Recommendations for flyering at shows

Written by Kyle Kraft of Krafty Entertainment

I've been involved in marketing thousands of shows on behalf of artists I work with, and have personally invested my own money into hundreds of shows so understand the challenges of getting people out to them. With over 25 years of experience working full-time in the music business, I have a lots of experience with show promotion so the knowledge that I have to share makes sense to consider if you are running or helping to promote a show. 

Handing out flyers to show-goers as they're leaving a venue is a great way to create awareness for another show BUT is a challenge, in which you will have deal with a struggle to get the attention of disinterested people (many of whom will  be drunk) who are a lot more focused on getting laid, fighting someone, trying not to throw up, or just trying to get home to bed as quickly as  is possible.

Your goal is to put flyers in the hands of as many people attending the show as is possible. If you're not going to watch the show you're going to be flyering at, it would be wise to not only check online (at event and  ticket pages, etc) to see if the show end time is posted anywhere and regardless to also call the venue and ask them what time they expect the show to be finished. If you're not going to watch the show then when you call you can pretend to be a ticket holder trying to make plans for a babysitter or something; if they're not busy when you call there's a good chance they will be willing to let you know.

You need to expect that the venue security will not want you standing too close to the exit as they want to ensure everyone leaves the venue as quickly and safely as is possible so they can go home. Try to stand as  close as possible the main exit, and be ready to start putting flyers in people's hand just as the headliner finishes their set as that is usually when most people will start leaving the venue.

You need to be assertive and vocal to get flyers into as many people's hands as is possible. Many people will not reach out to take a flyer, so you should plan to physically put one in as many people's hands as is  possible and expect that many will end up on the ground; that's the game.

Saying the full name of the headlining act repeatedly as you try to hand people flyers will maximize the chances of them taking the flyer (assuming its a recognizable name to them).

Some people might try to engage you in a conversation about the show you're flyering for, but you need to keep handing as many people as is possible flyers so short responses like saying the date and location of the show and encouraging people to check out the website listed or to scan the QR code on the flyer for more info is the best move. If you get a particularly talkative person, just let them know to that you don't want to be rude but you need to get the word out to as many people as is possible so need to stay focused on that.

It takes time for venues to clear out, so depending on the venue size expect to spend an hour or more handing out flyers after a show.

If you're flyering on behalf of someone else's show its a wise idea to take some photos of the outside of the venue and the flyers that will inevitably be on the ground afterwards to document your work and to send to other people involved to show them that you did so.

Best wishes to you as you enter the gauntlet of street promo grinding! 

Want to read more articles written by Kyle? You can do so here.