[powerpress]
We originally spoke with Will Overman in Session 5 and outlined some goals he had for his band. Since then, they have toured extensively, have been featured in Huff Post, and have grown their Facebook by 25%. Will has some great strategies that have put all of this into place and shared them with us.
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Touring, Booking, and Promotion with @WillOvermanBand. Click To Tweet
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- Last time Will spoke with us, he outlined a number of goals for the next 6 months, including promoting his new album, booking “smarter,” and finessing his online brand, including building a new website. He has soared at all of these. Since then:
- WOB was featured in Huffington post from playing at Rooster Walk. Will was interviewed by Lisa Snedeker on the spot. She was in the crowd, liked their sound, and wanted to include the band in a best-of article. Will sponsored that ad for 2 weeks on Facebook and saw a slew of new likes, great comments, and many shares.
- WOB played at the biggest venue in Charlottesville and opened for Hackensaw Boys, a staple in the region.
- The band has been touring really hard and learning every step of the way.
- We spoke about booking “smarter,” meaning larger gigs with more exposure, but without losing quality. Will has learned that you need a balance, and that it is good to focus on big venues but to accept that you may play to 4 people at 2 in the morning. Especially as you go further from your home base, and have no following where you’re going, you lose your power and exposure. Plan and strategize for the best but be prepared for the worst coming out as well.
- Playing these larger venues has been the result of pushing for and pursuing those larger gigs while still playing steady smaller gigs in order to continue raising awareness of the band. They are becoming more of a local “household” name and this has elevated them to a new level where they can be considered (and sought out) for larger gigs.
- Jordan mentions that Periscope would be an incredible tool for the Will Overman Band and their strategies for engaging their fans. WOB has always posted great photos and candid looks at their sound checks, driving, thoughts after show, etc… With Periscope, Will can broadcast a live feed of driving into a city, promoting the tour, giving some behind the scenes glimpses, and then he can blast that out to the local news sources and bloggers for them to share and, hopefully, grow the audience for their upcoming gig.
- WOB has a new website as central hub that houses tour dates, a bio, videos, links to music, social media, & merchandise. To promote the site, each social media site has a link in the bio that leads people back to the site. Will also carries business cards with link, phone number, and booking email address to streamline the booking process.
- Jordan uses custom-made guitar picks from InTune Guitar Picks as his business cards and they spark great conversation.
- WOB has grown their Facebook likes by 25% in the past 6 months, due to some new strategies implemented:
- New logo done by friend for stickers, social media, business cards, posters, etc… So that their branding is consistent.
- New engaging professional photos as headers and content.
- A “Book Now” button on Facebook leads fans and booking agents over to their website where they can see tour venues or contact the band.
- Sponsoring ads on Facebook for as little $1 a day and promoting certain posts to friends of friends or specific demographics, such as Men and Women 21-55 who enjoy Americana Folk Rock.
- Goals for next 6 months: Heaviest touring yet (New York, Philly, North Carolina, Tennessee…) all booking out 4 months in advance in order to maximize good promotion and low-stress touring.
Quotes:
Find a balance. Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst coming out. @WillOvermanBand Click To Tweet
Links:
Thanks for Listening!
Thank you so much for tuning in to my conversation with Will! If you want to add your voice to the conversation, please leave a comment below and we’ll keep talking!
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Thanks again for joining and special thanks to Will Overman of WillOvermanBand.com! Until next time!
