Filling your venue show after show can seem stressful at times, regardless of whether you operate in a small or large community. But with careful planning, a solid strategy and some creativity, you can turn most, if not all, obstacles you encounter in your favor. We recently attended the Contact Ouest conference in Whitehorse where Stéphane Gauthier, the general and cultural director of the Carrefour Francophone de Sudbury, and Lionel Brideau, the cultural coordinator at RADARTS, shared some of their advice and insights on making the most out of your event’s season.

1. Strive to create a complete artistic experience that will mesmerize your public and make them want to attend future shows. How do you do that? Involve the artists and their agents! Make sure that they are well taken care of, and well fed once they arrive at your venue, especially if they have been travelling. Allow for a hospitality budget. If they play at hundreds of different venues every year, the special detail or attention you provided in welcoming them will make them want to give the best of themselves on stage and will help your artists remember your venue in a positive light.

2. Rally the community behind your event. Try involving your community by recruting local volunteers willing to work for free admission to the event. Organize some workshops with the artists the day before (or after) the show. Make sure you utilize all of your networks in annoucing your event: your mailing list, your friends and family, their friends and family, the artists’ networks and mailing lists. By doing so, you will have created a sustainable network around your event.

3. Manage and lessen the risks. You’ve only sold a few tickets the day before the show and the artists are already in town? Be creative. Plan a flash mob downtown with the artists. Ask them to walk and play in the streets or at the public market. This exposure is likely to raise the number of attendees and could also result in you getting some news coverage. What if a well sought-after artist cancels the show with little notice? Let his agent write and send off the news release. In the meantime, make sure you have a solid back-up plan and announce it on your website. Most importantly, do not burn your bridges. Be sure to reach out to the artist and tell them that they are always welcome anytime to play at your venue. Finally, what if you’ve only sold a dozen tickets in your 400 seat venue? You can turn a potential catastrophe into an enjoyable experience both for the artists and the attendees by bringing everyone on stage. Install small tables and chairs onstage and invite the audience to an intimate concert.

4. Look for partnerships, especially in smaller communities. Visit your local organizations, schools and retail stores and think of an interesting way of involving them with your event, whether it be a dinner-and-a-show bundle ticket, setting up a workshop at a school in exchange for a number of tickets, or any other collaboration that you see fit. Think of the demographics of your community, what type of audience will be interested in your show, and how you can make your event most attractive to them.

Crafting a successful events season doesn’t have to be all tedious work. It can also be an opportunity to reach out in new and creative ways to your community. Remember that the more you seduce your audience the day of the show, the more likely they will be to come back in the future.

Would you like to brainstorm how these ideas apply to your community? Reach out to our Event Promotions team atPromo@BrownPaperTickets.com or (800) 838-3006 (Option 5). We’d love to hear from you!

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