Hi — I’m Jake this post I’m walking you through exactly how I advertise my music, why I invested money to kickstart growth, and how I got my songs onto hundreds of thousands of Spotify Playlists. If you want to boost streams without living on TikTok, read on. I’ll show real tools, real numbers, and the play-by-play of a campaign I ran on a flatlined track
Quick overview: the problem and the solution
Most independent artists sit in one of two camps: spend all day making social content to appease algorithms, or do nothing and wonder why nobody hears your songs. The truth is somewhere in the middle — you can absolutely grow without being a full-time content creator, but you do need to actively drive traffic. That traffic signals Spotify that your music matters, and the platform starts recommending you more. The strategy I use is threefold:
- Understand and raise your Spotify Popularity Index (SPI).
- Use Spotify playlist pitching tools (like SubmitHub) for organic placement in curated Spotify playlists.
- Use targeted ads and playlist deep-linking (via Hypeddit / Facebook ads) to bring listeners straight to a curated sequence of your tracks.
Understanding the Spotify Popularity Index (SPI)
Spotify doesn’t publish the exact algorithm, but SPI is basically a score from 0–100 that tells Spotify how “popular” a track or an artist is right now. Tracks with SPI 0–20 are new or have very low engagement; 21–50 is moderate; 51+ is where songs often get editorial pushes and wider algorithmic placements.
Why SPI matters: if people who don’t know you come to your profile and listen to multiple tracks, follow you, and save/add your songs, Spotify treats that as proof you attract real listeners. That drives more algorithmic placements — radio, Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and ultimately editorial consideration.
“If you want your new song to get streams without spending time on trends, you will likely need to spend some money to kickstart it. Or spend loads of time doing organic social—I’m not interested in either as my only strategy.”
Types of Spotify playlist sources that bring streams
- Spotify Radio — personalized; can drive tens of thousands of listens.
- Algorithmic Spotify playlists — Discover Weekly, Release Radar, algorithmic editorial placements.
- Editorial playlists — Spotify’s curators (hard to get, but powerful).
- Listener/curated playlists — the big multiplier. Thousands of small playlists cumulatively add up.
My profile gets hundreds of thousands of Spotify playlist placements across thousands of curators and user playlists. Those listener playlists are often the difference between a track that never moves and a track that slowly snowballs into a million plays.
Toolset I use
- SubmitHub — send tracks to curators and playlist owners rather than spamming emails.
- Hypeddit (or similar ad automation tools) — build Spotify-targeted ad campaigns that drive listeners to a playlist or track.
- Facebook Ads / Meta — Hypeddit uses Meta/Facebook behind the scenes, so learning Ads Manager is useful.
- My own deep-link Spotify playlist tool — create an autoplay link to a playlist that starts with your target track, encouraging multi-track listens.
Example: picking a flatlined track and giving it life (the Orient Express case)
I wanted to demonstrate the process in real time by choosing a Great but overlooked track from my catalog. Orient Express had almost no traction for a year — perfect experiment material.
My workflow:
- Open SubmitHub and upload the track (add streaming links, basic metadata).
- Carefully select curators: genre match, energy, and past approval history matter — stop choosing “choose for me.”
- Pick premium pitches for better visibility, choose reasonable credits (I budgeted $50 for this demo), and hit submit.
- Simultaneously prepare an ad campaign in Hypeddit to drive traffic to a playlist that starts with Orient Express (deep link/autoplay playlist).
Notes from SubmitHub tips:
- Don’t waste credits pitching to curators who clearly dislike your sound — read the playlist description and what they reject.
- Choose 3 genres that the average person would use to describe the song (not some niche underground label only you use).
- Pick neutral feedback preferences — I ask for gentle feedback if any; I don’t want long production notes from strangers.
Ads: how I run them and why they work
I use Hypeddit to automate Facebook ad campaigns that send users to my Spotify playlist. The big lever is two-pronged:
- Target fans of specific artists/genres on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) — these are interest-based targets like Dennis Ferrer / artists who attract similar listeners.
- Use a playlist deep-link so the listener keeps hearing my music (not a random jump to some other artist after one track).
Practical ad details I’ve used:
- Start small — I often test with $5–$10/day to see CPC and conversion.
- Tier countries: focus on Tier 1 & 2 (US, UK, Australia, EU) for higher quality listeners who are likelier to engage and buy merch later.
- Pick 3–5 target artist interests and generate lookalike interest sets off them (Hypeddit can help with this).
- Create 3 ad snippets (15–60s) from the best sections of the song — pick a hook, a beat-drop, and a breakdown.
Examples from my campaigns (real numbers):
- I spent ~£488 (about $617) on one “Disappear” campaign and achieved an insanely low cost-per-click (historically 1p–4p). That track ultimately gained nearly 2 million streams.
- For testing, I spent $50 on SubmitHub pitches and $50–$100 on ad testing for other tracks; results vary but the principle is the same — you need a kick.
Deep linking and why you must use it
Sharing a single Spotify track link often drops listeners into a session where your song plays once and the algorithm immediately moves on to other artists. Deep linking to a curated playlist with your songs first gives you multiple plays per visitor.
Example math (why deep linking scales):
- Cost-per-click = $0.50. If a user listens to 1 track, CPR (cost-per-result) = $0.50 per listen.
- If the same user listens to 10 tracks in your playlist, the CPR drops to $0.05. Tenfold improvement on the same spend.
- If they follow or save the playlist, future releases can land in front of them instantly.
Meta changes made autoplay glitchy on some platforms, so users might have to click “Open app” in Instagram/Facebook to trigger auto-play. It’s annoying but still workable — consider emailing/DMing deep links where autoplay works better or prompting users to “open in Spotify app.”
What I don’t use (or use sparingly)
- Spotify Marquee and in-app promos — I tried them; they can work, but I found cost-per-clicks high and results inconsistent.
- Paying random influencers to slap a track under unrelated content — quality control is a nightmare and often wasted spend.
Actionable checklist — what to do this week
- Pick one flatlining but great track from your catalog.
- Make a 5–8 track playlist with that track as #1 and 2–3 other songs that best represent you.
- Create three ad snippets (15–60s) that grab attention immediately — avoid long intros.
- Submit to 10–20 curated playlists on SubmitHub (prioritize genre match and past approvals).
- Run a small targeted ad test ($5–$15/day) to drive traffic to your deep-linked playlist — focus on Tier 1/2 countries and 1–2 artist interests.
- Measure: clicks, listens per user, follow/save rate. If people listen to multiple songs and follow, scale budget.
Common mistakes I’ve seen
- Randomly pitching to any playlist — leads to low approval and wasted credits.
- Spending ad money without a deep-link or curated Spotify playlist — one song listens and high churn.
- Expecting Spotify to do all the work — the algorithm rewards artists who bring real listeners.
Conclusion
You don’t need to be glued to social media trends to grow. You do need to bring real listeners to your music — whether by paid ads, strategic Spotify playlist pitching, or both. Pick the right tracks, curate a listening experience, and use tools (SubmitHub, Hypeddit/Facebook ads, deep linking) to amplify your reach. The result? More placements in Spotify Playlists, higher SPI, and a better chance your next release finds a real audience.
FAQ
Q: What exactly is the Spotify Popularity Index (SPI)?
A: SPI is a private Spotify score (0–100) that reflects how well a track or artist is performing now. Higher SPI often leads to more algorithmic visibility. You increase it by getting external listeners to play multiple tracks, follow, and save.
Q: Does deep linking still work?
A: Yes — but Meta’s recent changes have made autoplay unreliable on Instagram/Facebook. Deep links still work best from emails, direct messages, or when users click “Open app.” It’s still worthwhile because it encourages multi-track listens.
Q: How much should I spend to test an ad?
A: Start small — $5–$15/day for a week to test creative, audience, and playlist funnel. If you see multi-track listens and follows, scale up.
Q: Are listener playlists more important than editorial playlists?
A: Both matter. Editorial Spotify playlists give big boosts, but hundreds of small listener playlists can add up to massive long-term growth. Getting on many user playlists signals organic traction to Spotify.
Q: Should I use SubmitHub or email curators directly?
A: SubmitHub streamlines the process and gives you data on approvals. It costs credits, so be selective and focus on curators with a history of approving music like yours.
Q: Can I do all of this for free?
A: You can, but it requires heavy investment of time and consistent organic content. If you want faster and more reliable movement, a modest ad budget plus smart playlist pitching will get you further, faster.
Final note
If you’re serious about growth, treat promotion like part of the craft. Make great music, then help people find it — with targeted playlists, smart pitches, and ads that send listeners to curated experiences. If you want, I’ll post follow-ups on specific steps: Ads Manager setup, SubmitHub pitching strategies, and a live breakdown of results from the Orient Express campaign.