Long gone are the days when record companies sent out talent scouts to discover fresh, evergreen talent. These days, they expect an indie act to be a fully viable commodity before signing a contract. A sizable following and decent indie record sales must already be in place before a label will even consider signing you. It’s no longer enough to be great at what you do; you must also do everything else for yourself on the business and marketing end, as well.

Many acts hire someone to do these things for them. But unless you’ve reached a certain level of success, that money could be better spent on things like gear, instruments and vehicle maintenance. Here are some tips to help make sure you’re putting your resources in the right place.

Being your own booking agent

You will need a press kit (electronic and a hard copy) with a well-written bio, any press clippings you may have garnered (if none yet, that’s okay) and a decent sounding live or studio recording. Find out who books the venue you want to play and email or call them asking permission to send along a press kit for consideration. Be persistent, but not to the point of being annoying. If you don’t have a draw, play for free or offer to be support for an appropriate act. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. In most cases, talent buyers prefer to deal one-on-one with new acts, rather through a third party. Nurture these types of relationships, and don’t forget them once you get big.

Being your own PR agent

There’s no better way to get good press than to meet and network with journalists and deejays. Like venue bookers, the best way to approach music journalists and radio people is through an introductory email or phone call. Email is the better way to go with press folks, generally speaking, but you should always be careful with the cold call in any situation. It’s a good idea to have an elevator pitch ready — a pithy summation of your act that shouldn’t take longer than your average elevator ride.

Being your own show promoter

When it comes to street promotion — designing, printing and hanging fliers for gigs — DIY is the only sensible and affordable way to go. The designing and printing process is too easily done at home these days to be digging into your pockets to pay someone else to do it. If you don’t have printing equipment and fancy graphic design software at home, most print/copy shops do, along with staff to help show your the way. Also, check with your local library’s computer resource center.

Being your own recording engineer

This is a tricky one. All kinds of software like GarageBand exists to help you make your own decent-sounding recording, but you need professional ears on it, so it’s worth hiring a professional to master any commercial release. Mastering is a fine art, the mysterious final stage to the recording process that many musicians seem to know little about other than it needs to be done. While you can easily do the primary recording in a home studio yourself, don’t go the DIY route on mastering if you have no audio engineering experience.

The bottom line is, while being a DIY act is appealing in many aspects, including saving money, you still need people with experience to help you along the way with your career. Knowing when to ask for help if you’re in above your head is one of the keys to indie success.