suggestions for how (better) to do good PROMO on little to no budget

[Rooster_Ties]

OK, so about three going on four years ago I started my own jazz concert series at my church (a centrally located Unitarian Universalist church here in Kansas City, about one block away from one of the best known jazz clubs in town). I've done about 6 concerts per year, about one every other month (timed to coincide with the local jazz rag, which publishes in Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, and Dec.) The church as one of THE best pianos in town (9-foot Steinway, Model D), and the space isn't too "churchy", with a great brick-wall backdrop behind the 'stage', and a huge, crazy fabric art thing which works well for performing arts events (see small pic below). Most have been on Saturday nights (8pm), but I've done a couple on Sunday afternoons (3pm or 4pm start).

I called the series "Jazz & Beyond" (a great name, I think, and one with a lot of wiggle room to program some more progressive-leaning music, which I've done about half the time). And we've had some moderate to good (and occasionally great) success -- but very inconsistent, though. Attendance has ranged from an "average" of between 40 and 70 per concert (usually around 50), with a few shows drawing closer to 100 or even 130 on a couple occasions, and one particularly slow date (the most recent one), where ONLY 16 paid people came (gack!!).

We split the door with the band -- so the band gets 2/3rds, and the church 1/3rd -- which (the thinking goes) gives the band all the incentive in the world to turn people out. If nobody comes, nobody gets paid (there's no guarantee, so the church never loses anything). Except this last time, I just gave 100% of the door to the band, cuz I felt bad that the door only took in $160.

We usually charge $10 per person, with students only $5. Once there was an unusually large group (band), and I charged $15 per ticket, but I did "two for $25" to try and drive in more people -- and we had about 110 people for that show -- a really good showing (and about $1,500 in total revenue for the night, including what we got from concessions -- beer, wine, and soda for a "suggested donation" that's still more reasonable that was most bars charge). In that case, the band managed to get a piece on the local NPR station, which ran some insane number of times -- far more than any of us could really figure out why (normally their "local arts" insert only runs three times on Friday mornings, but for some reason I heard that it ran a bunch of other times that week).

When I started this thing, I *thought* I could count on 50 people from the church coming to every concert, but that has NOT been the case -- I usually only draw about 20 or so (plus or minus), sometimes as many as 30 (at most), and just as often as few as 10. Some of the feedback I've gotten from some church people is that the music is too "out" for them (my term, not theirs) -- that they really only like really "inside" jazz (danceable swing and/or stuff with a vocalist). Truth is in three years, I've only had one truly "out" concert, and everything else has been (at most) what I'd call "aggressive hard bop", with maybe one or two that kinda leaned towards "free bop". But I've had vocalists (about once a year), and soul jazz (an organ trio), and pretty much the gambit -- with programming that basically is "somewhat less conservative" than the clubs.

OK, that's all background -- here's why I'm staring this thread. I've GOT to get better at doing PROMO for this series. I've got zero budget for advertising, but if I knew something would work -- I might put some of my own money into it when I could. I try and run calendar listings in the main local paper (KC Star), but I've had only so much luck in getting them to run the listings in anything other than the "faith" calendar section of the paper (since I guess they see it as a church event). I'm working on trying to get listed right in the concert listings, and that's getting a little better -- but they're still very inconsistent about listing stuff all the places I think it ought to go. (In their defense, they've had MASSIVE layoffs over the last 1-2 years, and I think they're literally running on about half the staffing they had 3 years ago -- so I can't blame them too much if they're spread really thin.) I've also had hit-n-miss luck with getting our listings in the main free paper (The Pitch), which a LOT of people use as a "what's going on around town" guide, maybe even more than the KC Star.

I've also tried to put up posters around town (Midtown mostly), usually in the windows of a few restaurants, and some bookstores and what few record/CD stores are still around (very few). And I've also done handbills that I've personally handed out after other jazz concerts and events (as the crowd leaves the venue), within the two-week period before the shows. And I always get about a 125 word article (free) in the Notes & Events section of the local jazz rag, JAM (Jazz Ambassador Magazine). We list the events in the church calendar, and it's also the "spotlight" event on the front page of the church website for a full week or two before the concert.

I've tried to get an e-mail blast going, but half the time I can't read the e-mail address on the sign-in sheet I've put out at the concerts, and I really need to be better about getting that info, and being consistent about getting an e-mail list going. (And I'm more than a little challenged when it comes to having the tools to manage that data well -- I've just been typing them into word, and cut-n-pasting them into my e-mail "to" field.)

WHAT ALL DO YOU DO (that works) TO DO GOOD PROMO FOR THE EVENTS YOU PROMOTE?? WHAT WORKS?? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?? WHAT DOESN'T WORK??

Do I HAVE to get on Facebook, or (god forbid) Twitter to make this work?? I've never had a Facebook account, but I can't imagine that info I sent out that way would be any better than sending out e-mails, or what am I not getting about Facebook??

The one thing I've learned is that doing promo is harder than I ever thought, and I never seem to do it as well as I intend to, nor as much as I really need to.

Any advice people have would be greatly appreciated. And I figure, at one time or another, others of us here have to do promo for events, dates, concerts, etc... Let's help each other learn how to do this better. I don't have all the answers, but I'm sure (collectively) we're a lot smarter together, than we are individually -- or at least smarter about this stuff than I am, that's for sure.

Edited June 2, 2009 by Rooster_Ties

[clifford_thornton]

Why don't you send the information to AAJ.com? They have a news section and even if it's something local, there's no harm in trying to push it.

[Aggie87]

I don't think Facebook will help you, to be honest. It's not a place where masses of people go to look for concert information.

There are sites for specific bands on there (including our illustrious hosts), which is good for getting word out for their shows - but typically that's for people who are already fans of the band.

Unless the musicians you are employing already have Facebook pages, in which case you/they could advertise on their pages, to their pre-existing fan base.

[.:.impossible]

Is there a web site that focuses solely on KC jazz?

This has become a great organizing tool for Richmond, VA.

You ought to check out www.rvajazz.com.

It is just a blog template, which makes maintenance relatively easy. The calendar is always up to date, interviews, articles, reviews are all rss'd to AAJ.com. It is a one stop location for people in and around Richmond. I know for a fact that musicians try to check the calendar before booking a gig so that they are not competing for the same crowd on any given night!

[rockefeller center]

Sorry, can't help because I fell asleep while reading the third paragraph...

[Drew Peacock]

Consider offering a coupon for a discount at a future show. Or a discount for a package of tickets good for a year. Depending on how far in advance you book shows, consider creating a compilation CD with a tune from each of the bands that would perform in the next 6-12 months, give it away for free at each show. Have someone write down email addresses instead of relying on good penmanship. Everyone wants a bargain today so create a pricing methodology that makes them feel this way. Our local jazz club gives away free tickets to a repeat customer with the understanding that they are to bring in new listeners with them to the next show.

It seems that you may need to book more smooth jazz. Fact is that most people do not understand jazz so what sounds like inside to you is just to much for them.

Try to target promotion to a like group of people. You have the church crowd but how about a focus on children or the elderly? A bit of interaction - sing alongs for the elderly, group percussion for the children, that sort of thing. Get the emphasis off 'great music' and on to a 'great experience'.

Suggestion forms - feedback from those who attend - can help ensure that your future shows meet their expectations.