As an Aweber user, there are some limitations I see for them within the music industry and one of them is collecting fans at live shows. Aweber doesn’t like you uploading a bunch of names that were scribbled down on a piece of paper at your merch booth.
FanBridge does this much better. And today I got wind of their new iPhone (iPad, iPod Touch) application that is pretty kick ass.
With the app you can:
- Easily collect fans on the go. Ideal for live events, street teams, super fans.
- Info collected auto-syncs with your FanBridge account
- Collect fans’ email, first name, mobile phone, Twitter name and custom notes
This is a pretty sweet upgrade and one reason that FanBridge is doing a good job of being a major player in the fan data/email market for bands. The thing that gets me about them is how they charge, the lack of a solid autoresponder and being able to segment your lists on the fly between buyers, nonbuyers and other parts of the spectrum that we discuss in the New Music Economy.
If you are using FanBridge, I recommend that you shell out the $5 and grab the app. Throw is on your iPad and have someone collecting emails at your shows.
For more info on collecting fan data, here is a post that we ran last week.
What are your thoughts on the app? Is it something you will use or could see yourself using? If not, how are you collecting names at live shows?
-Greg
4 Comments
Quiet Entertainer
on 23rd Jun, 10 10:06am
I’ve been using this for a week or so now; as I noticed they added it before they announced it. I love it. It’s great for when you have to step away from your merch table and try to hustle for addresses. Plus, it’s also great for when you’re not at shows and you are talking to someone about the music. It’s easy for me to let someone listen to my music on the iPhone and then also get their email address if they want the record. Before this, I was using the notepad function on the phone anyway to get emails in the same situations. So this was an excellent addition for me. Love it. I have to segment fans later though.
jwess
on 24th Jun, 10 12:06am
Why not use both. FanBridge to collect at any event where there are potential fans. As this application is easy and quick. And pretty useful when collecting fan data on the fly. Then export into Aweber where these fans would obviously be put in the free category to start. As i am a Aweber user myself they need to hurry up and get an application like this.
Dietmar
on 24th Jun, 10 05:06am
Well, I’m using MailChimp for my mailing purposes and they got a very simple and effective iPad application:
http://www.mailchimp.com/blog/mailchimp-ipad-app-is-live-chimpadeedoo/
It’s fairly simple as it just asks for an e-mail address and has a ‘subscribe’ button but it’s exactly what I need.
gregrollett
on 24th Jun, 10 09:06am
@QE – thanks for the feedback man. With the new iPhone software being able to run multiple apps, this is nice to have them listen to your music and have them signup at the same time.
@jwess – well the simple answer as to why not use both is cost. Musicians don’t like to pay for many services, nevermind 2 that do similar tasks. Aweber is not a big fan of manually adding in new contacts – a la the import. It is possible, but its not something thet like to do. But yea, it would be great if they would get something to work on the mobile front.
@Dietmar – thanks for that. Didn’t know MailChimp offered a solution like this. Still not my preference for musicians, but they are a solid alternative.