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How to write an email to a promoter or venue...
Once you have done all the research, you should start methodically contacting each venue, promoter, and/or band. By methodically, I mean you need to have a schedule of communication. You can't just send one email out into the void and expect that to do the trick. Remember that these people get dozens of emails (if not hundreds) every single day, and all of them sound the same. In fact, all of them look exactly like the one you send! Imagine the boredom that comes with reading the same exact email over and over again.
This is where your creative marketing lesson comes in. Ask yourself: Why should this person want to book my band? What is so special or different about my band that I should stand out from all the other bands? Which of my band's accomplishments does this person need to know about? How will booking my band help this person? What sets my band apart?
And so on...
Your email needs to do three things:
1. Establish your band as professional, accomplished, and worth listening to
2. Provide as much information as possible in as few words as possible
3. Peak the person's interest
Take some time with each email you send. Make it personalized, interesting, fun to read, eloquent (have someone proofread the letter for spelling and grammar errors), friendly, professional, and appreciative of the fact that the person took the time to even read your email.
The form letter I used when booking went something like this:
Subject: (BAND NAME - IN ALL CAPS) tour: Day of Week, Date
Hi there! :)
My name is (your name) and I am the (singer/guitarist/bassist/drummer/whatever) for the band (BAND NAME - IN ALL CAPS). We are a (1/2/3/4/5/6/37)-piece (GENRE - IN ALL CAPS) band from (city, state). I am working on booking our (some kind of interesting adjective about the tour: first, tenth, US, three-month, DIY, etc) tour and was hoping you might have an opening on (DAY OF WEEK, DATE - IN ALL CAPS) that we could play?
About us: We formed in (year), and have already (accomplished something, like opened for bands such as..., or gone on however many self-booked tours, or signed to such and such indie label, or self-released however many albums, or sold X number of copies of the albums).
Check out our website at http://blah.com.
Visit out our (Myspace/Purevolume) profile here: http://myspacepurevolume.com/band.
Read a review here: (link to a review online somewhere, preferably a positive review, haha).
Check out our EPK here: http://link.
We would be happy to send you our promo pack as well. What is the best mailing address to send it to?
I know you are super busy, so thanks for taking the time to read this. I will check back in with you in a few weeks if I don't hear from you.
Thank you very much! :)
(your name)
(BAND NAME - IN ALL CAPS)
http://bandwebsite.com
http://myspacepurevolume.com/band
The reason I put certain details in all capital letters is that this information needs to jump out at the person reading the email. Bold and all caps is even better. The faster the person can get the necessary information, the better. This is also why i used so many paragraph breaks, and listed all the pertinent information on single lines. It makes skimming easier.
Note that I offered to send a promo pack. This is (in my opinion) a very important part of your email. By doing this, you show the person that you are not just a lazy band sitting on the internet sending out hundreds of emails along with your friend requests; rather, you are a fully-functional business and are prepared to go whatever route necessary to set yourselves apart from the other bands trying to get booked. A lot of venues and promoters refuse to take links, mp3s, or EPKs. They want to see a manufactured CD with artwork, a real bio and photo of the band, and even press clippings of reviews that the band has received. By offering to send a promo pack, the person will see that you are a serious, put-together band. (If you don't know what should go into a promo pack, ask me.)
Now that you have sent an email and prepared a promo pack to send upon request, you should also CALL the venue or promoter and leave a message. Again, this is just an effort to cover all your bases. Your message should be short, like:
"Hi, this is blahblahblah from the band blahblah. I sent you an email and wanted to call as well. I wanted to know if you have an opening for a band on soandsodate. My phone number is 1234567890 and my email address is spell-it-out-slowly, and again this is MYNAME from the band BAND. Thank you!"
If you happen to get the person on the phone, even better! Talk fast, be polite, and give the person as much information as you can. Also, smile while you are on the phone (did you know that people can hear you smile on the phone?) and always be polite and appreciative of the person's time.
Now, depending on how OCD you are, you should start keeping track of the last action taken with each person you contact. I used to make notes on my calendar, like sent email 5/6 or left message 7/21, or sent promo pack 12/28. As you get deeper into booking the tour, these notes will become extremely helpful.
Create a "follow-up schedule" for yourself. I always suggest starting with the email and phone call, then sending the first follow-up email one week later if you haven't heard back. In the follow-up email, include your original email so the person doesn't have to go searching for what-the-hell email you are talking about. Keep the follow-up message short: Hi again! Just wanted to follow up with you and make sure you received my last email. Looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks! :), and send polite emails once a week after that until you get a response.
DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED.
I once had to send an email every week to a venue for about two months before the guy fiiiinally wrote back. Don't get impatient, always be friendly and professional, and always include the chain of emails you sent prior. This kind of calm, respectful persistence will almost always get you the gig. Especially if you are like clockwork with your follow-up schedule.
When you are trying to book shows through local bands, your approach will be more laid-back. You won't have to send promo packs and you don't need to call. Heeding ELB's advice about the dangers of booking through local bands, you should always get a confirmation email from the venue, either directly or through the band.
Always remind yourself that you are just one of hundreds of bands trying to book tours and get shows. Promoters and venues have seen it all and heard it all. They are tired of the bullshit, the sucking up, the rockstar attitudes, and the delusions of grandeur.
Be real, be honest, be polite, be confident, be friendly, be professional, and be determined.
Comments
Excellent advice! Going to try the caps thing out to all the new venues we contact!!!
thanks!
Very useful
I just used this today! It was a big help and made my email look like I knew what I was doing haha. Thanks for the article.
thanks for the advice
This is a good way to learn by, but this format you've laid out IS the standard. No matter what you say to anyone, until they've heard you, there's not really any chance they'll go out of their way for your band. I've spend 3 months on one show, only to get 2 happen in a week.
don't be discouraged but also know when to give up! :)
...be humble, be gracious, and be mature.