In today’s DIY music
scene it might be challenging to put together your own events and to raise
enough funding to support yourself and maintain your career. This interview with Anitra Jay will teach you
some know-how on event Sponsorships.
Firstly, let me tell
you a little more about her background as an independent musician.
Anitra
Jay is an acoustic soul singer-songwriter based in Houston, TX. She tours
regularly up and down the US from Vermont to Texas and everywhere in between.
Her music is a sultry down to earth blend of soul, pop, and gospel. After being
laid off from her job in 2007, Anitra decided to pursue a career in music. She
took her educational experiences in Public Relations and her professional
background in marketing and applied it full force to her music. She's found
significant success in establishing a lasting fanbase using her special brand
of marketing techniques which she shares freely with other artists. In addition
to being a full-time performer, Anitra runs TheCraftyMusician.com, a blog for
indie artists sharing actionable tips and advice on how to promote, develop,
establish a fanbase, and more. Her passion is to inspire other musicians and
build a community of like-minded independent artists to encourage and promote
successful careers in the arts. She appeared on HGTV's Tiny House Hunters in
May of 2017 to share her music story and her Tiny House Journey with the world.
Here is what Anitra
shares with us about her experience with Sponsorships.
Q:When
did you make your first attempts in securing a sponsorship? What kind of event was
it that you were seeking sponsorship for?
The first music event I sought out sponsors for was a
fundraiser about 8 years ago.
Q:In
your opinion what are the top 3 values a sponsor can bring to your event and
your brand as an artist/event organizer?
Sponsorships can be an added value for music events in many
ways. Namely, sponsorships can make it easier to make a profit at events since
the sponsors will likely pay for costs associated with putting on the event
such as marketing, venue rental, equipment rental, hospitality elements, etc.
Having local businesses partner with you also brings an extra layer of
credibility as an artist in your local area. Also, adding business partners to
your events in the form of sponsorships can help expand promotion efforts
beyond just you. You’ll get to leverage their networks to promote your music in
general as well as the event.
Q: And
what are the top 3 values YOU as an artist/event organizer can bring to a
business willing to sponsor your event?
Artists can offer potential sponsors a way to reach new
customers face-to-face at events as well as exposure to the artists’ fans
through online promotions before, up to, and after the event; a way to make
unique and memorable connections with the community, and networking
opportunities.
Q: How
do you decide what companies to approach?
Firstly, I would reach out to local businesses that I personally patronize
the most. I figure, I’ll have a better
chance at getting a positive response from those businesses since I’m already a
customer. Then I’ll look at my fanbase or who might be coming to the event and
I’ll try to identify businesses that they frequent. Additionally, I would reach
out to any other businesses that I think would have the most interest in
reaching the potential attendees of the event.
Q: Do
you always prepare sponsorship packages at different price points? And is it
worth the time crafting personalized sponsorship package for each business you
approach?
The cover letter of your sponsorship proposal should be
customized for each business. However, when it comes to the proposal itself, I
think it’s easier and saves a lot of time to have a generic list of prices for
several levels of sponsorship opportunities that gets sent out to each
business. If a business wants to customize and create their own sponsorship, it
might be smart to create a blank space for that where they can fill in what
works best for them and you can take it from there.
Q:What
do you consider when estimating the budget needed for an event? Do you thinks
it’s attainable to have the whole amount of expenses covered by a sponsor? What
is a realistic portion of the expenses to ask a sponsor to cover?
When creating a budget for the event promotional materials,
ad spots, food and beverage, rental space and equipment, and your cost for
doing the event should all be factored in.
Depending on how big the event is, there may be an opportunity for more
than one sponsor so that the cost burden is distributed more evenly. You never
know how much a sponsor is willing to pay, so as I mentioned earlier it’s best
to have several levels of sponsorships and price points that they can choose
from. As the event planner/artist, you should decide how many sponsors you will
accept and at what levels. This will give you an idea of how many businesses
and what size businesses you should approach that will get you the amount that
you need. If you play your cards right, you can have all your expenses covered.
Q: How
do you estimate what to ask the sponsor for? (e.g. money, free supplies, free
venue space, free food/drinks, free merch, etc.)
That depends on three things.
●
Your needs.
●
Your relationship with the business.
●
And what you think the business might give.
I once asked my printing company for free printing of
promotional materials as their sponsorship payment. It worked out nicely. I
knew that the printing donation would be of more value to me than the money
they would potentially give so I asked for that. Sometimes it’s easier to ask
for in-kind donations rather than money. It’s all up to what you feel
comfortable with.
Q: What
do you need to have in place before you start approaching businesses?
You need a fanbase and you need to show proof that you can
bring them out. You also need to show that you are reliable and have experience
with putting on excellent events. You need a good artist website which would
give you credibility that you’re a legitimate artist. You need a good
well-thought out proposal. You need to be able to answer questions and
objections. Additionally, you’ll need plans for the event itself. What booths
are available, what sponsorships options you can provide, and how they will be able
to make connections with your attendees.
Q: Any
other tips for artists taking their first steps in sponsorships?
Plan for plenty of time to reach out to businesses! It will
take time to get in touch with decision makers. It will also take time to get answers
and even more time to get the money. Be sure to approach way more businesses
than you need sponsors so you can increase your chances at being successful. Be
ready to hear the word “No” a lot. In my article on How to Get Sponsors foryour Music Events, I share s magic formula that tells you how many potential
sponsors you’ll need to approach and I’ve already created a proposal template
to make it easy. Click here to get it.
