audience is mainly hip-hop focused, and your track fits well with the style of releases we regularly feature."

"We often cover emerging indie artists, and this release aligns well with what our readers respond to."

"Your blend of shoegaze and dream pop is exactly what our community gravitates toward."

"This track would sit perfectly alongside recent features we've done with similar artists in the lo-fi scene."

This demonstrates that you've thought about the strategic value of the collaboration for the artist, not just for yourself. It also helps the artist visualise how the coverage will benefit their campaign.

Reference Details from the Artist's Pitch

Show that you've read the artist's pitch by mentioning a specific detail they included about the release, their creative process, or their goals.

Examples:

"I noticed you mentioned working with producer Jake on this release—the collaboration really comes through in the final track."

"Your focus on self-producing and releasing independently stood out and fits well with our editorial approach."

"I saw you're planning a tour in support of this release. Our coverage could help build momentum ahead of those dates."

"The story behind how you wrote this track during lockdown adds meaningful context that our readers would appreciate."

These references prove you've engaged with the artist's campaign beyond just listening to the track for 15 seconds. It shows respect for their work and makes the offer feel genuinely considered.

Balancing Efficiency and Quality

Personalising every message does take more time than sending templated offers at scale. However, sending fewer, higher-quality offers often leads to a higher acceptance rate and stronger long-term results.

Consider these two approaches:

High-volume, low-personalisation approach:

Send 50 generic offers with 4% acceptance rate = 2 accepted offers

Time spent: minimal per offer, high volume overall

Lower-volume, high-personalisation approach:

Send 25 personalised offers with 12% acceptance rate = 3 accepted offers

Time spent: more per offer, lower volume overall

The personalised approach delivers more accepted offers with less total outreach, and the artists who accept are more likely to engage positively with your coverage because the relationship started with genuine interest.

Testing the Impact of Personalisation

To clearly see how personalisation affects your performance, try running a short test:

For a two-week period, send only personalised offers that include specific references to each artist's music or pitch

Track your acceptance rate during this period

Compare this acceptance rate with your usual approach over a similar timeframe

This test will help you understand the concrete impact personalisation has on your results and make an informed decision about how to balance efficiency and engagement in your workflow.

Using Dynamic Fields for Partial Automation

While full personalisation is most effective, you can use dynamic fields to partially automate your messages while still maintaining some personalisation:

{ARTIST} automatically inserts the artist's name

{TITLE} automatically inserts the release title

You can create a base template that includes these fields and then add 2-3 sentences of unique, specific commentary for each artist. This approach gives you some efficiency while still ensuring every message feels individually crafted.

Example template structure:

Hi {ARTIST},

I've just listened to {TITLE} and [add specific comment about what you enjoyed].

[Add sentence about why it fits your publication or reference something from their pitch].

[Standard closing with bundle details and call to action].

This structure ensures basic personalisation is always present while prompting you to add meaningful, specific details for each artist.

Best Practices for Effective Intro Messages

Do:

Write like you're speaking to a real person

Reference specific musical elements or creative choices

Explain why the collaboration makes sense

Keep the tone conversational and genuine

Show you've listened and read their pitch

Don't:

Use obviously templated or corporate language

Include exaggerated compliments that sound insincere

Focus entirely on what you offer without acknowledging their music

Send identical messages to multiple artists in the same genre

Write overly long messages, concise and specific is better than lengthy and generic

Your introductory message is one of the most important factors influencing whether an artist accepts your offer. By investing time in personalisation and demonstrating genuine interest in each artist's work, you'll see higher acceptance rates, build stronger relationships, and establish yourself as a curator artists actively want to work with.