On The Road Again ... But You Have A Day Off .... Why Not Be Productive?

[Kristen Plunkett]

Have a Day Off? Why Not Use That Time To Be Productive?

You have no gigs booked for the day. No traveling is required of you. No meetings with the press. Perhaps this is a day of luck or a planned event. Either way there are some things you can do in your off-time that will prove to be effective for you in the big picture.

The Media

If you should happen to find yourself out on tour and end up with some extra time before a shows run starts, perhaps rather than taking in a nap or the latest and greatest episode of Family Guy you could use this time to work with the media.

You should be familiar with the radio and television stations that cater to your type of music. If you have not already done so, you should make an effort to get in a live radio interview or a performance on a local television channel. Oftentimes television networks or affiliate stations will have a local news show that is featured at noon. Some of the programs will have live guests – especially the programs that have community event segments. Check ahead to see if this is a possibility.

Use a day-off to schedule phone interviews with media for upcoming tour dates. Since you already have the phone number of the hotel where you'll be staying, you can line up phone interviews for a certain segment of time during the day. Keep them tightly scheduled in order to cover a number of upcoming cities.

Live Promotional Appearances:

A very powerful form of persuasion is face-to-face contact. Meeting with potential fans on a one-on-one basis can be a very effective method to increase your fan-base during off-times. Pre-planning this promotional event would be necessary. This may be an actual performance or simply a CD-signing event. Short teaser sets at shopping malls, chain bookstores or coffee shops help push advanced tickets and sell CDs. To set up shows at Borders (www.Borders.com); Barnes & Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com); or Starbucks (www.starbucks.com) you must contact the community-relations director for each individual store. They list their stores on their websites with names, addresses, phones and store number. Some Starbucks have an area coordinator who books talent for a number of stores within one region.

Also check with local university student activities' offices. This may turn into an actual booking in the future. They often have mid-day concerts in non-traditional performance places, such as the lounge or cafeteria. You might pre-arrange a teaser set with the concert committee for a free noon show to be used as an audition for a booking in the future. Similarly, fraternity houses often have luncheons where a teaser show or paid gig might be booked. All of these things provide new names for the mailing list, potential merchandise sales, and, ticket buyers for the show the next night. Keep teaser sets short, since they are free. Leave them wanting to hear more.

Alternative Sales Locations:

Advanced promotion is all about expanding your audience. Having an extra day in a tour-date city allows you to explore new outlets for ticket-buying audiences as well as potential sales outlets for your CDs.

Think about your audience. If you have a sense of your audience--where they shop for clothes, food, what restaurants they are likely to frequent and in what activities they often participate, then you are able to identify potential new markets for your CDs and ticket sales. Place flyers for upcoming shows in these stores, (with permission, of course). Perhaps the owner would play your CD over their system and display your CD at the cash register, next to the flyer announcing your upcoming show. If this is a particularly good location, often frequented by your fans, perhaps you can set up a consignment or sales outlet for your CDs. This requires a bit of organization on your part, but may be well worth it, if you think the sales potential is right.

Business Meetings:

Depending on the city, any off-day may be the perfect time to schedule business meetings with your artistic team, band members or record label. If you were attempting to find agents, managers or labels and are near their location, this would be a perfect time to have set up a meeting in advance. If you are trying to get booked at a specific venue for the next time you tour in the area, stop by the venue and drop off your promotional packet in person--try to meet the booking contact.

You may have also scheduled this off-day because there was a conference in town where you might be able to showcase or meet with industry personnel. It is often difficult to maximize all the benefits from such a conference in a single day, but when the opportunity is there in mid-tour, better to use that one day to its fullest.

Personal Activities:

There are many possibilities for personal day-off activities. If you are looking for a relaxing day off rather than one filled with work, try to explore each city you tour through. Even the smallest town may have something unique to offer. Even though you are touring as part of your business, there are no rules that say you can't take in a museum, a sporting event, explore the parks or beaches. Check out the town's athletic facilities, fine restaurants, attend a yoga class or get a message. Be kind to yourself while on tour and experience as much as the town has to offer. On days when there is actually time to see more than your hotel room, take the opportunity. Your touring experience and your life will be much richer for it.

Source: Jeri Goldstein - - www.performingbiz.com

[James]

Great info. Thanks for posting.

[Kristen Plunkett]

No problem! It's a pleasure.

[Drama Ganza]

Thank you