The Guitar Player's Resource
I recently wrote this piece of advice for a long time supporter and veteran of Music Strategies, Dave Codr, who published the Musician's Phone Book for years and has now converted it into the website, MusicPage.com. What I always liked about Dave was that his directories and information was constantly updated like our friend, Ritch Esra does with the Music Business Registry. Check out Dave's new site to help you cut down your research time so you can focus on your promotion!
One question I frequently get asked is why posting show announcements or sending event invitations through Facebook doesn't seem to be drawing as many people to shows as the artists hope.
The answer is simple. Your fans feel their Facebook relationship with you is more "personal." A generic post will never replace a brief, personal Facebook message to the fans living in a particular area. While it is time consuming, the results are tremendously different. The artists I mentor commonly get 30 to 40 percent of their Facebook fans in the area to come to their shows because of the personal messages. However they are also making their shows a "social event" for themselves and their fans; in essence, building a greater bond. While it may take more time, the question is, would you like 100 people at your next show or only 10?
Keep in mind that instead of emailing or messaging the same fans to come to every show, you should be constantly promoting to new fans. Your music and career are expanding and evolving; your fan base should be as well!
Contact me to schedule a mentoring session where we can talk about your music and what is the most effective way of promoting your next show without social media!
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".
