Playing in a band can be a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of hard work. Getting started out is invariably the hardest part when you are attempting to write good music, get exposure, and book shows. With the amount of other bands trying to do the same thing you really need to do something to stand apart so you are not lost in the noise.

The internet has changed the music industry completely over the past 15 years, which is both a good and a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Getting the exposure you need is easier if you take advantage of the web but it is also important to promote yourself offline locally, regionally, and even nationally as you grow.

The best ways to promote yourself offline have not varied too much over the years, it all boils down to word of mouth and band merchandise. T-shirts, stickers, and other swag printed with your band logo can go a long way to getting you seen and heard. The biggest road block when it comes to band merch is the financial aspect of it, because promotional products for a band are not always cheap. There are ways to save some money and one of them is by creating some of your own DIY band stickers. Stickers are one of the best promotional tools for musicians because they can be placed in numerous places, both by the band members and by fans.

To get started creating your own stickers you first need to settle on the size that you require them to be. Once you have the size decided on you can order the materials you need, it is best to use waterproof labels so they hold up to all types of weather.

Here are 2 different stickers that we made which are the perfect size for bumper stickers. As you can see, DIY stickers can look just as awesome as any other sticker that you can have made for your band. This is a great way to save your band some money

Bumper Stickers

The next step in the process is getting your artwork ready, and the perfect time to do that is while you are waiting for the blank labels to arrive. When getting the artwork ready you need to make sure that you set it all up so it will fit properly on the label stock that you ordered. There are many label templates available online to assist with this. Now all you need to do is find the proper template for the size stickers that you are making and then get the artwork set up according to the template. Here are some common size bumper stickers for your convenience. Whatever template you decide to use you should make sure that there is at least a 1/16 of an inch space between each label if your stickers will have a solid colored background.

If you want a full color background you need to essentially set up what is called a bleed in the printing world. This means that the background color will hang off the actual label and would extend into the unused space between labels on the sheet. Traditionally a bleed would be trimmed when cutting the labels individually, but since these are on a sheet you need to make sure it runs off of the actual label that will be peeled off. These labels can even be cut down to individual labels very easily with a small paper trimmer, or you can bring them someplace to be cut down for only a couple bucks.

Once you have your template ready to go and your materials arrive in the mail you are almost ready to go. One final thing that you should look into before you begin printing is your printer ink. You need to make sure you have enough printer ink to get the job done. If you are using a solid background you will go through a decent amount of ink, so make sure you have some extra cartridges on hand so you do not run out halfway through the printing.

Now that you possess everything you need it is time to start printing your stickers. It is recommended to get everything set up and then just print one sheet at first to make sure everything lines up properly on your label stock. If it does not line up the right way you may need to make some adjustments with your artwork, you will be able to determine what needs to be moved on your artwork so it does line up the right way.

When everything is lined up on the test sheet you printed, then it is time to go. Set up your printer for the number of sheets that you planned on making and let it go. Once you have finished printing you should let the labels sit for a bit in the tray just in case there is any wet ink on them. After they sit for a few they will be all ready to use as is, or they can now be cut down to individual stickers!