Biz Booster Hot Tip!

Are you contracting outside service providers for any aspect of your career? There are many kinds of contracts you'll be dealing with in this business. You are already familiar with performance contracts for your gigs. There are management contracts, agency contracts, record contracts, publishing contracts, contracts with band members and then there are short term contracts for specific outside services. When you are contracting outside service providers, you should get a written contract to define the services you are expecting the contractor to provide. Hiring a radio promotions company; a publicist; a road manager; a tour bus company; a sound engineer for your tour; a producer for your recording; a…

Here's a tip on how to maximize your email campaigns to media contacts. I hope you have separated your media list from your fan and venue booker lists. One great way to build your media contact list is to simply ask each venue booker for your newly contracted gigs, to refer you to 3 print, radio and TV contacts they deal with, appropriate for your act. I used to collect these contacts on my Information Form which was sent with my contract. When the contract came back, I had the start of my media list for that venue in plenty of advance time to make early contact. Once you have…

Have you tried email campaigns with venue bookers? Do you have your fan list, your media list and your venue booker list all lumped into one. Talk to your audience about the things they are interested in. Have your messages be specific to each specific audience. It’s fine to send your whole list a newsletter; but now let’s focus on each of your audience members and create a strategic method of using emails to have an effective conversation with each separate group. This week, let’s focus on getting gigs and a creative way to use an email campaign to maximize your contact with your past and potential venue bookers. Create…

Are you maximizing your email campaigns? Are your emails getting the response you want? Are your emails being opened or deleted?  Are your readers acting upon your suggestions in your emails? Here are a few tips to help get your emails opened, read and acted upon: Personalize your emails. Too often an email arrives addressed to Hi Everyone, or Hello All, or Dear Friends. This is a sure fire way to get your email deleted. How do you feel when you get an email with a greeting, Hi Everyone?          If your goal is to nurture your fans and keep in touch with them, make sure your…

The idea of fitting in or standing out was once again sparked by re-listening to Seth Godin's book, The Purple Cow. So often I speak with artists who are working so hard to be just like someone they admire or who has already reached a level of notoriety. As I dig more deeply into the artist's life and career during coaching sessions, I begin to discover their uniqueness, the thing that sets them apart from the rest of the artists in their field. As we explore these talents or personality traits or mannerisms or performance methods, it becomes clear to them that they left these qualities behind in order to…

Do you experience gig satisfaction or frustration? Do you feel a sense of satisfaction when the gig is over? Did you have fun playing? Was it a meaningful gig? Did you really make an impact on your audience? If you answered "yes" to the above questions, then you are hitting your stride and are finding the right gigs and playing to the right audience. Congratulations! Or are you frustrated with your gigs lately? Is there a disconnect with the audience? Do you feel like perhaps they may not even be YOUR audience? Then perhaps you have not identified your true purpose for your art. I've seen artists bloom when they…

It's time to approach bookings like creating a recording. There’s always a lot to take care of when you are managing your career. There’s also a ton of stuff to do when setting up tours. I know all of the to-do’s can get to be overwhelming. I can talk about planning ahead till the cow’s come home and perhaps it might be something you’ll get into and do on a regular basis. So this week I thought I would bring home the point by making a comparison for you. Since you may be familiar with making a recording and the process involved with that kind of project, let’s use that…

Are you asking enough questions during your gig negotiations? No matter what kind of gig you are attempting to book, you will make a better deal if you ask more questions. It's always a thrill to receive an incoming call or email from someone who wants to book you. But, let's not jump on board too quickly, at least not until you are satisfied that the gig is right for you. You do that by asking lots of specific questions that allow you to both understand the venue's needs and make sure you will be placing yourself and your act in a performance situation that fits. Over time, your set…

Do you pre plan your tour routing to create your future tours? I used to pre plan my artist's tours to look the way I wanted them to end up once the tour was contracted. I would get out all the maps, coordinate the routing with my act's goals for the tour and set the tour dates accordingly. Then I would go after the venues in the towns that I had pre-selected for our optimum routing. Sure I had to juggle a few dates here and there, but for the most part, I was able to pre plan my tour routing to be as efficient as possible. Now this can…