Table of Contents
Expecting Success, Attracting Greatness 1
What Happens After That First Big Gig? 1
Booking Agents Can't Help You... Yet 2
The Run To $5,000 3
Understand the Lifetime Value of an Audience Member 4
What Happens Now 6
The Current Booking Landscape 9
It's Even Worse Than We Thought 9
House Concerts 10
Bookstores 12
Coffee Shops 15
Bars 18
Listening Rooms 20
Entertainment Complexes 22
Festivals 24
Now what? 25
Refining Your Perfect Audience 27
Demographics Are Bad for You 27
Everything I Know About My Audience, I Learned from Watching Alias.
29
Don’t Look In The Mirror 30
Audiences Change 31
Why You Need to Know Your Perfect Audience Before Flipping the Next
Page 32
The Zone Booking Strategy 33
The Power of Routine 33
How Many Gigs? 34
How Your Audience Gets Entertained 35
Repetition Breeds Success 37
Baby, You Can Drive My Car 38
Moving the Mountain 39 Get Out The Map 40
Dealing With Oddly-Shaped Regions 47
Zones for Urban Warriors 49
Making Zones Pay Off 50
Busy, Busy, Busy 52
Cranking Up Your Database 55
Supercharge Your Address Book 55
Technology Doesn’t Matter. Usability Does. 56
The Checklist 56
Option One: The “Hipster PDA” 58
Option Two: The Laptop 61
Option Three: Online 62
The Perfect Press Kit for Talent Buyers 67
Talent Buyers Are Not Journalists 67
Wrap It Up 69
Your Left-Pocket One Sheet 69
In the Right Pocket, Some External Validation 74
Customize That Demo 75
Add a Quick Cover Letter 76
The Right Package Says It All 78
Snail Mail Trumps E-Mail 79
Simple Wins Every Time 79
Reaching Out To The Zones 81
The Eyewitness News School of Gig Research 81
Reading Between the Landmines 81
Call In Reinforcements 82
Why Send Scouts? 83
Know Where to Hang Your Flyers 84
Pick Up Some Marketing Partners 85
Filling the Shows 87
Voices Carry 87
E-Mail Sucks 87
E-mail That Doesn’t Suck (As Much) 89
Send Your Gig Announcements to Sequesterville 92
We Interrupt This Broadcast for a Special Bulletin 96
What Happens Online Stays Online 96
Reserve Your Tickets Now! 97
The Power of Urgency 101
Why Nobody Signs Your Mailing List 102
Instantly Boost Your Mailing List Signups 103
Own the Fridge for Under Fifty Cents 105
The Gigs Behind the Gig 107
Showing Up Is Half the Battle 107
Finding the Right In-Store 108
Stopping Traffic 108
Bounceback Cards, Take Two 109
Other Odds and Ends 110
Worry Not About The Press 111
Sampling Creates Audience. Press Creates Recycling. 111
The Gig Announcement Press Release 112
The Feature Story Press Release 114
What a Publicist Can and Can’t Do For You 115
Promos Trump Airplay 116
Running the Circuits 119
When the Cup Runneth Over, Get Another Cup 119
Finding Good Gig Swap Partners 120
Long Distance Due Diligence 120
Zones on Parade 121
Pushing Out Regionally 123
Partners Provide the Keys 123
Routing Without Headaches 124
Making the Most of Conference Gigs 125
The Alternate Universe of College Gigs 126
Finding the Right Booking Agent 128
What Happens Now? 131