The Importance of Gig Cards<\/h2>\n![\"Pat](\"https:\/\/audiotheme.com\/content\/uploads\/pat-mcgee-clinton-206x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Pat McGee with Bill Clinton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGig cards<\/strong>, or better known as Business cards, may seem outdated. They\u2019re not. I can tell you from personal experience that my cards are the single most important audience building tool I can take to a gig. I haven\u2019t been lucky enough to meet anyone who happens to work at the White House, but I can credit several private party and corporate event gigs to having a card to hand out.<\/p>\nGig cards are a great way to give people a physical reminder of who you are. It also lets them know that you take your music career seriously<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat Should a Gig Card Include?<\/h2>\n
With a gig card, you can literally put all of your information into someone\u2019s hands for a very small amount of money and effort. Your cards should direct that person to the resources you spend time building and maintaining, including your website<\/a>, your social media<\/a>, and contact information.<\/p>\nHere is the info your gig cards should contain:<\/p>\n
\n- Logo (if available)<\/li>\n
- Name \/ Band Name<\/li>\n
- Website<\/li>\n
- Email Address<\/li>\n
- Phone Number<\/li>\n
- List of Services (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Adding a list of services could be helpful to give users an idea of what you can do. For example, if you do live music, live sound, MC services, DJ services, etc.<\/p>\n
Does the card need to be double sided?<\/h3>\n
The short answer is no. However, I\u2019ve found that for a small amount more, you can get the second side printed, which makes the card look more polished and gives you a bigger canvas.<\/p>\n
A double sided card allows for additional information to be added or current information to be organized differently. We don\u2019t want to the card to be too busy and hard to read but we do want to take advantage of the opportunity a gig card provides.<\/p>\n
Here is additional information to consider adding to double sided gig cards.<\/p>\n
\n- Social Media<\/li>\n
- Gig list<\/li>\n
- Single gig promotion<\/li>\n
- Promo Codes<\/li>\n
- Logo on one side<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If adding social media icons to your gig card, I recommend using icons for the platforms you\u2019re using. If you\u2019re on a good number of social media platforms, consider just showing icons for the ones that have the most engagement between you and your audience.<\/p>\n
Listing a set of gigs on a Gig card could be an interesting tactic. It might be a list of gigs for a particular week\/month, or possibly a set of featured gigs you\u2019d like to highlight for the year. It could be that you booked a big gig and want to promote that individually.<\/p>\n
If you happen to use a service or have a site setup to handle promo\/download codes, the gig card could make a great resource for getting the information out along with your contact details.<\/p>\n
How to Create a Gig Card<\/h2>\n
Creating a gig card is relatively an inexpensive process that won’t take to much of your time to create. In this section<\/p>\n
Design<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s a good idea to keep consistency with your branding and image across all of your touchpoints. If you have a website, you can transfer the site\u2019s look and feel to your cards design. This creates a connection for people landing on your website from the information provided by the card along with providing a greater sense of professionalism. You can do this by integrating your site\u2019s colors, photos, and even fonts.<\/p>\n
Below is an example of the gig cards I use when playing with my band, The DuoTones<\/a>. The look and feel of card design is very similar to our website, which uses the Twotone theme<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/audiotheme.com\/content\/uploads\/duotones-gig-card-example.jpg\")
The DuoTones Gig Card Example<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBelow, we\u2019ve created some Photoshop<\/a> files you can download and edit directly. If you don’t have Photoshop, you could create your own templates using\u00a0programs in the Microsoft Office suite or one of these free Photoshop alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\nBonus:<\/strong> Download our free gig card Photoshop template to get started designing your next gig card. Download Gig Card Template<\/a><\/div>\nPrinting<\/h3>\n
I prefer to get my cards printed locally, but there are several online services that do a great job such as PsPrint<\/a> or Moo<\/a>. A local shop will typically cost a little more money, but tend to deliver a nicer product. For example, our DuoTones cards are printed on 17pt stock, the front side is glossy, while the back side is matte. 1000 of these cards costs us about $75. While that may seem a bit expensive, we\u2019re very proud to hand them out!<\/p>\nHow to Hand Out Gig Cards<\/h2>\n
When playing with the DuoTones, I leave a stack of our cards at the foot of the stage near a tip jar. Every now and then between songs, we\u2019ll mention the cards over the mic and encourage people to come pick one up.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Gig cards<\/strong>, or better known as Business cards, may seem outdated. They\u2019re not. I can tell you from personal experience that my cards are the single most important audience building tool I can take to a gig. I haven\u2019t been lucky enough to meet anyone who happens to work at the White House, but I can credit several private party and corporate event gigs to having a card to hand out.<\/p>\n Gig cards are a great way to give people a physical reminder of who you are. It also lets them know that you take your music career seriously<\/a>.<\/p>\n With a gig card, you can literally put all of your information into someone\u2019s hands for a very small amount of money and effort. Your cards should direct that person to the resources you spend time building and maintaining, including your website<\/a>, your social media<\/a>, and contact information.<\/p>\n Here is the info your gig cards should contain:<\/p>\n Adding a list of services could be helpful to give users an idea of what you can do. For example, if you do live music, live sound, MC services, DJ services, etc.<\/p>\n The short answer is no. However, I\u2019ve found that for a small amount more, you can get the second side printed, which makes the card look more polished and gives you a bigger canvas.<\/p>\n A double sided card allows for additional information to be added or current information to be organized differently. We don\u2019t want to the card to be too busy and hard to read but we do want to take advantage of the opportunity a gig card provides.<\/p>\n Here is additional information to consider adding to double sided gig cards.<\/p>\n If adding social media icons to your gig card, I recommend using icons for the platforms you\u2019re using. If you\u2019re on a good number of social media platforms, consider just showing icons for the ones that have the most engagement between you and your audience.<\/p>\n Listing a set of gigs on a Gig card could be an interesting tactic. It might be a list of gigs for a particular week\/month, or possibly a set of featured gigs you\u2019d like to highlight for the year. It could be that you booked a big gig and want to promote that individually.<\/p>\n If you happen to use a service or have a site setup to handle promo\/download codes, the gig card could make a great resource for getting the information out along with your contact details.<\/p>\n Creating a gig card is relatively an inexpensive process that won’t take to much of your time to create. In this section<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good idea to keep consistency with your branding and image across all of your touchpoints. If you have a website, you can transfer the site\u2019s look and feel to your cards design. This creates a connection for people landing on your website from the information provided by the card along with providing a greater sense of professionalism. You can do this by integrating your site\u2019s colors, photos, and even fonts.<\/p>\n Below is an example of the gig cards I use when playing with my band, The DuoTones<\/a>. The look and feel of card design is very similar to our website, which uses the Twotone theme<\/a>.<\/p>\n Below, we\u2019ve created some Photoshop<\/a> files you can download and edit directly. If you don’t have Photoshop, you could create your own templates using\u00a0programs in the Microsoft Office suite or one of these free Photoshop alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n I prefer to get my cards printed locally, but there are several online services that do a great job such as PsPrint<\/a> or Moo<\/a>. A local shop will typically cost a little more money, but tend to deliver a nicer product. For example, our DuoTones cards are printed on 17pt stock, the front side is glossy, while the back side is matte. 1000 of these cards costs us about $75. While that may seem a bit expensive, we\u2019re very proud to hand them out!<\/p>\n When playing with the DuoTones, I leave a stack of our cards at the foot of the stage near a tip jar. Every now and then between songs, we\u2019ll mention the cards over the mic and encourage people to come pick one up.<\/p>\nWhat Should a Gig Card Include?<\/h2>\n
\n
Does the card need to be double sided?<\/h3>\n
\n
How to Create a Gig Card<\/h2>\n
Design<\/h3>\n
Printing<\/h3>\n
How to Hand Out Gig Cards<\/h2>\n