APPENDIX D
Promotion Calendar Templates
By night type — what goes out, when, and on which channel, so promotion runs on a plan instead of a panic.
Promotion fails most often not from bad ideas but from bad timing — everything fired off in the last three days, or dribbled out with no rhythm, or forgotten until it’s too late to matter. This appendix fixes that with promotion-calendar templates for the four situations a music room promotes most: a featured show, a recurring weekly night, a showcase, and a one-off themed event. Each lays out a runway — what goes out, when, and on which channel — so your promotion runs on a plan instead of a scramble. It’s the promotion discipline of Chapter 28 and the visual-and-social practice of Chapter 32, put on a calendar.
The channels referenced throughout are the ones from those chapters: your owned home (website, email list), your rented reach (the social platforms you’ve chosen, Ch. 32), the listings and discovery ecosystem (local calendars, listings sites, Ch. 28), in-room promotion (signage, announcements, the night itself), cross-promotion (artists, partners, Ch. 28, 30), press (Ch. 31), and paid amplification used judiciously (Ch. 32). Adapt the cadence to your room and your reach — a small room won’t work every channel, and that’s fine. The point is a deliberate runway, not a checklist of obligations.
⚠ HOW TO USE Pick the template that matches what you’re promoting, set the date, and work backward — the left column is when relative to the show, so “Week -6” means six weeks out. Fill the planning column with your specifics and who owns each push. A separate clean, fillable version (no cross-references) is available as its own file. These are planning aids; honesty-in-advertising and disclosure rules still apply (Ch. 28; Appendix H). |
Template 1 — The Featured Show (Six-Week Runway)
For a single, bigger show worth a full build — a touring act, a marquee booking, a ticketed event. (Ch. 8, 28)
When | What goes out | Channel | Your plan / owner |
|---|---|---|---|
Week -6 | Announce the show; on-sale if ticketed | Website, email, social, listings | |
Week -5 | Add to every listing and calendar; artist cross-promo | Listings, artist channels | |
Week -4 | Content piece — who the artist is, why it matters | Social, email | |
Week -3 | Press push; pitch any preview coverage | Press, social | |
Week -2 | Heavier social; share artist content; in-room signage up | Social, in-room | |
Week -1 | Final push; reminders; consider a paid boost | Social, email, paid | |
Show week | Day-before and day-of posts; “tonight” energy | Social, in-room | |
Show day | Doors/time reminder; live posting | Social | |
After | Thank-you; recap clips; tease what’s next | Social, email |
⚠ NOTE A featured show is promoted as an event with a clear arc to a single date. Front-load the announcement so listings and word-of-mouth have time to work, then build steadily — don’t save it all for the final week. |
Template 2 — The Recurring Weekly Night (Sustainable Cadence)
Different by design: a weekly night isn’t a countdown to one date but a rhythm you can keep forever. Promote the night, not just each instance. (Ch. 5, 28)
When | What goes out | Channel | Your plan / owner |
|---|---|---|---|
Always-on | The night has a fixed identity, look, and listing | Website, listings, profiles | |
Each week, early | “This week at [night]” — who’s on, the hook | Social, email | |
Each week, mid | A content post from last week or this week’s act | Social | |
Each week, day-of | “Tonight” reminder, doors/time | Social, in-room | |
Each week, after | A clip or moment from the night just past | Social | |
Monthly | Look ahead at the month; highlight standouts | Email, social | |
Ongoing | Cultivate regulars, word-of-mouth, the list | In-room, email, community |
⚠ NOTE The weekly night’s promotion compounds: a sustainable, repeatable cadence you actually keep beats an elaborate one you abandon. The recurring post, week after week, builds the recognition that makes the night a habit (Ch. 5, 29, 32). |
Template 3 — The Showcase (Multi-Act, Cross-Promotion Driven)
The showcase’s promotional engine is the acts themselves — its reach is the sum of every act’s audience. (Ch. 10, 28)
When | What goes out | Channel | Your plan / owner |
|---|---|---|---|
Week -5 | Announce the showcase and the lineup | Website, email, social, listings | |
Week -4 | Brief every act on the cross-promo ask; give them assets | Direct to artists | |
Week -3 | Acts begin posting; venue amplifies each | Artist channels, social | |
Week -2 | Spotlight each act in turn; listings confirmed | Social, listings | |
Week -1 | Combined final push across all acts’ audiences | Social, email, artist channels | |
Show week | Day-before/day-of; coordinate acts’ day-of posts | Social, in-room | |
After | Recap; tag every act; tease the next showcase | Social, email |
⚠ NOTE The make-or-break of showcase promotion is the cross-promotion (Ch. 28): give every act the date, the assets, and a clear ask, then amplify what they post. A showcase that fully activates its acts’ audiences reaches far more people than the venue could alone. |
Template 4 — The One-Off Themed Event (Six-Week Build)
A special event lives or dies on the theme and the build — there’s no recurring rhythm to lean on, so the runway does all the work. (Ch. 16, 28)
When | What goes out | Channel | Your plan / owner |
|---|---|---|---|
Week -6 | Reveal the theme and the concept; build intrigue | Social, email, website | |
Week -5 | On-sale if ticketed; into all listings | Listings, website, email | |
Week -4 | Theme content — the experience, the details, the why | Social, email | |
Week -3 | Press push (themed events make good stories) | Press, social | |
Week -2 | Heavier themed content; in-room teasers; partner cross-promo | Social, in-room, partners | |
Week -1 | Final push; urgency (“almost here / selling fast”) | Social, email, paid | |
Event week | Day-before/day-of; lean into the theme’s excitement | Social, in-room | |
After | Strong recap (themed events photograph well); gauge a repeat | Social, email |
⚠ NOTE Themed events reward a vivid, theme-forward build and excellent capture (Ch. 26, 32) — they photograph and share well, and a great recap is what turns a one-off into a returning event if you choose to repeat it (Ch. 34). |
⚠ NOTE Across all four, the principles hold: announce early enough for listings and word-of-mouth to work, build a steady rhythm rather than a last-minute flood, give your artists what they need to cross-promote, lead the feed with content people enjoy rather than only “buy a ticket,” and keep every channel consistent with your visual identity (Ch. 28, 32). The calendar is a starting cadence — read what actually drives turnout at your room and adjust (Ch. 35). |
⚠ HAVE YOUR ATTORNEY REVIEW THIS Promotion is advertising. Truth-in-advertising and disclosure rules (FTC, Texas Attorney General), sponsored-post disclosure, and authentic-reviews requirements apply to everything on these calendars (Ch. 28, 36). The book is a PR and management guide, not legal advice — see Appendix H. |
Put this chapter to work
Continue the lesson with connected resources
The chapter explains the principle. These resources help you practice it, document it, calculate it or train it in the room.
Use the resource that matches the decision in front of you. A tool supports judgment; it does not replace current law, venue policy, qualified professional advice or the person responsible for the operation.