Here are a few suggestions for you to work smarter, and increase your chances of getting a response or a gig.

Make sure your CIYH profile looks and sounds great.

We get 10-20 new hosts each month, and many of them see CIYH as their primary source for talent. Don’t waste the opportunity to make an important new fan.

The concert series has been going very well. We just had a beautiful show with James O’Malley.  If you look at our schedule, you’ll see that our last six artists have come from Concerts In Your Home. — Don S.

Tips:

• feature songs that represent what you will sound like live.
• embed a video - a simple recording of one of your best songs.
• personalize your bio - make sure it speaks to a house concert host, in your voice if possible. Spell check!
• if you have an upgraded membership - use the new quote area! and use the new link spaces wisely. Where do you most want them to go if they are interested in hearing/seeing more? Don’t link to something you aren’t proud of!

Decide on a strategy.

Considering your strengths and talent, what types of hosts should you be contacting? (Hint: The answer is not “all of them.”)

Let’s look at a few key elements of the house concert host profiles. Example. 

Favorite Acts they’ve hosted: (Big leagues vs minor leagues)  There are hosts who have established industry contacts and a track record for great audience turnouts at their events. If you see a host that is booking big name folk acts (I know, name one, right?) - like David Wilcox, Vance Gilbert, Jimmy LaFave, or Eliza Gilkyson, chances are you will need to be a well-promoted act to get in there. (i.e. played frequently on folk radio) - unless they offer opening slots, which is rare.

Genres: Your music style is not as broad as you think, and neither are the host’s. Chances are, your sound (90% of your material) falls solidly between 2 established genres. (folk rock, americana country, blues rock, etc.) Your chances of connecting will increase dramatically if you focus on hosts who indicate a preference for what you do.

Experience: (number of shows hosted)  Watch out for the zeros. On one hand, a host that is just starting out, can be very receptive to newer acts. On the other hand, it could mean they aren’t able to commit to getting started. Check how long they’ve been a member and decide if they are a promising prospect for you.

Last Update: Have they updated since they joined? If a host has updated their profile recently, they are more likely to be active.

Things that tend matter to experienced hosts:
1. Great music
2. Personality - many hosts report that their favorite acts are remembered as much for what they do in between songs, as the songs themselves. This also extends to before and after the show.
3. Manners - divas don’t do very well in a house concert setting. Being pretentious and full of yourself only works when you are on a big stage or going for laughs.
4. Draw - It’s often helpful if you can add an extra 5-10 people to their audience. If you have fans/friends in the area, they can be a great asset for both the host’s series, and your financial results.

Shape your contact email.

While we certainly expect you to personalize any message you send to a house concert host, it’s very productive to have some standard text, photo, and info to include in each email. Create a template, and save it as a signature in your email program. Think of this as your brochure, and the personalized greeting and personalized paragraph as a cover letter. See 2,3, and 4 for more email tips. 

Follow UP!

Repeat after me… “I am selling, and most sales do not happen until the 5th try.”  Now say it again. The sooner you make your peace with this fact, the happier and more successful you will be. An artist who expects things to work on the first try, is like a hiker lost in the woods, looking at a map of downtown Atlanta. Once you understand that booking is all about follow up (the right map), then you’ll dramatically improve your chances of success.

Most artists do not make more than two attempts. You can be the artist who understands that persistence is just as important as talent.

Of course, persistence must be tempered by reason. Every host is different, but it is wise to follow up (no more than once or twice a month) until you get at least a “we received your package/email/etc..”

After that, back off. An occasional polite reminder (”I’m touring in your area in November…”) no more than once a quarter should keep you from wearing out your welcome. If you get a “no, thank you” or no response after 5 emails - be respectful/smart and move on.

Test/Adjust/Retest

If you plan on making a lot of inquiries through CIYH, make 10-20 of them at a time, and measure your response rate. If you get no responses within 10 days, you should look for the weak spot. What could most stand to improve - your email text, your profile, or your song selection? Improve SOMETHING, and then send your next 10-20 emails and see if you get a better response rate. Repeat, and don’t forget to follow up, and keep track of what’s working!

House concert hosts tend to be kind individuals who love music and want to support it (for no money), but that doesn’t mean they aren’t busy people, and overwhelmed by email like the rest of us. Don’t expect house concert response rates to be better than professional bookers. If you aren’t a known name, a  20-30% response rate is very good. If you follow up nicely and consistently, you’re likely to receive a higher percentage of feedback.

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Far-west is one of my favorite conferences, and this year it will take place in Irvine, California, Nov. 6-8. There will be other opportunities to showcase, but the deadline to submit for the “premier showcases” is June 30th.

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The obvious:

1. Inspiring and educating new hosts
2. Organizing their info so you can find opportunities that match your needs. Have you tried the advanced search yet? (At the bottom of the linked page. )
3. Providing tools for you to create your own opportunities… videos and how-to articles you can share with your fans.

The not so obvious:

1. Constantly raising the bar for talent. We turn away a lot of artists who are not ready. This means that CIYH artists have a reputation for quality & respectfulness, and that hosts are less likely to get overwhelmed by artist inquiries.
2. Providing tools that help hosts succeed. Calendars, flyers, videos, and how-to articles to help them build an audience for their house concerts. When they succeed, you succeed. Here’s our new how-to video page.
3. Providing opportunities for music fans to discover your music. We are the number one destination for house concert information, and we get different types of inquiries from people who want to hire talent. Check out the new video page.

The future:

1. We’re collecting “artist reviews” from hosts so that we can add “recommendations” to your artist profile. Wouldn’t that give a host great piece of mind to book you if they saw that you’ve been recommended by several CIYH hosts? We thinks so. Learn more about this.
2. In the next few months, we’ll also start collecting “host reviews,” so that our artists can recommend hosts who’ve done a fine job, and provide additional piece of mind for artists when they book recommended house concerts. I think this is especially important for female acts, who are sometimes uncomfortable staying with hosts they don’t know.

Who’s having success?

We get a steady stream of testimonials… here are a few.

Need to join, upgrade, or renew?

Share this with artists you love.

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Here’s a timely and lovely tune, from one of the most successful songwriters of CIYH, Craig Bickhardt, and Jack Sundrud. I’ve written a Father’s Day tune too… it wasn’t nearly this good. Songwriters… pay attention. - this is how you twist an overused phrase or title.

Enjoy!

Learn more about Craig Bickhardt, and email him if you’d like to have a major hit (3 #1 hits, 9 in the top 10) songwriter knock your friends out in your living room.

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angie-benefit-poster2

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ConcertsInYourHome.com, a website that helps artists connect with house concert presenters, is celebrating its 3rd anniversary. This online community has grown to more than 1,000 members worldwide and continues to inspire music fans to become concert promoters - in their living rooms.

House concerts allow artists to perform for a captive audience, in the casual and intimate setting of a fan’s home. Guests (friends of the host) typically pitch in a suggested donation of $10-15, and take their seats after a short pot-luck meal and social time. The performer then plays two sets with a short intermission, through very little or no sound system, and interacts with the audience during and after the show. These concerts are both artistically and financially rewarding for artists, especially those who often rely upon the distracted and diminishing club audiences to make a living.

Fran Snyder, a singer-songwriter and the founder of CIYH, regularly speaks on the subject of house concerts at music conferences and has become a recognized authority on the subject. Snyder was recognized by Music Connection in its “Top 50 Innovators, Groundbreakers, and Guiding Lights of 2008,” alongside such names as Derek Sivers, Victor Wooten, Jack Johnson, and Brian Eno.

“Fran Snyder…is more than a musician and entrepreneur who has built a better mousetrap; he has done so based on a wide range of firsthand industry experience.” — Present Magazine, Kansas City

CIYH provides free tools, videos, and articles for anyone interested in putting on or learning about house concerts. Host memberships are free, and artist memberships are $48 per year.

Basic Stats

400 House Concert presenters in the U.S. and Canada, and a few in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
700 Artists/Small groups, including hit-songwriters, world class performers, and up-and-coming talent.
9,000 website visitors per month, and a high-traffic blog “House Concerts and 21st Century Touring.”

Interesting Links

Latest Newsletter http://www.concertsinyourhome.com/blog/archives/category/ciyh-newsletter
House Concert Videos - and a “how-to” primer for hosts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=try-z4-4h04&feature=PlayList&p=41B68C66FD52E420&index=0&playnext=1
Our Manifesto, “Small is the New Big - how house concerts are saving the modern touring artist.”
http://www.concertsinyourhome.com/blog/archives/275
13 Artist Tips to get more House Concerts http://www.squidoo.com/houseconcertbookings

Contact:

Fran Snyder 817-789-2936
fran @ fransnyder.com

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Visit Roy Schneider’s Music and Previous Cartoons

Message from Fran:

3 Years!

After 6 months of planning and tweaking I officially launched CIYH in June of 2006. I’d had a good run of playing clubs, coffeehouses, colleges, and performance halls, and was ready to take on a new challenge. The idea of house concerts had become so appealing that I couldn’t ignore how important they were becoming, and how much better they could be served.

Plus, they were my favorite gigs.

Three years later and CIYH is a community of more than 1,000 members, held together by the idea that artists deserve a listening environment, and that their entertainment value should be measured by something other than alcohol sales.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of this. — fran

Kerrville

A long blissful weekend of music, socializing, and camping. It’s like no other music festival. It was amazing to see that half of the 32 New Folk finalists were CIYH members. Congratulations to winners Carrie Catherine and Rebecca Loebe. Kind thanks once again to Camp Sweetness & Light and the Rouse House. Camp “Jews Don’t Camp” was missed. 8^)

L.A. Acoustic Music Festival (2 free tickets)

One of our favorite house concert hosts has taken on the monstrous task of putting on a folk music festival in Los Angeles. It is this weekend (6/6,7), it is important, and you won’t believe the stellar line-up. (Griffith, Cockburn, Lindley, Thompson, LaFave, the Refugees…) If you live within 100 miles of L.A. - you should go. Early shows start at noon. http://www.laacousticmusicfestival.com — the 7th person to email bodiehouse at aol.com with “ciyh” in the subject will win two free tickets!

Major CIYH improvements:

Busy. Busy. Busy.

New artist profiles, with some cool new options, and… a fantastic new “advanced host search” page for artist members.

ARTISTS: Want to search for hosts who can do a Thursday in the Atlanta area, who have edited their profile in the last 3 months and done at least one show? Now you can. advanced host search!

New CIYH Hosts: (artist members can search “member since 2009-05″ using the advanced search. )

New House Concert Presenters in… AB, ON(2), CA (3), FL, GA, IA, IN, OH, VA(2), WA, and our first host in France!

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Look for these new artists here! Anders Fransson, Anna Gilbert, Annette, BettySoo, Cabin Fever NW, Cee Cee James, Cindy Kallet & Larsen Grey, Davey O., Elly Wininger, Ginny Mitchell, Hannah’s Field, James W. Barnhart, John R. Butler, John Randolph, Justin Jude, Kelly McFarling, Kimwei, Laura Brino, Lisa Bianco, Maria Sebastian, Michael Chapdelaine, Mila & Molochka Band, Nick Motil, Rob Heath, Tami Neilson - The Kitchen Table Sessions, The Honey Dewdrops, The Marvins, Tom Richardson, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike.

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!) Annelise LeCheminant, Julie Christensen, Singalong with Phoebe, Suzahn Fiering, Marshall Artz, Dennis O’Rourke, K.C. Clifford, Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga, Kelly’s Lot, Melissa Greener, Perpetual Motion, Clarke Buehling, Chris Carder, Teri Wilder, Steve Eulberg, The Border Blasters.

Schwag Star of the Month:

Thanks to Tripping Lily for sending us a pic of Monica in her CIYH shirt. Send your CIYH pics to franatfransnyder.com

Tip for Artists: Log in here

Here are two things you should do to spruce up your upgraded artist profile.

1. Add a quote! Make one up if you have to.

2. Add captions (titles) for your links. Many hosts like the format of myspace and sonicbids - simply because they are used to it, and they know how to easily find the stuff they want. So add your myspace link, and title it “Myspace.” If you don’t add a caption, they will see “Link 1″ and “Link 2″ - not very enticing.

Look for hosts by using the new advanced host search!

Tip for Hosts: Log in here

Keeping your profile up-to-date is no longer “optional.” The BIGGEST reason I started CIYH was to provide a helpful, UP-TO-DATE resource to help artists and hosts. While we will continue to make efforts to reach out to hosts who have not shown activity, we will remove host listings if their profile has not been edited in 9 months. Any kind of edit (adding calendar dates, changing your booking status or instructions, even your address) will show us that you are still using the site.

Please help us serve our talented artists by providing accurate information, or letting us know if you are taking a break. Thanks!

Next up: We’ll tweak the (free) host flyers for you next month. Suggestions? Write me.

–

Want to hear from CIYH more than once or twice a month? Catch the tweets or get connected here.

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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With more than 1,000 members, ConcertsInYourHome has a LOT of hidden talents. Aside from great musical talent, many of our members (artists and hosts) have unexpected talents. Roy Schneider, who I recently heard play in Kerrville, not only is a great songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, but a talented cartoonist as well.

Today I’d like to focus on three available books, including one from yours truly.

Clean Cabbage in the Bucket

by Frank Emerson, Seamus Kennedy, Robbie O’Connell, Harry O’Donaghue, and Dennis O’Rourke

The inspiration for this post came from Dennis O’Rourke, a fabulous artist who teamed up with 4 more Irish musicians to write “Clean Cabbage in the Bucket - and Other Tales from the Irish Music Trenches.” This one is thick with stories that will make you wonder if you’ve missed your calling - these guys have lived. I can’t really top the review on this page, so I’ll keep it short and say I HIGHLY recommend this joyful, touching, and often hilarious read.

The Sea Inside

by Randall Williams

One of our most interesting artists, Randall Williams, recently created a novel out of his unique life’s journey. If there was ever anyone who could say “Jump, and the net will appear,” it’s Randall. Disguised as a book about sailing, the prose in theses pages will reveal much more than the ocean, and should comfort those who wanted a better ending from “Into the Wild.”

If I Had a Giraffe

by Fran Snyder and JP Williams - illustrated by Jas Ingram

Last, and certainly least heavy, is a heartwarming children’s picture book I wrote with JP Williams. Actually the book is a direct take from the lyrics of “If I Had a Giraffe,” a great song we wrote for the CD “Five Little Monkeys and Other Kidstuff!!” - both the song and book are winners (DIY book festival and International Songwriting Competition.)
Have a listen and look here.

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I’ve written about the importance and effectiveness of video as a booking tool here and here.

I’d like to first contradict the great advice below by saying/reminding that great material can overcome weak video, and that a lack-luster video of a great performance is still worth documenting, sharing, and even promoting. That said, here’s some great advice to make the most out of any video you shoot. Take it away Tom!

“I Am An Angel” by Julie Christensen from Tom Weber on Vimeo.

Hi. I’m a Folk Alliance member and professional videographer; also, I  teach video production and filmmaking at an art college.

I’m appalled at the generally low quality of videos that artists use to promote themselves. Bad lighting, distorted or inaudible sound, poor shot composition, no graphics, shaky handheld camera or boring  static shot from the back of the room. You wouldn’t record your CD on  an answering machine, why represent yourself with a bad-looking video?

Hire a professional (hire ME! I have a room at Folk Alliance every  year with studio-quality audio, lighting, and backgrounds), or find a  film school student who will do it for free. Don’t just hand your home camcorder to somebody at the audience and hope for the best!

Which ever route you take, here are some tips:

1. Don’t rely on the camera microphone for audio. They pick up vibration from the camera motor and distort easily. Always use a
   separate microphone or (ideally) stereo pair. A good quality room mic beats a feed from the sound board, because it picks up more audience response. Make sure to get enough level — peak signals should reach -3dB consistently.
2. Put up some kind of backdrop, black or a muted color that complements what you’re going to wear. Videos shot at house concerts, in particular, often suffer from cluttered or unattractive backgrounds. Professional photo backdrops can be had for as little as
   50 bucks.
3. Use backlighting. The backlight — a small spotlight above and behind your head — makes you stand out from the background. I’ve worked in a lot of house concert environments where there was a lamp or tracklight that could be aimed at the back of the performer’s head and shoulders. Makes a world of difference.
4. Lighting is crucial to the quality of your image. Video cameras like white light, and plenty of it. There’s nothing wrong with a dramatic color as an accent, but your face should NOT be green, red, or purple.
5. Don’t put the camera at the back of the room. This requires you to zoom in, which flattens the image and magnifies any shakiness. Bring the camera closer, into a seat in the audience, and zoom out to make the room look more spacious.
6. Have the video edited on a professional editing platform such as Final Cut Pro, Premiere, or Media Composer — NOT consumer software like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Consumer software is for Uncle Henry and Aunt Millie’ trip to Hawaii, or Junior’s high school graduation. Cheesy graphics and effects and ready-made DVD menus mark you as an amateur.
7. YouTube has the biggest audience, but I think both Vimeo and Virb offer better quality. They’re free, so why not use all of them? In general, you are embedding the video on your own webpage or MySpace/Facebook page, so go with the highest quality. You can look at some of my work from the 2009 Folk Alliance at http://www.vimeo.com/tomweber/videos.

I hope some folks take these suggestions to heart. — Tom

Tom Weber, Ph.D.
Video Services for Working Musicians
1283 Cedar Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
(412) 370-1736 voice/text
www.vimeo.com/tomweber

“Something Pretty” by Julie Christensen. from Tom Weber on Vimeo.

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Message from Fran:

After a year of talking about it, I finally finished our “house concert invitation” video - a tool that can help anyone raise interest in attending their house concerts.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’ve had a thousand “look-sees” in just one week. I’m happy to see our hosts link to the video in their invitations and flyers, and and to see artists blogging about it to share the concept with their fans. I look forward to the first report that yes, “someone we’ve been trying to get to attend finally did because of the video.” Who will it be?

KERRVILLE/Carpool - I’ll be attending the first weekend of Kerrville this year for the New Folk Competition. I’m driving from Lawrence, KS and possibly stopping in Dallas on the way down and back. It’s mostly I-35, so email me if you live along the way and need a ride.

Major CIYH improvements:

This is the kind of email you get from putting your events on the house concerts calendar.

To: Duncan House Concerts
The person below is inquiring about your show with: Kenny Edwards
On: 05/16/09

Full Name: Jaime C.
Email: j@changedforprivacy.com
Guest Zip: 90230
Occupation: teacher/writer
Join Host List: Yes

Note from inquiry: Hi,
My wife Nora and I are passionate music fans.  I’m actually a keyboard/vocalist myself who used to perform in bands and solo, but now just jam for fun.  We live in Culver City and try to patronize the local music scene, from Boulevard Music (Culver City) to McCabes (Santa Monica) to Kulak’s Woodshed (In the valley) and even Jazz at the A-Frame (Hollywood Hills). We would love to be put on your calendar list for upcoming events!

We get one or two inquiries each day that look something like the example above. The state calendars are a great way to expand your circle of friends and a nice source of potential new invitees. Your private information is protected, so you have the luxury of choosing if you’d like to reach out to those who show interest. Just log in as HOST and list your shows!

New CIYH Hosts: (artist members can search “member since 2009-04″ using the advanced search. )

New House Concert Presenters in NB, ON, AK, AL, CA, IA, IL, ME, MS, NJ, NY, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, and our first host in Wyoming!

New CIYH Artists: (A big thank you for your support.)

Look for these new artists here!

All My Pretty Ones, Aly Tadros, Amanda Pearcy, Amanda West, Arvel Bird, Ben Mallott, Clockwork, Dan Janisch, Elizabeth Jonasson, Henhouse Prowlers, James Talley, John Albert Thomas, Kira Small, LaMay & Reese, Lilli Lewis, Lisa Lynne, MaMuse, Matthew Francis Andersen, Michael Pickett, Mike Vial, Miss Quincy, Muza, Neal Fox, Open Range, Peter Janson, Richard Berman, Rick Hill, Rob Lutes, Smile Pretty Misery, Stormin’ Norman & Suzy, Teresa Storch, Susan Gibson, The Don’t Tell Darlings, The Lime Hollow Boys, the Mickeys, The Victor Mourning, Vlada Tomova’s Balkan Tales, Yahaloma

Renewed Artists: (A HUGE thank you for your continued support!)

Adam Payne, Jeanne T. Arrigo, Julie Sutton, Tom Smith, Michael Gulezian, Kim Angelis, James Casto

Schwag Star of the Month:

Dave Arsenault with sisters-in-law at the Bill and Kate Isles concert.

Tip for Artists and Hosts:

• Doing Interviews about House Concerts
• New Blog: House Concert Basics: Invitation Lists, Choosing Location, Choosing Date and Time
• Artists log in here | Hosts Log in here

Want to hear from CIYH more than once or twice a month? Catch the tweets or get connected here.

In the CD Player:

George Ensle’s “Build a Bridge.” Heart-felt rootsy ballads perfect for laid-back folk radio, and building monthly newsletters.

Please share this information with people you like. — fran

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