1. I just signed up for the Street Team! What exactly does that mean?
First of all, thank you for your desire to support the band and promote the music!
As a member of the Street Team, you’ll be helping to promote the band, their music, and their events online and in person.  You'll be part of our special community of crew members, and you can also earn free song downloads, tickets to live shows, and other prizes. The name of the game is promoting the music!

2. How will I know what the team is working on?
There are specific "Missions" we launch where we ask you to share news or information with your contacts and friends, or ask you to put up posters. When a mission is launched, all Street Team members will receive an email with details and instructions. You will also receive periodic emails from the Street Team Leader with any news or information updates.

We also have a special section of our webiste that is only for you Street Teamers! You can discuss the missions, strategies for promotion, or just connect with each other and offer tips and ideas.  Look under the SHARE tab and go to STREET TEAM.

3. What are the rules for postering and distributing handbills?
The safety and health of our street teamers and fans comes first.
For this reason, we ask all our street teamers to follow this CODE OF CONDUCT:

• If security asks you to stop distributing handbills or promoting, stop.
   
• Post in pairs or groups – it’s much more fun and safe!
   
• Always ask permission if posting flyers inside a store, venue, or any business.
   
• Try not to cover up flyers that have already been posted, unless the event has already passed or if there is no more room.
   
• Post on poles that already have signs posted, not on bare poles. Some poles are designated for posting, and your flyers may be torn down if they are in the wrong place.
   
• If you see that a bulletin board in a venue or store is covered only in thumb tacks and no staples, use thumb tacks.
   
• Always use clear tape! Use scotch tape for store windows and walls and clear packaging tape for poles. *Clear tape looks much better than duct or masking tape and is easier to take off of windows.
   
• Do not hang flyers outside if it looks like it’s going to rain! All of your hard work will be washed away. *Wait for a sunny day for outdoor posting, and post in-doors on rainy days. It’s a good idea to check out the forecast.

4. Other than the Street Team Missions, how else can I promote Marcus and the band?
There are lots of ways to promote the band both online and in your town.  We've listed some ideas below, as well as instructions on how to proceed.

We also welcome all of your ideas and suggestions of new ways to promote the band, so be sure to email us at management@marcuseaton.com or post in the Street Team Forum.

Here are some ideas we are utilizing right now:

ON THE WEB
Share the widgets!  Widgets are cool little gadgets that you can embed on websites all over the internet, and link viewers to the music, tour schedule, photos, video and other info without having to leave the web page - brilliant! You can grab them on the SHARE page.

Social Networking Sites
Spread the word about Marcus & the band to your own set of friends on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and your own email contacts.  Ask them to visit www.marcuseaton.com.  Be sure to tell them about the free download for signing up for the newsletter.

Posting on Bulletins and Band Forums
Visit websites of other artists that you like, and see if anyone has heard of Marcus by doing a search in their forums.  If no one has created one, start a thread about Marcus - give them information on his website and invite them to join one of the fan groups.  You can post links to videos or cut and past the bio information and photos found under PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS.

Sending E-mail Blasts and Creating Blog Entries
Send an email to all your friends letting them know about the band, or start your own newsletter to your list of friends.  If you have a blog, create a blog entry about the band and use tags so others searching for "Marcus Eaton" can easily find your entry.

Viral Marketing
The more we spread the word to our friends, the faster Marcus' fan base grows, and the more live shows there will be in your area! Post a link to the website or a widget anywhere you think new fans might be lurking.

Youtube Videos
Feeling creative?  Make a youtube video telling the world about your favorite songs, upcoming events and more.  Submit a link to your video to streetteam@marcuseaton.com so we can watch it too!  We may even put some of them up on our site.

Listening Parties
A listening party is an online "party" where you invite your friends to listen to music with you as a group and chat about the experience.  Post the event on Facebook and invite your friends. If you need help organizing a listening party, post in the Forum to get some advice, or shoot us an email and we'll be happy to help.

IN PERSON
Flyering and Handbill Distribution
This is the fine art of handing out handbills or hanging up flyers and posters in your town when Marcus is coming to play a live show.  We like to make this as easy and inexpensive as possible for you, and for these reasons, we like to have the venue print up the posters and hold them for you instead of giving you each a file to print up on your own.  This saves you money!  We will send you an email with instructions on where to pick up the posters, flyers or handbills.
We will also make the file available for you as a .pdf that you can bring to the printer, in case the venue cannot provide this service or you can't get down to pick them up. The posters and handbill files will always be available on the PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS page.

Burning and Distributing CDs
Occasionally the street team will be asked to burn some music as a sampler CD and hand it out to potential fans.  If we launch a CD Burning mission, we will give you the playlist and supply you with the mp3s (which will then be yours to keep and enjoy). 

You can also burn and distribute sampler CDs on your own, with our blessing.  We encourage you to do this, but please follow these rules:
1 - Do not reproduce anything from The Day The World Awoke, which was released on Uninhibited Records and therefore has certain rules about unlawful reproduction. 
2 - You can burn songs from Story of Now, Live at the Gorge and any live songs you may have.
3 - Please don't burn entire albums, but instead burn "Sampler" CDs - 4 - 5 songs from a couple of different sources if possible.  This will give the new listener a well-rounded taste of the music, and will also encourage them to buy the CDs if they like what they hear.  We want to give the music away, but not too much of it. 

Call your Radio Stations
Call your favorite radio stations and request Marcus' music.  Ask your friends to help call as well by sending out an email with the information. We are compiling a list of stations to call and will post the information on our site when it is ready.  You can also send us suggestions of stations that should be included.  Don't forget about internet and satellite radio too!  You can call any station you like, they don't have to be local.

When you call a station, call the request line and ask for any Marcus Eaton song that you like.  Let them know what album it is from, and ask them if they have the album.  If they do not, direct them to www.marcuseaton.com and tell them to contact us and we'll send them music.  You can also drop off CDs to them if you like, but make sure anything you give to a radio station is TOP QUALITY (no mp3s). 

When you email a statio, please include the www.marcuseaton.com link so they can listen further, and let them know there is a music player they can scroll through.

Word of Mouth
Don't discount this old-fashioned promotion technique!  Share your passion liberally, tell people about the music, the live shows, the website - let them catch your fever!

The most effective way to promote is to use a combination of all of these methods.  Always follow the Street Team Code of Conduct while promoting.

5. What are MISSIONS?
Missions are Street Team campaigns that the team leader assigns to the team members. These tasks may include the following:

1) Distributing promotional material at shows, festivals, college campuses, high schools, etc.

2) Posting widgets and banners online to let friends as well as strangers know about the artist and music.

3) Voting online to get the band/video to the #1 spot in certain contests.

4) Calling or emailing radio stations to request music.

We track your progress through our website by counting the number of impressions or plays that your widgets receive, and will reward the top Street Teamer with music or tickets to a live show.

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7. How do I implement word-of-mouth advertising?

• Face-to-Face: Tell all your friends!
• Mass Text Messages: Remind your friends a week ahead of the show to buy their tickets via mass text.
• Instant Messaging (AIM, MSN / Yahoo Messenger): Remind friends of upcoming shows via instant messenger.
• If you know local artists who are also fans, have them announce the upcoming tour date at their performance.

8. How do I send out an e-mail blast?
An e-mail blast is an e-mail sent to a mass group of e-mails promoting an event or product.
Develop your email list by:

• Collecting e-mails at concerts.
• Compiling a list of friends’ e-mails.
• Researching press contact e-mails online

Send information about upcoming tour dates at least two or three weeks in advance to local newspapers and blogs to post in the concert listing. Most local papers have a website where you can find the music editor’s e-mail.

You can send out e-mail blasts about anything artist-related (e.g. new album, tour dates).

9. How do I post on band forums?
You can promote an artist by posting information about upcoming tour dates and album releases.
It is fairly easy to sign up for a forum. To find artist forums, visit google.com and type in “[artist name] forum.” Generally, to post messages on forums, you must sign up for an account. These are generally free and only ask for your e-mail and some basic information for your profile.

10. How do I promote on Facebook?
You can send an email to your friends, post widgets to your page, post links to Marcus' website on your own wall or others' walls.

You can also create events for your friends for listening parties,upcoming concerts, cd release parties, and online events like webcasts and listening parties. 

11. How do I promote on MySpace?

There are several ways to promote on Myspace, including posting flyers on others’ profiles, posting bulletins, creating blog entries, forming groups, posting events, and displaying the flyer as your profile picture.

12. How do I promote on Twitter?
Post status updates centered on the artist or event that you wish to promote. For example you could say, “Sarah is busy watching the Marcus Eaton Trio!” The more friends you have on twitter, the more people who see it.

13. How do I use Photobucket to promote an artist?
Upload your photos of the band, tage them and share them with friends in albums.

14. How do I use YouTube to promote an artist?
Youtube is a great way to promote the band!  You can create videos of your own, talking about which songs you like best, your review of a live show, etc.  You can also upload your own videos of the band and share them with your friends.  Another great way to use youtube to promote the band is to search youtube for videos of "Marcus Eaton" and then share them with your friends on facebook, myspace, and other sites.  You can embed the video on web pages, or just post the link.

15. How do I create my own flyers and handbills?
We will usually have posters, flyers and handbills available for pickup at the venue where the show will take place.  If you prefer to print your own, you can download the .pdf file from the PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS page.  The posters are 11 x 17 inches, the flyers are 8.5 x 11 inches, and four handbills fit on one 8.5 x 11” page (standard computer paper), and should be cut into fours with scissors or a paper-cutter (you can use these for free at Kinko’s).

16. What is the best place to hang posters and create displays?

In Stores and Businesses

• Hang posters / displays in the front of the store if possible.
• Other great places include near the sales area, cash register, or on bulletin boards already established for flyer posting.
• Use clear tape when hanging on windows or on store walls.
• Use thumb tacks or staples for cork boards.
• If you see that a bulletin board in a venue or store is covered only in thumb tacks and no staples, use thumb tacks.

On the Streets

• Use staple guns for posting flyers on wooden street poles. Regular office staples will not work on street poles.
• Staple hammers are more expensive than staple guns but worth the investment if you will be posting a lot of flyers. They are much easier to use than staple guns.
• Use clear packaging tape for metal street poles.
• Try not to cover up flyers that have already been posted, unless the event has already passed or if there is no more room.
• Post on poles that already have signs posted, not on bare poles. Some poles are designated for posting, and your flyers may be torn down if they are in the wrong place.
• Do not hang flyers outside if it looks like it’s going to rain! All of your hard work will be washed away.
• Wait for a sunny day for outdoor posting, and post in-doors on rainy days. It’s a good idea to check out the forecast.

In Venues

• Post flyers inside bathroom stalls. They won’t get torn down as quickly by venue owners.
• Sometimes venues have established a bulletin board for upcoming shows.
• Usually they will not allow you to post a flyer for an event at a competing venue.

17. What is the best way to distribute handbills?

• A great way to advertise is to distribute handbills at concerts of similar genres to the artist you are promoting.
• Distribute handbills during the concert.
• Distribute handbills at the door as people arrive or leave.
• Mention the artist website as you distribute handbills. i.e. “Hey check out [artist] on myspace!” or “Listen to [artist] on artist.com.”
• Leave some handbills and any other promotional materials at the merch table. Ask the merchandise person for permission first.
• Most clubs also have a table near the entrance where you can leave a stack of flyers or stickers.
• If security asks you to stop distributing handbills or promoting, stop!
• Always ask permission if posting flyers inside a store, venue, or any business.
• Leave handbills on car windshields in the venue parking lot during shows of artists with a similar fan-base to the artist you are promoting. Always do this in groups!
• Check your local newspaper for upcoming shows. You can also search for shows in your area on ticketmaster.com.
• To find out if artists with upcoming concerts in your area have a similar fan-base to the artist you are promoting, you can visit www.last.fm, type in the artist name in the search box on the top right, and see “User Tags” for musical genre on the right. The “Similar Artists” section on the left may also help you to determine whether this show is a good place to promote your artist.

18. When is the best time to hang a flyer?

• It is best to hang flyers a week prior to the concert. There will be less chance of flyers being torn down or covered up, but enough exposure time to effectively advertise the show.
• Do not hang flyers outside if it looks like it’s going to rain! All of your hard work will be washed away. Wait for a sunny day for outdoor posting, and post in-doors on rainy days. It helps to check the weather first.

19. I still have questions - who do I contact?
You can email streetteam@marcuseaton.com.