In this episode I want to talk about how you can win more bookings by investing in your media
The days of yellow pages and text ads are long dead now and let's face it, everything is online and that includes your customers. So if im a customer looking for a band and all I see is your one grainy image, why am I going to book you? This is why your not getting bookings. You could have the best act since led lights and it could be the best kept secret. So If you want more bookings - Invest in your online media Your online media is broken down into 4 parts:
Images
Have you got images? And do your images sell you?
stly you will need a few album style shots, these are still shots of your act or event service. These shots are an introduction to your act and are good as first images,
profile pictures etc..
A lot of acts get these album style photos done and then stop. But your missing a trick... you need to sell the dream to your potential customer - so have photographs taken of your act in action shots at gigs! If your a band, try and have a few photographs of a packed dance floor with you at the back to prove you can do your job.
If your a musician, have photos taken at your environment like a church, hotel lobby or bar.
If you're an entertainer have your action shots taken on the job, like a hypnotist having their guests under, or a magician wowing their audience.
And if you run an event hire service, try and get photos of your service in action. For example if you run a photobooth, get pictures of your client having fun and using your equipment.
Remember you have to sell the dream to your potential client so make sure that the people in your action shots are happy, laughing , having fun and smiling unless of course your a funeral musician…
You can spend whatever you like on your photographs, if your on a budget a mate with a good spec smartphone can take photos, just make sure that they are landscape!
I would recommend getting a good photographer, the money you invest will definitely pay for itself over again.
A great tip is if you do weddings, ask the wedding photographer to take a few action shots, and if your friendly enough, they could even give you a discount.
And just remember to ask the people in your action shot if its ok to use them!
VideoHaving a video will really improve your booking conversion rate. Having a staged video is cool, but back it up with a live action video as your potential customers will want to see evidence if you can do your job. So sell them the dream and have them dancing, laughing, surprised and having fun!
If your a musical act and you want to showcase your audio make sure that its properly recorded as i've seen 4k beautiful video with tinny sound and its awful.
You can also host your audio separately on services such as soundcloud.
You can go down the DIY route with video and use your phone, make sure its in landscape mode and you have a steady hand. Also you can buy an i-rig pro online
that you can hook into your microphone or desk to record sound.
My advice is to hire a professional videographer and if you're a band or musician get a sound engineer to mic everything up. It's more expensive but again
will pay you back tenfold with bookings.
BIO / WriteupHave you seen the wolf of wall street? Where jordan belfort asks, “sell me the pen”. Like this task most people struggle with their bio. Where do you start? Ask yourself these questions to help you write your bio - why should the client hire you? What makes you unique? Where have you performed? What is your set list if you're a musical act? Dont brag about your gear specifications, the client will not care if you have a JBL MRX DUAL 18 INCH SUBWOOFER or weather you have a shure SM58 mic compared to a sennheiser e835... All they care about is if you have decent equipment. Another top tip is to not use “We and “I all the time, Replace we and I with you and your event. If you find it hard to write creatively, use a service like fivverr.com and someone will write you up a bio for a fiver.
Reviews and testimonials
What was the last thing you bought online for over £200? Did you just buy it straight away or did you do your research? Read reviews, check out the products
so that you make the best decision.
Well this is the way things are now done online, with the rise of sites like tripadvisor, yelp and trustpilot your reviews must be independent and true.
Book Entertainment will offer you an independent review service on your profile where customers can leave an independent review with the opportunity to post
pictures of their night. If you good at what you do this will cement the client’s decision to book you. If you're a cowboy, you will be caught out.
Also Written Testimonials from Mrs Jones or John Smith look fake and won’t convince potential customers to book you. If you want your customers to give you a testimonial, take your phone our and video it at the gig!
This all adds to the value of your act.
If you're a member of Book Entertainment, we will automatically send out a review request to the customer after each gig you perform from our marketplace.
SummaryIf you want a better chance to convert potential customers into your clients you have to sell them the dream, make sure to have:
Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below or sharing this post. Happy gigging! Keith |
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