Building an Effective Press Kit for Musicians and Bands – Part 3 – Some Marketing

Marketing for musicians can be hard and some musicians get all bent out of shape when you mention words like “marketing” or “sales”. This is something you are simply going to have to deal with at some point if you are trying to push your music. If you truly believe you shouldn’t have to be a bit “salesy” then don’t bother reading any further. If you’re only going to play in your garage you don’t need a bio. For the serious folks though, read on. Carrying on from Part 2 of our series on Press Kits for Musicians and Bands we are now going to make your bio more effective at selling yourself or your band. I’ll touch on four basic techniques you can use to sell yourself a bit harder. These are: Social Proof, Scarcity, Selling Benefits and Calls To Action.

Social Proof

Social Proof is one of the most powerful tools you can use. People simply like being part of the “in crowd” so when they see others doing or having something, they want it too. Let’s use the example of trying to get a venue to book your band. If you include references to gigs you’ve already done at other venues in a similar market, then you are saying to the venue owner “hey, look at all these places that have booked us. You don’t want to miss out do you?”. It’s subtle but it works.

Here’s an example paragraph that mentions recent gigs as social proof:

“Their recent performances at Narara 2015, Sunbury 2016 and as the headline act at this year’s “Day On The Grass” concert have won them a whole new audience of hardcore fans who love their classic rock feel.”

Scarcity

Scarcity is a hard concept to use most of the time but if you can pull it off legitimately then it can be very powerful. It works on the principle that if something is scarce, it has more value. People don’t like to miss out on something and value things that are hard to get.

Here’s an example of using scarcity, the “gruelling tour schedule” and social proof, “as played on Triple M” in the one paragraph:

“On the back of their gruelling tour schedule, the band have recently found time to hit the studio to record their first album “Brown-town”, a no-holds-barred look at suburban life in their hometown. The album contains some of their most popular material such as: “You’re not my real Dad” which has had recent airplay on the Triple M network.”

Selling Benefits

Selling Benefits simply means explaining to the reader what they will get out of the deal in their terms. This is hugely powerful so I would suggest putting some real effort into showing benefits.

Here’s another example paragraph. The benefits are highlighted in bold:

“Booking The Examples to play at your live venue will ensure not only a full house but a great time as well. The lads are born performers who play every show as if it’s their last. They also have a very effective fan club that promotes and supports the band’s live shows actively. It’s all finished off with a state of the art light and sound system guaranteed to leave your audience screaming for more. The Examples also pride themselves on having a professional and courteous crew who will treat your venue, staff, and patrons with the respect they deserve.”

Call to Action

Last but not least is the Call to Action. A call to action is simply telling the reader what action you expect them to take next. Don’t leave them wondering, tell them. Don’t use wishy-washy statements like “If you’d like to know more”. Instead, use positive phrases like “For more information call now”.

Here’s an example of how it’s done:
“Contact them today via their Manager, Mary Manager, at Mary’s Management on (00)0000-0000 or for more information check out their website at…”

Now it’s time to sit down and really hone your bio. Make sure there is no fluff and that every word has a purpose. For a completed example of a bio using the techniques I’ve outlined please click here: The Examples-Biography (opens in a new window)

I hope this small article on marketing for musicians was helpful to you. Next up, we will continue with some of the basic elements of formatting your Press Kit. If you have any questions or suggestions of your own I’d love to hear them. Just drop a comment in below.