I have lots of friends in bands, and a lot of these bands are very good. There are a variety of venues in the area, and most of my friends and I have played at these venues. But there is often a sizable difference in the attendance at these shows. Why is that?
Is it the venues themselves? No, it can’t be. Same stage same website same sound system, same cover charge and yet, some bands draw really well and some draw quite poorly. I have seen some amazing bands at shows where the audience barely outnumbered the band members. At these same venues, I might also see a band of comparable talent pack the place.
The difference is, in most cases, the bands that get the word out draw better, There’s a word for this – it’s called marketing.
For lot of people, marketing has a distasteful connotation. It conjures images of coarse hucksters in tacky late night infomercials or portly fellow with bad combovers and loud sports jackets selling used cars. So, let’s not call it marketing. Let’s call in “getting the word out”.
Getting the word out used to be much harder and more expensive. Back in the 1970’s bands playing at clubs would need to call all their friends and get help plastering handbills all over the town to try and drum attendance for their shows. It was very competitive – there were telephone poles on Berkeley with layer upon layers of 8 ½ x 11 mimeographed handbills.
Today, with email and social media, it’s much easier and nearly free. Most times, when I chat with bands that failed to draw well despite being good, it turns out no one in the band is doing the marketing. They have no mailing list, no website, no downloadable music or CDs and no Facebook page.
Not everyone likes doing this stuff, but if at least one person in a band has an affinity for self-promotion, that band will have a huge advantage over a band where no one assumes those duties. If you want to see email marketing at its best, sign up for Chuck Poling’s email list. He sends out regular communications that are perfect – witty (OK, hilarious) but also informative.
On Facebook, it’s easy to create a Facebook “event” for your band’s gig, dress it up with a good photo, and invite all your Facebook “friends” – if they live locally. If you invite people that are out of the area, you’re just being annoying. If some of your Facebook friends have a flair for promotion, or are fans of your band, you can make them a co-host for your event and they can invite THEIR friends too.
Don’t market event too far in advance. Folks will usually decide what they’re doing on a given Saturday night within a week. Exceptions are larger venues that might sell out, but if selling out is your biggest problem, you’re already doing a good job of marketing.
Encourage those who come to your gigs to sign up for emails notices. Just put a clipboard out with a pen and then save the addresses you collect and send those folks a monthly email with a list of your gigs in the next 30 days. Be informative – include the name of the venue, the address, the date, the time, whether or not there’s a cover charge. Include a link to the venue’s website.
Tout the event. Why should people come see you play? Tell them. Include a picture. Have a link to your band’s website. Be enthusiastic – guarantee a good time, and then make sure your band delivers on the promise. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy – promise a good time, get a good crowd and what do you know? Everyone will have a good time!
