I’ve realized that many members are not earning near their potential from Music Forte’s distribution services.  In many cases the problem is as simple as providing a PayPal email address.

I’d like to discuss some of those pitfalls that other members might have encountered and how Music Forte is set up to deal with those "pitfalls".

The best way to explain it is to simply walk through the process from start to finish, with provided examples of how it all works.

Step 1

Get your free PayPal account.  PayPal operates in over 190 countries and regions, so chances are, that you DO have access to their services and so will most of your customers.

Step 2

Assuming that you have already uploaded songs at Music Forte and decided on the plan that best fits your needs, you will need to provide your PayPal address. It’s an easy process.  Just login to Music Forte, and click "My Music" > "Add/Edit Mp3".  Near the bottom of the page, you will see the field for you to provide this email address.

Notes:

1. You need to provide your PayPal email address.  Not a user name or any other piece of information.
2. If this information is not provided and a customer tries to purchase your music, you will get an email advising you to provide the correct information.  Additionally, the customer is notified that you have not set up your account, and to try the purchase at a later time.

Step 3

Promote your download page.  We do plenty of promotion for you.  In fact, the amount of traffic that arrives at our storefront is much higher than that of our forums (which also receive a high amount of traffic).

There are several ways for promoting your mp3s.  You can use the widget code, media banners, or your own customized links.  If you need more suggestions, please review a recent forum post that helps explain some of the further promotional ideas available.

1,2,3.. you’re done!

It’s really that simple.  Nonetheless questions come up from time to time that would attempt to make the process seem more complex.  Here they are with the most common solutions:

Possible Problem - I ordered music and it hasn’t arrived.

Solution  1 - In most cases, the buyer is using a free email account with filter restrictions.  By modifying the permissions of their email filter, or by checking their filter, they can find the download email.

Solution 2 - If the buyer has a Music Forte account, they will also find a permanent link with the download locations for all the songs that they purchased.

Solution 3 - Rarely, the musician has set their PayPal account so that they need to approve payments before they are received.  If you have set your PayPal account up in this manner, it is your responsibility to approve the purchases.  Why would you turn away sales?

Intervention:  If necessary, Music Forte keeps a copy of all the purchase email, so that we can send it to the customer again quickly and easy.  It’s a very simple email.  Here is an example of what it looks like:

If a customer has not received the above email, we can easily forward it back to them.

Possible Problem - PayPal takes a minimum fee from the transaction. 

Yes, they do.  But you can set the mp3 prices independently.  Keep in mind that most customers purchase more than one song at a time. So chances are if you have four songs for sale at 99 cents each, and PayPal takes 35 cents, you’re still doing a pretty good job.  There are not any places that we are aware of that can provide a better deal than that.

What’s next?

There are many things that Music Forte does to help promote your digital media.  Wherever you decided to sell, be diligent.  Explore all the opportunities available, and take advantage of the service to it’s maximum potential.  You owe that to yourself!