# How to follow up with music venues

Publisher: The Band Planned (the product provider)

Source: https://thebandplanned.com/guides/how-to-follow-up-with-music-venues

A guide to following up with music venues after your first booking email—when to follow up, what to say and how to stay professional without being annoying.

Following up is where most bands lose gigs. Here's how to do it right.

## Why follow-up matters

Venues get a lot of emails. Your first email might have been read and forgotten, or it might have been buried under a dozen other messages. Following up is not annoying—it's professional.

Many bookings happen on the second or third contact, not the first. If you give up after one email, you're leaving gigs on the table.

## When to follow up

Wait about a week after your first email before following up. This gives the venue time to read it without feeling pressured.

If you don't hear back after the first follow-up, wait another one to two weeks before a second follow-up. After that, move on—three contacts with no response means the venue isn't interested right now.

## What to say in a follow-up

Keep it short. Reference your original email, restate what you're asking for and make it easy to respond.

Don't repeat your entire first email. Don't sound annoyed or desperate. A simple "just following up on my email from last week" is enough.

## Use a lead tracker, not your memory

If you're contacting more than a few venues, you need a system to track who you've emailed, when and what they said. A spreadsheet works but it's easy to forget to check it.

The Band Planned's Get Gigs feature tracks leads through states—New, Draft ready, Contacted, Interested—and shows follow-up dates so you know exactly who needs a nudge today.

## Set a follow-up date when you mark a lead as contacted

When you send an email and mark the lead as contacted, set a follow-up date for one week later. When that date arrives, the lead surfaces at the top of your list so you don't forget.

This is the single most effective way to stop leads from going cold. You never have to remember to follow up—the system tells you.

## Know when to move on

If you've followed up twice with no response, it's time to move on. Mark the lead as "not proceeding" and focus your energy on venues that are responsive.

You can always revisit the venue in a few months when you have new material, a new video or a new show to mention. But for now, spend your time on leads that are actually engaging.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is it rude to follow up?

No. Following up once or twice is professional. Venues are busy and emails get buried. The key is to be polite, brief and give them an easy way to say yes or no.

### What if the venue says "not right now"?

Thank them and ask if you can reach out again in a few months. Set a follow-up date and contact them when you have something new to share—a new video, a new show, a new setlist.

## Related reading

- https://thebandplanned.com/guides/what-to-include-in-venue-booking-email

- https://thebandplanned.com/guides/band-booking-email-templates

- https://thebandplanned.com/venue-outreach-for-bands

- https://thebandplanned.com/find-gigs-for-your-band

- https://thebandplanned.com/gig-management-software