1. Pick the right venue
The venue should be a little bit smaller than what you actually need. It looks much better to bring 200 people to a place that is made for 150 people, than to bring 500 people to a place that fits 2.000. Make also sure to pick the right venue by scene and appropriate to your musical genre.
2. Book the venue in time
When you picked the right venue, make sure to book it at least 2 months in advance. Your chance that the right date will be available is much better, if you send them your booking request as early as you can (up to 6 months in advance).
3. Check the booking policies
Don’t forget to check out the venue’s booking policies before you contact them. They will tell you the name of the right contact person and what they need from you. The booking polies will also tell you if you need to fill in a booking form, send an email or just call the contact person.
4. Give options
To speed up proceedings you can mention a few different dates that you are interested in. Many venues will save the “good dates” (especially the weekends) for bands and artists that are already known, so don’t be sad if you are not able to get a weekend that the first time around.
5. Promote yourself
The venue is interested in making money, so tell them how you will promote the show. You can also ask other artists in the area to be your opening act. Make sure to submit the contact person a link where he/she can listen to your songs to see what you sound like. Don’t send MP3 files or band pictures because nobody wants attachments filling up their inbox.
by Sara Shirazi
The Music2Deal Blog 
Venues & venue bookings has always been a problem in SA. You’re band’s following is too small for the upper-class venues, where you book the venue and sell tickets. So most bands in SA relies on BEING booked by the venue manager/owner and unfortunately many a musician in SA is stone-walled by non-payment, because there was never a written agreement signed by both parties. BEWARE: My motto for the bands I’ve represented is, “no pay – no play”.