Is your show just starting out? Here are five things you should do before you do anything else…
1. Buy domain names. You can do this cheaply through godaddy.com or Network Solutions. If you can, buy as many variations of the domain name as possible. Do this before the show is announced to avoid squatters. Remember to get the domain name of the show and also reserve ‘nameofshowTICKETS.com’ – Domize is a great site to help you get started.
2. Reserve your Twitter name. The popularity of the tweet has caused a lot of the Twitter user names to be taken. Read my earlier post about this.
3. Create a splash page and add some content, be sure to add the title of the show to this page for search engine optimization.
4. Add a mailing list. There are a lot of free services that allow you to host the collection of names and it’s easy to set up. Try Vertical Response, iContact, PatronMail, Campaign Monitor or even Feedburner.
5. Add Google Analytics to the site and track how many people have come to the site.