Your best reps are working for free.
Let’s stop wasting time trying to sell ourselves
So many entertainers burn a lot of calories trying to make the perfect promo, or regretting not having the perfect promo materials.
You have two ice cream options for tonight. One company has a great website. The other company is recommended by a friend who says “They’re awesome, and they have the best rocky road in town!” Your friend knows you like rocky road and knows what you’re seeking in a frozen delight. You’re gonna go with the friend’s place and you’re not gonna question the price or the service. You might form your own opinion after the fact, but the buying decision will be creamy smooth for ya.
Word of mouth. It’s the best. I think the automatic response to this concept is for entertainers to feel satisfied that word-of-mouth is working in the background while they self-promote. It’s an intangible magical gig fairy that we can only pray helps us.
Arm that fairy!
You can (maybe surprisingly) really power up your word-of-mouth potential. This is the first thing I do with a beginning showbiz company before approaching any self-promotion because it’s so much more efficient.
A friend or a fan of your work will be recommending you to others. Your job is to give them confidence and tools to do this. They will love doing it. It feels good to recommend something great to someone else. Feels good to help, feels good to know something someone else doesn’t know.
1. Seem Consistent
People recommending you need to feel like they know what they’re recommending. A band who never plays the same style of music and never dresses the same and plays at different styles of venues is very hard to recommend to a friend. Maybe that would work if there’s a huge adventure promised every time and the band was consistent in that. Still kinda difficult.
I had a problem for a while of thinking it was enough that every time I performed I killed. Because I would really crush it every time and I thought that was great. Even if I did the same basic act every time, part of the magic of my performance was (and still is to some extent) is that it feels like I just barely pulled it off. Here comes the “seem” part of “seem consistent” I was not as easy to recommend to others because everyone thought on first viewing that they were seeing a fun fluke.
Seem consistent in your entertainment as well as your professionalism and kindness.
2. Be branded
I was an adult virgin for a while. So many people tried to get me out on dates with other virgins because they saw a clear connection. Meanwhile, my non-virgin friends were fending for themselves (but actually living life). It paid to have a brand.
The most basic idea of branding is making a message that conveys simply what you offer to your people that’s better than what your competition offers.
This simple message is not just for your promo. Its most potent use is in the mouths of your fans and biz associates. If your brand is “A magician for adults only,” and you pay off on that promise, everyone will remember it and they’ll have the advertising message ready. They’ll also know exactly who to tell about you.
3. Get cred
When someone’s recommending you for something, it’s great to have street cred. It will help them because you are…
- seeming consistent : your friend thinks “oh, great, I’m not the only one who likes this. It’s likely more people will too!”
- backed up : your friend has examples to give with their recommendation that show they’re recommending something awesome
Street cred comes in many forms. Here are some…
- reviews like on yelp
- a great resume
- case studies
- people knowing about you
- letters of recommendation / endorsements
- a huge adversizing budget. Just spending ton can make you look successful
Don’t be shy about your cred. It’s the second thing everyone needs to see after they understand what you do.
4. Dominate Google
You don’t need to rank high for anything on google except the exact thing people will search for when they’re looking for you in particular.
So, you don’t need to rank high for “Entertainer in Chicago” you need to rank high for “Backwards singer with green hair in Chicago” and “Silvia St. Georgia” You gotta be at the top. If you aren’t at the top for your name specifically, that hurts your street cred and it hurts your fans’ ability to push you on others.
This doesn’t have to be your website that dominates either. It could be your behance or instagram or whatever people could use to sell you best.
5. Videos & Bio & Other Shareables
If videos sell you best, get videos up on youtube that someone can send to a friend. Easy, they send a link and say “This is what you’ll see if you book this entertainer.”
You have a bio on your profiles and website. Put the best stuff in as well as your brand message. All that stuff needs to fit in one short paragraph so your free agent can cut and paste and share.
Same goes for whatever else. Make little chunks of you that encapsulate all the above within a text message and you’ll get shared and you’ll get gigs.
6. Don’t be bad
Pretty simply, be good. More people will like you and want to recommend you. I wish this went without saying.
7. Do a lot
Get in front of a lot of people with that thing you do. More fans, more evangelists. Not just exposure, but exposure to people who…
- you can freak out
- will know how to find you
- will want to share you