table can have them craving a t-shirt, hat or other item. You might even consider doing a
CD or shirt signing. Or, in some stranger cases, a body part signing. Yup, it happens. So
bring a few Sharpies®.
When somebody first asks for your autograph, it’s a pretty weird experience, albeit a
good one. The first time it happened to me, I was speaking at a conference and walking
through the center with another speaker after our talks. A couple of delightful young
ladies came up and asked for our autographs and if they could have a photo taken with us.
I was stunned. My first thought was, “You poor, poor misguided soul.” The thing is this.
To you and your friends and family, you’re just you. To your fans, particularly dedicated,
loyal fans, you’re something more. Yeah, it’s weird, but that’s the reality. Treat them like
royalty. When you do, you have a pretty good chance of turning them from a loyal fan
into an evangelist for your act. They’ll tell friends, spread the word on social media and
get you a lot more promotion than you could ever do alone.
But there are potential pitfalls to selling merchandise. First, merch costs money. You
might make it up at a couple of shows, but, you’ll need some upfront money to buy the
stuff you’re going to sell. This is a basic law of economics. You know, that class you ut-
terly hated in school? Well, now it’s coming back to haunt you. And here you thought all
you needed to do was be creative. Yeah. Right. Music is a business and you’re in business
to make money. Hopefully, a lot of it. Creative freedom and satisfaction doesn’t come too
easy when you’re worried about money, paying the rent and where your next meal is
coming from. It’s all about supply and demand and the fact that it takes money to make