Dave talks to Tom Agostino about how he’s adjusted his marketing strategy over the last 20 years to continue selling out music venues. Tune in to hear how Tom fast-tracks his decision-making process and how to build trust with your audience through educational content.
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Episode Highlights
Inflection points from the show
[02:30] Make faster decisions: Business owners face constant decisions on the regular. Dave Charest talks about creating shortcuts to make the decision-making process faster and more effective, so you can move your business forward without getting bogged down.
[07:12] Making it on his own: Tom says he didn’t have mentors help him get his business off the ground, but he did have some help from networking.
[09:06] Educate your audience: Selling tickets has always been Tom’s biggest business challenge. Since the music he promotes isn’t mainstream, he prioritizes building trust with his audience through education. He’s earned that trust, so now his audience knows if he’s promoting someone, they’re worth the price of admission.
[11:35] Simplifying the decision-making process: Tom shares the top three things he considers when deciding whether to book a musician he’s never heard of, allowing him to be more efficient.
[13:49] For the love of booking: There’s nothing quite like booking a musician and then hearing the crowd’s reaction when they start the show, Tom says. It’s tangible feedback for him, and it’s one of the things he loves most about his job.
[16:12] Current customers can be your best promoters: Tom believes his biggest business strength is selling tickets. He shares how that process has changed in the last 20 years and why he focuses much of his marketing efforts on talking to current customers.
[18:34] Perspective on goal-setting: For Tom, it’s not about setting goals to do more shows than the previous year. It’s about finding new things to bring to his audience.
[20:04] Focus on product-market fit: If you’re marketing to a group that can’t afford your offering, chances are you won’t get many sales. Tom understands what his target customer can afford, and he prices his tickets accordingly.
[20:43] Typical day for a concert promoter: Tom shares how he spends most of his days as a concert producer and promoter, which includes a lot of marketing.
[23:38] Add graphic designer to the list of responsibilities: Besides booking and producing shows, Tom also designs all the graphics for his company.
[25:00] Creating content for email and social: Although Tom pretty much runs his business solo, he does get some help in the content department, specifically from those who perform for him. He shares a little bit about how he comes up with content for his weekly emails and social channels.
[27:16] How COVID affected the live music industry: Not only did the pandemic impact business operations, but Tom believes it also shaped what music people will pay to hear.
[29:44] What brought Tom to Constant Contact: Tom’s been a Constant Contact user since running a graphic design company many years ago. He shares how he was introduced to the tool and why he keeps using it.
[32:22] Favorite Constant Contact feature: Tom discusses what he uses most in Constant Contact, including segmented lists and social media sharing.
[33:15] Contact information is golden: Tom’s number one tip for other solopreneurs using Constant Contact is to get your audience’s contact info and organize it. This will help you be more effective in your email campaigns.
[34:43]: Find your lane: For anyone wanting to start a business, Tom shares some wisdom from his 20 years in the live music industry.
[36:45] Final takeaways: Dave wraps up the show by sharing three main takeaways from the episode.