Backing up your marketing goes a long ways.   Article written by Loren Weisman       Back to Cover

It’s funny when you see some ________

of the fliers and posters for different shows and the way they try to market. I have seen more shows listed on line or posters on telephone poles that say…MUST SEE SHOW or CAN’T MISS SHOW….or HAVE TO BE THERE…..then there was THIS SHOW WILL BE AMAZING and my favorite…YOU WOULD BE A FOOL TO NOT BE THERE.

Ok, now the unfortunate part, for starters, is that there is nothing backing up these claims ninety percent of the time. The attempt at strong marketing is there, but nothing is brought into focus, and in the end, it translates to all talk. When you want to promote a show and make a claim that is a little larger or a little grander, then back it up.

For instance, when stores say you can’t miss a particular sale, if it is solid effective marketing, it is backed up with the reason. For example, CAN’T MISS SALE 4-15-08!! Only once a year, fifty percent off all shoes and boots!!! So what has been created is the hype, _____

which is in big block lettering. Then it is followed with the reasons why the date is pertinent, the whole ‘only happens once a year’ part. That creates a sense of urgency by saying if you miss it, then it won’t be happening again for a long time. Lastly, there is the key marketing point showing why you should go and why it is only once a year, the fifty percent off. That is a pretty steep reduction and something that will probably be the hook point for people to get down there and stock up on shoes and boots.

Get it???  You’ve got the hard statement and the date; then, the reason why the date is so special;
Then there’s the reason why attending and being there is so special.  This is the effectiveness of strong marketing, to capture an audience and capture sales.

In the exact same way, as a musician or a band performing, you should want to capture the audience and the sales of your music and your merchandise. However, if you call your show a ____

_

“can’t miss” or “must see” and it is just another show, then you are basically pulling the cry wolf, or crying fire in a theatre, routine. After a while, people are going to catch on and your “can’t miss” shows will be missed by more and more people.

As much as you may want to view every show as a “can’t miss” show, they cannot all be that way. What if the same store that was having the fifty percent shoe and boot sale claimed that every week there was a “can’t miss” sale, and only once a year they had that particular discount? People would be turned off by it and when the big sale was actually announced they might not even go.

So for a show where you really might have more of a must see kind of experience, maybe some big name sitting in with you or some wild element that makes this particular show above the others, it may be ignored and not attended.

So don’t cry wolf, and don’t tell people the theatre is on fire, unless of course it is. Make sure that if you call it a must see show, you define the elements of why it is a must see. Remember, it has to go well beyond just you performing. Those are normal shows, just like a store operates every day when it doesn’t have sales. You have to curb the ego enough to realize that not every show is a must see or a “can’t miss”, otherwise you will turn away your audience, your fans and any potential new fans.

With that being said, how do you create a show that can carry the elements of a must see or a can’t miss performance?

Back to the top three points again……

1. You’ve got the hard statement and the date.  So this is where you have the “can’t miss”, “must see”, “have to be there” or however you want to phrase it.   This is the part where you capture the attention. This is also where most artists stop, and that’s why they lose the momentum and the _

An example of what NOT to do - If you use a hyped up headline, back it up!

crowds. So at this point take it to the second and third steps…

2. The reason why the date is so special

and

3. The reason why attending and being there is so special for this night over others.

Do you have a famous person sitting in with you?  Have you not performed in over 9 to 12 weeks and will you not be appearing again for at least a couple months? This brings greater truth to it being a can’t miss it kind of show, since if they do miss it, they won’t get to see you again for a long time.

Are you applying some kind of marketing element to make the show special?  Are you giving away a percentage from the night to charity?  Are there going to be any giveaways, prizes or something that would not be at a normal show?  Is there a special anniversary or something to mark the date that makes it different from ______

 

others?  Are you filming a video?  Or just some kind of creative marketing approach or stunt to draw more attention than usual?

If you can’t answer yes to any of the above, it is not a must see. Sorry, but it just isn’t. If you are playing a club or venue and doing your set with some other bands doing their sets too, it isn’t a must see. It is a show, which is what musicians do every night. This doesn’t take away from the music or the band being special, but it is business as usual.

Create and plan for some “must see’s” but make them worth the description. The more you secure your marketing and the truth in your advertising, the more you will be able to stabilize and grow a fan base that will not only like your music, but trust your word and your marketing. In the end this will make your announcements and your promotions more respected and paid attention to with a greater belief that if you say they can’t miss it, they will actually believe you and show up. Isn’t that exactly what you are trying to get out of them anyways?

 

© Loren Weisman 2008

 

MEET THE WRITER - LOREN WEISMAN

Loren Weisman is an accomplished music producer based in Seattle, Washington. Having worked on over three hundred albums, Loren has also worked on numerous television, film, video game and radio productions, from New York to Los Angeles, Boston to Seattle. Loren
is also the founder of Brain Grenade Entertainment LLC, and the author of the Freedom Solutions Recording Plan.

Check out www.braingrenademusic.com or www. myspace.com/bgellc for more on Loren or BGE.