Promo Pack

[Jimbo]

What kind of stuff you you usually put into a full promo pack to give a potential client?

And how do you arange it? Is it all on a CD? or do you send a disk with some hard copy paper promo as well?

Make a list, check it twice, and post it here just to be nice.

[Juggalicious]

hey jimbo -

just saw this post... did you figure it out? or do you still need some tips?

Alex

[Frisbee]

Hey Jimbo,

I am still sending out a 11x17 one fold brochure with inserts as well as a dvd for gigs.
The brochure will be phased out of my promo in the next year or so and it will all be on an interactive dvd where they can watch promo as well as have all promotional materials they need on the disc which they can print out or take data from as needed.

I would think that with technology they way it is and where it is heading as well as the costs of all the printed materials which a lot of times just get chucked anyways that this will be the wave of the future.

speaking of...everything is dvd now in case you have not noticed. VHS is obsolete. I have not sent out a single video in over two years.

[Jimbo]

I understand that video is out of date, I was more or less trying to figure out if the interavtive dvd vs. Vcd was the way to go.

Any ideas or tips would be great, maybe even some how to stuff. I was hoping this thread would not be just for me but any one else who puts their own promo together.

So any thing is welcome here.

[scot]

The best package will be a DVD + (CD / Website) + printed materials

If you can't afford much, get a website started, and use it for everything, when your website is really nice, move to more physical stuff. By really nice, I mean, it works well, people like it and you've been able to pay a really good designer to make it good.

[Frisbee]

hey scot speaking of good design and designer, I sent a few people looking for web design your way. I do not know if any of them contacted you.

in terms of VCD not necessary, the only reason to make a vcd is so that it is cross compatible, and any dvd you burn yourself or have printed for you, you have the option to make it region free which means it will play anywhere in the world.

you can if you want to have a seperate cd rom with info on it, but I agree with scot, get a kick ass website that has the goods, then expand to hard copy promo.

again, i think that the brochure is on its way out, it is not there yet, but it is heading that way with technology being where it is.
shoot for a great dvd and a great website and then maybe smaller printed materials and make them easy to print so that you can print on demand rather than sit on a pile.

[Juggalicious]

I definitely agree on the website. All the gigs that I book easily somehow go like this.


Hey I LOVED your website! can you sign this please??!

Not that they all go that way.... but some do.

as for promo pack -- make it memorable. and make it fun.

Make it so that if you opened it up you would think - man this is neat... why is all this cool shit in here?

I never liked the "brochure" myself. I usually throw in a dvd then two sheets.

Sheet One ((one sided))
A nice big 8/12 x 11 photo of us with a happy crowd somewhere.


Sheet Two ((two sided))
Side 1
A bunch of info about all of our clients and maybe some quotes.

Side 2
A bunch of info about what happens during the show.

slap in some business cards in there.

the sad thing about the promo pack is the more you spend on stuffing it with shit the more expensive it becomes to ship.

Nice website and Nice Video are certainly the most important.

[raspyni]

What about testing, Scot?

By really nice, I mean, it works well, people like it and you've been able to pay a really good designer to make it good.

With all due respect, Scot, I can't think of 3 less effective ways to measure the success of a website.

I use only one criteria before calling one of my sites successful: does it convert viewers into buyers?

That's it.

Nothing else matters.

We had a USD $20,000 website for about two years. Flash. Fancy. Satisfied Scot's 3 criteria day in and day out. Check. Check. Check.

I replaced it with this a year ago and sales/leads/inquiries went through the roof. I will split test it against a few other layouts soon but I hate to risk the leads.

Interest wans quickly in this world and every second counts. I have found that a website works best if people can find everything they need without spending a ton of energy hunting around.

Photos, testimonials, video, and an inquiry form on one page. Makes sense, right?

Bear in mind that they aren't hiring you to build them a website. And while you can try to hide behind plugins, transitions, or preloaders, sooner or later you are going to have to show a buyer what you do. Make their life simple from the moment they click on your name. (Note: I love Scot and this is not in reference to his act, promo, or website).

Test your site in the real world. Get something that works and split test another site against it. Keep trying to beat the one that is doing best.

And please, don't consider your marketing journey complete if your site works well, people like it, and you have paid someone a lot of money to build it.

Well depending on your fee that is anywhere from a couple thousand to well over $1,000,000 worth of advice for free. I'm sure plenty of you will bash it, but is anyone going to try it?

-Barry

[scot]

I agree with everything you said, barry. I'm not going to get into splitting hairs and explaining my advice, but I think we're both right.

Your site must convey status and the necessary information.

If you are taking a hands-on approach to your marketing, you need to learn a lot and keep an eye on your site statistics and possibly do site funnel metrics and comparison testing.

if ya'll want, here are some helpful tools

https://www.google.com/analytics/siteopt/splash

https://www.google.com/analytics/

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

track phone calls (several companies do this)

http://www.clickpath.com/

[Schuyler]

Well, I'm sorry to dredge this topic up again but it's suddenly become horribly relevant to myself.

Winter time has hit Alberta and I'm not ready to start traveling around meaning that I'm stuck here. I remember this becoming an especially difficult time last year. I'm in a major city now so things look good. Now I just need to find some work!

I did a business card (which has not been printed yet) and I've been working on a brochure but from reading this that sounds like the wrong way to go. Here's an example of the card before shrinking. Anyways, I don't exactly have great piles of money kicking around... in fact I basically just have rent and food for next month at this point. I've been going around and getting to know the arts/performance community here and I've had a number of people volunteer to help me out but I need something to give them for them to give potential employers. A website would be great but I'm just not sure I could afford it, and I'm hesitant to put off printing the cards until it's up. What would the next best thing be? How do you advertise who you are and what you do on a tight budget?

[scot]

youtube videos and a myspace page