How to Book More Paid Gigs: 5 Takeaways From GigSalad’s Folk Alliance Webinar

GigSalad’s Director of Customer Experience, Megan Price, recently sat down with Folk Alliance International for a fireside chat about how artists can use their platform to book more paid gigs. Here’s what we learned.

How to Get More Paid Gigs: 5 Takeaways From GigSalad’s Folk Alliance Webinar

The webinar was entitled “Get More Gigs: How Bands Can Maximize GigSalad’s Tools,” and occurred on Zoom on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. Eve Smith (Development Manager) from Folk Alliance International invited GigSalad’s Megan Price (Director of Customer Experience) to speak about the tools and tips artists can use to book more consistent paid gigs using the platform.

Here’s what we took away from the webinar. If you’re an artist looking for paid gigs, this information might help you book more clients for your services.

But first… what exactly is GigSalad?

Introduction to GigSalad

GigSalad is a platform that connects musicians directly with event and party planners throughout the U.S. and Canada to get hired for weddings, parties, corporate events, and more. The full-service platform simplifies the messaging, quoting, and booking processes for artists working for hire. Creating a profile is totally free, and event planners pay in full upfront, guaranteeing that artists receive their whole payment for every gig.

1. The Benefits of a GigSalad Membership

In 2024 alone, there were over 22,000 music bookings on the platform, generating over $11M in revenues for musicians. This can be a huge step in your career if you manage your profile and settings properly. One of GigSalad’s taglines is that the site “helps you make a living doing what you love.”

Some of the things GigSalad takes care of for artist members:

• It’s an all-in-one platform, no other website needed.
• You can post a Media Kit, featuring reviews and testimonials.
• Leads come to you, syndicated events get sent to the most qualified, geo-targeted vendors on site.
• You can respond to leads, send messages, send quotes, and collect payments and tips.
• Members benefit from the high-ranking SEO that GigSalad has in search engines.
• Payments are always guaranteed, so you’re not chasing invoices or wondering if you’ll ever get that check.

2. Who’s Getting Booked Most Frequently?

GigSalad was kind enough to share some partial statistics about what kinds of artists are getting booked most often for which types of gigs, what the conversion rates are for those niches, and the amounts of money generated from these engagements, across a five-year timeline. And although this does not represent the full slate of available categories of artists, the results are interesting!

(*Note, this list is only a portion of all the artist categories on the platform.)

• Singing Guitarist: 6,911 bookings were generated from 33,995 leads (20.3%), totalling $2.9 million
• Cover Band: 1,498 bookings were generated from 28,740 leads (5.2%), totalling $1.5 million
• Party Band: 1,158 bookings were generated from 25,740 leads (4.5%), totalling $1.3 million
• Acoustic Band: 1,577 bookings were generated from 13,003 leads (12.1%), totalling $964k
• Wedding Band: 216 bookings were generated from 8,033 leads (2.7%), totalling $386k

In general, no matter your artist category, cover songs are requested at a much higher rate than original material. So make sure you fill your repertoire with a hefty amount of familiar, singalong tunes.

Also worth mentioning, artists most often get booked around holidays. So make sure to have your profile set up and looking great before the next big holiday rolls around! And on that note…

3. How to Optimize Your Profile to Boost Conversions

First thing’s first: having a decent profile photo is key. Most of GigSalad’s event planners are on mobile phones, which means you want a high-quality photo of yourself or your band in closeup, not standing 15 feet from the camera. Lighting is also important; take profile shots at the golden hour or with well-positioned lighting, on a neutral background.

And the more photos you have the better, clients will want to see a range of settings you’ve performed.

Video is also way more important than audio. Remember, these are clients hiring you to perform for a highly-organized event; they want to see you perform before hiring you. Audio media is fine, but artists with video material on their profile convert more paying gigs.

Good, clear written content goes a long way. Make sure your bio is up to date and well-written. Use your bio as an opportunity to sell yourself! The idea is to give any potential client the complete picture of what it’s like to hire your band for their gig.

4. Setting Lead Preferences

Setting highly specified Lead Preferences on your profile means you’re telling GigSalad and future clients exactly which gigs you’re looking for. That level of detail becomes helpful when event planners know what they need. A few things to keep in mind.

• Artist categories: Free members can choose only two, but paid members have more options, make sure to set the categories to all that are relevant.
• Location setting: It is recommended to choose your nearest metropolitan area if that’s where you work. You don’t have to use your town, it’s best to cast a wide net.
• Travel preferences: You can set the distance you’re willing to travel, make sure to fine-tune that as best you can.
• Importing your calendar: To cut down on double bookings or potential loss of work due to blackout dates, import your iCal or Google Calendar so everything’s in sync!

5. Respond Quickly, Respond Professionally

According to GigSalad’s data, bands that respond to client inquiries within the first hour are 1.5x more likely to book a paid gig than those who hesitate to respond even by a half a day. I guess the early bird really does get the worm in this scenario.

Tools like “Saved Messages” and “Saved Quotes” on the platform allow you to respond nearly immediately, just by pasting your pre-written quote response text and changing key details. Your response time could mean the difference between either you or someone else taking the gig.

About GigSalad

GigSalad is an online platform for hiring entertainers and event services, allowing users to browse providers, compare quotes, and securely book events. It acts as a full-service marketplace where clients can find a wide variety of talent — from bands to caricaturists — and providers can receive and manage booking leads. The platform includes a secure payment system and a “Worry-Free Guarantee” to protect both parties. 

About Folk Alliance International

Folk Alliance International advances folk music and its communities by engaging, educating, and strengthening the global folk music ecosystem. FAI is an international arts nonprofit and NEA-designated National Arts Service Organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Founded in 1989, it’s a community of passionate and driven artists, managers, agents, DJs, festivals, record labels, and fans.