The Trickle: Don’t let it all out at once!
An important public relations and marketing tactic for bands to understand is the ‘trickle’. Too many bands get some artwork or a web layout and as soon as they’ve got it plaster it on the web without any kind of plan. Others gather up all their materials and wait until they have everything in place, and then press ‘go’.
Of the two strategies, the latter is the better, but there is another way that will improve the marketable value of the band without costing anything extra.
Trickling marketing materials from a solid foundation
The first band doesn’t have a solid foundation from which to release new teasers, songs or artwork, and the second band puts together their solid base and then releases everything else at the same time. The key is putting a good website in place and then working with the art, teasers, songs and other promotional material to pace it and draw it out so that each element can be better appreciated over time, and not missed in one big bang. This draws people in and grabs new potential listeners.
How do I do it?
Take an inventory of everything you’ve got and everything you’re developing. Strip out all the elements that aren’t necessary at the start, but leave yourself with a solid base of good material.
From there, you’ll need to make a plan as to how you’ll release the other material. At what time would grab the most impact, relative to other parts of your campaign? In which way? Do we quietly put it on the website, or is it a great song that we can release with press releases, a gig, and a whole new section for the website? The plan is crucial.
The third step: execute the plan. For some reason, this step is the most often missed!
Leave a Reply