One of the best and easiest ways to create buzz about an upcoming performance is to use promotional flyers. These customized event flyers can be distributed around the venue you will be performing at a couple of weeks prior to your show. Flyers can also be distributed to businesses in the area where there is a potential crossover in the fan base you are trying to attract. For instance, if there are music shops, coffee shops, and book-stores located near the venue, you may want to leave your flyers on hand at those businesses. If a band of a similar genre is performing at a nearby bar, place your flyers on the windshields of cars in the parking lot. You could also hand out flyers personally to people leaving the club. Every bit of exposure helps.
Here are some ideas to keep in mind when designing your next promo flyers.
- Come up with an eye catching name for the event, one that is likely to pique people’s interest. Make sure you include the 5 W’s – who is performing, what the theme is, when it takes place, where it takes place and why you are throwing this party. Get to the point and leave a website and phone number to contact for additional information.
- Make sure your design makes sense for the event you are promoting. If you are publicizing a professional gathering, you don’t want abstract or racy images. Conversely, if you are promoting a punk rock band, make sure you use graphics and icons that appeal to your target audience.
- Your copy should get straight to the point. You don’t have a lot of space to waste here on rambling words. Give readers enough information to get them in the door or to your website.
- Discounts and special offers will make your flyer more valuable and provide a reason for people to hold onto it. A discounted admission or 2 for 1 drink special will cost your very little and will help get additional heads through the door.
- Some cities have begun to issue public littering fines to organizations, promoters and clubs that distribute flyers in their jurisdiction. It would be beneficial to find out if there are any local regulations that prohibit the distribution of flyers in the area you are planning to target with your promotions.
Developing a Successful Promotional Campaign
Whether you’re promoting a show for your band or running a weekly event at a club, printed publicity materials are essential to a well rounded promotional plan. Some people have the resources of a design staff or a friend or business associate that is involved in the graphic design field. But many others find themselves with an empty piece of paper and a major project to promote. If this describes you, these pointers should prove to be a good starting point for creating a successful promotional campaign.
Your flyer should have two main objectives
When planning your flyers, you have two main issues to consider – the creative concept and the actual execution. What you want to express in your piece and what that final piece will look like will determine the success of your promotional plan. The creative concept is the first step and will be the foundation for your entire plan. Once you have a solid concept, you can build around this concept, like a decorator working off a showcase piece of furniture or color scheme. Keep in mind the bottom line of any promotional piece is to catch the eye of potential fans and successfully present the information you are trying to get across.
Make sure your concept is eye-catching
The average person is bombarded with an excessive amount of advertising on a daily basis. Ads on TV, magazines, subway cars, notice boards, literally everywhere you look. This has naturally caused people to tune out most advertising they see. You have to keep this in mind when designing flyers and try to get to the point or catch their attention from the get go. Eye catching is important, but make sure you accomplish your main goal of selling your event. How many times have you looked at a flyer because it had some cool graphics, but after being unable to find the location, times, admission price, etc, you discarded it? Hit on the key points and answer the important questions with clear, concise, easy to read text. Think long and hard about what aspects of your event are crucial and leave the rest for a related website or e-mail blast. Don’t fall into the trap of including too much information, tell then what they need to know and get out of the way.
Walking theThin Line Between Catchy and Cliché
Finding the balance between text that is snappy and exciting – but not cliché, can make all the difference. Less is more in advertising. Remain aware of your word count and get the important information out there in as concise a manner as possible.Another good technique is to quote respected authorities like well known industry leaders and respected publications. Saying it will be a great performance is a given, but saying that “XYZ Magazine rated us best indie rock band” can help generate a buzz about your event.
Avoid common design errors
Being creative is important, but do so within the parameters of sound graphic design.
- Limit your flyers to two different fonts
- Use any unusual fonts for the headlines, make the basic info as easy to read as possible.
- Keep the text outside the bleed and safety lines (i.e. not too close to the edges)
- Logos are cool, just keep them to a limited number and limit their size
- Make sure your colors work well together and don’t overwhelm the text, as there is nothing worse than a flyer that is hard to read.
We don’t print flyers personally at IndieBandGuru but we have worked with many companies that do. If you need help finding a printer, get in touch and we can direct you to a quality product at a good price. Our top company even offers a discount to followers of IndieBandGuru