Promo bits, ready to copy

This will save you so much time, and help you jump on so many more opportunities.

Prepare, in advance, all of the things that people and companies ask for when you’re self-promoting.

Make a folder on your computer called “promo” and put these things inside for quick easy access:

MP3s of your best songs. Give each one a nice long name, without spaces, so that if anyone runs across it later, they know who it is. (YourName-TheSongTitle.mp3)

An entertaining bio written four times, in four different lengths:

  1. Long bio. Over three paragraphs, 1-2 pages, exhaustive and rarely used.
  2. Medium length bio. 2-4 paragraphs. The maximum that people will read on a screen.
  3. Short bio. One great paragraph.
  4. One-liner. One great sentence.

Quotes from reviews:

  1. One big text file with every review you’ve ever received, all typed out and credited.
  2. One text file with just the best short quotes from these reviews.

Images, with a few different sizes of each:

  1. artist photos (studio shot, live shot, up close, far away)
  2. album art graphics (big version, small version)
  3. your logo, if you have one

If you do this, just once, then the job of uploading your information to another website, or giving materials to a media outlet, will be painless. You can jump on every little opportunity that comes along.

Bonus points if you have your own website, and put all of this stuff on a “promo” page on your site, so anyone else can get it all from one place, too.

Your thoughts?
Please leave a reply:


Comments

  1. TekxY (2011-05-10)

    Muy buen consejo Derek, estoy seguro que ayudará a muchas personas.

  2. Andrew (2012-06-30)

    Uhhh...BEST ADVICE EVER!!!
    Thanks again, Derek.
    I'm really hitting an amazing stride these days with music, business and outlook. Thanks to people like you who are so willing to share your wisdom, it makes personal evolution so much easier. I continue to post on my blog efficientmusician@wordpress.com to help the everyday musician use efficiency to help him or her experience the best of what life has to offer. Everything from practice advice to reading Krishnamurti, kinda like your blog. I'm so thankful you're doing what you're doing. Keep up the tremendous work.
    -Andrew

  3. Roger Valentin (Drop Dead Valentine) (2013-03-21)

    A breadcrumb trail via MTM led me to this page. Having sen lots of references to EPKs it's great that you've listed all the things it needs. I'd have never thought of doing 4 different bios, but I can see how they would be extremely useful for a reviewer
    Nice! Glad you found this old article still relevant. I think it is. smile — Derek

  4. corey (2014-03-20)

    thanks !!!awesome info

  5. Josep (2016-08-26)

    'kay... this one article is amazing!!!

    Will be doing this tonight (heck, I already started writing a few short sentences for my long bio here at work, as I read this twice!)

    Thanks, Derek!

  6. Sean Crawford (2018-09-15)

    In a related area, for one's day job, back in the days of slow typewriters it was a good idea to keep a file of your job accomplishments (handy when asking for a raise) and keep a resume ready to go.

    With today's touch typing and word precessing, the need is not so great. Still, the psychological boost from feeling up-to-the-minute prepared and responsible is nothing to sneeze at.

  7. Kevin Olega (2021-11-03)

    I'm reading this in 2021 and I'm making a promo folder for my private English tutorial service. Thank you for providing contiuing inspiration. Your blog is a goldmine of ideas that are useful to implement.

  8. Utkarsh Kyal (2025-03-08)

    Here in 2025. I’ve been listening to your podcasts, reading your books and have been following your ideas for a while now. I don’t know why i found your articles today, I should have found it years before! You should have mentioned about it more in your podcasts. This actually feels like finding a treasure!
    Thank you so much Derek! I’m sure I must be amongst your biggest fans.