Want More People At Your Gigs? Send Gig Reminder Emails
Despite how great your fans may be, they can't be counted on to know when all your upcoming gigs are, and need a little gentle reminding in order to get them through the venue door. Here we look at an email reminder strategy that won't irritate fans but can help keep a show on their radar.
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Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0
Artists and bands need to make their fan base aware of any upcoming gigs. A single email isn’t enough to get the word out, but many artists are afraid to send out more. Here’s an excerpt from the second edition of my Social Media Promotion For Musicians book that outlines a gig reminder strategy that has proven to be effective in getting people to your show.
“Gig reminder emails fall into a different category [than newsletters] in that they can be a lot shorter and a lot more frequent. While the email sequence below may seem like a lot of emails, remember that for true fans, you’re doing them a favor by keeping them informed, and you’re marketing yourself for other things at the same time. A potential reminder strategy is:
- The day a show is announced or tickets go on sale. As soon as you know that you’re playing at a venue, send out an email. This could be to the entire list if it’s announcing a tour, if it’s the monthly schedule for a cover band, or if you believe that people will travel to see the show.
- A week before the show. Send out a reminder but concentrate more on the band, regarding a new part of the show, new songs, a music video, or something that you want to the fan to see.
- 3 days before the show. Send out a reminder and include more information about the club and who else is playing.
- 1 day before the show. Once again, remind the fan about a a different feature of the show or the music that’s unique and won’t be seen or heard any other way than attending. You can change the headline to “You don’t want to miss this,” or “See our new show tomorrow night.”
- The day of the show. Send out a short reminder in the late morning to just the portion of your list in the general area of the club. Use a headline like, “Can you make it tonite?”, or “Last chance to buy tickets!”
- The day after the show. Send an email with backstage pictures, pictures of meet and greets with fans or just fans in the audience, as well as links to videos. This is a nice shout-out to those that were there, and a prod for those that weren’t not to miss you next time you’re in town.
Of course, if you’re lucking enough to have sold out your show, you won’t need to send as many reminders. That said, you might send one headlined “Sold Out!” that either announces another gig or another way for the fan to hear your music or buy your merch. A contest for two last minute tickets (put them on your guest list) also works well.
TIP: In every reminder be sure to include all the pertinent gig information, including the name of the venue, the full address, the phone number, the time you’re going on, and other acts on the bill. Consider including a map or a link to one as well.
Artists and bands are sometimes timid about sending out so many gig announcements, but fans that ordinarily would attend really do forget. Remember, you’re doing them a favor by reminding them.
TIP: When sending out multiple emails in a short space of time, be sure to continually change the headline and the email contents.”
Gig reminder emails may be the most important tool you have to get people to your gigs, and this strategy is a way to improve your audience numbers.
This is a somewhat self serving comment, as I run a marketing technology company (Adva Mobile) for musicians that has both email and SMS Text, however successful email campaigns have a 20% open rate. SMS Text has a 97% open rate. Artists on our platform prefer SMS Text to their fans for show notification over email reminders.