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As the major labels are now going to 360-degree business model, in which they want a cut of absolutely everything an artist sells or does, how does the independent artist compete?
One idea is to take a stack of your latest CD release with you on tour, not just to sell, but to
give away in a drawing build your fan list. No matter how small a gig you do, do
this! Your fan base is your most valuable asset, whether you want to go the
Indie route or get noticed by a label.
Here's how:
At every gig, hold a drawing for at least one free CD to any member of the audience who drops a drawing card into the drawing box. If it's a big audience, you might want to give away more than one CD. Your budget and your goals will be your guide.
If you have up to 50 in the audience, one CD should be adequate. If you have as many as 100, you might want to give away two, and so on.
Why would you want to give away your CDs?
1. The major labels, such as Warner Bros. are moving to the same business concept, making your competition tougher.
2. The price of a CD, usually under $2.00, is a small price to pay to get 50-100 fans added to your fan list. Your fan list is your most valuable marketing tool!
What you need
The Box
POOR MAN'S SOLUTION: Prepare a shoebox, with a slot in the top for dropping in "drawing cards."
Don't use an ordinary shoebox. Make up a label on 8-1/2x11 label stock, in full color. You can print it out on your home color printer if it gives good quality. Print up to 5 and save the file for future use. Make sure your design meets the measurements and fold-over edges of the box.
PROFESSIONAL-LOOKING SOLUTION: You can also get a few boxes specially designed just for drawings, etc.
You might find some like those below at office supply stores. I like the sturdy
plastic ones such as these from Acrylic-Designs.com:
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These are much more professional than shoeboxes and sturdier. Two of the ones shown here also have space for a much smaller label. Be sure to use removable label stock so you can switch out labels when you come out with a new album or new tour. It's hard to tell from the photos above, but you may be able to just slide in a label without actually having to stick it on; that would mean you could get high-quality color copies at Kinko's or most office supply stores that offer color copy service.
I recommend the boxes that can be locked and chained down to prevent theft. This helps protect your audience from identity theft and possible spam.
You can also go to Google and search for "boxes
drawing".
The Label
In the examples above, you can create a vertical 5"x7" label. In PhotoShop you can create 2-up on an 8.5x11" sheet. Create the first label in an image size of 4.75"x6.75" (this gives you white space to play with), then rotate it 90 degrees sideways, copy it and paste the second copy just below it to create the master page. Leave equal white space all around, so that means on the 11" length, you'll fill up 10", so leave about 1/2" top and bottom and you will also have 1/2" space in the middle between the two. Print one out and trim it so the white space is 1/4" all the way around.
The example label and card below are of a lower quality for Internet use (72-96 dpi), but you should design your own at 150-300 dpi (dots per inch). Keep the backgrounds either white or a very pale light color to avoid using up too much ink on your inkjet printer; dark colors also smear more. After it dries, you could use a thin layer of clear acrylic spray paint to make it water-proof - otherwise it would still smear if it ever got wet!
If you'd rather, you can have me create it for you at Phoenix Technologies (www.phoenix-tech.org). You will need your band's name, logo (optional) and album art (optional). Here's an example (single label only, in optimized Internet quality):
Click on the label to open a full-size
4.75" x 6.75" image
you can then download.
The Drawing Card
Use a program like Microsoft Word or the free Avery Label download to design a page of business cards that contain the following information:
- Name
- Street
- City, State and ZIP
- eMail
- Signature
You can usually get copies (color or black-and-white) made at Kinko's, Office Max, Office Depot, etc. They generally won't do label stock because the backing can come off and mess up their copiers, but business card stock should be doable. I recommend color, using red and black ... keep it simple.
Download an Avery 8371 template here (Avery Design Pro required). Just change the Band Name and print them out. Or you can just copy the 96-dpi graphic below and edit it in Gimp (free) or Photoshop (expensive!) or your favorite graphics program. While the size is correct, you may want to redo the card in a higher resolution, like 150-300 dpi - dots per inch.
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How to make it work
Set the boxes up at the entry points at a small card table or stand, and be sure to have someone watching the box at all times. If they have to leave to go the bathroom, have someone relieve them. The contents of this box is worth its weight in gold. Alternately, you could drill a small hole in the side of the box and run a chain through it and lock it to the table where it can't be simply slid off.
You should also have a stack of flyers with your website link, MySpace links, etc. that people can take for free and keep. Think marketing in everything you do and in every contact you make. Your flyers don't have to be big - you can even print them 4-up on an 8-1/2x11 sheet of 67# index stock.
Let the audience know up front that they'll be added to your e-mail list, but that they can cancel if they really want to.
Give them an incentive not to cancel - like being eligible for future newsletter giveaways and drawings.
After each gig, have your road manager put all the cards from that gig into a bag or box,
keeping them separate from other gigs on the tour. Then, recruit someone to enter the data into your fan database. You can recruit your PR manager, the president of your fan club or someone else who is quick, accurate and reliable.
