Can I make a few points about publicity etc as a Folk Club Promoter and a listener, not a performer.

If a performer is not known in the area they are going to, there is a limited amount of publicity they can do to help the club organiser. Putting the gig on their Website is very important, and if they have friends in that area, letting them know.

Now as an organiser, think about the following, and it is very applicable in my club. Why do the performers send me a great big glossy poster with a picture on it and not much more. This must have been pretty expensive to produce. If I put that poster up, is it really going to bring people in. The picture is more likely to scare people off :-) For people who don't know the performer, the poster is not going to bring them in. This may be different with a band with the instruments on the picture, as people may look at the picture and think "Uhhhmmmm thats interesting, I think I will go and see them".
If I put a poster of Vin Garbutt up it wouldn't do a lot in my area as most people wouldn't know who the hell is Vin Garbutt.

That is why I prefer to do my own publicity, that way I can look at the performer, and try and put forward their best qualities. Sometimes, some of the splurge some performers ask you to promote, can look childish and silly, especially if you have never seen them before. e.g. Learnt to play guitar by playing to my goat, who loved it. :-)

From a festival point of view, I am amazed at the saturation of vey expensive fliers that are sent all over the place. Be honest, how many of those finish up in the bin? If somebody was able to work out the cost of all flyers for all festivals in a given year, I would imagine the cost would be horrendous, and the effect on the world resources to produce these flyers is probably criminal.

I will get me coat :-)