Your Band is a business. Here is my perspective on how to make that business, a successful one.

Goals
Increase Fan Numbers “Likes Our Music”
Increase Fan Sales “Buys Our Music”
Increase Shows Played “Plays More Music”
Decrease Cost Per Show “Spends Less Money”

Marketing Avenues to Increase Fan Numbers
Direct Marketing
-Face-to-Face
Indirect Marketing
-Internet
-Print
Events- Concerts and Non-Concerts
Flyers- Marketing Shows and marketing your music

Types of Concerts:
Profit, Free, Fundraising
Music Sites
(see database) Business Cards:(Band Manager/Booking Agent)
Listening Booth/Feature Booth Twitter
Music Samples

Youtube
Pitch Letters
Instagram
Video on CDs
Blog/Website
Posters

Getting More Concerts
Concerts You are Hired for and Concerts that You Organize
Database of Bands Similar to your Sound
Track their show dates- especially near your location
Database of Bands Similar to your Sound
Find Bands Similar to your sound willing to play your events ( for exposure or part of Ticket sales)
Database of Venues Near Your Area
Track The show dates and build rapport with owners and booking agents
Database of Venues Near Your Area
Approach Venues about organizing shows on Days they have nothing booked
Database of Festivals Near Your Area
If Your Music Might be a Good Fit, Pitch to Appropriate Person with Rates. Approach Festival Organizers about Collaborations/ Cross-promotions or New Festivals
Database of Other Businesses With a Stage
Track The dates that they book shows and build rapport with owners and booking agents
Approach Businesses about Organizing Events to draw in New Customers

In Addition:
*Track in a chart the number of fans that you have brought to every show
*Track Sales of Merch from Every show
*Obtain Sales info if possible of Liquor and Food at your Shows

Understanding Concert Types
Free Concerts: Opportunities for Exposure and Merch Sales to cover costs
**Stick to Short Driving Distance**
Fund-Raising Concerts: Opportunities for Exposure and Merch Sales to cover costs
Also, Opportunities for Positive PR
Make Heavy Efforts for Sponsors and Press Coverage
Paid Concerts: Give Away Free Items

Successful Listening Booth or Feature Booth

Opportunity for people to listen to your music before they buy it
Booth Should Be Located Where Your Audience would go
-bars, festivals, related band concerts, music stores
Booth Should Have Internet Access for Immediate Facebook Likes
Booth Should Be Branded with Your Logo
Booth Should be well stocked with Print Materials, and free items + items for sale

Facebook Marketing in a Nutshell
Facebook can be used to reach all four of the band’s goals
Increase your fan reach with Facebook by using it as a detailed document of your band’s actions
Tag often: People, Places, and other Businesses.
Involve other businesses in contests and giveaways.
Thank fans that show up at shows by tagging them in Facebook statuses. Also thank staff of the venue in this way. Try to post separate statuses for each person you want to thank- space it out.
Post frequent images with fans
Request images of Fans with your CD or a poster of your logo
Post short, Live video of concerts (High Quality)
Post Images of your band playing concerts and posing with fans
Build a Facebook Street Team- A group of people willing to invite all of their friends to a show. Reach out to promoter types in every city that you play in, far in advance. Venue Owners can often connect you with promoters.
Automate your Facebook posting with a service like HOOTSUITE
Post images with clips of your lyrics and encourage sharing.
Contact businesses about your shows and events and pitch advertising deals.
Cold Message People and invite them to your page, events and contests.
Send cold messages to bands that are similar to your sound for possible collaborations on shows and events.
Music Site Database
Select sites that are best for your target audience.
Update sites frequently, as you would Facebook.

PUREVOLUME
REVERBNATION
CLEAR CHANNEL
NMN
ARTISTOPIA
SOUNDCLOUND
MUSIC NATION
LAST FM
EVOR.COM
MUSIC FORTE
THE ORCHARD
GARAGE BAND
LOOKING4AIRPLAY
SOUNDCLICK
D MUSIC
CORNER BAND
BANDMIX
EXTRA PLAY
INDIE CHARTS
RADIO UNSIGNED
ISOUND
HOT BANDS
OVERPLAY
GALARIS
INDIE-MUSIC
MIXPOSURE
MUSIC HYPE ONLINE

TWITTER in a Nutshell
Use Twitter just like Facebook, to meet all band goals.
Post Automation through HootSuite
Frequently tag other users, places, and hashtags
Create A great hashtag to frequently use for your band
Add at least 2 hashtags to every post.
IMORTANT TAGS: your name, the band name, your location, adjectives of what you are doing.

Youtube Success
Post original content only
Keep videos under 10 minutes- If live video surpasses this, break it up.
Post very High Quality Video 1080p
Add at least 20 keywords to every video including- your name, the band name, your location, adjectives of what you are doing.
Post band updates and “Behind the Scenes” coverage of events and practices
Create powerful music videos using film students and low budget directors
Collaborate with other bands, businesses and products in your videos
Monetize your Videos!
INSTAGRAM in a Nutshell
Post daily. 4 times is best
Follow every user that likes any of your images, comments or follows you.
Quickly block and report spam users- especially if they spam on comments.
Post images of show promotions, live shows, events, band members with fans, merch, contest promos, EVERYTHING.
Add at least 5 hashtags to every post. IMORTANT TAGS: your name, the band name, your location, adjectives of what you are doing.
Search users to follow by your keywords and follow them. Search users in your location- broad search (cities near you) and more specific searches, using places that people frequently visit in the cities near you.

Website/blog
Remove the LINKS tab, and create buttons for the top of your home page.
Add a live feed of your Twitter and Facebook Pages.
Add share buttons to any content to any social site- but especially Facebook.
Track website visits. Organize data in graphs.
Sell advertising.

FLYER SUCCESS
Use a professional graphic designer.
Include large, high resolution picture(s) which dominate the space.
Distribute to your target audience within a week of an event.
Whenever possible, have someone handing out the flyers to actual people instead of leaving places or on vehicles.
Link flyers to a page on a website and mobile site, where people can immediately buy tickets.
Work deals with businesses on discounted/free drinks or items if the customer brings in flyers, so that you can track if your flyers are working and add extra incentive to attendance.

Business Cards
Band Manager, and anyone who books gigs for the band should have a personalized business card.
Card should include an image of that person, contact info, and links to all of the bands sites.
Card should include a call-to-action, such as “Book us for your next concert”
Card should be printed full color, with at least three colors.
Card should be printed on a thick card stock.
Card should have a shine or raised letters, or both.
Cards should only be given to people that make decisions about organizing events- not to fans.
People to always give cards to: Venue owners, Booking Agents, Event Management, Press.
Collect contact info from everyone you give cards to- keep a database.

Music Samples
Music samples are to give away free to potential fans, to intrigue them.
Music samples can be small clips of a song, or one full song. Do not sample a full album.
Talk on the sample, thank the person for listening.
At the end of the sample, direct the person to where they can hear more of your music and buy.
The packaging of the sample should also encourage the potential fan to connect with you online.
Set aside a portion of other incomes toward making attractive music samples.

Pitch Letters
The goal of a pitch letter is to get a gig, a sponsor, or a band on your gig.
A pitch letter should have a colorful letterhead.
A pitch letter can be written generically, but should be addressed to the name of the specific person that makes the decision about what you want.
The more money that is involved, the better quality paper that you should use.
Whenever possible, hand-deliver pitch letters.
Set a date to follow-up about the info in the letter.
Include data in graphs, such as: alcohol and food sales during your past shows, ticket sales, Facebook likes, merch sales… anything that enhances your reputation in the letter.
Include any alternative ways that the person could make money or benefit from what you are proposing.
Keep a digital copy of every letter you send out. Modify letters as you get feedback on your approach. Also, keep a database of everyone you send a letter to, and the result.
Graph how many letters you send out each month, and their success rate–This is good data for sponsors.

Videos On CD’s
One Video on a CD is great to give away as freebies.
High Quality Music Videos and live Videos can be sold as merch.
Sell Sponsors on the envelope of the Videos.
Track how many videos you give away, when and where- see if this data correlates with a dramatic increase in website traffic, social interaction and sales online.

Posters
Posters can serve three purposes:
Advertising,Thank you’s, and Merchandise
Give Away to fans and Give signed posters as thank you’s to your fans and Sell High Quality Posters to fans
Post on business walls or windows.
Give signed posters as thank you’s to venues and businesses.
Should be offset printed, and full color.
Large posters should also have cardboard tubes.

Additional things to remember:<br />Bands should always be collecting images and videos
Bands should be sharing images and video content on all social sites
Bands should have a list of all sites on all sites.
Bands should track everything: spending, contacts, fans, buyers, important people, venues, events and potential sponsors.