I’m always trying to figure out ways to earn more money with my music. One thing I’ve been mulling over lately in particular is how to get more tip money when performing live. A lot of patrons say they don’t carry cash money on them, so I created this sign to go on my merch table.
It works great if the people come up to the table, but not so great in situations where people can’t get to the table or don’t want to come up to the merch table. So I came up with another idea to order customized coasters with information on how to connect with me online as well as how to give digital tips. The coasters would be used at bars and restaurants. These venues typically use coasters already, so I thought it would be a cinch to simply replace their coasters with my custom coasters for the evening.
I designed the above coaster myself and had a short run of 40 printed at VistaPrint for about $30. I know you can get them in bulk for a lot cheaper, but it was just an experiment so I wanted to buy a small batch. We reached out to a few of our venues to ask what they thought about it ahead of time. They all thought it was a great idea. It didn’t take long to get them in the mail. They ended up being a lot bigger than I thought they would. The quality was excellent and the paper is really thick which makes them reusable.
What are you doing to maximize earnings at live shows? Observe your audience. Study them. What are their habits, movements? How do they relate to your merch table? Use these observations to create strategies that will help you make more money. #BusinessMindset
— The Crafty Musician (@IndieArtistsDIY) October 26, 2018
What worked:
Higher tips. We’ve only used them at about 3 venues so far, and we got a single $50 tip for our troubles. If this is any indication of what’s to come, I’m all for it. We’ve been performing in venues for over 6 years now, and most people give $1 – $20. I come out with these coasters and within a week of playing in venues, we get a $50 tip. Win! The coasters paid for themselves and then some. This exercise confirmed something I already suspected, people are more generous with plastic than they are with cash.
More exposure. The coasters get my message across to folks that I don’t think would ever come up to my merch table. They allow me to connect with more people than ever because my name, face, and information is right at their fingertips. I’ve noticed that the landing page where I direct people to go is getting a lot more views now that I’m using the coasters.
Here is a screenshot of my current landing page. It’s very simple and gets to the point. I think it needs a little work though.
For example, I’m planning on making the ‘tip’ button bigger and more colorful. I also want to highlight digital album sales a little more somehow. I’m not sure if the picture of me makes sense because they are already looking at me. They know how I look. It might make more sense to use the space to further promote my calls-to-action, which is either getting them to give a tip or to buy an album. In the future, it’d be nice if it can be interactive where they can actually take an active part in the live show such as suggesting a song. What other ideas can you think of? Let me know in the comments section.
Venues love the idea. My venues are very supportive of the idea. For the most part the coasters fit in really well with the venues’ logistics. Servers can easily integrate them into their normal flow. Although, we did have a situation that almost brought me to tears. More on that below. The venues were really excited about the idea and thought it was very unique.
Patrons love them. The coasters definitely make a conversational piece among patrons! I saw a number of people passing them around showing them to each other, looking at them, talking about them, and taking pictures of them. They are very noticable.
What did not work:
Here are some issues we ran into with these coasters.
Trashed after first-use. The coasters got thrown away at one of the venues after only having used them once. The intention was that we would reuse them if they were salvageable. We communicated that clearly to the manager, but there was a disconnect somewhere. I guess the busting staff didn’t get the memo and they cleared the tables and threw all of the coasters they came across away. About 15 coasters were trashed altogether and remember I only bought 40. That’s almost half of my inventory. I was heartbroken. It was definitely a communication breakdown! We made sure to tell the venue manager what we were doing and she approved it. But the message got lost between that and the other staffers.
Are they practical? I’m still working on making them more practical for real-time use. As I was handing them to some patrons, one guy said he didn’t want to use it because he hated to put his wet glass on my face. I observed other patrons being reluctant to use them as coasters and I think some people even took them home for keepsakes. I think next time I’ll design them without my face or possibly a more abstract version of me or use my logo.
Messaging needs some work. After using the coasters a few times, I think the wording should be revamped. The purpose of the coasters is to drive tips. I think I can do a better job of making that more clear in the wording.
Not good for all venues. The coasters only work well at certain types of venues. So, we can’t use them everywhere we go. Depending on where you perform, these coasters might not be a solid investment for you. They work really well at bars, cafes and wineries, but not so much at other venues like farmers markets, music series, outdoor venues, and college gigs. A banner might produce better results at those types of venues.
Will I continue using the coasters?
Yes! Yes! Yes! There are some obvious things I can do differently on the next run, but this experiment turned up good results. I can tell that these coasters have the potential to boost my income significantly at shows.
+ 8 Ways to Double your Income at Live Shows with Merchandise
If you perform at bars, cafes, wineries, etc. I fully recommend this tactic. Use my experiences, lessons, and mistakes to make your coaster strategy even better than mine.
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