When you leave the stage after playing a great set, you might think your work is over. Alas, it's not. Although playing a stellar gig will definitely help you win fans, a few simple follow-up steps in the wake of a good concert can make a big difference in keeping those new fans on board - not to mention getting booked again. After you're done wowing the crowd, put these post-show plans into action.
1. Update Your Mailing List
Take all the email address you collected at the show (you WERE getting people to sign up for your mailing list throughout your gig, right?!?!?) and plug them into whatever platform you use to manage your e-mail list. No, don't wait until next week or assume that someone else is going to do it or any of those other little excuses that end up translating into the names not getting added until next year. Do it now - you'll be glad you did.
THEN - send out a newsletter/email. Welcome your new subscribers, thank everyone for a great show and of course, let them know where they can purchase your music/merch.
2. Make Nice with the Venue and Promoter
Yes, it was you and your music that played the most important role in making a good gig pop, but don't underestimate how important the venue and promoter (if you were working with one) were in putting together a good night. Without them, you wouldn't have had a place to play, maybe your sound would have been rubbish and maybe no people would have come through the door at all. Take a moment to share a collective high five, pat on the back, job well done moment, and thank them for everything they did to make your night a good one. It will go a long way when you're trying to book your next gig with these folks.
3. Check in with Your Connects
Did you meet the music editor of your local paper at the show? A popular music blogger? A manager, label, agent or fellow musician? The day after the show, drop them a line, thank them for coming out and where appropriate, open the door for future chats and/or work collaborations. This kind of follow-up can be especially important when you actually discussed some potential work plans when you met at the show. "I'd be into talking more about your idea for putting together a show" - that sort of thing can help turn chit chat into reality.
4. Follow Up on the Reviews
Did you get a really stellar review? Drop a line and say thanks. If you've got a PR person working your case, they may want to this for you, but if you're running your own press, don't feel weird about thanking people who have given you good coverage.
5. Hit the Guest List
Sometimes, gigs are just too hectic for you to track down everyone you want to speak to before the night is over. Sometimes, important people you put on the guest list make a beeline for the door right after your set. That doesn't mean you've missed your window of opportunity. Check out the guest list post-concert, see who showed and send then an email thanking them for coming. Mind you, this tip refers to the press and and industry types on your list. You are under no obligation to send a thank-you email to your cousin's best friend's boyfriend's former summer camp cabin mate visiting from out of town that you squeezed onto your list.
6. Thanks for the Music
As you're going around congratulating yourself and everyone else on a job well done, don't forget the other musicians involved in the show. Thank the openers, the headliners, the session musicians - all the other players who had a role in making sure the night was top notch musicially.
7. Get More Info
So, let's say the show DIDN'T go as well as you had hoped it would. It happens. Find out what to do after a bad show. You can also find out plenty more about the live scene in general in Playing Live 101.
