Follow up 7-10 days after your first email. Keep it to two sentences. Reference your original message. That's it. You're not being annoying. you're being professional. Venue bookers expect follow-ups and most of them respect the artists who actually send them.
The artists who get booked are not the ones with the best music. They're the ones who don't disappear after one email.
Why You Have to Follow Up
According to marketing research, 80% of leads require at least five follow-ups before converting. The live music industry is no different. Venue bookers are drowning in emails. Your perfectly crafted pitch might land in their inbox at the worst possible moment. during load-in for a show, between two back-to-back meetings, or on a Monday when they have 47 other unread emails from artists just like you.
No response does not mean no. It almost always means "I didn't see it" or "I saw it and forgot."
Ari Herstand, author of "How to Make It in the New Music Business," tells a story about booking one specific venue. He emailed them repeatedly over three years. Three years. Then one day the booker responded, and within 10 minutes they had 20 back-and-forth messages. Show booked, negotiated, locked down. in 10 minutes plus three years of follow-ups.
That's an extreme case. But the principle is real: the artists who stay in the booker's peripheral vision are the ones who eventually get the call.
The Follow-Up Formula
First follow-up: 7-10 days after initial email.
Reply to your original email so the whole thread is visible. Keep it short:
"Hey [Booker Name], just wanted to follow up on my email below. Still looking to book a show in [month] if you have any availability. Thanks!"
That's the whole email. Don't rewrite your pitch. Don't add new attachments. Don't apologize for following up. Just bump it back to the top of their inbox.
Second follow-up: 2 weeks after the first follow-up.
Add something new this time. A recent show you played, a new release, updated dates, or a local artist who wants to share the bill:
"Hey [Booker Name], checking in one more time. We just played [Venue] last weekend to a packed room and we're routing through your area in [month]. Would love to be considered."
Third follow-up: 2-3 weeks later.
Last touch. Keep it light:
"Hey [Booker Name], I know you're slammed. Just wanted to put this back on your radar one more time. If the timing isn't right, no worries. I'd love to connect whenever you're booking for [next season]."
After three follow-ups with no response, move on. You can circle back in 3-6 months with a fresh pitch.
What NOT to Do
Don't follow up every 2-3 days. That's harassment, not persistence. Don't write "2nd request" or "3rd attempt" in the subject line. that puts the booker on the defensive and makes you look desperate. Don't send the exact same email again. they already read it (or didn't), and copy-pasting signals laziness.
Don't follow up on social media about a booking email you sent to their inbox. That crosses a boundary. Keep each channel separate.
And never, ever guilt trip a booker for not responding. "I guess you're too busy for independent artists" is the fastest way to get permanently blacklisted.
The Real Problem With Follow-Ups
Following up once is easy. Following up three times across 15 venues over 6 weeks while also tracking who responded, who ghosted, who said "check back next month," and who said "we're full through summer". that's a spreadsheet nightmare that most artists abandon by week two.
The discipline required to follow up consistently is the single biggest bottleneck in DIY booking. It's not finding venues. It's not writing the first email. It's the sustained, organized persistence over weeks and months that separates artists who play shows from artists who talk about playing shows.
Or Just Automate the Whole Thing
Shows For Artists sends personalized booking emails from your Gmail and automatically follows up after 5 days if the venue doesn't respond. You don't track anything. You don't set reminders. You don't even think about it. The system handles the persistence so you can focus on the music.
Because the truth about follow-ups isn't complicated. You just have to actually do them. And most artists don't. not because they're lazy, but because they're busy making music, which is what they should be doing.
from $49/month. Get a venue reply in 30 days or your money back.