Promoting Events Part 2: How?
By XJS and Amber

The first article in this two part series," Promoting Events: Why? Where? When? Who?" covers determining your motivation for throwing an event, getting people to help you do it, where your event is going to be staged and who is spinning. Now that you know what you're doing, you're on to the actual promotion: convincing people to go to the event

Tell a story
The first step toward getting the word out about your event is knowing how to get the word to. Is it a small rave? Then get the word to partygoers through simple flyers or even just email. Is it a large event, featuring a major headliner? The larger the event, the more promotions options you'll want to add: lots of crisp flyers, newspaper ads, posters, web promotions and advertising, press coverage, telephone info lines, contests, the list goes on. Do you know who should hear about your event, and how you'll do it? Make a list of all the places it makes sense to promote your event at. Both the daily newspaper and free local publications often will run your details for free, and if you can afford an print ad, go for it - especially if your chosen venue doesn't already advertise in the papers.

The information you send to people about your event should include carefully crafted text that gives the details of the event. There are several cases where you'll need to write out the details of your event, and each takes a different approach..

The Press Release - It's purpose it to be sent to newspapers and webmasters as a "cheat sheet" description of the event to make the process of (hopefully) writing a published article on your event easier. It details everything about the event anyone could wish to know, and then some. The press release should include the following:

Your name, address, email address, phone number and your company's logo.
The venue's name, contact person, address, email address, phone number and logo.
The name of the event, date, times, and cover price(s).
The lineup: all the DJs and their full affiliations.
A paragraph about each DJ.
A paragraph or two on why you're throwing the event, and it's theme, purpose or background.
A paragraph or two on you, your production company, and past events you've thrown.
A paragraph or two on the venue and it's features.

The next important written promotion for your party is the email announcement, sometimes also called the BSP, (an acronym for "Blatant Self Promotion"). This is shorter than the press release and includes the name of the event, date, times, location and DJs with affiliations, with a short scene-setting intro paragraph. It's the essential info you'll be emailing out to the partygoers who want to know about your events.

Finally, the Short BSP is an even more concise version of the event - skip the intro paragraph and zoom in on the bare facts of location, date and lineup. This version is sent to and members of the press who do email lists, websites with limited space for events, and newspapers with basic listings columns.

With all press texts it is better to send too much information than too little, without sending around a ten-page epic. Make sure to send in your announcements either by email, fax or regular mail in to their recipients in time for publishing deadlines

Got web?
Email lists are an essential tool for promotions - if you can collect the email addresses of people who are interested in going to your events, you're on the way to having a very focused, free and easy to implement method of promotion. And when I say "collect" I don't mean steal someone else's email list and plagiarize it mercilessly. Ask people if they'd like to join your list at events, put out a sign up sheet at the door, consider offering a reward for new subscribers to encourage list participation. Then go home and create a your email announcement list.

Free list hosting or invitation services like www.Topica.com and www.eVite.com make managing your subscribers a cinch - they'll even supply you with an automatic subscription form for your website and have a lot of other useful list management features. Tip: If you do not use list hosting or a group email alias for your messages, but instead write the group at once with individual emails listed you must put all the addresses in the "Bcc" line of your email program to protect the private contact information of your subscribers, and to keep your "To" line from taking up half a page! Forgetting to "Bcc" addresses when emailing a group is a great way to annoy a lot of people at the click of a mouse.

Nightlife web sites and other independent email lists are another great free way to get the word out. You should also run your own website with all the details, if you can, and you can event post an image of your flier there: Providing details online can help reduce your short BSP to a simple web address.

Get tuned in
Don't forget to try the radio for a bit of free promotion. Lots of old-fashioned dial-turning is still done in the car by a surprising number of people. Local college and public radio stations are very accommodating to help promote local events, but also go for the major stations if it makes sense for your event. Commute hours are the optimal hour time for your appearance on a show, guestlist passes in hand for an on-air giveaway. Internet radio is also becoming popular - in either case you should be able to get some kind of on-air mention with just a quick phone call, even if you can't make a guest appearance. Don't forget that if a microphone's not handy and you need to make a live announcement about your upcoming event, you can always plug your headphones into the mic jack and speak into the earpieces for instant MC action.

Those little bits of paper we love so much…
Fliers - they seem to be a cult. They're everywhere, they're essential and they're even collectible. Four color process double sided fliers are the norm, with print runs of 5,000 to 10,000 being the minimum - you can expect to pay from $15 - $30 per square inch for them and you can expect to be dismayed at how heavy that box of fliers is when you get it, and how slowly they go away…

Make sure they're produced by someone who understands eye-catching graphics and the CMYK print process. If you don't know what that is, you need a designer. Some considerations:

UV coated fliers last longer in wet weather, but cost more, don't biodegrade as well, are made with poisonous inks that could harm print workers, and are so slippery that they slide all over the place when you try and put a neat stack on a flier table. (hint: elastic bands are your friend.)

For smaller events, particularly one-off raves or undergrounds, photocopied fliers are fine for smaller events, Larger events, events affiliated with major venues, events featuring famous DJs and/or events that need to build up substantial attendance will need something more than a copy job from the local print shop. Pick a size and design that is appropriate to your needs and style-make it look worth the cover charge or ticket price. When designing your flyers, make use high -contrast designs and get creative by printing them on unusual paper or die-cut to a unique shape - anything to stand out!

Die-cut, gatefold fliers in fancy shapes with fluorescent or metallic spot colors are real attention grabbers. And real expensive. --but don't write it off yet. Can you get someone to sponsor your fliers? Throw their logo on the flier and make them pay for the print run!

For major events give yourself about six weeks to cover your target area with fliers, with the majority of your flier promotions done in the last two weeks running up to the event. This is an area where help is a must! Getting flyers distributed is a big time-eater, so get all the hands you can to chip in. No helpers? Consider finding someone, perhaps a local student or teenager, you can pay for doing the job. Place fliers in record stores, clothes shops and in the hands of people at clubs events similar to your own (with a smile - this is an art in itself). It is also common practice to put flyers on cars outside clubs and other events. These fliers usually end up on the street, thrown there by irritated drivers the minute they arrive at their car. Sister discourages fliering cars randomly, this tactic doesn't do much except frustrate car owners and make a mess of the street.

Poster versions of your fliers can be made cheaply too, even printed at home on a regular printer, and put up in stores and on lamp posts in appropriate areas.

Stickers (www.stickerguy.com) and buttons (www.retardedbuttons.com) are another good promotional tool - they'll last a little longer than fliers and posters, since people will want to keep them if the design is nice. For that reason I recommend making them a little more general - that is, not specific to your event. Put your logo and web site on there so people know where to go for up to date event information.

I'm the DJ's boyfriend. No, really!
If you're familiar with the club scene and parties in general, you'll know that some events can be tough to get into. For free, that is. You're already aware of the need for a guestlist for your event. The guestlist can range from one or two people on the list per DJ, up to a multi-page free-for-all allowing everyone from the DJs posse, the press and the club owner's grandmother in for nothing. You'll want to do the math and work out how many unpaid admissions you can afford, and exactly who you can't afford to piss off by leaving them off the list. Expect a lot of last-minute guestlist requests on the day of the event, leave room accordingly. You may also want to consider a separate reduced price list. Either way, do yourself a favor and type it up beforehand, divided into sections for each DJ, the press, and so on, for easier location of names on the night. Don't forget to allow for "club courtesy" - the practice of allowing promoters and venue workers free entry into your event at their request (just be sure they'll reciprocate when the time comes.)

If you are a sweet, popular and all-around lovely person, do everyone a favor and stay away from the door all night. Your soft-heartedness will allow way too many people in for free, costing you serious cash - I've seen it happen too many times. It's well worth paying your unknown cousin from out of town $50 to sit at the door and deal with the guest list and cash - they're less likely to know, and therefore give in, to your friends who want to get in free.

On the night
Hand stamp and ink pad ready? Locking cash box and a few hundred dollars in $1 and $5 bills ready for door change at hand? Contracts for all involved in your back pocket? Guest list carved in stone and door person set to "stun"? Let the show begin!

When your DJs arrive it is polite to pay them before their set (as their contract may well demand) so be ready with an envelope of cash, drink tickets, thank you card, whatever your compensation is. Settle your DJs in to the venue, with drink tickets if they're available and appropriate, and allow the night to unfold. You've done everything you can do by now, so it's time to stop worrying and enjoy the party. Keep an eye on the clock and make sure your DJs play fair by getting on and off the decks when they're supposed to, and that's it!

The (after)math
The simple equation for throwing any sized event consists basically of outgoing monies (cost) and incoming cash (profit) - Fill out this sheet to give yourself an idea of whether you're going to cut it:

Costs:
DJs (fees, flights, accommodation, etc): $______ . __
Promotion (fliers, posters, advertising, etc.): $______ . __
Venue (rental, security, other staff, decorations, visuals): $______ . __

Gross Profit:
Expected income = number of people coming to your event multiplied by $x cover charge, minus and venue bar guarantee you didn't make (cash paid out at the end of the night to the venue): $______ . __

Subtract your costs from the gross profit to give your net profit - what you take home.

Parting shot: Don't say we didn't tell you: Income earned this way is taxable.

All text copyright Sister SF 1997-2003. No reproduction without permission.