Karaoke Forums

I am sure this could have gone under a lot of different Posts, but I just wanted some feedback.
How many of you advertise in your Books with Calendars, or Local Papers, the nightly places you attend?  I know many a KJ that has calendars in their books, so that the following knows where they will be on any given night.  Do your Bar Owners?  Do they consistently keep up their Marquis to advertise, "Karaoke Friday Night", and or "So & So's Band"  I have found that when I would approach a new owner, I would always let them know that I would advertise as much as I could, but that I could not be held responsible for a slow night if only the following showed up.  They needed to keep the Marquis up to date!!!!!!!  Myself, and not alone, worked very hard to make sure that my Bar Owners got the most advertising as I could give them without it costing me a small fortune.  No, I didn't announce other nights at other places where I would be over the mic, but I let them know that even if I wasn't in their bar, everyone knew when we would be in their bar.  Just check out the calendar!!!  Or my other means of advertising for them.  But I strongly suggested them to keep those MARQUIS up to date.  Many Bar Owners did co-operate.  Simple little steps too keep the dumb bar owners on their toes, so you aren't to blame for the dead nights.

Can't complain about my bar owner.  One, he has a 4 by 6 marquis out front and has my name and days  listed on there for almost five years now.  Also he advertises me on the local radio station a couple times a day.

Kelly

That is fantastic.  It does make a difference, don't you think?

Our bar has always advertised in local papers, plus on the signs out front.  They do frown on my advertising any other clubs/shows in THEIR place of business which I respect.  If people ask where else I play (which I don't anymore at this time, 7 nights at the 1 club), then I just refer them to my website which has all & any info about other shows.  I did use to advertise in our local karaoke paper about all our shows, but quit using them either as word of mouth seemed to be working more than the print ad, however one club I worked at didn't want ANY kind of advertising on my part or any other as they were leary of getting busted by ASCAP - so I quit as even word of mouth wasn't cutting it, poor service & overcharging was the word of mouth reputation they were getting.  
I do any kind of web advertising I can on my own.

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Good bar owners will (you have to spend money to make money).  But our town's owners are too cheap to.  They do enjoy whining though if there's a small crowd!

It's your fault if the crowd is small.  They want to give you less money.   If the crowd is big, they never offer you more money...... Go figure.

I am extremely happy if they just have "karaoke  every Wed" or whatever day, on their sign.   I try to tell them that their sign is very significant in getting people in the bar.   PLUS it's as free as you can get.     Find out how many thousands of cars pass your sign every day.   Look at the potential amount of new customers driving by.    Nobody has ESP, so they don't get any vibes about your entertainment just on passing by.

I have monthly  calenders, but having them in the book is not enough.    You have to physically hand them to people.   Even that doesn't guarantee that they will take them with them.     If they are new to the bar, I really make sure to give them a calender.     I don't mention other bars over the mike.    

Most of them don't advertise in the paper.    Can't guess why they have no business.   Most of these bar today are on top of the fence and they could flop either way.    Years ago more of them advertised.   Years ago my Holiday Inn gig had my name on the radio for a while.

BMI came around one time, after I put my own ad in the paper.   Some bar owners weren't too happy about the visit.

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Actually, you're lucky if they want to pay you full money, let alone advertise.  
Don't push your luck.

In our area a marquis is something of a rarity.  The majority of owners that I have worked with, either with my duo or with my karaoke show do no advertising at all.  In most cases we deliver posters which they will put up a week or so before the event.

With the money we get we can't afford to do newspaper or radio ads but we do take advantage of anything that's available.  Our daily newspaper has an enterainment section on Fridays.  So we always have our shows listed there.  Oddly enough if the band communicates the listing it's free.  If the bar wants it listed the newspaper charges them.  So, as you can imagine, it's always up to the band/karaoke show.  The listing is better than nothing but it's not really very good.  They will list the name of the band, the location and starting time but that's it.  They have several general categories but the one we get listed in is very non-specific.  We get listed under "pop/rock" which really doesnt' say very much.  Karaoke shows are listed under "Variety".

We also maintain a website and our schedule is listed there.  We also hand out printed schedules at the gigs.  Recently we started an e-mail list so we e-mail our schedule every week to those who sign up.

As with several others who have posted here we NEVER announce upcoming shows from the stage.  If someone asks while we're on break we respond but that's it.  It's the same with the schedules we distribute—we only give them to people who ask.  For me it's a clear message to the owner that our job is to make his business as good as possible on the night's we're there and that we are not trying to drag their core business to some other venue.  I've never had an owner say that our effort on their behalf is appreciated.  But I expect if we made those kind of announcements I would hear about it.

I have commented before about the general lack of professionalism in the bar business these days.  Most of the owners I know became owners after they either retired from some other profession or after they accumulated a nest egg that was sufficient to buy a bar.  They have little or no training in business and utterly no concept of the value of marketing.  The idea that advertising might result in a return on the dollars they invest is completely foreign to them.

One of the places my duo plays regularly complains about our fee but they pay it because they know that the place will be full and at the end of the night they will have made more than what we cost.  Another band, a 3 piece group, also plays there regularly.  They make $90—for the whole band.  Why, because the owner knows that when they play it will be a slow night.  You might think that the owner would get the idea that maybe it's better to hire us even though we cost a lot more than the other band.  It never occurs to her.  She hires them because they are cheap.  And she gets what she pays for.  

What's wrong with this picture?  If she was the only one who works this way I woudn't spend much time thinking about it.  But her attitude is far more the norm than it is the exception.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

In our area a marquis is something of a rarity.  The majority of owners that I have worked with, either with my duo or with my karaoke show do no advertising at all.  In most cases we deliver posters which they will put up a week or so before the event.

With the money we get we can't afford to do newspaper or radio ads but we do take advantage of anything that's available.  Our daily newspaper has an enterainment section on Fridays.  So we always have our shows listed there.  Oddly enough if the band communicates the listing it's free.  If the bar wants it listed the newspaper charges them.  So, as you can imagine, it's always up to the band/karaoke show.  The listing is better than nothing but it's not really very good.  They will list the name of the band, the location and starting time but that's it.  They have several general categories but the one we get listed in is very non-specific.  We get listed under "pop/rock" which really doesnt' say very much.  Karaoke shows are listed under "Variety".

We also maintain a website and our schedule is listed there.  We also hand out printed schedules at the gigs.  Recently we started an e-mail list so we e-mail our schedule every week to those who sign up.

As with several others who have posted here we NEVER announce upcoming shows from the stage.  If someone asks while we're on break we respond but that's it.  It's the same with the schedules we distribute—we only give them to people who ask.  For me it's a clear message to the owner that our job is to make his business as good as possible on the night's we're there and that we are not trying to drag their core business to some other venue.  I've never had an owner say that our effort on their behalf is appreciated.  But I expect if we made those kind of announcements I would hear about it.

I have commented before about the general lack of professionalism in the bar business these days.  Most of the owners I know became owners after they either retired from some other profession or after they accumulated a nest egg that was sufficient to buy a bar.  They have little or no training in business and utterly no concept of the value of marketing.  The idea that advertising might result in a return on the dollars they invest is completely foreign to them.

One of the places my duo plays regularly complains about our fee but they pay it because they know that the place will be full and at the end of the night they will have made more than what we cost.  Another band, a 3 piece group, also plays there regularly.  They make $90—for the whole band.  Why, because the owner knows that when they play it will be a slow night.  You might think that the owner would get the idea that maybe it's better to hire us even though we cost a lot more than the other band.  It never occurs to her.  She hires them because they are cheap.  And she gets what she pays for.  

What's wrong with this picture?  If she was the only one who works this way I woudn't spend much time thinking about it.  But her attitude is far more the norm than it is the exception.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I'm in the same bar 3 nights a week now and do private partys on my other nights. The bar owner advertises in the neighborhood entertainment guide, "What's up". It is a cool newspaper that sends out photographers ever month, so the regular's
pictures are in there too. He also has a scrolling sign with my play dates. I haven't advertised in a long time. Word of mouth and repeat business has gotten me more
gigs than anything.

As for announcing other gigs in the bar - I have never done that. All I have to do is
tell one regular and it circulates fast enough. No reason to make the bar owner mad.

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Bar owners are too busy watching the video camera's they installed to pay attention to the traffic passing by their bar.  (Not making fun)
Your right though - you have to do it on your own.  The more interactive you are with your customers, the more you will benefit by it - and of course the crappy bar owner.  Cause he is the one making the money your giving to him by advertising for him.  What we have to do to keep our jobs is endless.  Thank God it is a fun job!  (Well, to an extent.)
I actually think KJ's and DJ's have to go above and beyond the call of duty, to stay at a place we really like and keep that crowd coming back.  
The bar owners like you, and what you do, as long as they are making money, but DON'T let them down.  Then we are the jerks.  The ones that don't know what we are doing.
More pay?  What is that?  Yes, we give them breaks because we feel bad that they had a bad night.  Been there, done that.  Played for the register.  Never saw an extra dime when they made $500 -$1000 a night.  Guess this post goes along with dumb bar owners.

It wasn't your fault they had a very good night.      LMAO        :hi5:    :dancin:    

One thing I forgot to mention regarding our promotional efforts.  Some years ago I found some business card sized rubber magnets at Office Max.  One side has a self-adhesive covering.  So we stick our business cards to the magnets and stick them on the speaker cabinet grills.  We invite people to pick up these "refrigerator" magnets.  It's worked out very well and is one of the most successful things we've done to promote our show.

People like it when you give them something.  If our magnet goes up on the refrigerator we're right there every day when the open the door.  So it helps to remind people to think of us.

Some of our owners stick those things to their cash registers and that's how they know where to contact us.  Most of them don't keep any kind of personal phone book.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I have a patron of the bar I did a private party for that is making me
mint cans with my business card on the front. She is making a 1000 for me for free.
It is a form of advertising for herself because her info is on the back of the tin.
They are really cool. Free advertising - I love it.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]