One of the most crucial things you can do for yourself and your
band is to promote the gigs that you book. After all, getting
that gig was hard work, now what you need to focus on is
exposure. The only person who is going to market for you is you.
Over the next few minutes I am going to give you some tips on
how to market and promote after you get gigs.

The first place you can hit up, after you find gigs, is the
media outlets. Start with radio. Call or fax all the relevant
radio stations in town, let them know when you book gigs and ask
them what they can do to help you promote it. You never know,
they might want to give you a quick spot or interview on their
station.

Next, call all the publications in town when you find gigs.
Send them a press kit and let them know when you will be
performing. Ask them to put you on their calendar or somewhere
in their music section of their publication. Do you have a
video? Send your video or clip to the local TV stations and see
if they will play it some time for a little extra exposure. The
worst they can do is say no.

Hit up your local college campus with flyers and posters. Hang
them in the student union or any place with a bulletin board.
Put up posters all over town, the coffee shop, book store or any
other relevant place.

Next, spread the word. Word of mouth advertising is free and
can work wonders when you book gigs. Tell everyone you know
about it. Ask friends to pass out flyers as well. If a few
friends tell a few friends then they will tell and so on…

Post it on your MySpace page. In fact, you should have a
calendar on your page so you can easily advertise when, where
and what time your gig is. Don’t ever underestimate the power of
MySpace when it comes to promoting your shows when you book
gigs.

If you have a website, other than MySpace for your band then
you should do a newsletter type deal about your band and your
gigs. Send it out each time you have a new show booked. When
people go to your website then they can opt in to your email
list and you can use email marketing as a promotion tool. Try to
include some other valuable information in your newsletter to
keep your readers interested.

Lastly, have products to sell when you get gigs. Any time you
book gigs or play at a venue is an opportunity for you to bring
in some cash and market your music. Have a few t-shirts made up,
make some CDs, solicit the help of an artistic friend to design
a poster for you and then get some printed. You may have to drop
some cash but if your music is good then you should get a return
on your investment every time you book gigs.