How to get more gigs: a working outreach system

Most bands get gigs the way most people find money on the street: occasionally, by luck, and never when they need it. The band that plays 50 dates a year is rarely better than the band that plays 12. It has a system, and the system runs every week whether or not the diary looks full.

Here is that system: a target list, a pitch that gets replies, a follow-up cadence, a way to track it, and the numbers that tell you whether it is working. It takes about two hours a week.

Know what you sell before you sell it

An outreach email that says "we're a great band, available for all events" gets deleted. One that says "a five-piece soul and pop band that has played 60 weddings, with a 45-minute acoustic ceremony set and our own PA for up to 200 guests, 1,800–2,400 € depending on distance" gets replied to, because the reader can immediately see whether you fit.

Before you write to anyone, be able to state in two sentences: what you are, who you are for, what it costs roughly, and one proof (number of gigs, a venue, a testimonial). If you cannot, that is the first job. Your band's EPK is where this lives in full.

The target list

Outreach is a numbers game and the numbers start with a list. Build it in a spreadsheet with columns: organisation, contact name, role, email, phone, type, source, last contact, next action, status.

Aim for 100 rows. The types, in rough order of value for a function band:

1. Venues that host weddings and events. Every hotel, barn, castle, restaurant with a function room and marquee site within 90 minutes. Ask for the events coordinator. They recommend suppliers to every couple who books; being on their list is worth 5–10 gigs a year on its own.
2. Wedding planners and event agencies. Fewer, but each one books many events a year. See working with agencies and wedding planners.
3. Corporate event organisers. In-house event managers at companies with 200+ staff, plus the agencies that run their parties.
4. Suppliers who talk to your clients before you do. Photographers, caterers, florists, DJs who do not do live music, celebrants. A referral network, covered in building a referral network.
5. Past clients. A couple's friends get married; a company has a party every year. Cheapest gigs you will ever get.
6. Bars, clubs and festivals, for exposure and for the video, if your act suits them.

Sources: search engines, wedding directories, the "recommended suppliers" pages of venues (which also tell you who your competitors are), and asking every client "who else was involved in your event?"

The pitch email

Short. Specific. One ask. Under 150 words. A version that works:

Subject: Live band for [Venue name] weddings, with video

Hi [Name],

I run The Velvet Tones, a five-piece soul and pop band based in [city]. We've played about 60 weddings including three at [nearby venue you have played], and couples at venues like yours usually book us for a 45-minute acoustic ceremony or drinks set plus two party sets, with our own sound for up to 200 guests.

Here's two minutes of us live: [link]. Our fees are typically 1,800–2,400 € including sound and travel.

Would you be open to adding us to your recommended suppliers list, or to us sending you a one-page profile for your files? Happy to come and play a short showcase at an open day if that's useful.

Thanks, [Name, phone]

Notice: a real venue name they know, a number of gigs, a video link, a price range (venues want to know you fit their couples' budgets), and two easy ways to say yes. No attachments in the first email.

For planners, change the ask to "could we send you our profile and rider for your supplier list?" For corporate, lead with the format ("background set for dinner, 90 minutes of dance sets, all volume-controlled") and mention invoicing with a PO number.

The follow-up cadence

Most replies come from the second or third email, not the first. A cadence that is persistent without being annoying:

• Day 0: the pitch.
• Day 5: a two-line reply to your own email. "Just floating this back up; here's the video link again. Any interest in a profile for your files?"
• Day 14: a different angle. A new testimonial, a photo from a recent gig at a similar venue, "we've just had a Saturday in June come free".
• Day 45: a last one. "I'll stop bothering you; if you ever need a band at short notice, we keep a few dates open. Here's my number."
• Then every quarter, a short update to everyone on the list who did not say no: a new video, a season update. Not a newsletter; a personal-looking three-liner.

Track the day of each touch in the spreadsheet. The "next action" column is the whole system: every row always has a date and a thing.

Tracking and the weekly numbers

Every week, write down five numbers:

Number	Healthy for a band wanting 40 gigs a year
New contacts added to the list	10
First pitches sent	10
Follow-ups sent	15–20
Replies received	3–5
Enquiries (someone asks for a date or a quote)	1–2

Over a year that is about 500 pitches, 150–250 replies, 50–100 enquiries, and, at a 40–50% conversion from enquiry to booking, 25–45 gigs, on top of whatever comes in by itself. Roughly a gig per ten pitches. The numbers vary by market and by how good the video is, but the ratio is stable enough that after a quarter you can predict next season from this quarter's pitching.

If replies are under 2%, the pitch is the problem: usually no video, no price, or no specific hook. If enquiries do not convert, the quote or the response time is the problem; see writing a quote clients accept.

Referrals: the cheapest channel

Every gig should produce at least one more. Three habits:

• Ask on the night. "If you know anyone getting married next year, we'd love an introduction." Then ask again in the review email a week later.
• Give first. Recommend the photographer, the caterer and the venue to your own clients, publicly, by name. They notice.
• Say thank you in money or in kind. A finder's fee of 5–10% or a case of wine to a planner who sent you three weddings this year. Check what is customary and allowed in your market; many agencies work on a formal commission instead.

Respond fast, always

Outreach creates enquiries; response time converts them. A reply within two hours is a different business from a reply within two days, and couples send the same enquiry to five bands. Set a standard: every enquiry gets a personal reply the same day, even if the quote follows tomorrow, and every quote goes out within 48 hours.

Do this today

• Write your two-sentence pitch.
• Start the spreadsheet and add 20 venues within an hour's drive.
• Send five pitches. Put the day-5 follow-up in your calendar.
• Block two hours next week, same time, for the next batch.

Where expert.band helps

When the outreach works, enquiries arrive and need to be answered fast and consistently: expert.band turns an enquiry into a gig request in the calendar, sends one-tap availability requests to the band by email and SMS so that you know within a day whether you can say yes, and lets you build the quote from a saved service catalog and send it as a client link the same afternoon. The outreach spreadsheet stays a spreadsheet; the part after the reply is where the app does the work.