I created a Show Call… now what?
You are on a roll! You signed up on Side Door, created a profile, and published a Show Call. All Hosts within the set region have been notified, so now what?
We’ve found that when Artists and Hosts follow this strategy, they maximize their reach and have a higher success rate of booking shows.
Here is our #1 tip to increase responses for your Show Call: Share your Show Call.
“That sounds desperate,” “I’d prefer to keep my Show Call on the down low,” “I’ve never seen other artists do this,” ”mhm, that’s not my vibe.”
First off, no. It’s not desperate! Imagine your favourite artist asked if they could perform in your backyard. Not only are you saying yes every time, but you’d also be stoked about the opportunity to host them. Take a look at the fan reactions when two-time JUNO award-winning artist Dan Mangan shared his Show Call on Instagram (IG) reels:
By sharing your Show Call on your socials, newsletter, or website, you’re giving your supporters a unique opportunity while unearthing new hosts not yet on Side Door, and increasing your success rate of booking a show. Cha-ching!
How to do it:
The easiest way to share your Show Call is to click the button labelled, “Share Show Call.” This in-platform feature allows you to:
Copy a direct link to the Show Call.
Easily share via email.
Directly post to Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TW).
Whether you use our in-platform feature or not, here’s a proven strategy on how to share your Show Call to maximize reach and engage your followers:
Focus on the platform with your biggest following and cross-post. (Cross-posting is sharing the same content across multiple social media platforms.) It saves time and allows you to easily determine which platform generates the best engagement for that piece of content. Let’s say you have the most followers on IG:
Create a feed post for IG using our free editable templates, or create your own.
Write a caption that provides context and includes a call to action (CTA).
A CTA is a marketing term that uses a phrase to encourage the reader to respond or take action. For example, “Respond to my Show Call on Side Door.”
Here’s a fantastic example of an IG post from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jamie-Lee Dimes:
If you didn’t hear, I got moved from standby to being an official artist for @folk_alliance with a showcase at @sxsw too. I’m touring my way to Kansas City and all over America January - March, and going on the road with @sidedoor.access who are giving show guarantees to official showcasing artists!!
Tour call out: <insert locations>
Dates up on Side Door. Let the games and rehearsals begin. See you on the road, 2023. Most importantly, see you at my folk alliance official showcase, with good news that my entire band got a 75% scholarship and I got a 100% scholarship which means I can play for the first time with a band in my career. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 long 3 years. Bring on the new year !
Cross-post!
IG story - Share this IG feed post to your story multiple times over the coming weeks. Pro tip - use the sticker called “Link” to share a clickable link to your Show Call.
FB - Share this same post on FB and add a CTA with a link to the Show Call. Pro tip - connect your FB and IG pages to automatically cross-post.
TW - Shorten the caption to “I’m touring my way to Kansas City & all over America Jan - March, and going on the road with @sidedoor.access!! If you'd like to host me for a show, respond to one of my Show Calls: [insert link]”
TikTok/YouTube Shorts/IG Reels - The caption from this post is your script. Take a video with your phone talking to the camera (i.e., reading this caption). Pro tip - add some style to your video with a Side Door sticker.
Newsletter - Use this caption for a section of your newsletter: make sure to add links to the Show Calls. For additional newsletters, embed this IG post and add the title, “Book me for a Show.”
Another promotional channel to share your Show Call is your website. Under your website’s tour/upcoming shows tab, add a section called “Host me for a Show” or “Side Door Show Calls” and list the dates and locations with a link to your Show Call on Side Door. Here is a great example from the artist MANE:
This post by MANE checks all the boxes:
✅ Provide context - “USA, I’m coming back next year in March/April!”
✅ Include a CTA - “You can head to the link in my bio.”
✅ Tag Side Door - “host a show via @sidedoor.access.”
✅ Promote Show Calls - MANE included the cities they’re looking to perform.
✅ Provide a link - MANE’s link in bio gives their audience an easy and direct path to respond on Side Door.
Need more convincing? We’ll reshare your social post with our following to boost its reach and help you get discovered as an artist. Just remember to tag us [@sidedooraccess]. Here’s our Co-founder Dan Mangan on how he shared his Show Call to his fanbase and how it landed him a sold out gig.
Just like promoting an upcoming show on your socials, you need to promote shows you want to perform. To track the success of your marketing efforts, log in to Side Door and click the Show Call. The Show Call Overview page will display how many views, responses, and shares you have received so far. Take note of these numbers before and after sharing your Show Call.
