Specials!

[rcb4t2]

Hey guys - looking around at big corporations to the local pizza shack I see everyone offering specials.... buy one get one half price, free breadsticks with a large 2-topping... that sort of thing. Anybody offer special / package deals to help get folks in the door? What are the terms and do they help you? Thanks!

(My ideas so far... have your song mixed get it mastered free.... have 4 songs mastered get the 5th free..... maybe a book 10 hours get x hours half-off for first-time customers only.)

I'll probably have to stipulate that you can't combine coupons otherwise I'll need to be very careful how I structure my deals!

[Dominion28]

I've done some mini-competitons on facebook that have brought some low cost business in (a picture of a rack - name the gear in the rack and get an hour of free recording, the idea being that "everybody wins" and there's very little you can do in an hour)

[shortstory]

I think free breadstix is a great idea!

[kleraudio]

Just like tattoo shops, if I see a studio offering "specials" I tend to stay away.

Buy one get one tattoos? Really? No thanks....

Good recordings arent cheap, cheap recordings arent good

Jim

[Tarekith]

I've done specials in the past, and honestly it never really brought in that much more business. Maybe one or two people, but that's it.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by kleraudio

Good recordings arent cheap, cheap recordings arent good

Well put!

[rcb4t2]

Okay, well maybe I shouldn't have brought up free breadsticks lol! I'm not talking about severely undervaluing the work, just about putting together packages or otherwise incentivizing clients to do business with me - or giving them an easy way to say "yes" to additional services they might not have been planning to use going into it. I'm talking marketing and sales here - certainly something I'd prefer not to focus on overly, but alas.... no management team yet lol!

Anyway, I just wanted some feedback on what others do to reach out.

[MTStudios]

I have a friend who's a wildly talented photographer. For larger packages i throw in some time for her to come down and take shots for the band. Gives them something to use for their social media/promo etc. If they dig it they'll ask her back to do more.

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[kleraudio]

Originally Posted by MTStudios

I have a friend who's a wildly talented photographer. For larger packages i throw in some time for her to come down and take shots for the band. Gives them something to use for their social media/promo etc. If they dig it they'll ask her back to do more.

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Now thats a great idea man!

Jim

[John Suitcase]

Just have to get out there and make connections, I find. Go to shows, get to know people who might be in the line of referrals for a band looking to record, etc. Doesn't hurt to ask bands if they have any friends that might be in the market for recording services. When I started this business, I used to get a lot of business from cold calling bands I liked on myspace. Look for good bands with crappy recordings. They are in the market, whether they know it or not!

You could do a charity recording event, have a standard setup in place, give each band 1 hour to lay down a song and mix it for $50, and give the money to charity. You can be bold about asking bands to come down and participate, might be able to get press, etc. You could roll the best tracks into a comp, with proceeds going to the charity, too.

I don't do specials, but I do offer a money back guarantee. Never had a taker on that, though.

A newsletter of some sort is useful, as a way to keep in touch with former clients. Announce a rate hike, but allow people to lock in the current rate if they book by some date in the near future.

You can also offer a discount for prepaying for a block of time, like get 20 hours for the price or 15. Not to book an actual date right now, but to buy the hours in advance. That gives you a bit of capital, if you're tight. Have to have a 'use by' date, of course. And keep very good books!

Recording a popular band for free (not as a freebie, tell them you want to experiment, but won't feel comfortable doing that on a paying gig.) If it comes out well, ask to use the track on your site as an example of your work.

I get customers that want to buy gift certificates sometimes. That could be something to advertise this christmas. Again, you get some cash up front, and the person will always end up spending more on the actual project.

I can probably think of more ideas...

[MTStudios]

Originally Posted by John Suitcase

When I started this business, I used to get a lot of business from cold calling bands I liked on myspace. Look for good bands with crappy recordings. They are in the market, whether they know it or not!

How'd you manage to make that one work for you man? I'd never had much luck with that approach. I'd get responses like "Yeah thanks for digging our music mate, but we own an mbox so we're not really looking for a studio! Cheers mate"

On the other hand, going to their gig and saying almost the same thing works pretty well.

Gotta play bands like a woman though, don't act too keen - it makes you seem incompetent

Awesome bunch of ideas there John. I might have to try that experimenting one myself! I'm always coming up with weird recording techniques to try out so it's quite apt.

[John Suitcase]

Haha, I'd start with something like, 'Hi, I came across your page on myspace, I really dig your songs, and I have some ideas that could improve them sonically. Your recordings aren't doing your music justice, if you know what I mean...' That usually gets them to at least think about how their stuff could sound if done correctly. If they insist on recording themselves, I would ask them to let me do a quick mix of their tracks, just to give them an idea of what's possible. You have to be pretty excited about their songs to go down that road, of course, but if they believe that you're really into what they're doing, and can help them for a reasonable fee, they'll be interested.