Warning: this starts with a rant. I’m sick of getting concert invitations—even from musicians I know and love—that leave me cold, and a little pissed off. The problem is I don’t like being treated like a number, but that’s what most concert invitations do. They come across as generic and impersonal. Sometimes even arrogant or apologetic. There’s no denying it, there’s a real challenge when it comes to the Art of the Concert Invitation.
Why do most email and social media concert invitations fall flat?
The invites I get typically fail to make a real connection with their intended reader (me). In effect they come across as, “Hey YOU [anonymous person on my list]! Come to my concert. Come hear me play THIS repertoire and hear me perform with THESE AMAZING PEOPLE!”
What’s wrong with this?
It doesn’t draw the reader in. It doesn’t connect with me on a human level. Even if I AM interested in the repertoire and the players, I guarantee you that the majority of folks on your list will NOT be turned on enough—by the repertoire and fellow performers alone—to show up.
We need more incentive to take the time and make the arrangements to be at your live concert. We’re all too damn busy. And we’ve all, thanks to Covid, gotten used to staying home.
In other words, if your email only focuses on the pieces and the performers, it can come across as the “ME, ME, ME” show. And that won’t fire up enough real interest with your readers to get them there.
if you’re sending out email invites that aren’t personalized—that are simply announcements (date, time, location, program, performers)—then the people on your list will feel marketed at. This is a turn off. As a result, your promotional efforts may actually be hurting your concert attendance instead of helping.
As for what’s needed beyond the repertoire and performers, it’s this. It’s you telling us WHY you’re particularly excited about this concert. Tell us what will be remarkable in it for US, and why it matters to you that we’re there. In other words, your email needs to be human, vulnerable, real.
The Art of the Concert Invitation in Action
I’ve received a number of stand-out concert email invitations over the years. (And yes, I save them—and I recommend you do this, too—just make an email folder for promo examples. There’s a lot we can learn from analyzing why a promo piece works.)
Effective invitations are the ones that “hook” you with the description of the concert. They feature a great story about the programming or the musician tells us why they’re crazy about playing with their collaborators. Or about how they engage audiences in their performances. Whatever it is, I find that as I read the invitation I find myself thinking, THIS is a concert I don’t want to miss!
Example of an effective invite
Now, before you start saying “Sure, it’s easy to write a juicy concert invitation when your event is part of a program sponsored by Carnegie Hall” . . . let’s first examine what specifically makes this invitation engaging (and would work regardless of sponsorship).
- The colors and graphics draw my attention to the headline announcing what’s on tap.
- There’s a sense of surprise and delight: a Celebration of Nuevo Latino isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a harpist.
- Then Bridget makes this personal: hooking us into the story of how she fell in love with her neighborhood—from dancing salsa to discovering a wide range of music. And she does this in just 2 sentences. So it’s concise and energizing!
- This leads her to explain how the concert idea came to be and why she’s excited to be performing with her neighbors.
- Bridget has a concrete “call to action” for readers. It’s “Join me for a celebration of the music that has so enriched my life . . .” and she includes the RSVP button.
- The concert itself sounds like a party and it includes its own after-party as well.
- The photos of her 3 collaborators help give us the feel for the energy of the event.
- And then Bridget concludes with 2 sentences of her Bio. Again, concise and energizing.
The overall emphasis here is on the excitement of the event, the music, the hang. It sure made me want to be there!
And before you start to say “But I’m offering a more traditional program so this example doesn’t apply and isn’t helpful,” let’s get real.
If you want to attract a full house for your next concert . . .
Consider this. There’s most likely more than one story behind why you programmed the music on your concert. Think about which aspects of these stories would ignite interest and make a human connection with your readers. What would capture their imaginations on a human level? Maybe it’s not a story about your neighborhood. It might be a story about one of the composers and how you fell in love with their work. Or about why it’s so special for you to be performing these works now.
Whatever it is, write down what you’d actually say to invite people in person (especially non-musicians). Or record yourself saying how you’d invite a favorite relative to the event. Listen back and edit as needed.
This is not about being pushy or “selling”—it’s about being open and sharing something you love with others. Invite them into your musical feast.
Do your part: advocate for your art through your effective concert invitations.
Turn more people on to the music that you love. This doesn’t only help you, it helps everyone. After all, music is for sharing and creating a sense of connection. That’s what the world needs now more than ever.
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