Today we talked about staying in touch with producers on a regular basis. I wasn’t kidding when I said that this simple step can turn you into a producer’s favorite pick.
Have you done this? Don’t wait – it’s money in the bank.
Pitch in here with your comments or feedback.
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24 responses so far ↓
1 Corporate Juggler
I think the book “Why We Buy,” people can only think of six brands of any given product at a time. If you don’t keep in touch, you’ll leave that tasty six pack of people in your category. And you don’t control what category you fit in a booker’s mind.
2 admin
6? They must have been interviewing some smart people. I can think of 6 but maybe 2 are top-of-mind in any given category.
In this lesson I talk about how easily one is forgotten and yeah, it’s really important that you remain diligent in keeping your name alive.
I recently worked with a very famous speaker (and I’m not going to out him here cause it isn’t nice) who is a high-ranking ex-military Captain. He rocks! Kills! Never seen him get less than 2 standing ovations and sign books for an hour after he’s done. He was telling me that meeting planners forget HIM if he doesn’t stay in touch.
Made me feel better
I give away some real easy techniques in this lesson… take them to heart, ok?
Barry
3 Frisbee
where are the links, the video talks about links on the page where we watch the video for aweber etc… but I find them not.
4 Frisbee
found them hidden in the .pdf files.
The other question on the handwritten letters, my handwriting is atrocious is it alright to type a letter and sign it by hand or does that seem too non-personal and form letter like?
5 admin
Frisbee…
Thanks for pointing out that the links are missing on the lesson page… I’ll have the web person touch that up. I appreciate it. I should actually look those things over from time to time
Regarding the handwriting… The novelty of handwriting is so rare these days that it is a really important element, IMO. Can you get someone to do it for you? I think you’re smart to know your handwriting well enough to know not to do it, but don’t let that stop you. Pop into a Starbucks, buy a $10 gift card, approach someone and ask them to write it for you (it’s only a few sentences!). You may even make a good friend, a networking buddy, or land yourself a gig if you choose carefully.
Again, thanks for pointing out that the resources are in the PDF file… They’ll be on the lesson pages from now on.
Barry
6 Atta Boy
Barry,
You mention producers a lot.
Maybe this is where my education is lacking. I work directly with clients or through an agent (one agency in particular – I am not exclusive, but close). Am I missing out on something? Where is this Producer-land you speak of? What is the role they play? Do I know them by another name: agents? event planners?
Help me Barry-Wan, you’re my only hope.
Steve
7 admin
That’s cause I LOVE producers – they produce (money, gigs, clients!). I call them ‘producers’ cause that what they do – but you can read Meeting Planner, Special Event Coordinator, Speaker Bureau, Sales Executive… they hide behind all kinds of cool titles. Agents are a bit different as they usually get in touch with producers for you. Let’s not even get started on Managers!
Producers have end clients. Agents have producers. Barry’s formula of showbiz… there it is. QED.
A big part of our membership site is going to be around getting in front of the right people… The 80/20 rule is heavy in this niche because 80% of the gigs are booked by 20% of the producers. Actually, it’s probably more around 90/10 but that doesn’t have the lyrical history of 80/20.
After the site launches I’ll get way deep into some of the producers who do the most, why they do it, and how to get in front of them with the best first impression.
Barry
8 paulm
I am very impressed by these “stay in touch” ideas, and I’m going to produce a monthly newsletter to past & potential clients starting Jan 1.
Here’s my question: Should my newsletter be on paper (via post office) or electronic (email)? Email is too easy to delete, and most business people get more email than they have time to read.
Thanks!
9 Barry
Hey Paul,
Good job, man! I’m glad to hear the information is connecting with you and that you are going to put it into action. You’ll be miles ahead of the people who think, “that’s a good idea” and then go back to business as usual. Jump on it and keep us posted on your progress – ok? I’m making you accountable, how’s that?
You have to have permission to send someone an email newsletter or you are going to get them really pissed off at you. Not worth it! On that lesson I talk about Aweber which is a company that I really recommend for doing this. You can set up a form for people to opt in to your list. It’s fine to send producers one email asking them to opt into your newsletter but don’t start sending them newsletters unless they agree to get them! You’ll also have this form on your website and you can drive traffic there and have them sign up for your list. Once you have a list the world is your kingdom.
Email marketing is wonderful – but make sure you are sending to people who want to hear from you. Aweber has a bunch of tutorial videos on how to do this so I won’t slow down the blog with details.
Mailing newsletters is great, too! Postcards are very cool and if they are designed well they will have an impact over time. Don’t send one out and sit by the phone… just doesn’t work that way. A dedicated marketing program (like I talk about in the lesson) is the way for success. Take your annual advertising budget and divide it by 6… what ever that comes out to, spend that on each blast. Don’t shoot your wad in one mailing.
Barry
10 paulm
Thanks Barry. My new newsletter – “Great Big News” – will be mailed the first week of January. I’m compiling the addresses list now, and you will be on it.
I also send out quarterly postcards – via Modernpostcard.com – but what exactly is a “dedicated marketing program”?
11 Barry
Very cool, Paul.
That’s a fancy way of saying pick a plan and stick to it. Sounds like you are on target with quarterly postcards (Modern Postcard ROCKS!), and getting together a newsletter.
Hey, how about making that newsletter a quarterly as well (on different months from the postcards) and making it a 30-second video newsletter? How cool would that be?
Barry
12 Tom
I like the idea of a video newsletter. Thanks for that Barry. I’m big on postcards, easy to read without opening envelopes, so the postcard newsletter is a great thought too. Cultivating the correct mailing list is one of my chief concerns.
13 Barry
The main thing to remember about cultivating a mailing list if that you aren’t going to fool anyone into booking you. It’s honest communication with people who are genuinely interested in buying what you have to offer. It isn’t a sprint to the biggest list – it’s a well-planned marathon to a list that buys. I spent a long time doing this part very wrong – sending out whatever I could to people who never asked for it nor expected it. What a waste of money.
We are going to really work on this part of the business in our membership site because this business is not about anything but connections.
95% of the shows that I do could be done by anyone with a good act. Seriously – you don’t have to be a world-champion, award-winning, living legend act to play corporate gigs.
14 Niels Duinker
It is pretty cool that after every mailing (email) I get a couple request for new shows. Offers that I wouldn’t have gotten other otherwise.
Almost half of these offers land in my mail box a couple hours after I have send out the mailing. These emails are mostly from event producers and agents who are busy on some project and when they see my email they decide to (try to) throw me in. The other offers are from people that have seen/heard of my act a (real) while ago and they just got reminded about my existence. The liked my stuff before so why not try it again?
After almost every mailing I have these reactions so it is cool for me to know that after every mailing eventually a couple thousands will end up into my pocket (credits to Tom Hopkins audio series) I also noticed that when you have the right people on your list they will be happy to hear from you. To a lot of people performers are interesting people and many clients love to see how my career evolves and to follow me in my adventures. I try to design my mailings that way. In the back of my head I keep in mind that my stories have to relate to their situation so that can imagine having me do exactly the same for them!
For example this month I performed at a street theater type event in the Middle East (with 3 days national television appearances and we were on the front page of some national newsletter). If I send this story to the outdoor events in the Netherlands (where I live) I do have a story that the festival producers can relate to in their own situation but also a story that is spectacular (valuable) enough for them to read. When you sit down for a while you can come up with good content for your newsletter to be able to get the attention and follow up that you hope for. The content of your newsletters have to relate to the receiver’s situation.
Kind Regards,
Niels
15 Barry
I have nothing to add to this, Niels. Very good points, great examples. This entire business is about relationships and the more you offer, the richer they are. Thank you for sharing.
16 Mark Phillips
Barry –
This is certainly a lesson that separates the “men from the boys.” Thanks for pointing out why people forget you when you do a good job; it makes total sense and I have missed the logic behind it my whole career. Now that you have told me about mailings, well, I have no excuse not to do one. It is my next priority (I hope I don’t get distracted by the next lessons!) Thanks again for the great information.
Mark
17 Niels Duinker
A couple weeks ago I had a couple discussions over lunch with an act that works a lot in the corporate world. They have been working about the same period as that I am old.
They told me how they used to promote their act and how that has changed over the years with all the computers. They still remember the period of sending out so many brochures etc. by mail.
They were surprised to hear that I send out a handwritten card or letter to thank the people for hiring me. They always did that before the computer age. Now they were going to do that again because as they told me…The computer is so normal now that going the extra mile with a handwritten letter really make you stand out. Producers etc. will notice it and remember it.
I also think that a mailing list is very helpful for agents to run their business and to sell acts. The agent is still kinda up to date with the latest information on the act. He can provide the client recent information and tell the client about recent highlights in the career of that act. That leaves the impression that this act has a good relationship with the agent and that the act gets booked often.
Even if that isn’t the case it still leaves the impression that the act is actually working. And a good act is usually working more that a bad act.
Niels
18 Barry
Mark – keep going! You’ll be amazed by what taking these steps will do for your career. The lessens aren’t going away… go see them again and again but more importantly – take small steps every chance you get – to move each element of your promotion forwards. That’s what really separates the pros from the amateurs.
19 Cliff Spenger
Great Ideas, bi-monthly newsletter, video newsletter, postcard newsletters, handwritten thankyou w/fedex.
I want it all.
20 Gabriel Q
when I have my new promo materials assembled, I want to send them to agents with whom I’d be a good fit. (ie. they promote the flavor of work i do)I have a few connections but need to put down more roots in fertile soil. Is there a network of agencies that I can research or is it more a process of making connections through jobs. Want to send my materials out in a smart way. thanks, Gabriel
21 Barry
Hey Gabriel,
Up above there is some good conversation about mailing out promo. It’s pretty much a thing of the past – well, at least mailing out to a cold contact. I’ve seen hundreds of pounds of promo in trash cans over the last 5 years. I even heard one producer say, “Why would I open this and watch it?”
Bottom line, make connections and then follow up with hard promo if it is requested. Don’t waste your money buying a mailing list and shooting out DVDs and written stuff.
In the membership site we’ll have some great discussions about how to meet producers that will actually make you friends – instead of someone who exists inside of an unsolicited package.
So the smart way? Wait until they ask you to send them.
First build a relationship via the phone, in person, or through an electronic newsletter. Seriously, don’t just mail stuff out.
22 Alison Kenyon, RKC
I just spent a few hours on Aweber creating an email newsletter for my husband’s and my strength training business.
It has nothing to do with corporate gigs, but it’s a spectacular idea that totally translates to our need to reach out to more potential training clients, fitness clubs, etc.
Thank you for that awesome tip!!!
23 DeWayne Spaw
Hey Barry,
Thanks for the link to AWeber, I will definitely check that out! As a musician, I also use Reverbnation to collect contacts for my mailing list and they have templates to help you easily create very cool and trendy newsletters to send to your mailing list and fans, as well as a lot of other features invaluable to a musician. Looking forward to Day 4….
DeWayne Spaw
24 Barry
Hi DeWayne,
I don’t know reverbnation. There are many services that do the job.
Make sure you don’t get caught up in the ‘cool and trendy’ lights – the most powerful newsletter I get is a niche ezine that is 100% text – always content over look. Now, if you have both – rock on!
Keep digging into the 7-day course.
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