PLANNING - Be clear about your aims

So you're sending out all the press packs physically and/or virtually but you need to ask yourselves what you want to achieve.

Do you want to be signed by a label?
Are you simply promoting your CD?
Do you want to raise your profile?
Do you just ultimately want to sell more albums/tracks?

Who are you targeting

Your actions need to correspond to your aims and you need to think through your campaign in order for your to achieve your goals. Some strategic and creative thinking is called for in any successful PR campaign. Think about who you are targeting from the above list:-

- a Label
- Fans of your genre of music and beyond
- The public in general
- Your fans and potential fans via bricks & mortar stores and virtual downloading sites.

How can you get their attention

- gigs/plays on radio/word of mouth via MySpace etc./ reviews
- Get all info you can out there on your websites; on the networking sites.
- Think about a hook or promotion that gives your campaign extra appeal
- Search for the most suitable download sites for your music; work towards a favourable distribution deal for physical assets in stores.

The key to success is to follow a strategy towards your goals!

PLANNING - Do your research!

Wildly sending out samplers and press releases is a waste of your time, money and effort. If your sound and your genre is similar to a successful band/artist then look at where they are being featured with a view to following a similar path for yourselves.

- Note down what you sent
- The date you sent it
- Who your targeted

Make sure you get the right person before you even think about sending it anywhere.
EMAIL - Don't send Mp3 tracks by email unless you've pre-arranged with a journalist to do so. It clogs their inbox and makes them cranky! Send an invite to listen with a url.

POST - Some journalist still prefer to receive a physical asset in the form of a CD. Don't get their name wrong and don't pester incessantly for results. Follow- up, by all means but let the journalist know you plan to do this at least once.

BASICS - Photographs

Photos should be professional standard. Be mindful of print reviews and articles that will require high quality, clear photographs without too many colour filters.

If you are putting together Packs with your press release and bio, sticker the back of your photo with the band/artist name and contact number.

Provide a choice of photos if you can.

BASICS - Biography

Your bio is really your background info providing the journalist with some additional copy.

You need to document your journey to where you are now.
This is where you can tell your "how you all met" stories.
List all your musical achievements.
Talk about your musical style, instruments, tracks.
Cover your releases chronologically and give as much info as possible.

BASICS - Press Release

We can't stress enough how important it is to get the basics right when starting your public relations or promotional campaigns. It seems trite to be discussing things like spelling and layout for your promotional materials but it does matter!

PRESS RELEASE

Keep it short.
Get to the point in the first sentence!
Don't try smart comments - stick to the facts!
DON'T have any spelling errors
Use double spacing
Remember to put your contact number on there at the beginning and the end
Start with your main point, move to essential info and finish with background info
Don't make it any longer than 2 pages





SAMPLE:


CONTACT........ on ............


PRESS RELEASE – May 2006

AVERAGE WHITE BAND SET TO TOUR UK MAY/JUNE 2006

PRESS RELEASE – May 2006

AVERAGE WHITE BAND SET TO TOUR UK MAY/JUNE 2006

The funk and soul outfit, Average White Band have confirmed 13 concerts dates in the UK.

Flying in from dates in Dubai, they kick off the UK section of their World Tour at The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, working their way through four nights at London’s Jazz Café, finally culminating the British dates with a gig in Glenrothes, Scotland.

The 45 date World Tour, beginning in United Arab Emirates and ending in Seattle Washington, stretches from May to November 2006. The band plan to release their 18th album during this current tour. This will be a live CD and is scheduled for release Summer 2006.

With a career spanning 33 years Average White Band consider themselves ‘soul survivors’ with tracks featured in dozens of movies and adverts. Their distinctive sound has been sampled by music’s most prestigious hip-hop and rap artists including Public Enemy, Ice T and Janet Jackson.

They are currently enjoying a resurgence of interest in the soul and funk style that propelled them into the stratosphere of success to stand with such contemporaries such as Earth Wind and Fire, Gap Band, Tower of Power and Kool & the Gang.

UK TOUR DATES
20/5/06 Kendal Cumbria Brewery Arts Centre
21/5/06 Sheffield The Boardwalk
23/5/06 Cambridge The Junction
24/5/06 Norwich The Waterfront
25/5/06 Bristol Fleece
26/5/06 Exeter Phoenix
28/5/06 London Jazz Café
29/5/06 London Jazz Café
30/5/06 London Jazz Café
31/5/06 London Jazz Café
2/6/06 Edinburgh Liquid Room
3/6/06 Aberdeen Lemon Tree
4/6/06 Glenrothes Rothes Halls

CONTACT ................... on .........................