Jenn's Thoughts: February 27th, 2011

Today I am going to discuss self-promotion, but first a look at what is coming up this week:

Monday:  WHO TO WATCH:  Profile of Trevor Thompson

Tuesday:  WOMEN OF COMEDY:  Guest Blogger Christina Walkinshaw

Wednesday:  MEN OF COMEDY:  Guest Blogger Graham Chittenden

Thursday-Friday:  WHAT TO WATCH OTTAWA *Special note, we are close to adding Montreal with support of TuJoHAHA!

Saturday:  A special surprise!

Most importantly, JH5 is proud to present The Shattered Ceiling Cabaret to celebrate International Women's Day, a benefit for Immigrant Women Services Ottawa.  This evening will celebrate women through comedy (Kate Davis, and Martha  Chaves), song (Chelsea O'Connor), Bollywood (Bollywood for Fun), Metis Jigging (Jaime Koebel), and Burlesque (Rockalily).

" I never wanted to be famous, I only wanted to be great" - Ray Charles

Self Promotion

As always, JH5 is here to promote and celebrate comedy.  We are just people with ideas, and if people find them useful, let us know!  If not, we hope this article, which is titled Jenn's Thoughts and should be taken as such, can provide a forum for discussion on the subject of promoting one's self, in whatever one does.

It is well known in comedy circles that some of the best comedians are unknown, and some average comedians are quite famous.  As someone who loves promoting and supporting talent and organizations, this has always been an interesting topic.  What makes someone famous, and when do people compromise talent to get make it big?

Ottawa itself is home to some strong talent, yet many people could not tell you their names.  When someone says "hey, I like (insert comedians name here)" it is because they have seen them perform live once at a club or corporate event.  It may be one of the only comedians they have seen.  It is great that talent is being recognized in small doses, but this word of mouth may take a very long time for the comic to become recognized.  In this age of social media, having talent is almost as important as hype. How then does the public distinguish between those with talent and those without, and why are the very talented comedians not promoting themselves.  Let's discuss.

You Tube has birthed many breakout stars such as dancing babies, men getting hit with various objects in the scrotum, and Dane Cook.  Novelty at best, but better known than most comedians.  Is You Tube going to make it better for true talent to get noticed?  The answer is no. Those who break out on You Tube have a hook, a quick easy laugh.  The videos that go viral often involve a cat who burglarizes his neighbours, or a dog who knows how to do chores. People do not send links to half hour sets of "the best comedy ever".  Who has half an hour?  (Ironically, people won't watch a half hour video but will watch 15 two minute videos)

It is clear that those who become famous through You Tube and other social media often have a gimmick, or some off the wall quality that makes people want to share it around.  I imagine that if a comic, even a brand new comic, would get over a million hits if they did their act naked.  A naked comic?  That's a hook.  Maybe in their act, they bring out a cute dog to do a trick.  That's a hook.  People need a hook, but obviously real talent will not degrade or reduce their quality to become famous.  They, like Ray Charles, want to be great.  As wonderful as this is, great doesn't pay the bills.  

Is there a middle ground?  The answer is yes and no.  There is no sure fire method to bring greatness to fame or fame to greatness, but there are tips to quality self promote.  In the WHO TO WATCH segment tomorrow, Trevor Thompson discusses this issue, and has always believed that the talent should speak for itself.  While agreed, promotion is then getting the talent known so people can appreciate it.  Some common ways to self-promote are:

• Websites
• Fanpages
• Twitter Accounts
• Blogging (no comment)
• Postcards
• Business Cards
• LinkedIn
• so much more

Those comics that are supported by an agency have some promotion out of the way.  They have impressed someone in the industry enough to want to stand behind their quality.  This is great, but know the same agency is also booking many other talent, and will leave some of the promotion to the comedian. Funny Business is a well known agency who provides some of my favourite comedians, but these comedians still need to help promote themselves.  They need to stand out from the crowd, so after their agency sends them out to a gig in front of 300 people, those people can go to the comedians website and spread the word. 

What barriers exist to comedians (and other art forms) utilizing self-promotion?  The first is money and time.  Wonderful talent may have to keep a day job to stay afloat, and spend their evenings performing to hone their craft.  What time is left to twitter, update sites and more?  We at JH5 have many ideas how to address these barriers, but are not sharing them today :)  (feel free to contact us should you wish to know more).  The hardest barriers to overcome are: confidence, accepting compliments, and selling oneself. Many newcomers to comedy start fan sites.  When I tried comedy it seemed the thing to do so what the heck, i started one too.  My family was nice enough to join, thus I now have a fan club of five people!  I was saying "look at me I am great" when I had barely started out.  So for a true comedian to have a fan page, it seems as if amateurs have watered down the pool and made the idea of promotion weaker.  Imagine two different sites two different comics.  They have the same number of fans, so they must be equal in quality right?  Alas no, perhaps one fan has 500 followers because they have been working in comedy and slowly grown a fan base, and the other one has 5000 Facebook friends who said "sure, I will 'like' your page".  

This is hard to overcome, but should not deter the real talent from promoting.  In my head, three things provide weight to someone proclaiming to be a good comic.

1. Where have they played?  Really check this out.  Many have played at Yuk Yuk's and Absolute Comedy, but it has been on a New Talent Night.  Not really the superstar action when all you have to do is call in at the right time to get a spot.  A regular host or Middler?  You now have my attention.
2. Who says they are good?  Testimonials are about as good as references.  It really depends on what is behind them.  If an amateur comic was hired for their grandparents 50th anniversary, and the guests write a testimonial, that is nice, but let's broaden it a bit.  I recently gave a testimonial about our website designer.  He was also a friend of mine.  In some eyes that might water down the testimonial, but what strengthens it is that we do repeat business with this person.  Friendship aside, he provides quality work in a timely fashion, and we continue to pay him money, which is what makes a good testimonial:  Money Talks.  So to promote, find others who will testify that you are fantastic, but with depth behind it. 
3. Time.  This in itself is not a defining factor, as many people might play stages for many years, but not be very good.  A comedian who has continually grown their craft over 7 years, and can demonstrate their progression, this provides weight behind the claim, "I am a strong comedian".

The final discussion topic in this blog is back to where we started: the hook.  There are those who use gimmicks for their hooks, but we are talking about the core of a comedian.  When people turn to your newly developed website, in five minutes they should know who you are.  At your core, what do you represent?  What are you trying to say in your comedy, and why should people say money to watch you?  Essentially:  your branding.  Remember back to the beginning of this blog, to someone appreciating your talent after watching your performance?  When they told their friend/colleague that they liked you, they likely gave reasons you were funny.  What makes you different?  

I have some ideas on how to create this hook, take or leave them as you will. 

1. Pretend you are doing a Google search on yourself.  What key words would you type in?  What is your comedy about?  What joke would people remember and type in to find your name? 

2.  Choose your top five comics of all times, and try to describe who they are at their core.  What are their key messages?

3.  Find out how others would others describe you through a 360 view?  360 involves from all angles, so perhaps ask a friend, other comedians, the owners of the comedy clubs, and some of your fans.  360 is not easy, as you are essentially asking for feedback, and many will try to then say what they like or don't like about your act, but redirect them.  How would they describe you, not change you? 

Once you have completed these exercise you have the raw data to find out how to market yourself. Go back and answer the questions of what makes you special, and why others should watch you.  Do not limit yourself to "i am gay, I am black, i am a woman etc. etc."  You must dig deeper, and really find your core.  Once you do, build your site and start promoting yourself.  When you create yourself as more marketable, people will want to purchase your product, which in this case is your comedy.

One cannot just be great at one thing and make a living.  If you are an artist, in any area, people must know the art exists before they can appreciate it.  The ideas we present here may assist you in being able to market yourself in a way that keeps your integrity intact.  If you are not a comedian reading this blog, find the comedians you like and spread the word.  Live comedy is an exciting art form that gets lost at times because of You Tube and other technology, but there is nothing like it, and I advise you to get out there and support it today.

Jenn Hayward

JH5