We find that a lot of bands are unsure of how to exactly handle sending and following up on their press kits. Below is an outline of steps that have proven successful for a number of bands and agents. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone and you may have to improvise from time to time.

GIG SEARCH

VENUE CAPACITY: If you are new to a market you should try and choose the smaller rooms (50-200 capacity). You can always send your press kit to the biggest, most established room in town but will most likely find them difficult to get a response from. MUSIC STYLE: Try to search for your band’s specific style of music, if the query results in a small selection of clubs try expanding the music styles to ALL.

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT: One of the best reasons to play colleges is that it will give you the opportunity to expose your music to a large population of music buying fanatics. If this is important to you then try and select the colleges with the largest enrolled student body in the market you are looking for. TUITION: let’s face it the other reason to play colleges is the money. The more expensive a school is to attend the more likely it is that they have a sizable entertainment budget.

TIME FRAME

Most clubs book a minimum of two months in advance. But keep in mind that you have to get thru all of the initial steps below before they are going to talk about booking with you. So it is always safe to assume a 3-6 month window from the time you send a CD to the moment you are able to lock down a performance with a new club.

FIRST CONTACT

Schedule A Phone Call Reminder: We find it is helpful to schedule an initial phone call for each venue you are trying to play before sending a CD. This is not always necessary but it may save you some time and money down the line. If nothing else you should confirm the mailing address and the booking contact.

SEND PRODUCT

Schedule A Task Reminder: Be sure to set this activity and clear it once you have sent the package. You will find it is very helpful to have a precise record of the date that you put the CD in the mail. MAKE SURE EVERY PROMOTIONAL ITEM HAS YOUR CONTACT INFO ON IT! (CD, Picture, Bio etc.)

FOLLOW UP

Schedule A Follow Up Phone Call Reminder: Schedule this call for 10 days from the date your CD was sent. This first phone call is just to confirm receipt of the CD. You should not press the contact for whether or not they have listened to the CD just yet. Give them a chance to catalog your band and add it to their pile of CDs to listen to. We also find it more efficient to create an email template that you can use every time for this inquiry. Then simply cut and paste it into an email and schedule your next follow up call.

Schedule Weekly Follow Up Phone Cal: Now is where the fun starts. The key here is PERSISTENCE. Of course it is a fine line between being persistent and being a pain in the ass. Some rules of thumb,

1. Before asking about your music be sure to ask if now is a good time for them to talk about booking music.
2. If they have not listened to your CD yet and ask you to call back, make sure to ask when a good time to call them back is. Be sure to schedule your follow up for this date and time.
3. Do not stop calling until you get a firm answer as to what they thought of your music and whether or not they are interested in booking your band.
4. Do not take ZERO response as a not interested, if they do not call you back, do not give up. Leave them a message one week, an email the next and so on.
5. If you get a “Not Interested.” I find it helps to describe your bands music at this point just to be sure that they are not confusing your band with someone else. Talent buyers listen to a ton of music and occasionaly will make a mistake. Be polite but persistent.

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First and foremost Onlinegigs is an extremely powerful, automated booking and promotional tool. But Onlinegigs also comes pre-loaded with a huge directory of its own contacts. There is nationwide listings of over 9000 Venues, Colleges, Festivals and Media contacts.Each contact has, at a minimum, a full address and phone number. But Venues also have capacity, music style and PA information. Colleges include Student Activity Coordinator information as well as the schools average tuition and enrollment data to help you determine potential entertainment budgets. Festivals include music style and submission deadline info. And Media contacts have print frequency and radio station format information.

The directory is fully searchable and maintained by the Onlinegigs member community. Onlinegigs is the only service that pays you for your contacts and your updates. We offer money back off of your subscription fee for adding and editing contacts. Many members use Onlinegigs for free because they are constantly working and constantly updating and adding contacts. Member’s additions and edits are immediately available to the other subscribers and has a direct benefit for those new to a particular area.

Onlinegigs can import any electronic list of contacts from almost any file. Outlook, ACT, Excel etc. Please contact support@onlinegigs.com to find out about importing your address book.

In next month’s issue of Onlinegigs Booking Tips and Advice Newsletter we will discuss the crucial Contact Resource Management (CRM) tools that you need to keep your efforts organized and professional.

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