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There are plenty of tips out there on what to include in your band’s bio, but not so many telling you what to avoid. Just as important as including the right information is excluding the wrong info. As a publicist and music blogger, I see a lot of terrible bios, and trust me, a bad bio can halt a great band’s career in its tracks.

This is your chance to tell your story, and your story is what hooks people. Boring bio equals boring band. This isn’t just your chance to hook fans, it’s your business card to industry pros, and it must be polished, professional, and clean. Get on the right track by avoiding including these five things to ensure your bio is the best representation of your band.

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Multitasking is an essential skill for independent DIY bands; you're juggling all the band-related work while, more than likely, also maintaining a second job ('cause being in a band is a job all its own), a social life, family, and so forth.

Thankfully, every now and then, you can make an effort doubly worthwhile: a band photo session can also serve as a meeting, a recorded rehearsal could become a demo recording. Maybe the most potentially versatile of your endeavors, though, is touring. There's ample room there for squeezing out extra purpose – especially if you're filming the fun (and not-so fun, even) all the while.

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You’ve got a new album on the way and an Instagram profile with a few followers. It’s pretty easy to let your ever-expanding fanbase know that it’s coming via sites like Facebook and Twitter by literally just typing out whatever you want to say, but what about Instagram?

The social media platform has become one of the most important in the world with hundreds of millions of users checking it constantly. But the whole thing is photo-focused, so what can you upload to ensure you're continuously promoting your new album in interesting, fun, on-brand ways while still getting every necessary detail across?

Here are six really easy, no-brainer options that will allow you to keep the buzz going about your latest release that work wonders on Instagram.

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You’re about to hire a music publicist. You have pretty high expectations. You want to see a review in Pitchfork, a premiere on Stereogum, and a session on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. You also want to be able to get this at an incredible price because you don’t have a lot of money, so you need to see a really high return on your investment. Oh, and you need him or her to turn it around quickly. In fact, if you don’t see that press within two weeks, you’ll look at the entire effort as an incredible failure.

Here’s the thing: There’s no business that can deliver all that to you without sacrificing something else. When hiring someone, you need to determine what you value most and then look at how both you and the person you’re hiring can meet that. Decide where your most pressing needs lie within the following three areas, and learn how you can get there.

Note that although these three areas may overlap in some cases, it's important to pick one and go with it, especially if you're hiring a publicist for the first time.

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Everyone wants major press placements. I get it. There’s a lot of clout that comes with a feature on Alternative Press, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, etc. However, in their quest to shoot straight to the top, emerging bands are missing a vital component to career growth: small, indie blogs.

There are a lot of reasons that your band might not be ready for a major outlet to take notice, thus eliminating it from your options completely. The first step in all of this is to really accept that. Know that you’ll get there one day, but today might not be that day, and that’s okay. Now, let’s talk about why small music blogs can be a major component to your success.