D2FU Part Five:  Maintaining an Ongoing Buying Relationship

Re-Engage the Fans who Buy

At some point, you have to call the album “release” over and you’re now touring and supporting yourself until the next record. This is no time to slump on fan engagement. The key is to continue the process of engaging fans as well as creating new products to buy. Here are some of the things we’ve seen that keep fans engaged as well as some ideas to create buying opportunities.

Free Live Tracks from Shows

Give stations a promo link that delivers a free track from your album. Let the station host the link on their website so they can enforce their brand with their listeners yet the link takes the fan to your store for a free track. Everybody wins and they have a reason to push more fans directly to your music.

VIP Tickets

This is by far one of the best money makers for the creative management team. Every time you can take a regular event and sell some premium VIP tickets that have a combination of preferred seating, VIP meet and greet access, special experience, special merch product, access to live downloads, special accommodations, etc, you are giving your super-fans a unique opportunity to spend more money. Most of the time the added bonuses don’t cost much and fetch a great price!

Official – Limited edition tour shirts.

Keep in mind that with a new release, you should sell new merch. If you limit the scope of the merch to just the new release, you leave yourself the opportunity to create another reason to buy around the tour. Whether you play 4 dates a month or 20, tour merchandise is reason to create something new to buy. Again make it limited so you can create a new design and yet another reason to buy. Get it yet?

Reward – Don’t Promise

Don’t promise fans you’ll give them something if they buy more or come to shows. If you do this, they will come to expect something extra from you all the time. In addition, sometimes it’s hard to deliver on a promise. For instance “join our fan club and we’ll send you new music each month. That sounds good but most artists can’t deliver that much work on a regular basis. Instead, reward fans for good behavior. Send a special thank you to the fans that purchased your most expensive VIP package. Make the thank you special. Perhaps a VIP pass for a meet and greet. Take every fan that purchased your mid level premium packages and send them a special track or set of live tracks.

Make sure you make it clear that you are sending them this extra special something just for them because you appreciate their support. The key is to do this a few weeks or a month after their initial “good behavior.” It’s an excuse to engage. It’s a welcome surprise. It’s a reminder that you care. And it opens the door to present something new for them to buy soon!