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About the Author
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Author Tim Sweeney is head of Tim Sweeney & Associates, who are entering their 18th year of being, "the only true artist development company in the world."
Tim is one of the music industry's most sought after experts and consultants, and has written several influential books including "Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records".
Send comments or questions to Tim Sweeney.
© Tim Sweeney
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As we all know, we have a much easier time building and continuing a relationship
with someone when we can meet with them in person. When we can't, staying in
touch by phone is the next best thing. But as your mailing list grows to hundreds
or thousands of people, meeting with them in person or calling them before your
upcoming show isn't possible. However reliable or not, email
becomes one of the only options we have left. With that in mind, here is something
to think about.
According to our research, most artists only get 3% of their mailing list to come
to their live shows. Why is this?
While schedule, location, day and time play a role, the biggest factor in whether or
not your fans come to your next show is the question of why should they. The fact
that you have a new CD or you want as many people at your next show as possible is
not a great motivation for them or interesting enough. To make your next show
announcement more effective focus on the following.
We all receive a lot of email and regular mail. The most effective is the kind that
seems to "talk to us"; It focuses on something that we are interested
in. The same has to be true with your email. For example, what will they learn from
you at your next show? Are you going to talk about the topics and ideas in your
songs? What kind of experience are they going to have? Are they going to meet new
people they can go to future shows with and hang out?
You are the motivating factor why people come to your shows! They want to hang out
and talk with you. They want to connect with you.
With that in mind, try this strategy. Plan a pre-show meeting at a restaurant or bar
or at the venue itself and invite people to come a couple of hours early to hang out
with you! Talk with them about who you are as an artist and what you are doing with
your music. Talk about the ideas in your songs. Learn about them and what attracts
them to your music. Build a bond with them before the show and you will see two new
results. One, they will buy more CDs after your show because they are more connected with you. Two, they will want to bring their friends to future shows since they have this new relationship with you.
When your fan base gets to be more than you can personally interact with, email is
one of the only solutions to let people know about your upcoming shows. To get more
people to turn off their televisions and leave the house to come see you, you have
to give them more of a reason than you are performing. Help them see the value and
benefit in coming to your show!
For more ideas of how to promote your music more effectively to the people on your
mailing list, get new fans to come to your shows and sell more CDs, order a copy of
my audio book, "Tim Sweeney's Guide To Releasing Independent Records Part 2".
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