by Frankie Cervantes, founder of Frankly Communications
Many of the performing artists we have worked with lately can identify with the constant woes of selling merchandise. Merch is part of your business; it’s part of your brand and image so treat it as such. Take your merch seriously and not just as an afterthought. Sure, you have other tasks to deal with like promoting your show, loading and unloading equipment, sound checks, mingling with fans, etc.
Bottom line: If you don’t pay attention to your merchandise, you’re basically saying farewell to extra dough to keep your career moving forward.
CASH AND CREDIT: Cash is always nice, but make it easy for your fans to buy your merch, including multiple items, by accepting credit cards. Have you ever heard of Square, or even PayPal? They both offer the ability to accept credit card mobile payments with no, or very little fees. Register for a mobile payment program.
BEAUTY or the BEAST: Presentation is important from table appearance to the person that’s managing the table. Yes, having an attractive male or female selling your merch is a bonus, but they should also be articulate, organized, trustworthy and a natural salesperson (a smile doesn’t hurt). Do you have a fan that can sell your merch? Offer them merch, an extra ticket to the show and they’re likely to attend all your gigs and lead your sales flawlessly. Leave the duties to someone else. Your sales person should know your music, history and merchandise available, including costs. Oh, prices and info about your stuff on a napkin is tacky and sadly enough, I’ve seen it happen. Don’t be that band.
Be Prepared:
– Have a professional tablecloth to display merch (ask the venue prior to booking to provide an area and/or table)
– Create a price sheet and extra signage (you don’t need to be a designer to have them printed. Dump the napkin)
– Bring tape (a variety), hangers, posters, pins, pens and a flashlight (venues are dark)
– If you haven’t created business cards (attach or use as receipts) – do it now!
DON’T BE GREEDY: It’s fair to say that we’re all on a tight budget. If a fan comes up to you with $6 cash and you’re selling a CD for $8 and they don’t have a credit card – please, sell it for $6. You’re still making cash, but more importantly, you just made a fan happy. They’ll remember your act of kindness.
OFFERINGS: What items will your audience connect with? Have you thought about specials, autographed materials like your newly produced EP? What sets you apart from everyone else? Think about colors, your brand, your entire image. Collaborate with your band mates about your merch and don’t leave anyone out of the conversation. Think about what your audience will want, give, share and buy again:
– T-shirts
– Downloadable Cards are great, period. That’s right, some people don’t own a CD player. Sell your music without the extra cost of cases, design, CD production, etc.)
– CDs
– Stickers
– Flasks
– Posters
SELL FROM THE STAGE: Not only should your front man know your merch inside and out—every single one of you should be talking about it off stage. Tell your audience about your merch…hey, they’re listening to YOU! Describe your goods; introduce the person that’s behind the merch table (thank them, too). Take advantage and make it fun.
ONLINE MERCH STORE: You have a website, right? Use it. Sell your merch on your website and make it an easy process for fans. If you haven’t yet worked with a designer for an online merch store, ReverbNation has a great tool, or better yet; if you have merchandise in stock use a service that sells your goods online. There are online stores that are free (some are fee based), but the best part is, you’re MARKETING merch on your website AND social networks without much work involved.
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Frankly Communications / Blog
Musicians: Using Twitter Vine to grow your fan base
Author: Angela Shugarts, PR Strategist at Frankly Communications
On January 24, 2013, Twitter introduced Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short six-second or less, looping videos. Staying true to its “keep things brief” philosophy, Twitter’s Vine challenges and encourages brands, businesses, and yes, musicians to be creative in the content they create and share with their target markets (aka, fans). Vine was created with musicians in mind. Frankly Communications knows how hard it is to get noticed in the music industry and set oneself apart from the rest of the music-enthusiasts out there…BUT Vine makes it easier to share your music that otherwise may not be heard in the popular sections of news feeds. Trending hashtags allow you to see the fastest-rising hashtags on Vine so you know what your fans want to see and hear!
Since there is only a mere six seconds of “fame” using Vine, content needs to be displayed as short and sweet, captivating and entertaining. As their blog states, “They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.” Some Vine content to consider posting includes: sound bites of a new song, short clips of a new music video, profiling a band member, and even giving fans a sneak peak backstage. All of these ideas keep your fans wanting to see and hear more from you. Whether you’re producing a new song or soliciting ideas for your where to play your next gig, fans can interact with Vine videos by commenting and sharing them on their social networks so your music garners new fans quickly and easily.
Vine is a great opportunity to let your fans see another side of your music and the people behind the lyrics. It establishes connections with your fan base that can’t always be made by other means. Additionally, Vine videos are a good way to boost band member and musician morale—channeling creativity via other means beyond audio. It’s intimate, quick, and a great way to connect with your fans on a whole other level! Rock on musicians! We love you!
Vine app is currently available on iPhone and iPod touch devices and is working hard to make it available across other platforms too.
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Musicians: Sell Your Merchandise
by Frankie Cervantes, founder of Frankly Communications
Many of the performing artists we have worked with lately can identify with the constant woes of selling merchandise. Merch is part of your business; it’s part of your brand and image so treat it as such. Take your merch seriously and not just as an afterthought. Sure, you have other tasks to deal with like promoting your show, loading and unloading equipment, sound checks, mingling with fans, etc.
Bottom line: If you don’t pay attention to your merchandise, you’re basically saying farewell to extra dough to keep your career moving forward.
CASH AND CREDIT: Cash is always nice, but make it easy for your fans to buy your merch, including multiple items, by accepting credit cards. Have you ever heard of Square, or even PayPal? They both offer the ability to accept credit card mobile payments with no, or very little fees. Register for a mobile payment program.
BEAUTY or the BEAST: Presentation is important from table appearance to the person that’s managing the table. Yes, having an attractive male or female selling your merch is a bonus, but they should also be articulate, organized, trustworthy and a natural salesperson (a smile doesn’t hurt). Do you have a fan that can sell your merch? Offer them merch, an extra ticket to the show and they’re likely to attend all your gigs and lead your sales flawlessly. Leave the duties to someone else. Your sales person should know your music, history and merchandise available, including costs. Oh, prices and info about your stuff on a napkin is tacky and sadly enough, I’ve seen it happen. Don’t be that band.
Be Prepared: – Have a professional tablecloth to display merch (ask the venue prior to booking to provide an area and/or table) – Create a price sheet and extra signage (you don’t need to be a designer to have them printed. Dump the napkin) – Bring tape (a variety), hangers, posters, pins, pens and a flashlight (venues are dark) – If you haven’t created business cards (attach or use as receipts) – do it now!
DON’T BE GREEDY: It’s fair to say that we’re all on a tight budget. If a fan comes up to you with $6 cash and you’re selling a CD for $8 and they don’t have a credit card – please, sell it for $6. You’re still making cash, but more importantly, you just made a fan happy. They’ll remember your act of kindness.
OFFERINGS: What items will your audience connect with? Have you thought about specials, autographed materials like your newly produced EP? What sets you apart from everyone else? Think about colors, your brand, your entire image. Collaborate with your band mates about your merch and don’t leave anyone out of the conversation. Think about what your audience will want, give, share and buy again:
– T-shirts – Downloadable Cards are great, period. That’s right, some people don’t own a CD player. Sell your music without the extra cost of cases, design, CD production, etc.) – CDs – Stickers – Flasks – Posters
SELL FROM THE STAGE: Not only should your front man know your merch inside and out—every single one of you should be talking about it off stage. Tell your audience about your merch…hey, they’re listening to YOU! Describe your goods; introduce the person that’s behind the merch table (thank them, too). Take advantage and make it fun.
ONLINE MERCH STORE: You have a website, right? Use it. Sell your merch on your website and make it an easy process for fans. If you haven’t yet worked with a designer for an online merch store, ReverbNation has a great tool, or better yet; if you have merchandise in stock use a service that sells your goods online. There are online stores that are free (some are fee based), but the best part is, you’re MARKETING merch on your website AND social networks without much work involved.
Reply