One of the least fun parts of comedy for me is promoting shows. “Hey, support me! I’m funny!” It’s awkward for me, much like human contact. I was thinking about it because the workshop the Columbus Funny Bone has before each open mike was going over topics and this came up. I figured I would relay what little experience I have with this and list the things to do and not to do.
Do create Facebook events, feel free to invite people and post on your wall. Don’t privately message every single person until they block you. I know this because some guy asked me if I would like his band then proceeded to privately message me every f’n time they played in the city.
Do use social media. Don’t tweet so much you forget to write jokes. If you have three solid minutes of comedy, don’t worry about tweeting seventy times a day to build up your followers. That said, I have about ten twitter followers, so what do I know?
Do get a head shot. Don’t take one yourself wearing a funny t-shirt, smoking a cigarette, trying to look funny or cool. Wearing a funny t-shirt is the worst sin in comedy – if your shirt is funnier than you, you stink. I know this rule thanks to this, from 2007.
That’s about all I have for promotion. Oh, you can blog on a website. That helps, I think.