Peanut never lacks for an audience because he expects everyone he encounters to pay attention to him. Perhaps we singers need to take a lesson from him and have higher expectations of our friends and family to attend our choral performances.
Choirs understand that they have great built-in audience potential living in their singers’ address books. How many friends and close family does each choir member have? 10? 20? Our goal is to make sure that when we perform, all of those people are IN THE AUDIENCE.
So what should we expect from our singers? And how do we overcome resistance? Here’s a look at some of the obstacles and solutions to this problem:
Provide Advertising Materials — This seems like a no-brainer, but most choral organizations are multi-generational; the younger members want on-line information and the older singers like a nice shiny postcard or flyer. Don’t discount the appeal of a printed card placed a store window, and don’t be surprised if one of the sopranos invites her grandchildren using an email.
Provide Several Purchase Portals — More and more people purchase tickets to events online, but when you are dealing with family and friends, they may need a little help. A telephone ticket hotline might just be the convenient factor that reaches your new tenor’s Grandpa.
Provide Enthusiasm — Sometimes chatter is your best advertising. Encourage singers to talk about their upcoming concert and to be open about their love for the music.
Provide Encouragement — People love to be invited to events. Studies show that almost half of all people who attend concerts were invited by someone else. Don’t think of it as selling tickets, think of it as extending invitations.
Provide a Culture of Participation — Positive reinforcement is the name of the game. We’re not talking about contests, or shaming the slackers. Our best tactic may be to recognize and praise those who do a great job.
Provide Training — Consider investing 15 minutes per concert to simply review ticket prices, purchase options, marketing materials and even a script of talking points.
The bottom line is that singers want that big audience as much as anyone else. They may not realize how much power they have to make that a reality!
Long Beach Camerata Singers will be performing Handel’s Messiah on November 30 and December 1, 2018. Tickets can be purchased for $30/$45.