If people don't have the money to buy one at your show, push them online with a reminder card and emails the next day. As we have talked about before, the promotion of your live shows beyond your mailing list is critical. If someone drives around with the tape and likes it, but doesn't want to go to the show and they see Amazon or CD Baby on it, there is a good chance they will buy it from them. Ironically, the independent artists I am working with are selling more CDs from sample tapes, than at live shows. Because they are not waiting for an upcoming show before they hand out sample tapes.
Lets face it.
Dealing with merchant accounts is not only costly early in your career, it be a pain in the neck. For thousands of artists, it has been easier to deal with. Plus some people just like shopping there. Even in my own case, even though we get thousands of direct orders for the books and audio workshops I have written, Amazon get thousands of orders simply because some people just normally shop there. While live shows and the promotion of them, motivate the greatest percentage of online sales, free standing Internet radio stations have moved up to third place.