Avoiding 'Lazy Fans'
January 26th 2009 00:38
I am amazed at the amount of times I run into bands with 'lazy fans'. If you have them, then you know what I am talking about. If you don't have them, then let me explain a little about the term.
It is used loosely any time when you have a list of fans who regularly don't come to your shows. Sometimes they might show up, but you know that you can't count on them to be there.
This term is being used more and more often in the recent recession as people are buckling down their wallets in hopes of surviving the economic struggle.
This is not a good thing! Seriously, we as musicians need to over come this hurdle and make it out on top. Recessions tend to be the hardest on musicians that aren't mainstream, because the bars, venues and clubs are tightening down their budgets as much as anyone else. Splitting bar sales and guaranteed payment are pretty much thrown out the window until more revenue is made.
If you want to learn how to keep your fan base 'Active' and not 'Lazy', there are some tricks and tips you can do to keep them interested.
This is not only a smart investment of your time if you want to continue your career as a professional musician, but it is a wise idea if you are starting to feel your gas tank and dinner plate complain from the lack of funds.
1. Keep Your Material Fresh
Would you like to know the biggest complaint I hear from customer and regular fans?
The biggest complaint is that they see it as a waist of money to come and see a routine that they have seen more than a dozen times. They are loyal to their band and friends, but they are not made of a million bucks and are loosing interest in the music.
I am telling you now, if you have even one person that comes to your shows more then twice a year, they are dedicated to you, but they are getting bored!
Did you know that the average statistic is that most individuals will only go to one show a year. Out of 365 days out of the year, they will only go to ONE of your shows.
Do you know why that statistic has those standings? Because most people do not want to see the same show twice!
Now, I am a musician and songwriter myself, I do understand how much time it really takes to come up with heartfelt and meaningful music that will draw your crowd to you. However, I find that if it means keeping the spot light on my band and more money coming in the door, that I work extra hard to come up with new material.
Remember! You don't have to work on every song as if it were the going to be the next top 40 hit. Sometimes the silliest or stupidest song is what the masses like the most. Not only that, but sometimes, it is the song you just through together that gets noticed by someone important, and there is nothing wrong with just putting out a song that you are not so sure of.
The reason for this, is that it keeps your music fresh! And your not using your entire lifes work to keep it interesting.
2. Get Personal
Get out there and shake hands with every person who watched your show. Say hello to everyone you know and have seen before, but make it a priority to get to know those new people at your show. Even if they were there to see another band, even if they came in off the street, even if they look a little scary, get out there and get personal!
Give them your phone number, email, myspace, facebook or any other contact info you feel comfortable giving them. Tell them how happy you are that they joined you tonight and make friends!
Ask them about their lives, keep mental notes of it, and make sure to talk to them the next time they come to one of your shows.
Repior is so important when it comes to getting people to come back. If your regular friends and fans drag a few extra people to your show, it is your job to make it worth it for them.
I will tell you right now, your fans are not your fans because you are killer on guitar. They are not your fans because your band sound like the next Red Hot Chili Peppers. And they are most definitely not your fans because they have no one better to worship.
They are your fans because they LIKE you.
Part of being a professional musician is knowing how to sell yourself. As with anything in the sales sector, no one will buy anything from you, if don't LIKE you.
To be precise, you are asking them to invest their money in you by coming to the shows you play, paying a cover, and eating and drinking from the venue.
You have to make sure to get out into the crowd and work your mojo. Take down names, faces, phone numbers, emails and any other info you can.
Make sure to get to know them. That is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than what is going on in your life, or what is going on with you.
I don't say that to demean your life, but nobody wants to be friends with someone who only thinks about themselves. They want to be friends with someone who they feel cares about them sincerely and honestly.
Get Personal with each and every one of your fans.
And Hey! You never know, hearing a story that one of your fans tell might give you a great idea for your next song
3. Have a Gimmick
Do summersalts on stage, tear your clothes off in your last song, or try spitting fire.
Anything it takes to have a one of a kind show. Its ok to try somethings that other people have done, but try to keep your act as individual and unique as possible.
Some of my favorite gimmicks are Call Me cRazy's Foam Middle Fingers, Clam Hammers end of the act stripping show, or The Painted Man's routine (He paints his whole body differently for every show).
The point of this tip is that you have something that your fans can brag about seeing or being a part of.
Hold on Date Auction of your band memebers, Offer to shave all your heads if you get 200 fans to your show, or get a tattoo on the stage. Anything you can think of that will be unique and flashy.
I will leave it to you to be creative, but trust me, the sooner your band or act has a Gimmick, the easier you will find the crowds will start getting larger and more active.
The reason for this, is because you are supposed to be 'Entertaining'. No body cares to see a bunch of musicians standing on a stage playing their instruments and nothing else. They want to be Entertained, so Entertain them!
4. Get Excited!
I am telling you! If you are not excited about your music, then no one else will be excited either.
You almost want to be so excited that some people will think your a bit daft. Be crazy about it, scream it to the world.
Get excited about your new song, your gimmick or just your band in general.
Happiness, smiles and excitment are all contagious. So are pessimism, regret and boredom. Choose to be excited and happy about what you do, and others will follow!
5. Increase Your Numbers
Now that we have gone over some ways to keep your 'lazy' fans more active, we need to discuss another matter.
Even if you keep your music fresh, you have a gimmick and you get personal, most people will still only got to 4 or 5 shows a year. Out of 12 months in the year, most active musicians and bands do at least one show a month.
Thats 12 shows, and if you only have 20 fans, they will most likely only go to 5 shows at the most. That means that you 'might' have 5 shows out of the year with 20 fans to attend them. So what do you do to insure more fans, and keep all 12 shows a year busy and exciting?
As we talked about earlier, being a professional musician is a lot like having a sales career. This means that when it comes to your fans, its all a numbers game.
Now, I find that many musicians run into a few problems with the shows they play.
If they book to often, most of their fans will not come to see a show again for a year. If they don't book enough, they have a hard time earning new fans.
This is were having a unique shows comes in handy. It will take some time, no matter what, to gain a large crowd of cheering fans for your band, but it is worth it.
You need, on an average, at least 150 fans on your email list. Out of those 150, you will most likely be able to have at least 50 people come to your shows once a month. However, that is only if you can keep them all interested.
It is important to try and single out the area's where you fans are, and play near them. This makes them feel special and helps them connect to your band on the night you are in their area.
Try to seperate the area's you play in and only contact the fans you have in specific area's.
Reach out to your fans friends. Offer incentives or discounts for anyone new coming to your shows. Give discounts to anyone who brings friends with them. Get creative and find a way to endorse yourself and increase your numbers.
If you can get some radio, podcast or interview exposure, you will find a new breed of fans will navigate towards your shows as well.
It is so important to be eternally trying to gain new fans. Adapt to a new form of music, try playing something else, try a new gimmick, go into the bars near the venue a few days before your show and get to know some of the local crowd, do drinks out front of the venue before your stage time, anything you can think of to attract more people to your show is useful.
Just remember that increasing your numbers takes some time, and until you find your creative flare, it can be frustrating. It is so important to do it though, and you should put your every effort into continually growing your crowd.
It is used loosely any time when you have a list of fans who regularly don't come to your shows. Sometimes they might show up, but you know that you can't count on them to be there.
This term is being used more and more often in the recent recession as people are buckling down their wallets in hopes of surviving the economic struggle.
This is not a good thing! Seriously, we as musicians need to over come this hurdle and make it out on top. Recessions tend to be the hardest on musicians that aren't mainstream, because the bars, venues and clubs are tightening down their budgets as much as anyone else. Splitting bar sales and guaranteed payment are pretty much thrown out the window until more revenue is made.
If you want to learn how to keep your fan base 'Active' and not 'Lazy', there are some tricks and tips you can do to keep them interested.
This is not only a smart investment of your time if you want to continue your career as a professional musician, but it is a wise idea if you are starting to feel your gas tank and dinner plate complain from the lack of funds.
1. Keep Your Material Fresh
Would you like to know the biggest complaint I hear from customer and regular fans?
The biggest complaint is that they see it as a waist of money to come and see a routine that they have seen more than a dozen times. They are loyal to their band and friends, but they are not made of a million bucks and are loosing interest in the music.
I am telling you now, if you have even one person that comes to your shows more then twice a year, they are dedicated to you, but they are getting bored!
Did you know that the average statistic is that most individuals will only go to one show a year. Out of 365 days out of the year, they will only go to ONE of your shows.
Do you know why that statistic has those standings? Because most people do not want to see the same show twice!
Now, I am a musician and songwriter myself, I do understand how much time it really takes to come up with heartfelt and meaningful music that will draw your crowd to you. However, I find that if it means keeping the spot light on my band and more money coming in the door, that I work extra hard to come up with new material.
Remember! You don't have to work on every song as if it were the going to be the next top 40 hit. Sometimes the silliest or stupidest song is what the masses like the most. Not only that, but sometimes, it is the song you just through together that gets noticed by someone important, and there is nothing wrong with just putting out a song that you are not so sure of.
The reason for this, is that it keeps your music fresh! And your not using your entire lifes work to keep it interesting.
2. Get Personal
Get out there and shake hands with every person who watched your show. Say hello to everyone you know and have seen before, but make it a priority to get to know those new people at your show. Even if they were there to see another band, even if they came in off the street, even if they look a little scary, get out there and get personal!
Give them your phone number, email, myspace, facebook or any other contact info you feel comfortable giving them. Tell them how happy you are that they joined you tonight and make friends!
Ask them about their lives, keep mental notes of it, and make sure to talk to them the next time they come to one of your shows.
Repior is so important when it comes to getting people to come back. If your regular friends and fans drag a few extra people to your show, it is your job to make it worth it for them.
I will tell you right now, your fans are not your fans because you are killer on guitar. They are not your fans because your band sound like the next Red Hot Chili Peppers. And they are most definitely not your fans because they have no one better to worship.
They are your fans because they LIKE you.
Part of being a professional musician is knowing how to sell yourself. As with anything in the sales sector, no one will buy anything from you, if don't LIKE you.
To be precise, you are asking them to invest their money in you by coming to the shows you play, paying a cover, and eating and drinking from the venue.
You have to make sure to get out into the crowd and work your mojo. Take down names, faces, phone numbers, emails and any other info you can.
Make sure to get to know them. That is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than what is going on in your life, or what is going on with you.
I don't say that to demean your life, but nobody wants to be friends with someone who only thinks about themselves. They want to be friends with someone who they feel cares about them sincerely and honestly.
Get Personal with each and every one of your fans.
And Hey! You never know, hearing a story that one of your fans tell might give you a great idea for your next song
3. Have a Gimmick
Do summersalts on stage, tear your clothes off in your last song, or try spitting fire.
Anything it takes to have a one of a kind show. Its ok to try somethings that other people have done, but try to keep your act as individual and unique as possible.
Some of my favorite gimmicks are Call Me cRazy's Foam Middle Fingers, Clam Hammers end of the act stripping show, or The Painted Man's routine (He paints his whole body differently for every show).
The point of this tip is that you have something that your fans can brag about seeing or being a part of.
Hold on Date Auction of your band memebers, Offer to shave all your heads if you get 200 fans to your show, or get a tattoo on the stage. Anything you can think of that will be unique and flashy.
I will leave it to you to be creative, but trust me, the sooner your band or act has a Gimmick, the easier you will find the crowds will start getting larger and more active.
The reason for this, is because you are supposed to be 'Entertaining'. No body cares to see a bunch of musicians standing on a stage playing their instruments and nothing else. They want to be Entertained, so Entertain them!
4. Get Excited!
I am telling you! If you are not excited about your music, then no one else will be excited either.
You almost want to be so excited that some people will think your a bit daft. Be crazy about it, scream it to the world.
Get excited about your new song, your gimmick or just your band in general.
Happiness, smiles and excitment are all contagious. So are pessimism, regret and boredom. Choose to be excited and happy about what you do, and others will follow!
5. Increase Your Numbers
Now that we have gone over some ways to keep your 'lazy' fans more active, we need to discuss another matter.
Even if you keep your music fresh, you have a gimmick and you get personal, most people will still only got to 4 or 5 shows a year. Out of 12 months in the year, most active musicians and bands do at least one show a month.
Thats 12 shows, and if you only have 20 fans, they will most likely only go to 5 shows at the most. That means that you 'might' have 5 shows out of the year with 20 fans to attend them. So what do you do to insure more fans, and keep all 12 shows a year busy and exciting?
As we talked about earlier, being a professional musician is a lot like having a sales career. This means that when it comes to your fans, its all a numbers game.
Now, I find that many musicians run into a few problems with the shows they play.
If they book to often, most of their fans will not come to see a show again for a year. If they don't book enough, they have a hard time earning new fans.
This is were having a unique shows comes in handy. It will take some time, no matter what, to gain a large crowd of cheering fans for your band, but it is worth it.
You need, on an average, at least 150 fans on your email list. Out of those 150, you will most likely be able to have at least 50 people come to your shows once a month. However, that is only if you can keep them all interested.
It is important to try and single out the area's where you fans are, and play near them. This makes them feel special and helps them connect to your band on the night you are in their area.
Try to seperate the area's you play in and only contact the fans you have in specific area's.
Reach out to your fans friends. Offer incentives or discounts for anyone new coming to your shows. Give discounts to anyone who brings friends with them. Get creative and find a way to endorse yourself and increase your numbers.
If you can get some radio, podcast or interview exposure, you will find a new breed of fans will navigate towards your shows as well.
It is so important to be eternally trying to gain new fans. Adapt to a new form of music, try playing something else, try a new gimmick, go into the bars near the venue a few days before your show and get to know some of the local crowd, do drinks out front of the venue before your stage time, anything you can think of to attract more people to your show is useful.
Just remember that increasing your numbers takes some time, and until you find your creative flare, it can be frustrating. It is so important to do it though, and you should put your every effort into continually growing your crowd.
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