Whether you are just starting out or have a well-established fan base, promoting a gig is essential to your band’s success. I have listed a few tips on how to go about promoting your concert:
1. Use your family & friends! Obviously they should purchase tickets to support you (if they expect you to speak to them again…) but also get them to help you spread the word - word of mouth is one of the best forms of publicity.
2. Use Social Networking sites – Facebook, Twitter, Myspace…Social Networking is an indespensible way to advertise your gig, or anything for that matter. Make sure you provide links to your band’s website/ Youtube clips and be clear and concise with the concert details.
3. Flyering. Make your flyers bold and clear, and include general concert information. Perhaps even add an picture of you/ your band for a personal touch. Bear in mind that the more professional your flyer looks, the more likely it is that people will take you seriously. Think about your target audience, where they are most likely to shop/ hang out, and do your leafleting accordingly.
Examples of successful flyers
4. Contact your local media. Don’t worry if you can’t afford to pay for big advertisements; try getting in touch with your local paper, sometimes they have free advertisement pages for events happening in the area. Or alternatively your local radio station might mention you when they’re talking about what’s on.
5. And if you really can’t be doing with all of the above, why not simply hire a music promoter? They would be in charge of ‘putting on the show’ so to speak, including hiring the venue and organising all the promotion for your concert. But obviously the more promotion you do, the more people you'll attract, so get out there!
Feel free to add any other ideas :)