If you want to grow your audience to your full potential then you’d have to expect that you’ll need people to talk about you. The question is: what does it take to get people to talk about you and what are they going to say?
One thing that will virtually guarantee that people don’t spread the word about you in a meaningful way is being a good artist with good songs and a good show. Good isn’t remarkable. People don’t go to work on Monday and run around telling everyone who will listen about the ‘good’ band they saw on Friday night.
So what does get them talking? Well the obvious answer is greatness. There is no real substitute for being a legitimately great artist and this is where you should focus most of your attention. The music however, isn’t the only aspect of your show that matters and it’s not the only opportunity to be remarkable. If it was then great bands would just stand on a plain stage with boring lighting and play their set. So if you’re going to have a show, then why not make it an experience?
Grace Jones doesn’t need to change her outfit between every song and Gwen Stefani doesn’t need to make her entrance from a platform that rises her up from beneath the stage. They do those things because there’s more to the live experience than just the notes of the songs.
So what can you do to make your show more remarkable? Marketing guru Seth Godin talks about a brainstorming exercise called Edgecraft. Edgecraft is a process of systematically going through every aspect of what you do, coming up with the things that could make you remarkable and then imagining them to the absolute extreme. The point is that being in the middle is not remarkable. If you want to be remarkable then you need to be at the edge.
Here in L.A. there’s a band called Steel Panther who is a great example of this. They’re about the most over-the-top, rude, crude 80′s hair metal band that you could imagine. They do a mix of covers and originals with hilarious banter in between songs. More than once I’ve said to myself “I can’t believe he just said that!” Of course, more than once, I’ve told people about them.
They didn’t decide that they were going to be an 80′s hair metal band, they decided that they were going to be the extreme 80′s hair metal band. They play the House of Blues every monday night and fill it every time they play. For years they have owned Monday nights in Hollywood, with numerous celebrity guests and consecutive sold out shows.
What can you do that will be remarkable? Why is your show going to stand out in people’s minds? What can you do that will get YOU more excited about your shows? There’s a world of possibilities. Why settle for what everyone else does, only to fade into obscurity?
I’m not telling anyone to sell out and give up being true to themselves. If it doesn’t feel right then don’t do it, because it’s not going to work. Being extreme doesn’t have to mean being gimmicky. The point is that thinking in extremes might help you come up with some ideas that you think would be fun or exciting and that your fans would too. There are a lot of ways to be remarkable. You’re just going to have to find the ones that work for you.
Here are some ideas to help kick start the imagination:
- For one show, spend the money you make from the door on pizza for the entire audience, or, if you’re on a budget, bake cookies for everyone.
- If you’re a band with slightly nerdy tendencies you could go to the extreme with it and wear pocket protectors and thick framed glasses and have chalkboards with mathematical equations behind you on stage.
- Donate your earnings from a show to a local homeless shelter or a friend in need. Help get people involved in the cause. Make your audience part of something bigger than just a show.
- Maybe you’ve got a drummer who sings well. Why not have him do a drum and vocal solo at the same time? You don’t see that every day.
- Play unusual versions of familiar songs.
- Play a Didgeridoo or a Keytar on one or more of your songs.
- Play at a remarkable venue – play on a rooftop or crash a political convention on a flatbed truck.
- Have a contest that people will talk about.
- Have a small invitation only show for your best fans. Create a demand that the supply can’t match.
- Have legendary after parties.
- Put together a unique bill – have a magician and a comedian open for you.
- Tell an unbelievable story that people will remember and talk about.
- Dress like Santa Claus and give away unusual and/or funny gifts. On St. Patrick’s Day.
If you come up with something that gets you legitimately excited then you’re probably on the right track. You don’t have to stop with the music. The entire experience of your band can be a work of art. A work of art that people will talk about.
What can you come up with?
