TAPROOM MARKETING STRATEGIES

Create Fans Who Won’t Shut Up About You

Rule #1 — Nobody Cares About Your Beer (Yet)

You think people come for beer? Wrong. They come for:

  • A vibe

  • A story

  • A tribe

The beer is the excuse. The marketing is what gets them in the door.

Strategy 1: Own Your Backyard

Your first 1,000 customers are neighbors, not tourists. Dominate your zip code before chasing the world.

  • Geo-Targeted Ads → Run Facebook + Instagram ads within 5 miles. Show mouthwatering pours, smiling groups, and your unique atmosphere.

  • Partnerships → Team up with local food trucks, gyms, barber shops, yoga studios. Trade free beers for cross-promotion.

  • Community Roots → Sponsor a softball team, host charity nights, get your logo on t-shirts at the farmer’s market.

If your neighbors don’t know you exist, forget scaling.

Strategy 2: Sell the Experience, Not the IPA

Every brewery has beer. Few have a story.

  • Taproom Storytelling → Why do you exist? Punk rebellion? Farm-to-glass purity? Build a theme people can retell in 10 seconds.

  • Instagram Traps → Giant murals, neon signs, custom glassware. Make your taproom the selfie factory.

  • Events With Hooks → Trivia is fine. Axe-throwing, silent discos, beer yoga? Better.

Remember: Your beer is liquid content. The taproom is the stage.

Strategy 3: Build a Database, Not Just a Crowd

Your taproom’s full on Friday? Good. But how many emails did you capture?

  • Free WiFi with Email Gate → Want the password? Trade me your email.

  • Birthday Beer Club → One free pint on your birthday in exchange for joining your list.

  • QR Everywhere → Menus, coasters, posters → all lead to your email or SMS opt-in.

Followers are borrowed. An email list is owned.

Strategy 4: Content That Sells While You Sleep

Stop posting blurry beer pics nobody cares about. Create content that educates, entertains, and builds status.

  • Behind-the-Scenes → Mash tun shots, hop dumps, brewer banter. People love access.

  • Faces, Not Foam → Photos of people drinking beat photos of empty glasses every time.

  • Video First → Short, raw clips on TikTok + IG Reels drive way more reach than flyers ever will.

Pro tip: Batch record content one day a week. Schedule it. Don’t wing it.

Strategy 5: Turn Customers Into Your Sales Force

Your regulars are free marketing. Give them ammo.

  • Branded Merch That Doesn’t Suck → Killer hats, shirts, stickers. Not just free swag, but stuff they WANT to wear.

  • Referral Rewards → Bring a friend? Both get $2 off.

  • UGC (User Generated Content) → Run photo contests, repost customer content, make them the stars.

If 100 people each bring 2 friends a year, you just doubled your taproom traffic.

Strategy 6: Events That Print Money

Events aren’t about filling the bar once. They’re about creating repeat rituals.

  • Weekly Staples → Trivia Tuesdays, Karaoke Thursdays, Football Sundays.

  • Quarterly Big Swings → Beer festivals, anniversary parties, seasonal launches.

  • Memberships → Mug clubs, VIP lockers, secret tastings. Give people status to keep them paying.

People don’t need another IPA. They need reasons to come back every week.

Strategy 7: Sell Beyond the Taproom

Don’t cap your sales at your four walls.

  • Crowlers + Growlers To-Go → Easy upsell.

  • Subscription Boxes → Monthly beer drop for locals.

  • Collabs → Team up with nearby breweries, coffee shops, or bakeries for crossover products.

If your taproom’s full, find ways to sell outside it.

Strategy 8: Measure or Die

If you don’t track, you’re guessing. And guessing is expensive.

Track these weekly:

  • Foot Traffic (people in the door)

  • Spend Per Head (pints + merch + food)

  • Email/SMS Signups (list growth)

  • Event ROI (cost vs sales spike)

Then ask: What worked? Double down. What flopped? Kill it fast.

Final Word: The Flywheel

Great taprooms don’t just sell beer. They build loyalty machines.

  • Local awareness → foot traffic

  • Great experience → word of mouth

  • Data capture → repeat invites

  • Events + content → ongoing buzz

Spin it long enough, and your marketing stops feeling like effort. It becomes momentum.

Key Takeaway: Stop thinking like a brewer. Start thinking like a marketer. Because the best beer doesn’t win. The best-known beer does.

 

WANT TO GO DEEPER?

What you just read is the lite version of a much bigger system.

The truth is, most taprooms fail because they rely on hope instead of systems. That’s why I wrote Never an Empty Barstool — a 9 chapter, no-BS playbook for taproom owners who want to:

  • Kill dead nights once and for all.

  • Pack their bar 52 weeks a year.

  • Build loyal regulars who recruit friends for free.

  • Turn events, content, and loyalty programs into money-printing machines.

This isn’t theory. It’s a step-by-step system with frameworks, scripts, and tools you can deploy tomorrow.

The guide you just read? That was the warm-up.

The full book? That’s the weapon!

Coming Soon:

Never an Empty Barstool

The No-BS System for Filling Seats, Printing Profits, and Winning Loyal Regulars

Get on the list below and you’ll be the first to know when it drops — plus get exclusive launch bonuses you won’t see again.

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