My buddy’s band was just starting out. They’d practiced in his garage, played some family events, and gained a following after booking gigs at small clubs, usually as the opening act. They had fan pages on Facebook and MySpace and were growing their base. They’d recorded a couple CD singles to pass out to music-lovers, critics, local radio DJs, and others in the music industry and had just put together a full-length CD. They were ready to move on to the next level. They wanted to book and promote a live concert on their own terms—a CD release party—for their fans, and make it all about the music. They worked, begged, and borrowed to get the cash to invest in themselves. They would reserve a space, take care of their own publicity, and, they hoped, make their money back in sales: from the concert tickets, the T-shirts, band stickers, and posters, and, of course, selling their CDs.

 

It was a controversial decision, but they chose to handle their own ticket sales, including designing and printing their own event tickets online. That part was easy, since anyone can find an online ticket printer, choose a relevant design, and fill out a ticket template. The template even reminded them to add all the important details: who, what, when, and where. Some readers may be interested in their process:

 

When and Where

As with any event, they needed to consider the best time and place to have the concert, limited, of course, by the number of suitable local venues and available nights for shows. You must consider times and places that would give your band the best exposure and best turnout. If there is a festival or fair in the area where your concert will be, decide whether this would add or detract from your event ticket sales. Sometimes other events can assist you in securing a large turnout, or they may hinder turnout; these are factors that must be considered in choosing a time and a venue.

 

Printable: Your Customized Event Tickets

Once they chose the time and place and booked the space, they began to design event tickets for the concert. As I said, they used online event ticket templates to create their own unique custom tickets. You may want to add your band logo to the ticket in addition to the information about the concert, and many ticket templates let you upload an image right from your hard drive. You can also choose a design that signifies your musical genre: a saxophone for a jazz quartet, an electric guitar for a rock band. After the tickets are designed, you should be able to generate a ticket proof. Some companies will send you free samples of their tickets so you can check out the quality, but for the most part, the proof should show you exactly what your ticket will look like.

 

Price of Admission

You’ve got to take into account what concert tickets cost in your area, and my friends considered all their expenses in deciding on a ticket price, including factoring the cost of printing the tickets, reserving the venue, and the venue’s minimum bar guarantee (some clubs will ask you to pay extra if your fans do not spend a certain amount on drinks!). One the one hand, you’re an artist and you want to create something beautiful, but on the other hand, you need to make profit from the concert. The exposure you receive is important, but if you don’t break even, you can’t repay your investors or promote another show, so consider a reasonable amount for the tickets that will also result in a profit for the band. Selling merchandise—T-shirts, posters, and CDs—at the show should earn you money, too.

 

Distribution: Get the Tickets Out

Gather your friends, family, and fans and get the word-of-mouth network going. You can sell face to face, but you should also consider an online ticket sales application. My friends had great success with a new site called TicketRiver.com, where they could sell e-tickets at no cost to themselves. Use all your networking tools to advertise: website, email lists, Facebook and Myspace, music forums, newsletters, and blogs to promote your concert. Make sure everything knows where they can get the tickets to your concert. Distributing tickets via a local radio station along with local and indie record stores will also help you to reach out and attract the audience who most desire to attend your concert.

 

 

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You’re working hard to spread the word about your sound, but are you working smart? When you need to increase your fan base and amp up the loyalty of those adoring hordes, you’ve got to keep the linesof communication open. If you want your fans to be true fanatics, show them the love with email newsletters that tell them what they want to know and offer them a little extra for their loyalty. You need to stay connected with the perfect fan club newsletter.

1. Shake it up! How do you get people to pay attention to you? You need to strike just the right chord if you’re going to appeal to potential readers. Try:

• Using unusual subject lines. Uninspiring titles like “Weekly Newsletter” fail to spark anyone’s interest. Choose a subject title that arouses their interest and makes them want to read more.

• Personalizing your content. It’s easy enough to add the individual subscriber’s name, rather than beginning with a generic greeting, so your fans feel important and included. Remember, they want to hear about you, not just your merchandise. Don’t be afraid to share some personal details (as far as you are comfortable with this) and insider information about the band. Fan loyalty increases when fans feel personally connected to you.

• Providing Fitting Links. Just as your articles should be targeted toward your customers’ personalities, so should your links. You might want to link to other music related websites, or to blogs and websites you love. Again, your newsletter is a place to share what’s on your mind.

• Advertising. No one subscribes to a newsletter whose existence they haven’t noticed. Make sure to include subscription information on your blog, website, and any tickets you order from TicketPrinting.com for your upcoming show. You can even choose inexpensive posters to advertise your band and your newsletter. The more fans hear about your newsletter, the more enticing it becomes and the more your fan base will increase.

2. Smooth it out! In addition to exciting content, your newsletter should have an attractive and easy-to-browse layout. Generate the perfect layout by:

• Finding the perfect design. Your newsletter layout should reflect you. Find colors that summon your style, or mimic the band’s logo. Make sure the text is still readable, and doesn’t get lost in your scheme. It may take several revisions, but finding the right formatting is essential. Don’t overdo it. Too many images, videos, and bright colors can overwhelm rather than attract the reader.

• Choosing a consistent publication time. Get your fans used to a newsletter delivered at the same day and time every week or month, so they start anticipating its arrival. EmailLabs reports the best days to send emails are Tuesday and Wednesday in the morning, when people regularly check their email. After you pick a time, stick with it. When they’re looking forward to hearing from you, you won’t want to let them down.

• Proofreading. Check for misspellings and layout errors. Be certain that your newsletter says exactly what you want it to say. Remember that your layout may change depending on your customers’ servers. Enlist some friends to receive early versions, or set up multiple accounts at popular servers such as AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Google, and double-check that your layout is delivered as expected.

• Telling a friend. Word of mouth marketing is the most effective way to promote yourself and your music. Add a “Tell a Friend” button to allow fans to easily send the newsletter to their friends. Need more buzz? Add a promotion that people can’t help but talk about, such as a drawing for special VIP passes to your next event. Fans will start spreading the word about your inviting content, along with the advantages of receiving your newsletter.

3. Break it down! Tracking your statistics can help ensure your music newsletter efforts pay off. If any of the statistics aren’t what you expected, ask yourself these questions:

• Does your newsletter stand out from the crowd?
• Do your fans know how to access your newsletter?
• Why is your newsletter not valuable to your fans?
• Do you need more specific or personal content?

If you don’t know the answer, ask the people who do know: your target audience. Make changes accordingly, and give your fans what they want. Address your deficits so your newsletter is attractive and tempting to readers. Marketing your band is not a one-step process. Email newsletters d o require a fair amount of attention to detail on a regular basis, but they are crucial to maintaining a growing, loyal, and excited fan base. Once your newsletter finds its audience, increase its appeal with exclusive offers available only to fans with subscriptions. You can pre-sell tickets, offer merchandise discounts, or give away passes to your next event. And don’t forget that TicketPrinting.com is an easy way to order your tickets, coupons, gift certificates, VIP passes, and more!

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Your band rocks. You know it rocks. You’ve found the sound to take to town. But these days, everything’s on the Internet, and if you want to share your music with the world, you need to be there too. Don’t worry! It doesn’t take a degree in Computer Science to get ahead online. If you can surf the Internet (and we know you can, or you wouldn’t be here) you can expand your fan base across the country and around the globe.

1. You Must Submit

• Websites like GarageBand and Kazaa let listeners enjoy totally free music. Tap this vast market by submitting your songs to online radios. You’re potentially reaching an audience greater than the biggest gig you’ve ever played, and you don’t even have to unload your equipment from the van. One upload covers you forever.

• Once your music reaches the masses, these sites will help you connect with your new fans. Most sites allow you to add links to your website or email newsletter, so that you can capitalize on the momentum of the moment. Music lovers hear your music for free, follow the links to your site, and become instant fans.

• Links make the Internet go ‘round. Post your own on comment boards, forums, and fan sites. Encourage your fans and groupies to post links, too. More links posted by more people in more places equal more search engine relevancy. Remember, a link is more than a URL and a name. Anchor text, with interesting descriptions, encourages people to click.

2. Give It Away Now

• Internet newcomers sometimes balk at offering free content, but what better advertisement is there? If listeners fall in love with one or two of your songs, they’ll be happy to pay to download the rest of the album. If they’ve never heard of you, what will compel them to spend money just to find out whether or not you’re any good? Free content is free publicity.

• Root your website in your own sound. You’re a band! When fans hit your home page, they need to hear your music. Use an audio encoding application to create MP3 files of the songs you want folks to hear. Then upload the file to your site, so that it’s easy for them to find and play high quality recordings of the music right then and there.

• Everyone loves freebies. Once you’ve got your fans’ attention, give them incentives to love you more. Create online contests or other ways for visitors to win free tickets or VIP Passes to your next show. Mail personalized postcards with images and track titles to anyone who downloads the album. All the extras help create a real bond with your fans.

3. If You’ve Got Something to Say, Why Don’t You Say It?

• The best way to stay in touch with the virtual community is to read and comment on other websites and blogs. If you know music, other musicians and bloggers want to hear your feedback on their work, and if you leave comments on blogs, other bloggers will follow you back to your site. Google Blog Search, Blogdigger, Bloggapedia, BlogTopList, Blog Catalog, and Outpost Earth can help you find your music community online.

• Keep it real by keeping your own blog with Blogger, WordPress, or LiveJournal. Stay in touch with your fans by giving updates on your band’s schedule, offering snippets of new songs, and providing juicy gossip about the music. Add links back to your website so fans can download music or sign up for your newletter. Read your fans’ comments, respond to them, and watch your network grow.

4. Reach Out and Touch Someone

• Social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace are a boon for bands of all sizes. These sites walk you through the creation of your own page, then help you find new and old fans among their existing members. Once you’ve built your page, you can post band news, add friends, customize your page, and get active in the music community.

• You put a lot of effort into that music video. Make sure it gets the audience it deserves.

• Post your videos for free on YouTube, Yahoo Video, and Google Video, and link them back to your website. There is literally no better way to find fame on the Internet than with a viral video—one that is so wonderful that everyone who sees it reposts the link and shares it with their friends.

• Join communities tailored to your genre. Find existing communities or create your own through MyBlogLog and Ning in addition to the other sites mentioned above. Joining these specific networks will help you stay in tune with the music world and find new fans and contacts to promote your band.

• Take it back to the real world. Once you’ve connected with your online community, you can start networking with posters hung in prominent locations or postcards sent to your mailing list. Just ask your fans if they want to receive mailings! You can use Ticket Printing’s Design Your Own tool to create publicity that will catch attention and connect you to your listeners.

So, start networking today! Spread your music and your influence far and wide across the Internet and watch your fan base grow.

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