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based on the changing seasons of Saratogo Springs, NY, where he spends a good
deal of his time. The first release in the series, the aptly titled Springtime in
Saratoga, was followed up with releases relating to summer, autumn and winter.
What a great concept.
Packaging a series of related titles brings with it a lot of advantages, including:
·ð ð It encourages repeat buying. Music fans who purchase one in the series
will be more inclined to get the entire set if they like what they hear on
the first one, of course.
·ð ð Distributors and retailers love it. They know they ll have more than one
product coming from you. Plus they realize each release encourages more
sales of the others.
·ð ð It makes for a great media hook. This unique approach to your music
makes you stand out when editors and writers are making story decisions.
Consider the series method when planning your future recording projects.
5) Make the most of live shows
Hands down, live shows are one of your best ways to promote a new release and
sell merchandise. However, many musicians think it s uncool to repeatedly plug
their product at gigs.
Reality: You want people to come to your shows because they like your music,
right? If they ve taken the time to set aside an evening to experience your live
show, wouldn t many of them also want to take your recorded music home? Of
course. Don t deny them that experience. And don t deny yourself the monetary
rewards of selling more of your music.
Live shows create the perfect buying environment. People in the audience
experience your music and personality firsthand. You touch them in the most
direct way. At the same time, a busy club or concert hall can have a lot of
distractions. That s why you need to be more aggressive and hawk your wares
regularly from the stage, as long as you do it in a cool and confident way.
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6) Print and distribute a band newsletter
Most bands pass out fliers or calendars at their live shows, but fliers get tossed in
the trash pretty quickly and usually don t help a band s efforts in selling more CDs
and merchandise. The solution is to publish a newsletter that s filled with tidbits of
information on your band and the releases you have for sale. (I also advocate
publishing an e-mail newsletter; but this section specifically refers to a paper
newsletter you hand out at shows.)
The most effective band newsletters use plenty of humor and display the
members personalities. By having fun items of interest in your newsletter, people
will hang onto it longer and share it with friends. Plus, you can include a
convenient order form and announce where fans can get your cool stuff online and
in stores.
Added benefit: You can also use your newsletter to sell T-shirts, sweatshirts,
posters, caps, stickers, and all sorts of revenue-producing band merchandise.
7) Capture new fans through the media
As you know, a great way to build up a following is to compile and use a mailing
list. (You do have one, don t you?) Make no mistake, your mailing list can be a
powerful tool in stimulating sales. But live gigs and your web site are not the only
places to collect these lucrative names and addresses.
When you do media interviews, you re reaching perhaps thousands of potential
fans (and buyers). Make the best use of that opportunity by giving something
away to readers, listeners or viewers free downloads, a catalog, sticker, band
comic book, novelty condom ... anything to inspire music fans to connect with you.
You can have people go to your web site, call a band hotline number, or call the
station while you re in the studio.
Bottom line: Give fans a reason to connect with you and hand over their contact
info in exchange for your cool freebie.
8) Give away something when you run paid ads
Likewise, when you are paying for advertising (whether in print, on the radio or
online), don t waste the chance to connect with more fans. Offer that same free
item mentioned above in all of your ads.
Lesson: This strategy gives you more control over the marketing process. Most
artists and record labels simply throw their name out into the public. Then they
hope and pray someone will take notice and be intrigued enough to drop
everything else they re doing, hop in the car, drive to the retail outlet, and
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purchase their record. I ask you: What percentage of people interested in your ad
are really going to do that?
Therefore, you being the creative music promoter that you are won t take that
roll-of-the-dice approach. From now on, you ll take control and gather the names
and addresses (both street and e-mail) of people who are interested in your style
of music. And you ll gather those details by offering potential fans something free
in exchange for revealing their personal contact information.
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