The most engaged audience you have is the one right in front of you. At a show, a gallery, a book reading – that’s it. People gave up a night of Netflix, of takeout, of a million other things, and instead chose to be there with you.
Make the most of those opportunities. Make it easy to follow up after the event by getting email addresses. Put out a notebook and ask for emails, or just make a simple postcard explaining why people should join your email list, with a link to sign up.
Two things:
1. Don’t say “join our email list for updates!” That’s boring and ain’t cutting it in 2016. Say that you’ll be sharing behind the scenes photos of your process, and doing give-aways just for people on your email list, with special discounts, and pre-sale announcements of upcoming shows. Say THAT instead of “updates.”
2. Why haven’t I mentioned social media at this point? Well, because not every fan is on every social media network, and chances are you aren’t either. And you’ve heard bands and artists complaining about “reach,” and having to pay for their posts to be seen, right? Twitter is becoming the same (have you even looked at how many people actually see your Tweets?). This is why I stress good ole fashioned email – it ain’t going away (ask some bands about their old MySpace “Likes”).
You can sit on a social media 24/7, but your greater impact is face to face. When you get to shake hands, and hug people you’re making connections that can last decades, so do your best to keep in touch with those biggest fans and get their email address.