Mastering Press Releases: Essential Tips for Promoting Your Gigs Effectively (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Getting pressed to promote your gigs is kind of difficult, so how can you make it a bit easier? Well, it always helps to have an end goal to shoot for. What are you really trying to achieve? It can be something large or small, difficult or easy to attain, like trying to get at least 25 people to every show on tour. Or to get people to tweet about the new album. Or to have at least one local listing site mention each gig. Without a marketing goal, it's hard to know if you actually accomplished anything through your press efforts. The most vital and widely accepted way to get the attention of a media outlet is through a press release. A consolidated parcel of information that you customize to reflect how your band's message will get across to an audience. And it's the media—blogs, radio, newspapers, and arts listings—that will deliver it. Believe me, when you really nail a press release, journalists won't have any reason to ignore you. Formatting. You want your press release to be formatted just like everyone else's. Professionalism is key here. It sells a journalist or editor on your understanding of presentation, which rubs off on their impression of your music. The first piece of information to include is when you want the press to start talking publicly about your show. Your press release should begin with, For immediate release. Or, for release on a specific date, like June 11, 2015. Contact info. Line this up with contact information—the name, email, phone, and address at which either you or your manager can be reached. Make this information super easy to find for the journalist. Next is the headline. What do you think the media is going to see first? Yep, it's the big, centered lettering staring them right in the face at the top of the page. Local band releases CD is not really going to get their attention. Try to focus on what makes you unique and special. Depending on the music you're making, chances are other people will too. So have confidence in stating the best aspects of your music and live performance. I sometimes add a small photo of either my band or the album cover beneath the headline. This is a nice way to break up the text, but it's not totally mandatory. Show details. After the headline, detail the information about your show. When, who, where, and how much. Information. The body. The smartest thing in the world is to hook a journalist on the merit of your music alone. You know how awesome your tunes are, but others need to be convinced. The same rules apply to the body of your press release. Answer these questions and be clear. What is your music? Your genre and identity. Where does it fit into people's lives? Is it a party, a relaxing experience, or a social night out? Why is the event special? Where else have you played in this city, or is it your first time here? Also, why are you on tour? Promoting a new single, album, or maybe a new collaboration? Oh, and remember to put all this information into paragraph form. Don't just list it. It's key that you develop a narrative around your band. A story that you're always telling. If you can write compelling text, media sites and publications will often just copy and paste it verbatim. This means you've effectively made your information easy to understand and exciting enough to use. If you still have some space at the end, add press quotes and tour dates. And keep the whole thing to one page. Sending it out. Now, where do you send it? I guess, anywhere. Make sure to send a personal note with each press release. And do your research. What does each publication love to write about? Find some newspapers, magazines, blogs, arts weeklies, and radio stations in every city you're touring through and contact the editor responsible for live music. Lastly, if you've got any press tips or stories, share them in the comment boxes below and tell us what's worked for you. We would love to hear it. What? .