3 Money Saving Tips for Audio and Video Demos

When a potential client is intrigued by the services you have to offer for their wedding (perhaps because of your wonderful business cards and brochures), the very question they are likely to ask is, “Do you have a demo?”

If your answer is "no", read on for 3 money saving tips:

1. Incorporate video clips of your live performances at weddings into your demo tapes. As long as the film quality is apparent, you can save a bundle in shooting costs. You’ll need to get permission from the bride to use the video as a demo. As a gesture of goodwill, you will also need to credit the videographer in the film.
2. Record the video demo first, and then use its soundtrack for your audio demo.
3. Extract stills from your video demo to use as promotional photos.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

For Musicians and Entrepreneurs

If you want to keep up with how to use the Internet to reach new customers and fans, and to stay in touch with them, you've got to read Joan Stewart's great free e-book, "The Best of The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week 2009". It's a compilation from Joan's fabulous weekly e-newsletters, which I always can't wait to receive.

I got introduced to Joan when I heard her teleseminar with my friend Bob Baker called "Do-it-Yourself PR Tips for Songwriters, Musicians & Bands on a Budget" . But to me, her very best e-book is her "How to Be a Kick-Butt Publicity Hound", the up-to-date bible on how to get the word out about any business. It contains some very novel ideas. Not your run-of-the-mill business book.

For musicians, you'll find Joan's helpful advice, along with more business advice in my "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings" book, available on Amazon.com, SheetMusicPlus.com, and of course at my website, Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos.

Four Print Advertising Vehicles to Promote your Wedding Services

1. The Yellow Pages of your local phone book.
Old-fashionedas it seems in this Internet age, this is one form of advertising you should not pass up. If you do not invest in any other print advertisement, you should invest in this one. The Yellow Pagesis the best-distributed print vehicle that you’ll find. They aren’t just found hanging from metal cords in phone booths (which are becoming obsolete with the high use of cell phones). TheYellow Pages are dropped off at the door of all local residents and businesses for free. They are inside hotel and motel rooms, and most businesses have one stashed somewhere. It reaches many, many people within a specific geographical area, and it exposes people to your ad for at least a year. (Some Yellow Pages are reprinted more frequently than others, so the length of exposure depends upon region).

2. Newspapers.
With newspaper advertising, you have some control over how long you want your ad to run. And like theYellow Pages, you can select a local regional newspaper to reach local brides. Newspapers are also like the Yellow Pages, because you reach a large, general population of readers who are not necessarily brides.

3. Magazines.
They are not published as frequently as newspapers, so the exposure your ad gets depends upon whether the reader hangs on to the magazine issue, passes it along to friends, or just throws it away.

4. Radio and Television.
Radio and television advertising is very cost-prohibitive, and commercials only work when they are run frequently when your target audience of brides are listening. Leave this advertising to bridal fair promoters, restaurants, and receptions halls that book weddings.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Press Releases-They Lead to Free Advertising

A press release, or news release, is simply a bit of tantalizing information that you send off to the media. It tells them why they shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention you in their next newspaper or magazine edition, their next podcast, radio or TV broadcast, or their website
e-zine or blog. You write the press release, and you send it. If the recipient likes what you wrote, off it goes into print, broadcast, or over the worldwide web.

Your press releases can round up publicity that money simply cannot buy.

Here are six examples of what publicity can do for you:

1. Publicity brings you wedding business—It has the power to increase traffic to your website, make your phone ring off the hook, and fill your email inbox with inquiries.

2. Publicity can get the word out about your musical abilities cheaper than paying for advertisements (and often, withmore media coverage).

3. Publicity turns you into a wedding music expert. Brides who read and hear about you will be convinced that you are a professional worth hiring. They will believe that you have a good reputation and shine above your competition.

4. Publicity gives your clients and your potential clients a chance to know more about you. It gives them the opportunityto examine you and your talents beyond the carefully crafted information in your brochures.

5. Publicity for “ good works” makes you look good in your immediate community and among your musician peers. Besides, brides like to hire nice people.

6. Publicity gives you credentials. Forever after you appear in a column of “Modern Bride”, you can quote the writer directly in all your PR literature. Instant testimonials!

7. Publicity can bring you fantastic performing opportunities that you would have never received without the media exposure.

Are you hesitant to get the word out that you are available to play at weddings? If you are new to performing for pay, it’s understandable that you may not feel comfortable tooting your own horn. The solutionis to think of things in this way: by sending out press releases, you are doing a great service for brides by helping them find you. You are also helping the media reach those brides—You’re supplying them with interesting information about you and your music.

How to Use Photos for Your Business Cards or Brochures

The photos that you print on your brochures or business cards, or that you post on your website and save for press releases and paid advertisement, must all accomplish one thing: they visually must tell who you are. This snapshot of you needs to fit into the bride’s imaginary picture of her perfect wedding day. How can you visually make yourself fit into her picture?

Here are some general thoughts about photos:

1. A professional photo makes you look professional. Shop for a photographer who has produced the “look” that you want. View their portfolio. A good photographer will be able to get the photo to reveal something about the subject’s personality.

2. Include your instruments in all your photos. The kinds of band shots you see on MySpace.com do not cut it here, where the band members are standing around, looking cool, without an instrument in sight. A bride wants to see exactly what you’ll look like when you
perform for her, which means she also needs to see what your instrument looks like. If you are in a band, your wedding PR photo should show everyone holding his or her instruments. It could be a still shot or an action shot, with everyone playing. It doesn’t matter as long as your instruments and your faces can be seen plainly.

3. Dress like you would dress when you are performing at a wedding. Look the part. A bride wants to see how you will show up at her wedding. Will you show up in a tux and cleanly shaven, or will you be wearing the trendiest shirt, unbuttoned to your waist, with your hair gelled so it sticks straight up? Which picture fits the bride’s fantasy the best?

4. Recruit the services of a make-up artist, if needed. Women should wear heavier make-up for photo sessions. With digital photography, you can see exactly what the camera sees right after the picture is snapped. You’ll have instant feedback about how your make-up looks. But when the photographer is snapping away, there won’t be any time to review your make-up in each shot.

5. Your band or ensemble must look like a cohesive group. This goes further than making sure everyone is dressed like they are in the same band. Facial expressions should be the same, too, with no one member looking off in a diff erent direction wearing a scowl when
everyone else is looking into the camera with a pleasant smile.

6. Update your photos anytime your appearance changes. These changes include changes of personnel in your band or ensemble, significant weight changes, dramatically
different hair styles or colors, wearing contact lenses instead of glasses, and so on.

7. Show that you love what you do. Your wedding PR photo is not one of those photos that are taken of models in high-fashion magazines, where they look posed with serious looks on their faces. Look like you love playing for weddings!

Publicity photos and graphics can help you double the coverage you're now getting.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Thinking Outside the Box

My newest gig, recording music for the e-card company Banjo Bunny, landed a notice in Jammin Dave Jackson’s Musicians Cooler Podcast. Here are the show notes from this November 26, 2009 episode:

Thinking Outside the Box

One artist that is thinking outside the box is Anne Roos who is a Celtic harpist and author of the book “The Musician's Guide to Brides” (great book by the way). She loves E-cards. She happened to notice that one e-card company uses instrumental music. She contacted them about using her music. They liked her music so much they've invited her to record music exclusive music for their cards.

Other fabulous ideas about how to think differently than other musicians and gather notice are included in this fun informational podcast, just for musicians.

The Musicians Cooler Podcast is a weekly podcast to help musicians get more gigs, more fans, and more music sales by harnessing the power of the Internet through relentless marketing, efficient use of music promotion tools, and a driving desire to spread their music to the world.

How to get the "Wow" Factor with Business Cards

Very early on in my career, I experimented with different business cards, trying to find a card that would stand out, a card that would not get thrown away after I handed it to someone. I didn’t have a lot of money to spend on cards, but I wanted something that had a classy look and feel, because to me, harp music is classy. I found a wonderful deep burgundy paper that looked almost like velvet.

I printed my information with silver ink on that card, and when I passed it out, people exclaimed in glee, “Ooooo!” I knew I was on to something. They were intrigued about my music and asked me questions about my music, fees, and availability, all because of the look and feel of that little card.

In truth, you’ll want to hear that reaction from all the materials in your promo package. Get this response from your business card, and then design the look and feel of all your other materials around it.

Here are just a few guidelines to having them printed:
1. Stick with the standard business card size (2'' × 3½''). It should fi t into a wallet easily. Avoid having your business cards printed on paper, or other materials, that are too thick.

2. Include your name, area code and phone number, email address and website address. Optional additions to your card may be your cell number, fax number, and mailing address. If you are in a band or ensemble, print the name of the group and the contact name or leader of the group, if it isn’t you.

Don’t forget to include the identity statement and any artwork that also appears on your stationery. Running out of room on your card for all the necessary information? You can also use the back of your card. However, I caution against doing this, only because sometimes people will want to write down notes about you on the back of your business card, and they fi nd that blank space useful.

If you want to include a lot of information on your business cards, consider printing “ tent cards”. These cards fold in half to be the same size as standard business cards. You can print all kinds of extra information inside of the fold. Tent cards can also stand up on tables, which may come in handy for table display in a bridal boutique or at a bridal fair.

3. Be creative with special colors of ink, card stock, and typestyle to match the identity you want to convey. For example, if you specialize in early music, your cardstock could look like parchment paper and you could choose a gothic typestyle. Just be sure you choose a font style and size that is easy to read!

Business cards do not have to be an expensive investment. In fact, if you are just starting out and have few funds for printing promo materials, you can get by with just your business cards and some matching stationery. If you have a laser printer, you can print business cards from your computer. A number of word processing programs come with business card templates, and the card stock can be purchased at an office supply store. If you go this do-it-yourself route, make sure your cards and stationary look as good as if they were designed and printed by a professional print shop. If not, your business cards will send an underlying message to potential clients that you are “cheap”, implying that you are not a professional class act.

If you decide to shop at a discount office supply store, they usually offer business card and letterhead printing services, but their selection of inks, typestyles, and papers may be limited. I have found some very unique online catalogues that sell beautiful matching business cards, stationery, and envelopes. Do a Google search on the terms “business cards” and “stationery”, and you’ll find a number of ready-made designs to have imprinted with your information.

The letterhead you choose should be created around your business card design. Again, think in terms of sending a uniform message to your client about who you are. Be generous when passing out your cards. Business cards, when properly designed to cause the “Ooooo!” response, are your strongest promotional commodity.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.