This is not what I mean.
Sounds a little violent, and the origins of the phrase quite possibly are… but taken in the context of a band performing live… it’s one hell of a mantra.
Not only does it clearly state that you have to perform exceptionally well – that’s where the kicking ass part comes in – but it indicates a follow up action – the taking of names. This part should be taken quite literally… make sure that every time you go out and perform, aside from giving it your absolute all each and every time, that your primary focus is on making contact with as many people who liked your music as possible, and that you’re ensuring they don’t leave without you having some way to develop an ongoing relationship with them. Take Names. Collect email addresses and contact info – especially anyone who actually wants to buy a piece of merch or a CD. If those people are willing to give you their hard earned money, why wouldn’t you want to keep in contact with them? They’re likely to want to give you more money at a later date.
You should be driving people to your merch booth, and to give you their contact info at every opportunity you can. Especially from the stage, but also on your website, all your social network platforms, in every interview you do, any advertising that’s done on your behalf, and anywhere else you can think of… all of it should direct people to give you their contact info, so that you have their permission to communicate with them.
There are also three key things that many bands neglect to do when encouraging people to give them their contact info, so make sure you do them – the first is to be very clear with how often you will be communicating with them (bi-weekly or monthly is probably best… not too often, not too little). The second is to be very clear about why people should give you permission to contact them…. tell them what type of things they can expect to read in the communications… band news, the latest info on tour dates, witty insights, poetry… you’ll know what type of things your listeners would find interesting… make sure they know what they’d be signing up for, and make sure it would be interesting to your listeners. The third thing that bands often don’t think about, is to offer incentives in exchange for the contact info and permission… this could take many forms – some could be ongoing incentives, others could be immediate incentives – do subscribers get to read news first, before other folks? Do they get discounts on purchases? Do they get exclusive offers, sneak previews of new music, first chance at advance tickets to shows, etc? Do they get a free download in exchange for signing up? A tchotchke? Automatic guestlist to the next show in their city? Lots of ideas are out there, and you’ll know what would appeal to your listeners. The important thing is that you’re thinking about all this stuff, and acting on it. That’s why the subject heading of this post is so important, because it summarizes in four words, what I’ve explained in five-hundred and fifty-two words. That makes it easier to remember, so now there’s really no excuse at all…
Kick ass. Take names.
Nice refreshing read.
Your sentence “If those people are willing to give you their hard earned money, why wouldn’t you want to keep in contact with them?” pretty much says it all.
Thx!