Securing gigs often requires a strategic mix of professionalism, creativity, connections, and more. From optimizing your online presence to networking and more, we’re sharing 7 tips on how to get gigs for your band.
Whether you’re a new band or have performed hundreds of times and are looking to expand, growing your band involves a lot of time and effort—outreach to venues, following up, practicing, and dedicating the time to attend the gig. If this all sounds overwhelming, don’t worry we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’re sharing 7 tips on how get gigs for your band with advice from successful bands on The Bash.
Here Are 7 Tips on How to Get Gigs for Your Band.
1. Establish a strong and professional online presence.
An online presence is crucial for building a fan base, getting in front of party planners, and standing out in the competitive music industry. A consistent and professional presence across online platforms like social media, a band website, and online booking sites like The Bash, allows you to showcase your talent, build credibility, and find new booking opportunities. Here are the 3 platforms where you should create an online presence.
Social media
Social media is an easy way for party planners and fans alike to find you. Share photos from performances, videos of live songs, interviews with the band members, set lists, and where you’re playing next—the content you can share is endless! Showcase your stage presence, performance style, and give followers a glimpse into what it would be like to book your band. Make sure to keep your social media accounts consistent and up-to-date! Here are some helpful content ideas:
- Band member introductions: Create posts highlighting each band member with information such as their role in the band, years of experience, and musical inspiration.
- Photos and videos: You can share song lyrics, a song list, or snippets of performances in a post, story, highlight, reel, or record a live stream to show your band performing in real-time.
- Event announcements: Social media is a great way to let clients know about upcoming public and even private events, so they are aware of the type of celebrations you perform for.
- Band updates: Letting followers know about a new song, booking, availability, or a new member is a great way to keep past and prospective party planners up-to-date and engaged.
- Client testimonials: Sharing positive reviews and feedback from clients can go a long way! Don’t hesitate to show them off.
- Q&A with the band members: Ask followers to submit questions for band members to answer.
“Staying active on social media with appropriate tags and hashtags to show that we're still active and are looking to play.”
-B.D. Lenz, Jazz Band on the number one way to get more bookings
Professional website
A professional website is the perfect platform for sharing in-depth information and updates on your band. Your website should include a variety of content, such as upcoming events and performance details, band updates, band member bios, contact info, photos, videos, song lists, and any other information that might be helpful to party planners. Tools like Wix and Weebly are free and easy to use. Here are some recommendations to consider when building your band's site:
- Include high-quality photos and videos: Photos and videos of your band in action are a must-have.
- Easy to find contact info: It’s critical that the contact info on your site is easy to find so that prospects can send you an inquiry or ask a question.
- Ensure it’s mobile-friendly: Most users are likely visiting your site on their mobile phone, so it’s important to ensure your site displays cleanly on a cell phone and remains easy to navigate.
“Having a strong and professional online presence is the key to getting more gigs as a live band.”
- Live Band on The Bash
Online booking platforms
An online event marketplace that already ranks highly in organic search results and handles SEO for you, like The Bash, is a reliable and cost-effective way to advertise your business. With over 25 years of SEO expertise, The Bash has proven to get bands to the top of local search results and in front of planners looking to book entertainment.
Promoting your band on a booking platform supplements your social media and website efforts by guaranteeing your visibility to ready-to-book party planners. With a customizable profile that features a bio, photos, videos, pricing, song list, and more, you can easily display your band’s most important information in one place.
Plus, profiles on The Bash are mobile-friendly, so your band’s profile will look great on any device. Receive leads, send quotes, communicate with clients, and receive payments through our online payment system EventPay—The Bash is a one-stop shop for bands who are looking to promote their business and book more gigs.
“My number one tip for live bands is to get good samples on your profile! It took me a while to set up a live recording session, but it has improved our responses, as people have a better idea what they're getting.”
- Live Band on The Bash
2. Network with local businesses.
Reach out to local venues and restaurants or even party and event planners. Building relationships with people in the same or related industry can open doors to new performance opportunities, especially for recurring events. Party and event planners can recommend your band to clients and restaurants can book you for special events or for standing nights to entertain guests. Consider creating and carrying business cards—you never know when or where you’ll meet a potential client!
3. Be flexible with client requests and events.
It’s important to be open to and flexible with client requests, especially if the booking is for a special event or a milestone celebration. For these events, party planners often look for a band that can play all their favorite songs, and appreciate you taking the time to learn a sentimental song or cater to their preferences.
Here are some things party planners look for in a vendor when it comes to flexibility:
- Being able to hear what they want and make it happen, and having the integrity to inform them of things that will work and won't work.
- Being flexible regarding their schedule and special requests.
- Customizing the event to their specifications, such as music selection, color scheme, event theme, etc.
- Understanding their vision, and translating that to music.
- Providing excellent music, communication, and offering extras (like songs not on the setlist).
- Providing group configuration and pricing options, as well as song lists tailored to the event.
- Understanding their vision of the event and then providing recommendations to ensure a successful event. Changing the flow of an event to ensure the guests are enjoying themselves, even if it may be different from what the client originally wanted. The bottom line is, clients want to ensure their guests are having a great time.
- Taking the time to listen to their needs and ideas for their event, and introducing them personally to each band member.
“Be flexible, friendly, and accommodating.”
- Live Band on The Bash
4. Respond quickly.
Timing is everything, especially when it comes to responding to leads. Of course, you don’t want to sacrifice personalization along the way. Make sure you cover all the details provided in the lead’s request and answer any questions, just don’t forget the importance of responding quickly. The faster you respond, the more likely it is that you have answered before other vendors, and the greater your chances of being booked.
“The number #1 way we drive more bookings is with our response time to leads. First contact is most effective because it allows you (the vendor) to set the standards, expectations and build rapport with the client. Our intended response time is typically within 5-10 minutes of receiving a lead on average.”
-Steel Band Delight, Steel Drum Band
5. Create a follow-up process.
Never underestimate the power of following up! It shows genuine interest while giving the lead a gentle nudge to respond. By following up, your band is popping into their vendor search again, and will become top-of-mind once more. Plus, it reminds them to take another look at what you have to offer! In our 2024 member report, 77% of leads said they follow up with their leads and 39% said within 24-48 hours. Vendors also said the top way they follow up with leads is email followed by phone call, The Bash or other booking platform messaging system, and finally text message. There are so many ways to follow up—taking the time to figure out what works best for your band will help you secure more bookings!
“We receive inquiries through sites like The Bash and we are pretty good at answering fast. From there, we follow up with a call or text to push that sale a bit.”
-Mariachi Romanza. Duo, Trio, Quartet or More., Mariachi Band
6. Offer special packages.
Unique or special packages can differentiate your band from others, and make a party planner’s booking experience more seamless. Whether by event type or holiday, a package with multiple options will interest party planners more and lead to bookings. For example, if you also offer lighting options, a party planner might end up booking you over a competitor. Making any package a limited-time offer is even more enticing!
7. Prioritize testimonials.
Do your best to collect testimonials from happy clients and share them across your online platforms. Positive reviews build trust and credibility, and lead to future bookings! While it might not be possible to collect reviews from every client, be sure to collect them for a variety of event types to show that your band brings good times to every celebration. Consider adding testimonials to all of your marketing materials and online platforms so that party planners will always see them!
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By establishing a strong online presence, networking with local businesses, being flexible with client needs, responding quickly, creating a follow-up process, offering special packages, and prioritizing testimonials, you'll set your band up for success. Each of these actions will help your band stand out to party planners and cultivate connections that will lead to more bookings. Just don't forget that each requires persistence, consistency, and time! If you’re not already a member of The Bash and are interested in getting your band booked for more gigs, join our party!
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