And what you display is not only your music but
- Who you are
- How you can be contacted
- What you are selling
So how can you get this info across?
First and foremost. A banner! One that is behind you on the stage and that can clearly be read.
One that has your name, your My Space url and any other urls that you have. Also email address and telephone number.
Ok, so people will take all this in. But they'll forget as soon as they get home. So your second line of attack is flyers or table tent cards (ones that stand up on their own.) Same details on these and if possible details of future gigs.
But this is not enough. Flyers and cards can get lost or just thrown away. You want to have these potential fans in a position where they will receive information about you whether it's an email advising of the next gig in their area or a newsletter or even an url to your latest blog.
The third line of attack is to have someone to go around collecting email addresses. Women are best for this as it has been shown that both men and women are more likely to trust a woman and giving a stranger your email addy is a gesture of trust. By getting their email addys and thus their permission for you to email them you now have a direct line to them. Ok, they still might not open your email so you have to make your subject line enticing. That could be as simple as just announcing the next gig or a heading that is a teaser.
Now on to merchandise. Don't announce that you've got cds to sell and if anyone wants one just come up to the stage. People are surprisingly shy and in any case the rule is, as with all marketing, make it easy for the customer to buy. So it's best for someone to go down on the floor and sell the cds.
Or you could have a merchandise table selling your cds and tee shirts etc somewhere that is clearly visible. And don't forget to tell people when you're on stage where the table is.
Now you have a shop window for every gig you do.
The Legendary Frank
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/competeyetworktogether