How Chance the Rapper put himself a position for success and what we can learn from it

How weg the Rapper put himself a position for success and what we can learn from itHow weg the Rapper put himself a position for success and what we can learn from itmglichkeit The Rapper is a bonafide celebrity.Hes one of the most popular artists out there right now. His music binnenseems to be universally loved and listened to. Hes built a massive following of loyal listeners that freak out as soon as any new music of his comes out, even if its just an unproduced sample of an early version of Waves from Kanyes The Life of Pablo.How do I know that? Because Im one of those fanatics of course. New Chance is like Christmas over and over again. At the end of the day, hes put himself a fantastic position for success.The crazy part?Chance The Rapper has never released a single album.Now some will argue that his recent hit project Coloring Book was an album he was simply calling a mixtape, but the reality is Chance doesnt make music with the intention of selling it. In fact, hes never sold a single track. Everything he creates is made available for free. From his breakout mixtape Acid Rap to Coloring Book. Theres no gate. Theres no paywall. Theres no pay-to-listen at all. Its all up for your enjoyment on Soundcloud.Why would he do this when he could easily make millions selling albums? The answer is actually quite simpleA loyal following is mora valuable than a handful of one-off sales.Yeah, Chance is incredibly talented and couldve gone the conventional route of signing with a label, producing great music, then selling it all, but he wanted to bet on himself. If he could build up a loyal following of people interested in Chance himself, not just his music, hed be able to monetize it in on his own terms.Hed also be able to take a much larger cut than the traditional artist would selling albums. As Future of Music found, most artists are only seeing 5% to 15% of each sale. Everybody wants their cut, leaving the artist with far less than they probably deserve.So now th e question is thisAs a marketer, what lessons can you learn from Chance The Rapper and his strategy?Lets dive in1. Provide massive value for freeChance is huge on the mixtape method. Give away free content to build up a larger fanbase and prove his talent to the world. This mixtape method applies to more than just music.If you give away something valuable for free, people will notice and theyll be grateful. If you hide behind paywalls and gated content, people will also notice and be far less likely to care about you at all.Most of the people who come across you or your business have no idea who you are. They dont know if youre credible. They dont know if you actually know what youre talking about. They have no proof of your credibility or quality. You havent shown them a thing.Considering that, would you really expect them to open up the wallet right away? Probably not. Your chances of getting that conversion are slim.What if youve already given them some sort of premium content fo r free or a free sample already? Now that conversion is looking far more likely. Youve now proven your credibility. Theyve seen what you can do and they like it. All of the sudden that cold sales ask is far warmer.This is what we marketers call the mixtape method.Hustle Grind co-founder Ross Simmonds dropped a post talking about content mixtapes not too long ago thats definitely worth a read.Chance has embraced the mixtape model and its paying dividends. He gives away his music online to warm up the sales ask. When it comes time for concert tickets to go on sale, his fans cant get theirs quick enough.As a marketer, if youre giving away premium value in blog posts or free resources, when you finally start opening sales for premium content, a course, an event, or pretty much anything, your potential customers already know youre legit and the sales process will be much smoother.2. Build up a loyal followingIf you continue to provide immense value for free, people will start to genuine ly like you. After all, everybody likes getting something valuable for free.Now not only will your lead magnets convert better and allow your email list or social following to grow even more, but that email list and social following will be full of people who actually care about you and want to hear from you.Of course, a savvy marketer like yourself knows that as your list grows, so does your monetization potential. When youve got a massive list, youll be able to make more sales. When that massive list is full of people that like you, youll make even more sales.Chance has almost 7 million followers on Instagram alone and a personal brand thats off the charts. Just imagine the endorsement deals coming across his virtual desk.You can provide some major value through Instagram and build up a following of your own if you understand how to do it right. If youre ready to start, check out this advanced guide on Instagram growth to help you get the tanzerei rolling.The bottom line is thisLo yalty leads to long-term success.Build up a loyal following and you wont have to rely on one-off album sales like some artists. Youll have people that keep coming back for more.3. Embrace your story and its authenticityWhen it comes to building that following, dont be afraid to be you. That authenticity will go a long way in helping you keep your followers engaged long-term.Chance the Rapper will always be Lil Chano from 79th, no matter how big he gets.Hes a real person that posts videos of him goofing around with his daughter on Instagram. Hes not afraid to step back from the spotlight and show his true colours. In fact, its that authenticity and transparency that continues to help him build up his brand.His followers get to see him as Chance Bennett the person, not just Chance the hip-hop mogul. Sure, his fans love his music, but they also love him as a person. That personal connection will make your audience like you for you, not just what you do.Embrace that authenticity and sta y true to who you are. You dont need to fake it.4. Feature industry leaders to increase reachDont get caught up thinking you need to do it all on your own with no help from anyone else.Its possible to make it on the back of talent and hustle alone, just look at J. Cole and Russ. They dont do features. Its all them.Featuring marquee industry leaders will help you increase your reach.Think about itOn the very first track of Chances Coloring Book, he featured Kanye West. All the sudden, Kanye and his fanbase want to check it out. If they like it, theyll keep listening. On the second track, hes got Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz featured. Now the two of them are going to help promote the mixtape and sell their following on it.Keep going through the mixtape and youll find features from Jeremih, Young Thug, Lil Yachty, Justin Bieber, Future, T-Pain, Ty Dolla $ign, Anderson Paak, and more. Just like that, Chance has an army of high profile artists with a horse in the race. They want to help him pr omote the tape because every listen helps their brand as well.On the flip side, Chance knows that getting himself featured on other projects will have a similar effect. For some Chance fans, the first they heard of him was on Ultralight Beam from Kanyes The Life of Pablo. That one feature has helped him one-up his loyal following.Hes jumped on tracks from Big Sean, DJ Khaled, John Legend, Action Bronson, Macklemore Ryan Lewis, Kyle, Childish Gambino, and a ton more. When each and every one of those songs gets listened to, Chance is being heard and his fanbase is growing.How does that apply to the marketing world?Featuring top influencers and guest posting on top publications will help your brand significantly. If you plug an industry leader in your blog post, you can now reach out to them and ask if theyll give it a share. If they do, your content is now being seen by everyone who follows them and listens to them.Similarly, if you can get your content featured on a popular publicat ion like Forbes, everyone seeing that content now knows youre on the map. If its high quality, they might check you out. Over time, those guest features will help you build up your following and increase your influence.5. Creative freedom is a big dealSince Chance isnt signed to a record label, he gets to create what he wants to create, and what his fans want to hear.Theres no label owner telling him how hes going to sound. If Chance likes how orchestral music sounds in the background, Chance makes a song with orchestral music in the background. If his fans go crazy over a certain sound that hes producing, hell produce more of that sound.Creative freedom helps you maintain your authenticity as well. If your audience can tell youre just towing a company line with every word you say, theyll be gone real quick. After all, people like other people, not just company logos and admins publishing the content.Dont get me wrong, Im not saying you need to quit your job today and start writing whatever you want to write. Im just saying you need to seriously look at the language youre using and the tone youre rolling with.Does it seem forced?Is it awkward and overly corporate?Is it dry and boring?If yes, fix it. Creativity and authenticity are key to keeping your audience engaged. Just like how Chance creates what he knows his followers are into, you can do the same. Build up an understanding of your target audience and make sure your marketing efforts match up with what they want.Its time for you to step up to the plate and put the Chance marketing methods in place. Hes carved out a huge chunk of the hip-hop industry, and its been done mainly through behauptung 5 core ideas. Whether or not he knows it, hes a brilliant marketer.So just as a quick recapDont Be Afraid To Go Against The GrainChance is gambling on himself and turning down a $10 million offers with record labels to maintain his creative freedom and independence. So far, its paying off big time.Just because some thing doesnt seem conventional, dont be afraid to run with it. If no one ever challenged the status quo, thered be no such thing as innovation.Create Mixtapes Instead Of Just SellingFocus on value first and foremost.Dont try to take right away. Give first, build up your own loyal following, then monetize in the future when you have a list of people who dig what youre doing. Youd be surprised how far a handful of free resources can take your lead generation effortsStart HustlingChance works hard. He works very hard. If you want to become a successful marketer, you need to embrace the hustle. Stay focused on the strategy, but always be willing to put in the work.If youre looking for some daily motivation, check out Hustle Grind on Instagram. Every single day theyre sharing the content you need to see to keep you focused on the hustle.Josh Gallant, Digital Marketer Avid Chance The Rapper Fan.This column originally appeared on Quora.com.