How to email a promoter or a venue
Bookers get more emails than they can answer. The ones that get a reply say who you are, what you want and why you fit, in a few lines, with one link.
Find the right person first
Look for who books acts like you, not for the biggest room in town. A promoter who already puts on your kind of night is a better first email than a venue's general inbox, and the city pages show what is on near you and who is putting it on.
The subject line
[Band] ([genre], [town]) for [date or month] at [venue]. Everything a booker sorts by, before they open it.
The email: four lines
- Who you are, in one line.
- What you are after: a date, a support slot, a month.
- Why you fit: acts like you that they have booked, what you can draw, a recent show.
- Your press kit's link, and a phone number if you want calls.
Send each promoter a tracked link to your press kit of their own, and the editor tells you when they have opened it.
Following up
Once, about a week later, a line or two long. If your tracked link shows they have opened it, give them something new: a date that has come free, a show that sold out.
Three emails to copy
To a promoter, for a support slot Subject: [Band] ([genre], [town]) for support at [their night], [month] Hi [name], We're [Band], a [genre] [three-piece] from [town], for fans of [an act they have booked]. We'd love a support slot at [their night] in [month]. We played [venue] in [month] and can bring [number] people. Our press kit, with music, dates and contacts: [your tracked link] Thanks, [your name], [phone]
To a venue, for a date of your own Subject: [Band] ([genre], [town]) for a headline date at [venue], [month] Hi [name], We're [Band], a [genre] [duo] from [town]. We're looking for a date at [venue] in [month] for our [release / tour], with [support act] supporting. Our last show at [venue] [sold X tickets / drew X people]. Our press kit: [your tracked link] Thanks, [your name], [phone]
Following up Subject: Re: [your first subject line] Hi [name], one more line from us: [a new date / a sold-out show / a new single]. The kit's here if it helps: [your tracked link] Thanks, [your name]
Questions
Should I attach my press kit as a PDF?
Send the link and keep the PDF for anyone who asks for one. A link stays right when a date moves, and an email with an attachment from a stranger is the kind that gets filtered.
How do I know if they read it?
Make a tracked link for each promoter you write to. The editor shows when each link was opened and what was clicked, and never counts you or a search engine.
How many times should I follow up?
Once. A second email with nothing new in it rarely helps; a new date or a sold-out show is a reason to write again later.
More for your press kit
- The free EPK builder: one link to send promoters, venues and press.
- What to put in an EPK: what a promoter looks for, in the order they look.
- Tech rider and input list template: a page to print and fill in for the engineer.
- EPK templates: five looks and six presets, each one click from a kit of your own.
- One-sheet maker: a single page or a post, made from your press kit.
- EPK examples: real press kits made here, and what each one does well.
- How to write a band bio: two paragraphs a promoter can paste, with a template.
- DJ press kit: what a club or festival booker wants from a DJ.