Meeting Your Fans Will Increase Attendance For Your Shows, And Gain You New Friends Too!

Ah, time for some more sagely advice form yours truly. This is simply reiteration of some of my previous themes but it is all too important: get to know your fans. Now to some of you, this may seem elementary, but others, I find, do not mingle with the fans at all! Instead, they hang out with girlfriends and close personal friends. Now maybe you’re just shy, or maybe your just a dick who thinks you’re better than everyone else. Either way you need to get over yourself and introduce yourself to a fan. You don’t have to run around talking to everybody, although some do, but one or two fans a night is a good place to start.

I say this because it helps your fans get acquainted with you personally and intimately and when a fan becomes a friend they are far more likely to find your shows. Not only that, but they are more apt to tell their friends about your band and possibly you will make some genuine new friends to boot!

A Few weeks ago I had a chance to put this to the test. My band ( The Paper Crowns ) performed at a venue called Hangar 24. It was awesome and part of what made it so good was that before and during the show, we talked to people. I made it a point to go up and introduce myself and have a small chat with a few of the patrons and they in turn had a better time watching us perform. After the gig, they all said goodbye personally and did not feel intimidated in doing so. During the set break, a few came up to tell us how much they enjoyed the show. Man, what a feeling that is, but better than that, we had a show not two nights after and guess what? A few of those same folks came to see us! How about that? One of them that I friended on FB after the gig told me that we were on her “Travel to see
“ list of bands.

Not only did they have a good time, we had a blast with our new friends. There is another thing that works on the same level, and that is introducing yourself on Facebook to some would be fans before a show. Especially an out of town show to which you may not have an innate draw. I went and sought out some of the patrons of Pappy & Harriet’s and personally invited them to the show. I was delighted to find that when we arrived, some of them had shown up there and had brought friends! We introduced ourselves and by the time we took the stage, it was like playing for a bunch of friends.

They loved us and with the reception we got we made some real fans that night. Some of them are now following us. How glad I was that I reached out. We are expanding both our fan base and our friends list and I expect to see this trend continue and all because we were both genuine and friendly with all of the patrons and music lovers.

So if you are one of the bands complaining about low turnout and sulking in a corner, the problem is not the fans, its you. Get out there, meet folks and have a good time already.