Would you like your subsequent live performance to be a sell-out occasion?
In “The important thing to reserving higher gigs” I mentioned three of the most effective methods to show each present into successful:
- Don’t play too typically in any given city
- Select smaller venues that you may simply fill
- Make every gig particular (album launch present, tour kickoff, and so forth.)
However these are all high-level selections. There’s acquired to be extra to the method, proper? Certainly.
On this article I’ll focus on particular steps for efficient live performance promotion.
You received’t must do ‘em all for each single present, after all. However the extra objects you’ll be able to examine off this listing, the higher your probabilities of promoting out the venue.
Begin early!
The sooner you’ll be able to e book a present, the extra time it’s a must to create curiosity within the occasion and work in your stage manufacturing.
Some gigs come up last-minute. However these must be the exception to the rule.
Attempt to e book your exhibits wherever from 3 to 12 months prematurely.
Status venues, music festivals, and high-demand home live performance sequence could also be reserving even additional out than that.
Curate a fantastic lineup
In case you can’t sell-out the present by yourself, workforce up!
Discover one or two different acts with a dependable draw in that city. Work collectively. In case you’re reserving a tour by THEIR hometown, return the favor with a gig-swap once they journey by yours.
Ensure you coordinate your plans for promotion with the opposite acts on the invoice. No want for 3 bands to work individually when you’ll be able to pool your efforts and price range.
Select the appropriate ticket worth
You need to revenue from the present, however not cost a lot that you simply don’t fill the venue. It’s a balancing act, and there’s some trial and error, for positive.
However lean on the venue or promoter’s experience for those who’re uncertain of the appropriate worth.
Additionally ask for his or her advice or choices concerning ticketed occasions versus door-charge, and particular seats versus common admission.
Get enterprise buy-in
The enterprise that you simply need to see most invested in your present is the venue, after all.
So focus on with the promoter, the talent-buyer, or the venue administration what they plan to do to make the night time successful. What precisely are they operating for promo (advertisements, posters, and so forth)? Who pays for what?
By getting detailed data, you’ll know the way your efforts can complement each other, or plug holes.
Then ask your self: Are there different companies or charities that may make investments on this present? An out of doors sponsor who can cowl among the prices and promote the occasion to their prospects, in trade for some branding, schooling, or product placement through the present?
Prioritize wonderful design
Your occasion has to LOOK cool. Upfront.
You need individuals — once they attend the present — to really feel cool by affiliation.
So make certain your live performance posters, related social posts, Fb Occasion Web page banner, and different internet belongings all have a placing visible attraction.
You are able to do so much lately with Canva and AI design instruments, however for those who want a professional designer, allocate some promo price range. It’ll be definitely worth the expense.
Replace all the things!
Make an inventory of all of the locations that want fast edits or bulletins, together with:
- Your live performance calendar
- Bandsintown
- SongKick
- ReverbNation profile
- A Fb occasion
- YouTube Playing cards (for those who’re within the YouTube Accomplice Program)
- Information-bars or popups in your web site
- And extra
Now go and add the related data about your present!
Don’t neglect your electronic mail listing both. Section the listing primarily based on geography, and ship an electronic mail to individuals in that city.
Put up posters
IRL posters are nonetheless vital.
In case you’re taking part in a distinct city, mail them on to the venue, native document shops, and some other related place for public show, akin to libraries, instrument shops, bookstores, espresso outlets, and so forth. (name or electronic mail beforehand).
Or if a neighborhood band is opening, coordinate with them to hold posters. In case you’re taking part in your personal hometown, cling ‘em up your self!
Tease the thriller
Will you could have a particular shock visitor? Get individuals guessing, however don’t reveal the reply.
Will you debut a particular tune? Share a snippet from observe that sounds acquainted, however not a useless giveaway.
Are you engaged on an attention-grabbing stage design, props, or costumes? Present some behind-the-scenes moments the place these parts are simply beginning to come collectively, however aren’t fairly prepared for showtime.
Plant the seeds of curiosity.
Create devoted merch
Inform your followers there might be a particular merch merchandise that can ONLY be acquired in the event that they attend the present.
You possibly can promote it on the merch desk. You possibly can give it away on the door. Or you’ll be able to embrace it as a part of a particular ticket bundle.
The purpose is to create a way of urgency and commemoration.
Make ticketing EASY!
You typically received’t have a selection about how ticketing works, which platforms are used, and so forth. Quite a lot of that’s left to the venue’s present processes.
However wherever you’ll be able to, you need as few clicks as potential between your promo efforts and the ultimate buy.
Don’t ship somebody from an Instagram picture to your web site’s live performance calendar to a venue web site to a ticketing web page to checkout, when you’ll be able to most likely take away a couple of of these steps.
Run digital advertisements
If in case you have a fantastic piece of social content material (efficiency movies work nicely), run it as an advert to individuals who stay inside driving distance to the venue.
Use the caption to deal with the particular city and get them excited to your present.
Get retargeting data
Is it potential to accumulate retargeting knowledge or buyer contact data from the ticketing platform or venue?
That is one other merchandise that can typically be out of your management, however you probably have adequate leverage, it could be potential to work with the venue or ticketing service to coordinate your on-line advertising efforts to allow issues like:
- Cart abandonment messages to follow-up with anybody who virtually bought a ticket
- Bonus affords to present ticketholders (low cost code to deliver a buddy, and so forth.)
Think about non-musical collabs
The invoice you place collectively doesn’t all the time have to incorporate different musicians.
If for no matter purpose you assume it’d work higher to associate with a comic, a short-film premiere, a storyteller, a dance troupe… get artistic with the lineup!
Host a contest
If followers assume they could be acknowledged indirectly through the occasion, there’s further incentive to attend.
This could possibly be a contest operating AT the occasion: Greatest costume? Shoot a fan testimonial video on the door and we’ll decide our favourite for a prize?
Or one thing you run prematurely of the present: Submit alternate lyrics to certainly one of our songs and we’ll sing our favourite entry? Write your dream setlist and we’ll play our favourite?
Alert the native press
Cowl your PR bases!
Inform the native music critics and bloggers about your present, why it’s gonna be wonderful, and that you simply’re glad to supply the rest they want.
Together with interviews, comped tickets, and so forth.
Additionally, don’t neglect chamber of commerce, native newspapers, neighborhood zines, and extra.
Publish natural social content material
It may be a balancing act for touring musicians to create content material that feels related to native audiences with out ostracising the bigger fanbase.
However provided that TikTok and Instagram are actually so algorithmically pushed, it’s possible you’ll contemplate creating geo-tagged content material, as that sort of stuff typically will get surfaced to related viewers, particularly on TikTok.
You can too depend on extra non permanent codecs like Tales to emphasise city-specific occasions.
Theme it up!
Not each live performance wants a gimmick. Not each sort of artist ought to have followers exhibiting up in costumes. But when it’s applicable, get your followers concerned in creating the vibe for the night time.
If in case you have a theme, you don’t need it to be prohibitive. Costumes must be non-obligatory. And the theme must be open-ended sufficient that a mean fan can simply put collectively a fancy dress (80s night time, favourite film character, and so forth.)
Provide completely different ticket packages
Typically a little bit exclusivity goes a good distance, so make certain to have a ticket tier for a number of sorts of fan:
- Informal fan / common admission / door cost / balcony seating
- True fan / higher seating / superior admission / watch the soundcheck
- Diehard fan / particular therapy / VIP merch / backstage hangout
Use all the visitor listing
I don’t know why, however many musicians really feel embarrassed to really replenish the visitor listing.
It’s there for a purpose. We would as nicely put names on it!
Simply be certain you’re utilizing these coveted free spots for individuals within the native trade like music journalists, or on the very least, followers and associates you’ll be able to completely depend on to point out up if their identify is on the listing.
Do a ticket or prize giveaway
I discussed contests above, and ticket giveaways or merch prizes generally is a good approach to reward contest winners, but in addition embrace the native music trade or music media in your promotion.
Provide tickets to be given away by native radio DJs, native companies, or the venue itself.
Play an in-studio
In case you can carry out at a group or school radio station on the morning of the present, it could possibly typically be a great alternative to promote these final remaining seats.
Both as a result of individuals have been impressed whereas listening, or since you seize cool social content material that helps extra individuals on the town study in regards to the present last-minute.
Play an in-store (mayyyyyyybe)
Enjoying in a neighborhood document retailer CAN be a great way to generate pleasure for a present later that night time or later that week.
However… these can typically flip into an occasion all their very own, so that you don’t need to threat individuals selecting the document retailer efficiency OVER the venue efficiency.
That’s why I wrote mayyyyybe above.
Particular themed drinks
It is a small factor, however can make the night time a bit extra enjoyable, deliver a couple of extra individuals by the door, and enhance bar income.
Work with the venue forward of time to create a drink named after your act, or certainly one of your songs.
Participation is essential
I’ve talked about one thing related a couple of instances already, however you need your viewers to really feel like they could be a PART of the occasion, not only a witness.
Discover methods to incorporate followers.
Allow them to affect the setlist beforehand by modifying a collaborative playlist or responding to a ballot. Put aside a minute or two every present to deliver somebody from the viewers onstage. Ask them questions, or allow them to sing a couple of strains.
You need to create a way of each likelihood and company for the gang.
Tag accordingly!
Earlier than, throughout, and after the present — tag the opposite acts, the venue, the musicians within the pictures, the designer, and any followers pictured. Set the placement of the submit. Discover a related hashtag for that city’s music scene.
The identical approach you need to pack individuals into the membership, you need (a few of) your posts to really feel like a celebration too.
Conclusion
As you’ll be able to see, there’s so much you COULD do to make your subsequent present successful.
Main artists after all have groups to deal with a lot of the work. For self-booking artists, many of the above will fall in your shoulders. If you wish to get to the stage the place others deal with the reserving and live performance promotion for you, you’ve acquired to promote out your personal live shows at the moment.
Nobody promised it might be simple. However it’s potential. And I hope the listing of choices above offers you with a great framework for fulfillment.
Right here’s to many sell-out exhibits forward!