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As you surely
know, one of the primary ways to present your band or record label to
the industry is through a solid press kit. I've spent a great deal of
time over the years preaching about the art of crafting effective bios,
cover letters, press releases and more. Of course, those tools provide
an excellent way for media people to READ about your music, but they
still have to HEAR it to be truly sold.
With that idea in mind, here
are four tips to help you get your promo kit noticed and your music
heard by the media:
1)
Send CDs More Than Cassettes
After having received many
thousands of packages over the years, I can tell you that CDs are by far
the format of choice. And for all the obvious reasons: sound quality,
convenience and the ease of cuing up individual tracks. Some time, just
for fun, pop in a cassette you're not familiar with and try finding the
beginning of the second song ... then the third song. It's frustrating
and time consuming. So you can imagine how thrilled overworked media
people are when they have to awkwardly skip through a tape to get a feel
for a new release.
Note: If you think everyone
receiving your press kit is going to play your recording all the way
through, guess again. Most of them will breeze through it to determine
if your album is worth a more in-depth listen. CDs make this process
infinitely easier. And that's your job: to make it as easy as possible
for people to give you press, radio airplay, paid gigs and more.
2)
Prioritize Who Gets What
If you want to reach a lot
of media sources and simply can't afford to send everyone CDs, do this:
Send your CDs to the high-priority contacts and places most likely to
respond. Send cassettes to the rest. You can also have a third category
of lower-priority contacts to which you simply send, for instance, your
bio and a photo. In the cover letter that goes with them, ask the
recipient to contact you if they want a free review copy. That way,
you're only sending your CDs to the people who really want them.
3)
Take Off the Shrink Wrap
It may seem like a minor
thing, but it does take some effort to pry off that impenetrable plastic
that surrounds new CDs and cassettes. Imagine being pressed for time and
having to wrestle with a dozen (or more) of these babies at one sitting.
Again, make it easier for people to enjoy your music and you will be
rewarded!
4)
Include Complete Contact Info on Everything
I'll admit it, I'm a contact
information freak. If you're going to be a lean, mean, independent
music-marketing machine, you must do everything you can to get people
(both industry folks and fans) to connect with you. Sending out your
press kit and then expecting people to go to work figuring out how to
get in touch with you is pure idiocy.
Cover letters get separated
from bios. Photos get removed from press releases. J-cards drift away
from the cassettes they identify. Put your contact info on everything!
Think of your music marketing tools as frisky puppies that love to break
from the leash and run away. They need identification tags so the people
who find them know who they belong to.
I hope these ideas motivate
you to make it easier for others to listen to your music and help you
succeed.
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ideas by e-mail when you sign up for Bob Baker's weekly newsletter, The
Buzz Factor. Just visit www.bob-baker.com for details. Bob is the author
of "The Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and "Branding
Yourself Online: How to Use the Internet to Become a Celebrity or Expert
in Your Field."
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