So...you've done everything possible to fill each day of your indie tour with solid bookings and yet you still end up with one day, between gigs. What to do? Today, author Jeri Goldstein (How To Be Your Own Booking Agent) helps you plan your tour 'off-day' activities so you can squeeze in as much 'biz promo for your band as possible. Don't stay in the motel watching television all day! Read Jeri's awesome productivity tips here.

You've done everything possible to fill each day with bookings, and yet you still end up with one day, between gigs. You don't have to drive and you don't have to play. Depending on how long you've been on the road, you might want to simply sleep or catch up on emails or write a new song. If, however, you have done a brilliant job of planning and this day off is no accident, a great deal of business can be accomplished. Here are some ideas to help you pass your next off day more productively.

The Media:
Having an extra day in the town where there is an upcoming gig affords you ample opportunity to take advantage of the local media outlets. Since you previously advanced your date, you are already aware of the local media that caters to your style of music.

Perhaps you already scheduled a live radio interview or performance at one of the local stations. If not, this would be a great time to drop in, especially if you know the time a particular DJ is on air or when they are live rather than during a syndicated taped portion of their air day.

Many TV networks, affiliate stations produce local noon news shows. Some of these shows will have live guests, especially those that have a community events calendar segment. Check ahead about this kind of programming. There may also be specialty show programming on public television or community and educational TV channels. Some advance research may land you on a show reaching thousands.

Print media opportunities also await for those day-before-show interviews with local daily papers. Scheduling these would certainly have required pre-planning while advancing the tour.

Use a day-off to schedule phone interviews with media for upcoming tour dates. Since you already have the phone number of the hotel where you'll be staying, you can line up phone interviews for a certain segment of time during the day. Keep them tightly scheduled in order to cover a number of upcoming cities.

Live Promotional Appearances:
Having an extra day prior to a gig opens the opportunity for some teaser shows. These may take the form of an in-store appearance at a record retailer. Pre-planning this promotional event would be necessary. This may be an actual performance or simply a record-signing event. Short teaser sets at shopping malls, chain bookstores or coffee shops help push advanced tickets and sell CDs. To set up shows at Borders, http://www.borders.com/; Barnes & Noble, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/; or Starbucks, http://www.starbucks.com/, you must contact the community relation's director for each individual store. They list their stores on their websites with names, addresses, phones and store number. Some Starbucks have an area coordinator who books talent for a number of stores within one region.

You may also want to check with local university student activities' offices. This may turn into an actual booking in the future. They often have mid-day concerts in non-traditional performance places, such as the lounge or cafeteria. You might pre-arrange a teaser set with the concert committee for a free noon show to be used as an audition for a booking in the future. Similarly, fraternity houses often have luncheons where a teaser show or paid gig might be booked. All of these things provide new names for the mailing list, potential merchandise sales and ticket buyers for the show the next night. Keep teaser sets short, since they are free. Leave them wanting to hear more.

Website Back	Jeri Goldstein
	Jeri Goldstein was the agent and manager for some of the top touring acoustic artists on the circuit including Robin & Linda Williams and Garrison Keillor & The Hopeful Gospel Quartet. Goldstein has booked national and international tours for artists performing in country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, contemporary, classical and children’s music. She has also booked tours for theater and dance. After 20 years of working as an agent and manager, Goldstein authored the award-winning book, "How To Be Your Own Booking Agent: A Performing Artist's Guide To A Successful Touring Career." In 2001, Goldstein partnered with The Southern Arts Federation and Carnegie Mellon Arts Management Program, to produce an E-SeminArts, three-hour workshop CD-ROM, Marketing Your Act. Articles for the self-managed artists have been published on Getsigned.Com; in Indie Magazine; Music Biz Magazine; GiG Magazine as well as many other sites throughout the Internet.
	List all articles by Jeri Goldstein

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