Putting on a show is a ritual gathering. How can you make the experience you put on valuable, special and memorable?
During Your Shows
- Make your show is multi-dimensional! Include spoken word, comedy, art displays, circus acts, a live petting zoo, and just something MORE.
- Remember to SAY your name at the show…multiple times. Or invest in a banner of your name to put up on stage. Think of it this way: You may be introducing yourself for the first time to a future fan. By remembering, the audience will also remember.
- Entertain your crowd. How?
- Tweak and hone your performance to perfection, particularly by starting and ending your show really well, having smooth transitions between songs, and putting together a great set list.
- “Rehearse your honesty”. Have an idea of how you’ll interact with the crowd. Practice how and what you’ll share or not share with the crowd. Look people in the eyes.
- Have a memorable image/costume/stage set-up.
- Your attitude: “I’m gonna put on a fucking show!”
- Make your show something YOU’D want to attend.
In Between Your Shows
- Curate a good bill. Gather acts similar to you in style and that you are familiar with. Similar artists have similar crowds. Thus, by joining forces, you have a better chance of making a good crowd.
- The other acts in the show can be considered your business partners (at least for the day). Make sure you get to know and get along with who you’re doing business with. Or ask yourself: Is this someone who I want to be doing business with?
- Give yourself some time to hype and market the show. Start promoting a few weeks early, promote regularly and build up the momentum of your hype leading up to the day of the show.
- Reach out to organizations or local shops you’d like to be affiliated with. You can ask them to sponsor your show or simply put up your flyers.
- Your flyer can be thought of as a business card. If you’re going to make a flyer, make the focus of your flyer one that builds your BRAND rather than merely hypes the show.
- Go to other people’s shows and be a part of the community!
- If you are new to a city … check out local bands on the DoStuff Network and attend a lot of shows. This will help you get involved in your local music scene.
General Social Media Advice
- Choose one channel of social media to focus your efforts on. This channel can be one that you’re getting the most interaction on. That being said, make sure to have a presence on all platforms.
- Develop a style and keep consistent across platforms. Make a plan of action for your approach.
- Interact with fans regularly. Show them that there’s an actual human being behind the posts
- Use photos that captivate AND inform. In general, photos strike a good balance between capturing attention and requiring minimal time investment from fans. (as opposed to writing or videos) Thus, photos can be a good tool for sustainable daily interaction.
- Sponsored Facebook posts are important. However, you must establish audiences, and research tags before creating a boost.
ALSO REMEMBER TO:
- Be a good person.
- And write awesome music.
