3 Steps to Book More Gigs

For a lot of musicians, the hardest part of the job is booking gigs. If you don’t have a background in marketing, it can be hard to figure out how to sell yourself–and we want to help you with that. 

Successfully marketing yourself (aka booking gigs) is all about (1) creating personalized messaging, (2) demonstrating the value you bring to a venue, and (3) making it easy to hire you.

Make it Personal

• Research: find venues that are a good fit for your music. Not every venue is going to be right for you, and that’s ok. Focus on the ones where you fit in.

• Visit venues: get to know the people who work there. Talk to the bartenders. Ask who books the talent. Be kind and professional–people want to book people they like.

• Learn names: once you find out who you are trying to reach, ask for them by name. People love the sound of their own name.

• Ask friends: ask any friends who work at venues for advice on how to get your info to the right booking person. Ask for input, don’t demand that they land a gig for you.

• Your pitch: When you do get face time with a booker, be prepared to give a brief (1-2 sentences) explanation for why you’d be a great fit for their venue (be specific). Say what you like about the venue (everyone loves a compliment) and why your music would work well there.

Show Your Value

Your value as an artist is not the same as the value that you bring to a venue. Bookers/owners/managers care about getting butts in seats (and in the case of bars, clubs, and restaurants, selling booze and food). If you can put together numbers that show your value in a concrete way, that will go a long way with venues.

• Your fans: Number of people you bring out. If you have 20 hardcore followers who show up to every one of your gigs, tell venues!

• Stats: If you’ve built an email list, share data from that (size of list, open rate, zip codes near the venue, etc.). To learn how our free artist tool NextSong can help you build your email list, schedule a demo with us.

• History: Even if you don’t have numbers from past gigs, showing that you have played locally–especially if you’ve played the same venues multiple times–will tell bookers that you’ve brought value to other venues.

Make it Easy to Hire You

Even if you’ve met a booker in person, you’ll want to send your info in an email (and you may be doing your initial introductions over email). Make it easy to hire you. Don’t send attachments–copy and paste your info into the actual email so that it’s all there and easy to find. Keep it short and sweet, bullet point as much info as possible so it’s easy to read.

Email Template

Here’s a sample email you can copy and paste, then fill in your information:

Hello [booker’s name],

I love the vibe you’ve created at [venue]. I think my band would be a great fit, and here’s why: [brief description of why you would be a great fit].

A little info about us/me:

• Name of your band/act
• We play [type of music], for example
  • Sample song 1
  • Sample song 2
  • Sample song 3
• Here’s a demo of us playing live [link]
• We are available to play:
  • [bulleted list of dates]
• Contact information
  • [email] (anytime of day)
  • [phone number] (after 5 pm)

[Your Name]

[Band Name]

Bonus Tip!

The best time to book another gig is right after your last one!

• Thank the booker/manager in person
• Send a follow-up thank you email

Thank you email template:

Hello [booker’s name],

Thank you so much for the opportunity to play at [venue]. I had a great time and I think the audience did too!

I would love to play at [venue] again–if you’re ready to re-book, I am available:

• [Bulleted list of dates]

If you’re willing, I’d really appreciate it if you would leave a positive review for me here: [link to Facebook, your website, etc.]

Thanks again!

[Your Name]

[Band Name]