Never going to turn down a work-related excuse to get out of the office, and I got the perfect leave of absence yesterday with the Melbourne Bookers Lunch.

It was at Rupert On Rupert, hosted by Eventbrite and Cult Leader with Triple R’s Sarah Smith on emcee duties. In between (very delicious) courses, we were treated to a Music Victoria update from Patrick Donovan, followed by a panel about touring best practices with Chris O’Brien (Destroy All Lines), Mike Christidis (Untitled Group) and Emily York (Penny Drop).

I also had a turn at the microphone, with Sarah having a chat with Unified‘s GM Nick Yates and myself about tour marketing strategies. Here are some random takeaways from my brain:

• Don’t rush if you don’t have to. Unless you absolutely need to announce a tour/show because of external factors (e.g. artist is also appearing on a festival that is being announced ASAP), it pays to give yourself a few business days to get ready. Allow your team enough time to get Facebook & Instagram access, YouTube remarketing access, conversion tracking set up, ad copy approved and tour artwork over the line. Pretty much every single rushed tour announce I’ve worked on hasn’t had the impact it should have (and would have, if we had our ducks in a row). Yes, people can rush to get things out the door when we need to, but GIVE US TIME and you will get better results.

• Use genuine content to really connect with your audience. Showcase an artist’s personality. Make content that works with your audience (don’t be something to everyone). Have personality. Everyone is so used to seeing a press shot with some “CITY, excited to see you” bullshit, so be authentic to fans. Engage first, sell tickets second.

• Sell yourself. What’s your point of difference? Is your show special because it’s in an interesting venue (a velodrome or a zoo perhaps?) or is there a special theme across a series of events? If the artist has been in the market recently, is there something special about this new tour? Why should fans dish out another $80 to see a band they saw half a year ago? Have they released a new album, and are they playing brand new music live for the first time? Or is this a special anniversary show with a reunited lineup?