EPK EPKCraft

EPKCraft / How to Make an EPK

One afternoon, zero dollars

How to make an EPK that survives the 40-second skim

A booker opens your kit between two other emails. You get roughly 40 seconds. This guide builds the kit backwards from that skim — eight steps, each with the exact standard to hit. Prefer to just fill a form? The free maker walks you through the same steps.

  • Write a three-sentence bioSentence 1: genre + city ("four-piece indie rock band from Austin"). Sentence 2: trajectory or credibility ("from open mics to selling out Mohawk"). Sentence 3: what the live show delivers. Kill every adjective that could describe any band. If you're stuck, the maker's bio writer assembles this from three questions.
  • Pick your one live videoNot three, one. The question it must answer is "can they play?" — a static-camera rehearsal one-take with good audio clears that bar. No live video is the #1 reason kits from new acts fail; fix it before polishing anything else.
  • Choose 3–5 tracks, best firstStreaming links, not attachments. Your strongest track goes first because it's often the only one played. Cut anything you'd apologize for.
  • State your numbers honestlyMonthly listeners, Instagram/TikTok, email list, and — if pitching venues — typical local draw. Vague phrases ("growing fanbase") read as zero. An honest 900 with a strong video still gets support slots; see the singer-songwriter example.
  • Gather 2–3 press photosHigh-res, one landscape and one portrait, consistent look, no heavy filters. A poster designer should be able to drop them in without emailing you back.
  • Add proof: two quotes, five showsShort quotes from any legitimate source (local paper, radio, respected blog). Notable rooms, supports, playlists. Stop at five — proof sections that run long turn into padding.
  • Make the booking contact unmissableOne email, bottom of the sheet, high contrast. If a promoter has to hunt for it, the kit failed at its only job.
  • Export both formatsA link for phones (venues, festivals) and a one-sheet PDF for email chains (press, agents). The maker outputs both from the same form.

The four mistakes that get kits skipped

Mistake 01

The biography essay

Four paragraphs about your influences. Nobody reads past sentence three — move anything essential up, delete the rest.

Mistake 02

Link soup

Nine links across six platforms. Every extra link halves the click-through on the one that matters. One video, one streaming profile, one site.

Mistake 03

Hiding the draw

Omitting numbers reads as "our draw is zero." If it is zero, lead with the video and the rooms you fit — like the examples do.

Mistake 04

The 8-page PDF

Multi-page kits get skimmed; one-sheets get read. If it doesn't fit one page, it's not done being edited.

Sending it: the pitch email is half the job

The kit gets you considered; the email gets you opened. Keep it to five lines: who you are (one sentence), why this room specifically (one sentence — name a show they ran that you fit), the ask with 2–3 concrete dates, the link to your EPK, and your draw if you have one. Subject line: "[Booking] Artist Name — genre, date range". Then stop typing.

Booker math: an email they can answer in 30 seconds gets answered. An email that requires thinking gets flagged for "later," which is where emails go to die.
Build the kit now — free Get the copy-paste template