I thought I would follow up Jed’s post titled The Four Reasons Fans Buy Your Products with this quick post on ten reasons why they don’t (assuming your live show is dialed in):
10. You never create anything different. It’s the same merch you were pushing two years ago, but you tried to change 2008 to 2010 with a Sharpie.
09. Your merch looks like your little sister drew it…using crayons.
07. There’s not enough lighting on the merch table; everything looks monochrome.
06. The merch table is next to the dance floor / mosh pit.
05. Your manager (smaller acts) has too much pride to be hawking merchandise, but he or she should be…
04. You can’t process debit cards. Get a wireless solution.
03. Just starting out, you underestimate the importance (to the band) of grabbing that extra $100 to $200 per show, so you don’t bother making the effort.
02. The lead singer refuses to promote merch. Solution: give him or her a pitch speech that doesn’t sound desperate or cheesy. Wrtie and then sing your signature “buy my stuff song…” three times a night.
01. You don’t connect with your audience; you don’t make eye contact; you don’t know the name of the bar you are performing in; or you forget that you were in Portland last week (Seattle this week).