Janice Hibbard

If you ever feel like arts marketing is something that only an expert can tackle, this episode is for you. I’ll be the first to admit there are very smart people who have a thorough understanding of how to build an audience. A few of them like Alli Houseworth and Matt Lehrman have been guests on this podcast, but what can regular folks do to move the marketing needle? If you don’t have the resources and pedigree of someone like that at your disposal, do you just give up? Of course not. You experiment and just keep moving forward. If you’re tenacious and curious, you are going to find some things that work. That’s what Janice Hibbard is doing, and we can all (from beginners to gurus) learn something from her approach.  In this episode:  be an observer of marketing – there’s marketing going on all around us, and if you pay attention you can get a lot of insights what to put on social media – saying you want to be active on a social platform to promote your show is one thing, but what are you actually uploading with each status? Instagram and Vine – are these younger platforms worth investing time in or should you stick to old standbys like Facebook and Twitter managing multiple accounts – Janice didn’t use expensive software to maintain and schedule her updates what if social isn’t an option – if you social media isn’t the right fit your production or your audience, there are other ways to reach out to them  Items mentioned:  VistaPrint – a quick, inexpensive online printer (used in this production for postcards) CustomInk – a site to design and print custom t-shirts at a competitive price Tagboard for #mrboniface – a collection of Instagram and Vine posts using the hashtag (in the past Tagboard has also pulled Facebook and Twitter posts with a particular hashtag, but seems to have lost this functionality) IndyFringe Festival – the week-and-a-half theatre festival where Mr. Boniface premiered  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Janice for joining me and sharing her experience, and also thanks to you for listening.

<p>If you ever feel like arts marketing is something that only an expert can tackle, this episode is for you. I’ll be the first to admit there are very smart people who have a thorough understanding of how to build an audience. A few of them like <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode026/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alli Houseworth</a> and <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode006/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matt Lehrman</a> have been guests on this podcast, but what can regular folks do to move the marketing needle?</p> <p>If you don’t have the resources and pedigree of someone like that at your disposal, do you just give up? Of course not. You experiment and just keep moving forward. If you’re tenacious and curious, you are going to find some things that work. That’s what Janice Hibbard is doing, and we can all (from beginners to gurus) learn something from her approach.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>be an observer of marketing</b> – there’s marketing going on all around us, and if you pay attention you can get a lot of insights</li> <li><strong>what to put on social media</strong> – saying you want to be active on a social platform to promote your show is one thing, but what are you actually uploading with each status?</li> <li><strong>Instagram and Vine</strong> – are these younger platforms worth investing time in or should you stick to old standbys like Facebook and Twitter</li> <li><strong>managing multiple accounts</strong> – Janice didn’t use expensive software to maintain and schedule her updates</li> <li><strong>what if social isn’t an option</strong> – if you social media isn’t the right fit your production or your audience, there are other ways to reach out to them</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.vistaprint.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">VistaPrint</a> – a quick, inexpensive online printer (used in this production for postcards)</li> <li><a href="http://www.customink.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CustomInk</a> – a site to design and print custom t-shirts at a competitive price</li> <li><a href="https://tagboard.com/mrboniface/search" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tagboard for #mrboniface</a> – a collection of Instagram and Vine posts using the hashtag (in the past Tagboard has also pulled Facebook and Twitter posts with a particular hashtag, but seems to have lost this functionality)</li> <li><a href="http://indyfringe.org/indyfringe-theatre-festival" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndyFringe Festival</a> – the week-and-a-half theatre festival where Mr. Boniface premiered</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Janice for joining me and sharing her experience, and also thanks to you for listening.</p>

SOR 73: Janice Hibbard Discovers What Works To Market Her Show From the Ground Up

The Indy Fringe Festival starts up this week. There are a lot of shows that I’ve been hearing about for weeks now, and some of them really have me chomping at the bit to see them. The kicker here for someone in Tim’s position, though, is: all of the shows I’ve been hearing so much about are local. The IndyFringe is roughly 50% local shows and 50% acts from out of town. (In fact I saw on the Fringe line up that Tim is going to be here, so I know exactly what kind of hurdle he’s facing to promote his show.) My circle of friends here in Indianapolis have been building word-of-mouth around the shows they are in. All the chatter I’ve been exposed to has been for local shows. How does an out of town act compete with that? In this episode:  first impression in the festival catalog – the three key elements and the mistake that most out-of-town shows seem to make connecting with local shows – don’t wait until you get to town to start engaging with them  Items mentioned:  SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2) – the first in a two part series on what I learned from a very successful stint promoting a Fringe show IndyFringe – home of the Indianapolis Fringe Festival  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thank you for listening!

<p>The Indy Fringe Festival starts up this week. There are a lot of shows that I’ve been hearing about for weeks now, and some of them really have me chomping at the bit to see them.</p> <p>The kicker here for someone in Tim’s position, though, is: all of the shows I’ve been hearing so much about are local. The IndyFringe is roughly 50% local shows and 50% acts from out of town. (In fact I saw on the Fringe line up that Tim is going to be here, so I know exactly what kind of hurdle he’s facing to promote his show.)</p> <p>My circle of friends here in Indianapolis have been building word-of-mouth around the shows they are in. All the chatter I’ve been exposed to has been for local shows. How does an out of town act compete with that?</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>first impression in the festival catalog</strong> – the three key elements and the mistake that most out-of-town shows seem to make</li> <li><strong>connecting with local shows</strong> – don’t wait until you get to town to start engaging with them</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode007/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2)</a> – the first in a two part series on what I learned from a very successful stint promoting a Fringe show</li> <li><a href="http://indyfringe.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndyFringe</a> – home of the Indianapolis Fringe Festival</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thank you for listening!</p>

SOR 72: Promoting In a Fringe Festival As an Out-Of-Towner

Shara Ashley Zeiger

It feels very appropriate to have Shara Ashley Zeiger as my guest on the Sold Out Run podcast because in this episode we talk about her recent… sold out run. In fact it was an extended run that sold out, and she was kind enough to share a little about how the all the various ingredients – including promotion – came together in that production to generate all that success. If her voice sounds familiar, you might recognize her from her online radio show The Shara Ashley Show or from some her commercial voice over work. In this episode of the podcast I’m talking to her mostly in her capacity as the artistic director of The Platform Group. Their mission is to create work that challenges, inspires and provides a place to stand on. In this episode:  the effect of social silence – when theatre folks are suspiciously quiet about their current project on social media, it can come across as them being ashamed of it using your networks – the key to getting influencers in to see the show is to use close connections spending money on advertising – if you are spending it in the right place, it’s a great idea importance of thanking – when people attend your show at your invitation, you should be showing them a lot of appreciation the backs of postcards – the feature that Shara insisted on having on the back of her show’s promotional postcards  Items mentioned:  The Email Marketing Primer for Theatres – as you build a growing list of email addresses from your online ticket buyers, here’s a guide to using those emails to keep selling more tickets The Platform Group – the website for Shara’s theatre company (or you can hit them up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube) Kickstarter campaign for Roughly Speaking – includes the video explaining the project and the rewards you’ll receive for different levels of financial contribution Update: the campaign was successfully funded. Congratulations, Shara! GotPrint.com – Shara’s tip for very cost effective printing  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Shara for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.

<p>It feels very appropriate to have Shara Ashley Zeiger as my guest on the Sold Out Run podcast because in this episode we talk about her recent… sold out run. In fact it was an extended run that sold out, and she was kind enough to share a little about how the all the various ingredients – including promotion – came together in that production to generate all that success.</p> <p>If her voice sounds familiar, you might recognize her from her online radio show <em>The Shara Ashley Show</em> or from some her commercial voice over work. In this episode of the podcast I’m talking to her mostly in her capacity as the artistic director of The Platform Group. Their mission is to create work that challenges, inspires and provides a place to stand on.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>the effect of social silence</strong> – when theatre folks are suspiciously quiet about their current project on social media, it can come across as them being ashamed of it</li> <li><strong>using your networks</strong> – the key to getting influencers in to see the show is to use close connections</li> <li><strong>spending money on advertising</strong> – if you are spending it in the right place, it’s a great idea</li> <li><strong>importance of thanking</strong> – when people attend your show at your invitation, you should be showing them a lot of appreciation</li> <li><strong>the backs of postcards</strong> – the feature that Shara insisted on having on the back of her show’s promotional postcards</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/email-marketing-primer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Email Marketing Primer for Theatres</a> – as you build a growing list of email addresses from your online ticket buyers, here’s a guide to using those emails to keep selling more tickets</li> <li><a href="http://www.theplatformgroup.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Platform Group</a> – the website for Shara’s theatre company (or you can hit them up on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/theplatformgroup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/platformgroup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/platformgroup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, or <a href="http://youtube.com/user/platformgroup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a>)</li> <li><a href="http://kickstartplatform.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kickstarter campaign for <em>Roughly Speaking</em></a> – includes the video explaining the project and the rewards you’ll receive for different levels of financial contribution <em><strong>Update:</strong> the campaign was successfully funded. Congratulations, Shara!</em></li> <li><a href="http://gotprint.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GotPrint.com</a> – Shara’s tip for very cost effective printing</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Shara for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.</p>

SOR 71: Shara Ashley Zeiger Shares the Secrets to Selling Out Her Extended Off-Broadway Run

Ken Davenport

A few weeks ago, I got a notice through Twitter that someone mentioned me in a tweet. That’s not at all unusual, that happens fairly regularly. But what was unusual was that I was mentioned by Ken Davenport. I’m guessing many of you listening recognize that name, but in case you don’t he’s a Tony award winning Broadway producer whose credits include Kinky Boots, The Bridges of Madison County, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury. He’s one of the co-founders of TEDxBroadway. Combined, Ken’s productions have grossed more than $100 million worldwide and are being produced internationally in over 25 countries including Germany, Mexico, France, and Korea. Online, he’s the man behind the blog The Producers Perspective and the podcast of the same name. Here’s what I saw when I clicked through my Twitter notifications:  @claymabbitt Clay, been reading your stuff. It’s great. Email me and maybe we can do something together. ken@theproducersperspective.com. — kendavenport (@kendavenport) April 11, 2015  When I reached out over email I learned that one of Ken’s consulting clients had mentioned Sold Out Run, so thank you to you, whoever you are, for connecting us. Since Ken has walked a path that I suspect many of you guys listening would like to follow, I asked Ken if he would be game to come on the podcast and share a few insights. In this episode:  how to market big productions – Ken looks for ways to approach the marketing of big productions as if they were small why direct response pieces are great – they stand out as more and more theatres move to the less expensive digital marketing and they’re measurable reluctance to pick a top marketing tactic – don’t get locked into thinking about a favorite marketing tactic, instead start with thinking about who the audience is and where they are importance of testing – know as much as you can as early as you can why he’s jealous of smaller theatres – while Broadway productions are often stuck courting one-time visitors, smaller theatres have an easier time forging relationships with long term patrons stunt promotions that work – they need to make sense with and connect to the theme of your show timing your promos matters – with some shows it might make sense to spend a huge chunk of your advertising budget before opening night, while others are going to give you better results if you wait until word of mouth starts getting out  Items mentioned:  The Producer’s Perspective – home of Ken’s blog and podcast where he provides an insane amount of free insight from somebody currently walking the walk Raise It! How To Raise Millions of Dollars For Your Show and Fast – Ken’s most successful product, a custom course to help you raise money from someone who does this very well  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Ken for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.

<p>A few weeks ago, I got a notice through Twitter that someone mentioned me in a tweet. That’s not at all unusual, that happens fairly regularly. But what was unusual was that I was mentioned by <a href="http://www.theproducersperspective.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ken Davenport</a>.</p> <p>I’m guessing many of you listening recognize that name, but in case you don’t he’s a Tony award winning Broadway producer whose credits include <em>Kinky Boots</em>, <em>The Bridges of Madison County</em>, <em>Macbeth</em> starring Alan Cumming, <em>Blithe Spirit</em> starring Angela Lansbury. He’s one of the co-founders of TEDxBroadway. Combined, Ken’s productions have grossed more than $100 million worldwide and are being produced internationally in over 25 countries including Germany, Mexico, France, and Korea. Online, he’s the man behind the blog <a href="http://www.theproducersperspective.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Producers Perspective</a> and the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-producers-perspective/id951959996?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcast</a> of the same name.</p> <p>Here’s what I saw when I clicked through my Twitter notifications:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/claymabbitt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@claymabbitt</a> Clay, been reading your stuff. It’s great. Email me and maybe we can do something together. ken@theproducersperspective.com.</p> <p>— kendavenport (@kendavenport) <a href="https://twitter.com/kendavenport/status/586949117689131009" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">April 11, 2015</a></p></blockquote> <p></p> <p>When I reached out over email I learned that one of Ken’s consulting clients had mentioned Sold Out Run, so thank you to you, whoever you are, for connecting us. Since Ken has walked a path that I suspect many of you guys listening would like to follow, I asked Ken if he would be game to come on the podcast and share a few insights.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>how to market big productions</strong> – Ken looks for ways to approach the marketing of big productions as if they were small</li> <li><strong>why direct response pieces are great</strong> – they stand out as more and more theatres move to the less expensive digital marketing and they’re measurable</li> <li><strong>reluctance to pick a top marketing tactic</strong> – don’t get locked into thinking about a favorite marketing tactic, instead start with thinking about who the audience is and where they are</li> <li><strong>importance of testing</strong> – know as much as you can as early as you can</li> <li><strong>why he’s jealous of smaller theatres</strong> – while Broadway productions are often stuck courting one-time visitors, smaller theatres have an easier time forging relationships with long term patrons</li> <li><strong>stunt promotions that work</strong> – they need to make sense with and connect to the theme of your show</li> <li><strong>timing your promos matters</strong> – with some shows it might make sense to spend a huge chunk of your advertising budget before opening night, while others are going to give you better results if you wait until word of mouth starts getting out</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.theproducersperspective.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Producer’s Perspective</a> – home of Ken’s blog and podcast where he provides an insane amount of free insight from somebody currently walking the walk</li> <li><a href="http://www.raisemoneyforyourshow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Raise It! How To Raise Millions of Dollars For Your Show and Fast</a> – Ken’s most successful product, a custom course to help you raise money from someone who does this very well</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Ken for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.</p>

SOR 70: How Ken Davenport Tests and Why This Broadway Producer Is Jealous of Regional Theatres

William Rader

You’re probably already familiar with some of the major players in the online ticket space. Vendini. Brown Paper Tickets. My guest today is William Rader, and none of the available ticket services were doing exactly what he wanted them to do. So he got to work creating one that did. WellAttended is the name of his service, and he’s going to tell you more about it in this episode. My intent in bringing William on to have this conversation is not to tell you you have to use WellAttended. What I do hope you’ll walk away from this episode with is an idea of the possibilities that are available. How would you want the ticket buying experience to be for your patrons? What do you want them to experience when they want to buy season tickets, for example? Please note I’m not being paid anything for this. There’s no affiliate link, this isn’t a sponsored podcast episode, I don’t get a commission if you end up using the service we talk about in this episode. In this episode:  partnering to grow your audience – if you can capture the new faces that see your show, then partnering with someone that brings in their audience can be a great growth catalyst what’s missing from many ticket services – distraction-free ticket sales, online product sales, lag time in payment online vs. phone sales – convenience is king ticket sales as feedback – you can’t wait until opening night to figure out if your marketing strategies are working, so easy advanced sales let you know what’s moving the needle (or if you need to pull out bigger guns) fees – how much and where does it go season tickets – William’s current initiative is integrating season ticket packages and individual ticket sales into one system customer refunds – one click refunds  Items mentioned:  WellAttended – the online ticketing system discussed in this episode Science Has Finally Figured Out How To Win Rock-Paper-Scissors – the article William mentioned about understanding the behavior behind the game 7 Reasons Why You Should Sell Tickets Online – from the WellAttended blog The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres – as you build a growing list of email addresses from your online ticket buyers, here’s a guide to using those emails to keep selling more tickets  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to William Rader for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.

<p>You’re probably already familiar with some of the major players in the online ticket space. Vendini. Brown Paper Tickets. My guest today is William Rader, and none of the available ticket services were doing exactly what he wanted them to do. So he got to work creating one that did.</p> <p>WellAttended is the name of his service, and he’s going to tell you more about it in this episode. My intent in bringing William on to have this conversation is not to tell you you have to use WellAttended.</p> <p>What I do hope you’ll walk away from this episode with is an idea of the possibilities that are available. How would you want the ticket buying experience to be for your patrons? What do you want them to experience when they want to buy season tickets, for example?</p> <p>Please note I’m not being paid anything for this. There’s no affiliate link, this isn’t a sponsored podcast episode, I don’t get a commission if you end up using the service we talk about in this episode.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>partnering to grow your audience</strong> – if you can capture the new faces that see your show, then partnering with someone that brings in their audience can be a great growth catalyst</li> <li><strong>what’s missing from many ticket services</strong> – distraction-free ticket sales, online product sales, lag time in payment</li> <li><strong>online vs. phone sales</strong> – convenience is king</li> <li><strong>ticket sales as feedback</strong> – you can’t wait until opening night to figure out if your marketing strategies are working, so easy advanced sales let you know what’s moving the needle (or if you need to pull out bigger guns)</li> <li><strong>fees</strong> – how much and where does it go</li> <li><strong>season tickets</strong> – William’s current initiative is integrating season ticket packages and individual ticket sales into one system</li> <li><strong>customer refunds</strong> – one click refunds</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://wellattended.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WellAttended</a> – the online ticketing system discussed in this episode</li> <li><a href="http://gizmodo.com/science-has-finally-figured-out-how-to-win-rock-paper-s-1571019588" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Science Has Finally Figured Out How To Win Rock-Paper-Scissors</a> – the article William mentioned about understanding the behavior behind the game</li> <li><a href="http://blog.wellattended.com/7-reasons-why-you-should-sell-tickets-online/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">7 Reasons Why You Should Sell Tickets Online</a> – from the WellAttended blog</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/email-marketing-primer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres</a> – as you build a growing list of email addresses from your online ticket buyers, here’s a guide to using those emails to keep selling more tickets</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to William Rader for joining me here, and thanks to you for listening.</p>

SOR 69: Why William Rader Got Into the Online Ticket Space and What You Can Get Out Of It

Thom Britton

Thom Britton reached out to me recently to talk about a problem that is usually overlooked here at Sold Out Run. Almost everything I create here is about growing your audience larger and larger. The assumption is that we always want more people. Well, after many years of dedication Thom and his cohorts at Danger Circus have the opposite problem: more people wanting to see the show than they can accommodate. So Thom graciously agreed to come on to talk about what sort of problems they’re dealing with today, and because I just couldn’t let him off the hook: what promotional tactics they’ve been using over the years that got them to this point today. In this episode:  the power of the phrase “please come see my show” audience responsibility – do the people in a small audience of a great show feel more responsibility to spread the word? personal connection – the importance of making a personal connection in your marketing marketing and performing – you know how to be charming as an entertainer, so use it in both areas busking – there’s a right mindset and a wrong mindset when you are busking your show in public  Items mentioned:  The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres – guide to using email to grow your theatre audience Danger Circus – Thom’s current show  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Thom for sharing his accumulated wisdom, and thank you for listening!

<p>Thom Britton reached out to me recently to talk about a problem that is usually overlooked here at Sold Out Run. Almost everything I create here is about growing your audience larger and larger. The assumption is that we always want more people.</p> <p>Well, after many years of dedication Thom and his cohorts at Danger Circus have the opposite problem: more people wanting to see the show than they can accommodate. So Thom graciously agreed to come on to talk about what sort of problems they’re dealing with today, and because I just couldn’t let him off the hook: what promotional tactics they’ve been using over the years that got them to this point today.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li>the power of the phrase “please come see my show”</li> <li>audience responsibility – do the people in a small audience of a great show feel more responsibility to spread the word?</li> <li>personal connection – the importance of making a personal connection in your marketing</li> <li>marketing and performing – you know how to be charming as an entertainer, so use it in both areas</li> <li>busking – there’s a right mindset and a wrong mindset when you are busking your show in public</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/email-marketing-primer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres</a> – guide to using email to grow your theatre audience</li> <li><a href="http://dangercircus.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Danger Circus</a> – Thom’s current show</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Thom for sharing his accumulated wisdom, and thank you for listening!</p>

SOR 68: Thom Britton Talks About Failing To Plan For Success

A few weeks back I wrote a post on the blog about exactly when I send press releases to media outlets, and what I say when I’m reaching out to them. Almost immediately after I hit publish on that post, I started wondering how actual arts journalists would grade this approach. I know a few here in Indianapolis, so I sent out a few emails asking these people who are on the receiving end of all these press releases if they would be game to leave a comment with their take. And several of them did. I got some things right, and there were a few surprises – in fact I learned one particular way I’ve been shooting myself in the foot that makes the arts journalists’ lives more difficult – the good news is fixing this problem requires but the tiniest little change on my end. More on that in a second. I feel like the information that was so freely and generously shared in the comments is so valuable and so universally applicable to the Sold Out Run audience whether you’re a traditional theatre, a touring cabaret performer, a stage magician, or something else entirely, that I kind of wanted to shine a spotlight on it. So in this episode I talk about some of the biggest aha moments I got reading those comments. In this episode:  8 notes I got from real world professionals who we are sending our press releases to everyday  Items mentioned:  The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres – guide to using email to grow your theatre audience (available 4/9/15) Example Scripts of the 3 Emails You Should Send a Press Contact – the blog post with all the comments that prompted this episode  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thank you for listening!

<p>A few weeks back I wrote a post on the blog about exactly <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/example-scripts-emails-send-press-contact/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">when I send press releases to media outlets, and what I say</a> when I’m reaching out to them.</p> <p>Almost immediately after I hit publish on that post, I started wondering how actual arts journalists would grade this approach. I know a few here in Indianapolis, so I sent out a few emails asking these people who are on the receiving end of all these press releases if they would be game to leave a comment with their take. And several of them did.</p> <p>I got some things right, and there were a few surprises – in fact I learned one particular way I’ve been shooting myself in the foot that makes the arts journalists’ lives more difficult – the good news is fixing this problem requires but the tiniest little change on my end. More on that in a second.</p> <p>I feel like the information that was so freely and generously shared in the comments is so valuable and so universally applicable to the Sold Out Run audience whether you’re a traditional theatre, a touring cabaret performer, a stage magician, or something else entirely, that I kind of wanted to shine a spotlight on it.</p> <p>So in this episode I talk about some of the biggest aha moments I got reading those comments.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li>8 notes I got from real world professionals who we are sending our press releases to everyday</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/email-marketing-primer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres</a> – guide to using email to grow your theatre audience (available 4/9/15)</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/example-scripts-emails-send-press-contact/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Example Scripts of the 3 Emails You Should Send a Press Contact</a> – the blog post with all the comments that prompted this episode</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thank you for listening!</p>

SOR 67: Arts Journalists Tell You How To Send Them Press Releases

Krista Layfield

I had the pleasure a little over a year ago of appearing in a show at the Lilly Theatre here in Indianapolis, which is a theatre that is contained within The Children’s Museum – a very large, well-respected… children’s museum… here in Indianapolis. It was a great experience for me as an actor, and one of the many pleasures was meeting Krista Layfield. She is the theatre manager of the Lilly Theatre, and in no small part due to her involvement, it was one of the most professional, tightest run productions I’ve ever been a part of. Because the Lilly Theatre is contained within The Children’s Museum, it operates a little differently than most theatres. So naturally I thought it would be really interesting to corner Krista and ask her how some of the logistics of running that theatre and serving that audience work. I also want to point out that our conversation was recorded a little differently than previous episodes. I typically record a conversation over the phone, which is great and a very practical way to record a show. But for this episode Krista and I were sitting at a table across from each other, and I had a simple recorder sitting on the table between us. So if you have thoughts good or bad about how the recording itself turned out, I welcome those comments. In this episode:  theatre for babies – this is a surreal tangent we hit early on because I had to know what exactly it was when Krista saw this form of experiential theatre spreading budgets across shows – with a set budget for the entire season, Krista has discretion about how she allocates that budget across each property consistent imagery – the “formula” for creating consistent imagery to promote each show that doesn’t look stale double-edged sword of not controlling marketing – since The Children’s Museum handles all of the marketing for the theatre, the Lilly Theatre gets the good and bad of not promoting their shows the mix of school groups and public visitors – attendance to shows is seasonal and school group cancelling because of weather or other conflicts can empty the house quickly  Items mentioned:  Facebook Group for The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres – your chance to get a free preview of the upcoming ebook and steer what it covers The Lilly Theatre – the three-quarter theatre contained within The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis where Krista is theatre manager  You can help more people discover this podcast If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Krista for sharing her insights, and thanks to you for listening!

<p>I had the pleasure a little over a year ago of appearing in a show at the <a href="https://www.childrensmuseum.org/exhibits/lilly-theater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lilly Theatre</a> here in Indianapolis, which is a theatre that is contained within The Children’s Museum – a very large, well-respected… children’s museum… here in Indianapolis. It was a great experience for me as an actor, and one of the many pleasures was meeting Krista Layfield.</p> <p>She is the theatre manager of the Lilly Theatre, and in no small part due to her involvement, it was one of the most professional, tightest run productions I’ve ever been a part of. Because the Lilly Theatre is contained within The Children’s Museum, it operates a little differently than most theatres.</p> <p>So naturally I thought it would be really interesting to corner Krista and ask her how some of the logistics of running that theatre and serving that audience work.</p> <p>I also want to point out that our conversation was recorded a little differently than previous episodes. I typically record a conversation over the phone, which is great and a very practical way to record a show. But for this episode Krista and I were sitting at a table across from each other, and I had a simple recorder sitting on the table between us. So if you have thoughts good or bad about how the recording itself turned out, I welcome <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/krista-layfield/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">those comments</a>.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>theatre for babies</strong> – this is a surreal tangent we hit early on because I had to know what exactly it was when Krista saw this form of experiential theatre</li> <li><strong>spreading budgets across shows</strong> – with a set budget for the entire season, Krista has discretion about how she allocates that budget across each property</li> <li><strong>consistent imagery</strong> – the “formula” for creating consistent imagery to promote each show that doesn’t look stale</li> <li>double-edged sword of <strong>not controlling marketing</strong> – since The Children’s Museum handles all of the marketing for the theatre, the Lilly Theatre gets the good and bad of not promoting their shows</li> <li>the mix of <strong>school groups and public visitors</strong> – attendance to shows is seasonal and school group cancelling because of weather or other conflicts can empty the house quickly</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1565605557057285/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook Group for <em>The Email Marketing Primer For Theatres</em></a> – your chance to get a free preview of the upcoming ebook and steer what it covers</li> <li><a href="https://www.childrensmuseum.org/exhibits/lilly-theater" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Lilly Theatre</a> – the three-quarter theatre contained within The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis where Krista is theatre manager</li> </ul> <h3>You can help more people discover this podcast</h3> <p>If you consider yourself a fan of this podcast, you can help me tremendously by leaving a review over at iTunes. I read every review, and not only do they motivate me to keep producing free content like this, but it also helps people like you who are looking for help with their theatre marketing to find Sold Out Run.</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Krista for sharing her insights, and <strong>thanks to you</strong> for listening!</p>

SOR 66: Krista Layfield Manages a Theatre That Exists Exclusively Inside a Parent Organization

This episode I want to talk about a question that was sent in by a listener. (Thanks, Jaco!) He asks about what to offer… he calls them investors, I use the word sponsors a lot… but these people that give you some money for the purposes of putting on a show. What can you offer in exchange for that money, and how do you figure out how much it’s worth? In this episode: I hit on several ideas in this episode for things you can offer a sponsor in exchange for their financial investment in the show. I even include a few specific scripts of things you can say to a potential sponsor and how you can integrate them into your marketing tactics.  across any method for giving exposure for a party, you need to maintain the artistic integrity of the show you can use product placement when it doesn’t detract from the story, or ideally helps you tell the story package your sponsorship opportunities – it makes your job easier and helps your investing business get exposure across a diverse spread of channels if you have sponsors for specific marketing tactics, then they are getting exposure to everyone who sees that marketing tactic – even the ones who don’t come to the show make sure you keep creative control when setting a price for your sponsorship opportunities, focus on the exposure that a sponsor is getting (as opposed to the number of tickets you’ll be selling)  Items mentioned:  The Big List of Theatre Marketing Tactics – this is the blog post with 70+ marketing tactics you can use Buyology – a book that includes (among other things) some discussion of how traditional advertising can hurt your brand (Amazon affiliate link)  Sharing your opinion helps me out a lot If you found value in this podcast, you can help even more people discover it by leaving a rating and review in iTunes. It couldn’t be easier:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves. Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.  Thanks to Jaco for the question, and thanks to you for listening!

<p>This episode I want to talk about a question that was sent in by a listener. (Thanks, Jaco!) He asks about what to offer… he calls them investors, I use the word sponsors a lot… but these people that give you some money for the purposes of putting on a show. What can you offer in exchange for that money, and how do you figure out how much it’s worth?</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <p>I hit on several ideas in this episode for things you can offer a sponsor in exchange for their financial investment in the show. I even include a few specific scripts of things you can say to a potential sponsor and how you can integrate them into your marketing tactics.</p> <ul> <li>across any method for giving exposure for a party, you need to <strong>maintain the artistic integrity</strong> of the show</li> <li>you can use product placement when it doesn’t detract from the story, or ideally helps you tell the story</li> <li><strong>package your sponsorship opportunities</strong> – it makes your job easier and helps your investing business get exposure across a diverse spread of channels</li> <li>if you have <strong>sponsors for specific marketing tactics</strong>, then they are getting exposure to everyone who sees that marketing tactic – even the ones who don’t come to the show</li> <li>make sure you <strong>keep creative control</strong></li> <li>when setting a price for your sponsorship opportunities, <strong>focus on the exposure</strong> that a sponsor is getting (as opposed to the number of tickets you’ll be selling)</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/theatre-marketing-tactics/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Big List of Theatre Marketing Tactics</a> – this is the blog post with 70+ marketing tactics you can use</li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385523890/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0385523890&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=soouru-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buyology</a> – a book that includes (among other things) some discussion of how traditional advertising can hurt your brand (Amazon affiliate link)</li> </ul> <h3>Sharing your opinion helps me out a lot</h3> <p>If you found value in this podcast, you can help even more people discover it by leaving a rating and review in iTunes. It couldn’t be easier:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Share any thoughts you might have about the podcast.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Jaco for the question, and <strong>thanks to you</strong> for listening!</p>

SOR 65: What Show Sponsors Get and How Much Money That’s Worth

If you’re new to Sold Out Run, I make a marketing calendar available to download for free on the website. It’s a spreadsheet that lets you plan out when all the marketing activity for a show needs to be done. You can see how all the pieces fit together in one place, and make sure that you aren’t forgetting anything. The next step is to customize that calendar. Some of the basic tactics shown there won’t apply, and there’s other tactics you’ll want to add. I created a big list with over 70 marketing tactics you can use to promote a show. There are ideas in there about how you can use video, inexpensive offline advertising, ways to collaborate with other local theatres. There are ways you can leverage things like Kickstarter, Google Hangouts, and Meetup to promote your show. There’s a lot of stuff in there, and it’s going to help you brainstorm what fresh, new marketing ideas your going to bring to your next production. So in this episode I want to pull out just a couple of the items on the list and elaborate on how that item on the list would translate into an actual marketing tactic that you use. In this episode: Here are a few specific tactics I talk about in more detail in this episode:  strap a GoPro camera to an actor during rehearsal for an intricate dance, fight, or flying scene and share on social media specialty printers online will create professional style trading cards for little league baseball teams – use these services to instead print trading cards of your cast create a ticket package with another theatre or arts organization where someone can buy tickets to an event at both places at a discount give people a free drink when they tweet a picture of themselves from the lobby during the show  Items mentioned:  The Big List of Theatre Marketing Tactics – this is the blog post with 70+ marketing tactics you can use Download My Marketing Calendar Template – the simple spreadsheet that will let you organize all your various marketing activities into a cohesive, easy-to-manage attack plan  Sharing your opinion helps me out a lot If you found value in this podcast, you can help even more people discover it by rating it on iTunes. It couldn’t be easier:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.  Thank you for listening!

<p>If you’re new to Sold Out Run, I make a marketing calendar available to download for free on the website. It’s a spreadsheet that lets you plan out when all the marketing activity for a show needs to be done. You can see how all the pieces fit together in one place, and make sure that you aren’t forgetting anything.</p> <p>The next step is to customize that calendar. Some of the basic tactics shown there won’t apply, and there’s other tactics you’ll want to add.</p> <p>I created a big list with over 70 marketing tactics you can use to promote a show. There are ideas in there about how you can use video, inexpensive offline advertising, ways to collaborate with other local theatres. There are ways you can leverage things like Kickstarter, Google Hangouts, and Meetup to promote your show. There’s a lot of stuff in there, and it’s going to help you brainstorm what fresh, new marketing ideas your going to bring to your next production.</p> <p>So in this episode I want to pull out just a couple of the items on the list and elaborate on how that item on the list would translate into an actual marketing tactic that you use.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <p>Here are a few specific tactics I talk about in more detail in this episode:</p> <ul> <li><b>strap a GoPro camera to an actor</b> during rehearsal for an intricate dance, fight, or flying scene and share on social media</li> <li>specialty printers online will create professional style trading cards for little league baseball teams – use these services to instead print <b>trading cards of your cast</b></li> <li>create a <strong>ticket package</strong> with another theatre or arts organization where someone can buy tickets to an event at both places at a discount</li> <li>give people a free drink when they <strong>tweet a picture</strong> of themselves from the lobby during the show</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/theatre-marketing-tactics/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Big List of Theatre Marketing Tactics</a> – this is the blog post with 70+ marketing tactics you can use</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/download-marketing-calendar-template-use-promote-shows/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download My Marketing Calendar Template</a> – the simple spreadsheet that will let you organize all your various marketing activities into a cohesive, easy-to-manage attack plan</li> </ul> <h3>Sharing your opinion helps me out a lot</h3> <p>If you found value in this podcast, you can help even more people discover it by rating it on iTunes. It couldn’t be easier:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Thank you for listening!</p>

SOR 64: Excerpts From the Big List of Theatre Marketing Tactics

Love the podcast

Very helpful podcast and a great way to keep this always at the top of my mind. As a magician, marketing theater is something rarely discussed and this makes the information so easy to digest. Thanks Clay!

AMAZINGLY HELPFUL!

The Sold Out Run Podcast: Theatre Marketing / Promotions

Dave Levett

I was spending some time poking around Twitter on the subject of theatre marketing, and I came across Lollipop Marketing. They are an agency out of London with roots in Sydney, and I convinced founder Dave Levett to talk with me about what he’s figured out so far about marketing theatre. We ended up diving into some great tactics and tools that theatres can use to start collecting demographic and psychographic information about their audience – and put it to use.  In this episode:  theatre marketing at different sizes of theatres – the volume of theatre in London lets Dave see examples of what organizations of all sizes are doing to promote a common mistake that a lot of theatres make – not gathering and acting on data means that a lot of promotional material doesn’t hit the mark marketing vs. PR – too often lumped together, these two activities are not interchangeable the science of marketing – gathering data allows you to use insights about your audience to guide your marketing communications demographics and psychographics – the information you’re gathering about your audience includes both who they are and how they behave  Items mentioned:  Lollipop Marketing – the company site for Dave’s marketing agency 9 Nifty Marketing Tools That Won’t Break Your Theatre’s Piggy Bank – blog post we reference in this episode with various online tools to help you improve your marketing PollDaddy – an online service that allows you create surveys (includes a free version) MailChimp – a full email campaign service that can be free if you have less than 2000 subscribers  Let Dave know if you liked this session If you have a few seconds, you can let Dave (and me) know that you liked this session by telling him on Twitter. Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.  Thanks to Dave for taking the time to share his insights, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.

<p>I was spending some time poking around Twitter on the subject of theatre marketing, and I came across <a href="http://www.lollipop-group.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lollipop Marketing</a>. They are an agency out of London with roots in Sydney, and I convinced founder Dave Levett to talk with me about what he’s figured out so far about marketing theatre. We ended up diving into some great tactics and tools that theatres can use to start collecting demographic and psychographic information about their audience – and put it to use.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>theatre marketing at different sizes of theatres</strong> – the volume of theatre in London lets Dave see examples of what organizations of all sizes are doing to promote</li> <li><strong>a common mistake that a lot of theatres make</strong> – not gathering and acting on data means that a lot of promotional material doesn’t hit the mark</li> <li><strong>marketing vs. PR</strong> – too often lumped together, these two activities are not interchangeable</li> <li><strong>the science of marketing</strong> – gathering data allows you to use insights about your audience to guide your marketing communications</li> <li><strong>demographics and psychographics</strong> – the information you’re gathering about your audience includes both who they are and how they behave</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.lollipop-group.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lollipop Marketing</a> – the company site for Dave’s marketing agency</li> <li><a href="http://www.lollipop-group.com/9-nifty-marketing-tools-wont-break-theatres-piggy-bank/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">9 Nifty Marketing Tools That Won’t Break Your Theatre’s Piggy Bank</a> – blog post we reference in this episode with various online tools to help you improve your marketing</li> <li><a href="http://www.polldaddy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PollDaddy</a> – an online service that allows you create surveys (includes a free version)</li> <li><a href="http://mailchimp.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MailChimp</a> – a full email campaign service that can be free if you have less than 2000 subscribers</li> </ul> <h3>Let Dave know if you liked this session</h3> <p>If you have a few seconds, you can let Dave (and me) know that you liked this session by <a href="http://ctt.ec/99ReW" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">telling him on Twitter</a>.</p> <h3>Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Dave for taking the time to share his insights, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.</p>

SOR 56: Dave Levett Talks About How Even the Smallest Theatre Can Get Meaningful Data About Its Audience

I’m very pleased to welcome Hope Baugh to the podcast. It’s not just because she’s delightful to talk to. (She is.) Hope provides a perspective that we as promoters of live theatre desperately need to understand. What makes someone decide to write a review of live theatre? Since it’s impossible to see every show, how does this person decide which shows to attend? Perhaps most importantly, how should you invite them to your production?  Hope is a devout fan of live theatre. Her blog, Indy Theatre Habit, includes reviews of local productions that go beyond a summary of the plot and a cast list. She talks about how the production affected her. She’s inviting a conversation as much as writing a review, and perhaps that’s part of the reason she’s so well thought of as a theatre blogger in Indianapolis. Or maybe it’s how her Twitter stream blows up during intermission of whatever production she’s attending on any given Friday or Saturday night. Or maybe it’s just because she’s such a sweetheart. Listen to this episode and decide for yourself. In this episode:  the shift in some local newspapers away from arts coverage – what this means for bloggers and independent voices who write about theatre where will people turn for reviews in the future – if newspapers aren’t going to be the goto resource for arts and culture coverage, who will? how does Hope feel when theatres quote her in their marketing – no surprise: there’s a right way and a wrong way the worst way to approach her about your show – she shares an example of someone who probably thought they were giving her the royal treatment, but it did not have the intended effect why you need a website – social media is amazing, but it’s easier for influencers to share information about your show if you have your own site [I’ll be talking more about this on Sold Out Run in the near future] should you offer media passes – Hope’s view has changed over the years  Items mentioned:  Indy Theatre Habit – home of Hope’s in-depth, thoughtful theatre reviews @IndyTheatre – Hope’s Twitter account where she talks about theatre – origin (I think) of the hashtag #indystage the bunny video – here’s evidence of a tactic that stuck out in Hope’s mind of all the times someone has reached out to her about a show  I have been using two different types of formats for the podcast up to this point. In some episodes I bring on a guest, like I did with Hope in this episode, to share their experience and perspective. In other episodes it’s just me sharing my thoughts on a topic. Do you like one format better than the other? What would you like to see more of? (If you’d like to suggest another format, too, please do so in the comments.) [poll id=”4″] Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>I’m very pleased to welcome Hope Baugh to the podcast. It’s not just because she’s delightful to talk to. (She is.) Hope provides a perspective that we as promoters of live theatre desperately need to understand. What makes someone decide to write a review of live theatre? Since it’s impossible to see every show, how does this person decide which shows to attend? Perhaps most importantly, how should you invite them to your production?</p> <p></p> <p>Hope is a devout fan of live theatre. Her blog, <a href="http://www.indytheatrehabit.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Indy Theatre Habit</a>, includes reviews of local productions that go beyond a summary of the plot and a cast list. She talks about how the production affected her. She’s inviting a conversation as much as writing a review, and perhaps that’s part of the reason she’s so well thought of as a theatre blogger in Indianapolis. Or maybe it’s how her Twitter stream blows up during intermission of whatever production she’s attending on any given Friday or Saturday night. Or maybe it’s just because she’s such a sweetheart. Listen to this episode and decide for yourself.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>the shift in some local newspapers away from arts coverage</b> – what this means for bloggers and independent voices who write about theatre</li> <li><strong>where will people turn for reviews in the future</strong> – if newspapers aren’t going to be the goto resource for arts and culture coverage, who will?</li> <li><strong>how does Hope feel when theatres quote her in their marketing</strong> – no surprise: there’s a right way and a wrong way</li> <li><strong>the worst way to approach her about your show</strong> – she shares an example of someone who probably thought they were giving her the royal treatment, but it did not have the intended effect</li> <li><strong>why you need a website</strong> – social media is amazing, but it’s easier for influencers to share information about your show if you have your own site [I’ll be talking more about this on Sold Out Run in the near future]</li> <li><strong>should you offer media passes</strong> – Hope’s view has changed over the years</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.indytheatrehabit.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Indy Theatre Habit</a> – home of Hope’s in-depth, thoughtful theatre reviews</li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/indytheatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@IndyTheatre</a> – Hope’s Twitter account where she talks about theatre – origin (I think) of the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23indystage&amp;src=hash" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">#indystage</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzd44vO3M_Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the bunny video</a> – here’s evidence of a tactic that stuck out in Hope’s mind of all the times someone has reached out to her about a show</li> </ul> <p>I have been using two different types of formats for the podcast up to this point. In some episodes I bring on a guest, like I did with Hope in this episode, to share their experience and perspective. In other episodes it’s just me sharing my thoughts on a topic. Do you like one format better than the other? What would you like to see more of? (If you’d like to suggest another format, too, please do so in the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode015/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">comments</a>.)<br/> [poll id=”4″]</p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 015: Hope Baugh

There comes a time in the life cycle of promoting a show when time is at a premium. It seems like there are more marketing tasks than you could ever hope to accomplish. So much is happening at a break-neck pace that it’s easy to understand why you feel completely overwhelmed. In this episode I talk about how to slow things down, and get a handle on your theatre marketing.  The results of the podcast format poll are in. I asked if you preferred the episodes where I bring in a guest and talk about their experience and perspective on theatre marketing or if you preferred the episodes where I go solo and talk about a topic in a little bit of depth. The result: you prefer both. The third option in the poll was that you liked both formats and wanted me to keep doing both. So I’ll continue to do episodes like this one where I share my insight on a particular topic, and I’ll keep bringing on a variety of knowledgeable experts who can share their take on various aspects of theatre marketing. In this episode:  go on an information diet – how trying to stay on top of the latest marketing trends is burying us phase out old tactics – how to determine which marketing tactics you can and should retire chunk it down – instead of looking at your marketing campaign in its entirety, look at what task is right in front of you that you need to take care of today batch processing – do similar tasks all at once and schedule things to happen ahead of time prioritize the must-haves – identify which tactics you want to do no matter what, and which ones might get bumped when new opportunities present themselves social media – separate broadcast social media from engagement social media to make sure you are doing the right activity at the right time  Items mentioned:  SOR 016: How To Delegate Theatre Marketing Tasks  – previous episode where I talk about how to (successfully) delegate tasks to recapture your time Tweetdeck and Hootsuite – social media clients that allow you to (among other things) schedule Facebook and Twitter post in advance Google Alerts – save searches and have Google send you an email when new pages are added to their index  Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? Leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>There comes a time in the life cycle of promoting a show when time is at a premium. It seems like there are more marketing tasks than you could ever hope to accomplish. So much is happening at a break-neck pace that it’s easy to understand why you feel completely overwhelmed. In this episode I talk about how to slow things down, and get a handle on your theatre marketing.</p> <p></p> <p>The results of the podcast format poll are in. I asked if you preferred the episodes where I bring in a guest and talk about their experience and perspective on theatre marketing or if you preferred the episodes where I go solo and talk about a topic in a little bit of depth.</p> <p>The result: you prefer both. The third option in the poll was that you liked both formats and wanted me to keep doing both. So I’ll continue to do episodes like this one where I share my insight on a particular topic, and I’ll keep bringing on a variety of knowledgeable experts who can share their take on various aspects of theatre marketing.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b></b><strong>go on an information diet</strong> – how trying to stay on top of the latest marketing trends is burying us</li> <li><strong>phase out old tactics</strong> – how to determine which marketing tactics you can and should retire</li> <li><strong>chunk it down</strong> – instead of looking at your marketing campaign in its entirety, look at what task is right in front of you that you need to take care of today</li> <li><strong>batch processing</strong> – do similar tasks all at once and schedule things to happen ahead of time</li> <li><strong>prioritize the must-haves</strong> – identify which tactics you want to do no matter what, and which ones might get bumped when new opportunities present themselves</li> <li><strong>social media</strong> – separate broadcast social media from engagement social media to make sure you are doing the right activity at the right time</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode016/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SOR 016: How To Delegate Theatre Marketing Tasks </a> – previous episode where I talk about how to (successfully) delegate tasks to recapture your time</li> <li><a href="http://tweetdeck.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tweetdeck</a> and <a href="https://hootsuite.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hootsuite</a> – social media clients that allow you to (among other things) schedule Facebook and Twitter post in advance</li> <li><a href="http://www.google.com/alerts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Alerts</a> – save searches and have Google send you an email when new pages are added to their index</li> </ul> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 017: How To Deal With Overwhelm In Theatre Marketing

I’ve been anticipating this episode because I’ve been promising that it’s coming to readers and listeners who are looking for help promoting a show that deals with unpleasant subject matter. Shows that aren’t necessarily easy to watch can be a tough sell, but sometimes that’s the art we most need to create and the art that most needs to be seen. If that’s the position you find yourself in, how do you promote that show? This is the challenge that Doug took on when he directed a very weighty production of William Mastrosimone’s Extremities.  (Full disclosure: I was an actor in this production so I am undoubtedly biased on both the quality of the production and the people involved.) One of the topics that Doug touches on in this interview is the ManKind Project. This is an organization that seeks to cultivate and support a healthy view of masculinity. There were several organizations that provided financial support for this production, but the ManKind Project went above and beyond. They ran a discussion each of the three weekends of the run after one of the shows. The discussions didn’t really have any structure beyond inviting people to talk about their emotional reactions to the play, but it extended the discussion of the topics brought up in the play past the final bow. I bring it up because in this sense I feel like this production went a step beyond just creating art. There was an element of this production that involved trying to make positive changes in the community. Any good art (and a lot of bad art) can have a positive impact, but this production focused on amplifying and accelerating that change. If you can’t tell, I’m very proud to have been a part of it. In this episode:  why you might tackle a show that isn’t a crowd-pleaser – every theatre company needs to pay the bills, but artistic integrity and community engagement can lead us to other types of work what to do when you can’t count on season subscribers – if you are doing a production that is very different than the type of material a particular venue typically produces, how do you reach beyond the typical subscriber base? how granular can you get with your sponsors – we’ve all heard of season sponsors and even the occasional show sponsor, but have you heard of organizations sponsoring individual performances? the key to getting press coverage – I’ve blogged before about how you need to give the press a story worth talking about, and here’s a real world example which marketing tactic Doug feels had the biggest effect at the box office – if you’ve been following Sold Out Run for a while this won’t be a surprise what a production blog can do for you – how to create a home base for online marketing activity  Items mentioned:  ManKind Project – an organization that supports a healthy view of masculinity and was a key sponsor for Doug’s production Extremities at Spotlight Theatre – this is the Facebook page where you can see much of the activity that was done online to promote this production plus the type of resources Doug was linking to in raising awareness Doug Powers – stay on top of Doug’s exploits in theatre and elsewhere by following his Facebook feed (this link only works if you are logged into Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doug.powers3 ) Win a copy of Reaching a New Audience – where to enter if you’d like to win one of three free copies of the marketing it I created to help you DIY the Sold Out Run approach to promoting your show  Discussion Question: The focus of this episode was talking about a production that can be challenging to market because the subject matter involves some uncomfortable aspects of our society that most people would rather not think about. That leads me to wonder what is the most difficult show to market? Think back on the shows you’ve seen or been involved with that were violent, confusing, repetitive, technical, loud, or seemed like they would be boring (even if they were amazing). What’s the toughest show you’ve seen anyone try to promote? Your responses here. Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. This feature doesn’t get utilized a lot (at least as of the time I’m posting this) so any message you leave is sure to get my attention. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. As you could tell from the review I shared in this episode it’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>I’ve been anticipating this episode because I’ve been promising that it’s coming to readers and listeners who are looking for help promoting a show that deals with unpleasant subject matter. Shows that aren’t necessarily easy to watch can be a tough sell, but sometimes that’s the art we most need to create and the art that most needs to be seen. If that’s the position you find yourself in, how do you promote that show? This is the challenge that Doug took on when he directed a very weighty production of William Mastrosimone’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremities_(play)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Extremities</em></a>.</p> <p></p> <p>(Full disclosure: I was an actor in this production so I am undoubtedly biased on both the quality of the production and the people involved.)</p> <p>One of the topics that Doug touches on in this interview is the <a href="http://mankindproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ManKind Project</a>. This is an organization that seeks to cultivate and support a healthy view of masculinity. There were several organizations that provided financial support for this production, but the ManKind Project went above and beyond. They ran a discussion each of the three weekends of the run after one of the shows. The discussions didn’t really have any structure beyond inviting people to talk about their emotional reactions to the play, but it extended the discussion of the topics brought up in the play past the final bow.</p> <p>I bring it up because in this sense I feel like this production went a step beyond just creating art. There was an element of this production that involved trying to make positive changes in the community. Any good art (and a lot of bad art) can have a positive impact, but this production focused on amplifying and accelerating that change. If you can’t tell, I’m very proud to have been a part of it.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>why you might tackle a show that isn’t a crowd-pleaser</b> – every theatre company needs to pay the bills, but artistic integrity and community engagement can lead us to other types of work</li> <li><strong>what to do when you can’t count on season subscribers</strong> – if you are doing a production that is very different than the type of material a particular venue typically produces, how do you reach beyond the typical subscriber base?</li> <li><strong>how granular can you get with your sponsors</strong> – we’ve all heard of season sponsors and even the occasional show sponsor, but have you heard of organizations sponsoring individual performances?</li> <li><strong>the key to getting press coverage</strong> – I’ve blogged before about how you need to <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/how-to-get-press-coverage/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">give the press a story</a> worth talking about, and here’s a real world example</li> <li><strong>which marketing tactic Doug feels had the biggest effect at the box office</strong> – if you’ve been following Sold Out Run for a while this won’t be a surprise</li> <li><strong>what a production blog can do for you</strong> – how to create a home base for online marketing activity</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://mankindproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ManKind Project</a> – an organization that supports a healthy view of masculinity and was a key sponsor for Doug’s production</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ExtremitiesAtSpotlightTheatre" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Extremities at Spotlight Theatre</a> – this is the Facebook page where you can see much of the activity that was done online to promote this production plus the type of resources Doug was linking to in raising awareness</li> <li>Doug Powers – stay on top of Doug’s exploits in theatre and elsewhere by following his Facebook feed (this link only works if you are logged into Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/doug.powers3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/doug.powers3</a> )</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/contest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Win a copy of Reaching a New Audience</a> – where to enter if you’d like to win one of three free copies of the marketing it I created to help you DIY the Sold Out Run approach to promoting your show</li> </ul> <p><strong>Discussion Question:</strong> The focus of this episode was talking about a production that can be challenging to market because the subject matter involves some uncomfortable aspects of our society that most people would rather not think about. That leads me to wonder what is the most difficult show to market? Think back on the shows you’ve seen or been involved with that were violent, confusing, repetitive, technical, loud, or seemed like they would be boring (even if they were amazing). What’s the toughest show you’ve seen anyone try to promote? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode009/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your responses here.</a></p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>. This feature doesn’t get utilized a lot (at least as of the time I’m posting this) so any message you leave is sure to get my attention.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. As you could tell from the review I shared in this episode it’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 009: Doug Powers

Much like you can get a few laugh lines when you weren’t expecting during a performance, you may very well find that you’ll get reactions to different marketing tactics that are better or worse than you expect. That doesn’t mean you throw your hands up and swear off marketing. It just means you don’t want the entire marketing campaign for your show to hinge on a single promotion. Just like you wouldn’t want your entire production to live or die on the audience having a specific reaction to a single line.  If you can get past my slightly scratchy voice in this episode, I explain why there is no silver bullet to your marketing. Every touch you have with a potential audience member is going to have elements outside your control (what kind of mood their in, the conversation they just had with their boss, etc.) so you need to plan on coming at them with your promotions from multiple angles. Congratulations to Michel, Violet, and Dave who each won a free copy of Reaching a New Audience. In this episode:  which promotion convinced someone to buy – You can’t focus all your energy on that one tactic. put yourself in your customers shoes – Although you can and should try this, your perceptions will always be colored by how close you are to the show. people share things that make them look cool – The problem is they may have a very different opinion than you on what makes them look cool. what do people do when they like your promotion – Do they tell a friend and buy a ticket or do they just smile and go about their day?  Items mentioned:  Marketing tactics to inspire, motivate and get results – a blog post from Silver Square that talks about the idea of the magic of your marketing being in the mix of tactics working together Reaching a New Audience – the marketing kit I created to help you structure a new approach to your marketing that doesn’t rely on outdated tactics like handing a stack of posters to your cast.  Discussion Question: What’s a marketing tactic that you expected to flop, that actually created some momentum for your production? Your response. Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>Much like you can get a few laugh lines when you weren’t expecting during a performance, you may very well find that you’ll get reactions to different marketing tactics that are better or worse than you expect. That doesn’t mean you throw your hands up and swear off marketing. It just means you don’t want the entire marketing campaign for your show to hinge on a single promotion. Just like you wouldn’t want your entire production to live or die on the audience having a specific reaction to a single line.</p> <p></p> <p>If you can get past my slightly scratchy voice in this episode, I explain why there is no silver bullet to your marketing. Every touch you have with a potential audience member is going to have elements outside your control (what kind of mood their in, the conversation they just had with their boss, etc.) so you need to plan on coming at them with your promotions from multiple angles.</p> <p>Congratulations to Michel, Violet, and Dave who each won a free copy of <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/newaudience/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reaching a New Audience</a>.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>which promotion convinced someone to buy </b>– You can’t focus all your energy on that one tactic.</li> <li><strong>put yourself in your customers shoes</strong> – Although you can and should try this, your perceptions will always be colored by how close you are to the show.</li> <li><strong>people share things that make them look cool</strong> – The problem is they may have a very different opinion than you on what makes them look cool.</li> <li><strong>what do people do when they like your promotion</strong> – Do they tell a friend and buy a ticket or do they just smile and go about their day?</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20131106030636/http://silversquareinc.com:80/marketing-tactics-to-inspire-motivate-and-get-you-results/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marketing tactics to inspire, motivate and get results</a> – a blog post from Silver Square that talks about the idea of the magic of your marketing being in the mix of tactics working together</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/newaudience/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reaching a New Audience</a> – the marketing kit I created to help you structure a new approach to your marketing that doesn’t rely on outdated tactics like handing a stack of posters to your cast.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Discussion Question:</strong> What’s a marketing tactic that you expected to flop, that actually created some momentum for your production? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode012/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your response.</a></p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 012: You Don’t Know What Will Resonate

Recently I got a comment on a previous post from a gentleman by the name of Matt McKee that caught my attention. In the comment he mentioned the line, “What do you want the audience to do after they see the poster / card / image / whatever?” I liked that question so much that I wanted to dedicate an episode of the podcast to it. Buying tickets to the show is the ideal action, of course, but what if someone isn’t ready to make that level of commitment, yet? What can you do to make a connection with this person so that you can continue to engage with them until they are ready to open their wallet?  Before I get into the main segment of this episode I talk a little bit about a discussion that is going on over on LinkedIn in a group for arts marketers. It’s a great question about changing our PR tactics in response to the changes in how mainstream media like newspapers are covering the arts. Interesting to see the commonalities in the viewpoints of a disparate group of marketers. In this episode:  Customer life cycle in theatre marketing – my take: attract, capture, engage, convert, deliver, upsell, referrals Calls to action for the capture phase – if someone isn’t ready to buy how can you make sure you are able to keep reaching them with more information about your show and trying to convert them Calls to action for the referral phase – once someone is a solid fan of your work how do you prompt them to tell other people My calls to action – I end the episode with a breakdown of the CTAs I use with Sold Out Run (and I even forgot one or two)  Items mentioned:  Matt McKee Photography – Matt left a great comment on a previous blog post, and that prompted me to check out his site where I saw these eye-catching examples of theatre posters. Are PR tactics having to change with more art critics going freelance? – a discussion over at the LinkedIn group Arts Marketing Network about how we need to respond to changes in the arts journalism industry Jay Harvey’s blog – former arts journalist for the Indy Star now has a blog where he writes reviews  Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? Leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  As always I truly appreciate all the little reviews, Facebook likes, and blog comments that you guys leave. It’s very satisfying for me to hear how Sold Out Run is affecting the marketing of your theatre.

<p>Recently I got a <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/graphic-design-in-theatre-marketing/#comment-2034" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">comment</a> on a previous post from a gentleman by the name of Matt McKee that caught my attention. In the comment he mentioned the line, “What do you want the audience to do after they see the poster / card / image / whatever?” I liked that question so much that I wanted to dedicate an episode of the podcast to it.</p> <p>Buying tickets to the show is the ideal action, of course, but what if someone isn’t ready to make that level of commitment, yet? What can you do to make a connection with this person so that you can continue to engage with them until they are ready to open their wallet?</p> <p></p> <p>Before I get into the main segment of this episode I talk a little bit about a discussion that is going on over on LinkedIn in a group for arts marketers. It’s a great question about changing our PR tactics in response to the changes in how mainstream media like newspapers are covering the arts. Interesting to see the commonalities in the viewpoints of a disparate group of marketers.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>Customer life cycle in theatre marketing</b> – my take: attract, capture, engage, convert, deliver, upsell, referrals</li> <li><strong>Calls to action for the capture phase</strong> – if someone isn’t ready to buy how can you make sure you are able to keep reaching them with more information about your show and trying to convert them</li> <li><strong>Calls to action for the referral phase</strong> – once someone is a solid fan of your work how do you prompt them to tell other people</li> <li><strong>My calls to action</strong> – I end the episode with a breakdown of the CTAs I use with Sold Out Run (and I even forgot one or two)</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://mattmckeephoto.com/commissioned-photography/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matt McKee Photography</a> – Matt left a great comment on a <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/graphic-design-in-theatre-marketing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">previous blog post</a>, and that prompted me to check out his site where I saw these eye-catching examples of theatre posters.</li> <li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/What-does-everyone-make-this-2895827.S.262247257?qid=76391016-a1ba-46ad-81cb-f12b1d4a5f4a&amp;trk=group_most_recent_rich-0-b-ttl&amp;goback=.gde_2895827_member_262247257.gmr_2895827" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Are PR tactics having to change with more art critics going freelance?</a> – a discussion over at the LinkedIn group <em>Arts Marketing Network</em> about how we need to respond to changes in the arts journalism industry</li> <li><a href="http://jayharveyupstage.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jay Harvey’s blog</a> – former arts journalist for the Indy Star now has a blog where he writes reviews</li> </ul> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>As always I truly appreciate all the little reviews, Facebook likes, and blog comments that you guys leave. It’s very satisfying for me to hear how Sold Out Run is affecting the marketing of your theatre.</p>

SOR 019: Calls to Action – Beyond the “Buy Tickets Now”

When you are producing a show, it can feel like there’s an enormous about of work to do. There’s just so much to try to get your arms around. Marketing might be the last thing you want to worry about, but I contend that a huge key to the success of your promotions is how you approach marketing in general. How do you feel about marketing your shows? In this episode I talk about 5 stages of the marketing mindset and how to move through them. You can move from hoping that if you build it they will come to creating promotions that are enjoyable and effective. I know. Crazy, right? Listen on.  We’ve all heard of the acts that seem to experience overnight successes. It happens in every industry, and those stories often gloss over the fact that those acts spent years (if not decades) laying the groundwork to get where they are today. The theatre companies that seem to effortlessly sell out every show, appear that way because they’ve invested their resources in moving through these stages to reach a point where their marketing is part of the entertainment experience. In this episode:  5 stages of the marketing mindset – ignorance, denial, resentment, resignation, integration tips for moving through each stage – some key tactics to help you climb through the stages standardizing your marketing process – the initial babysteps that will help you create a repeatable process that gives you a foundation for your marketing activities on each show where the director fits in to your marketing – the director plays an incredibly key role in your marketing, but if you plan it right it will take up almost none of his or her time why entertainers make the best marketers – spoiler: marketing is entertainment  Items mentioned:  Liz Femi took my marketing kit out for a test drive and wrote a blog post before her show opened and another after it closed Your Editorial Calendar: the Linchpin of Promoting a Show – an early blog post that gives a top level view of why and how to create a calendar for your marketing activity SOR 016: How To Delegate Theatre Marketing Tasks  – previous episode where I talk about how to (successfully) delegate tasks to recapture your time Facebook question about comparing your show to other well-known productions in your marketing  Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? Leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>When you are producing a show, it can feel like there’s an enormous about of work to do. There’s just so much to try to get your arms around. Marketing might be the last thing you want to worry about, but I contend that a huge key to the success of your promotions is how you approach marketing in general. How do you feel about marketing your shows?</p> <p>In this episode I talk about 5 stages of the marketing mindset and how to move through them. You can move from hoping that if you build it they will come to creating promotions that are enjoyable and effective. I know. Crazy, right? Listen on.</p> <p></p> <p>We’ve all heard of the acts that seem to experience overnight successes. It happens in every industry, and those stories often gloss over the fact that those acts spent years (if not decades) laying the groundwork to get where they are today. The theatre companies that seem to effortlessly sell out every show, appear that way because they’ve invested their resources in moving through these stages to reach a point where their marketing is part of the entertainment experience.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>5 stages of the marketing mindset</b> – ignorance, denial, resentment, resignation, integration</li> <li><strong>tips for moving through each stage</strong> – some key tactics to help you climb through the stages</li> <li><strong>standardizing your marketing process</strong> – the initial babysteps that will help you create a repeatable process that gives you a foundation for your marketing activities on each show</li> <li><strong>where the director fits in to your marketing</strong> – the director plays an incredibly key role in your marketing, but if you plan it right it will take up almost none of his or her time</li> <li><strong>why entertainers make the best marketers</strong> – spoiler: marketing <em>is</em> entertainment</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li>Liz Femi took my marketing kit out for a test drive and wrote a blog post <a href="http://lafpi.com/2013/06/the-m-word/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">before her show opened</a> and another <a href="http://lafpi.com/2013/07/the-m-word-revisited/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">after it closed</a></li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/your-editorial-calendar-the-linchpin-of-promoting-a-show/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your Editorial Calendar: the Linchpin of Promoting a Show</a> – an early blog post that gives a top level view of why and how to create a calendar for your marketing activity</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode016/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SOR 016: How To Delegate Theatre Marketing Tasks </a> – previous episode where I talk about how to (successfully) delegate tasks to recapture your time</li> <li>Facebook question about <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SoldOutRun/posts/388249704628464" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">comparing your show to other well-known productions</a> in your marketing</li> </ul> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 018: Stages of the Entertainment Marketing Mindset

I have a production coming up in about 5 months that I’m promoting, and this past weekend was the brainstorming session to start dreaming up ways to market it. I got a lot of fresh ideas and energy from the conversation, largely because I had the chance to bounce around ideas with people that I’ve never talked to about marketing before. While it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to record a podcast episode about why I think a good brainstorming session is so productive for your theatre marketing and a few tips on setting up the meeting to be successful.  In this episode:  the trap – if you have pretty decent foundational marketing in place as your working template, it’s so easy to skip the brainstorming step what comes out of a good brainstorming session – you’ll get new ideas, new takes on your current ideas, and access to ideas that you could not have easily stumbled upon on your own who should be at the table – you want a mix of people that’s going to understand what you want to accomplish, but be far enough removed to bring new ideas – here’s how what to prepare ahead of time – once you get great people in the same room, you don’t want to spend an hour looking around at each other and saying, “so, what do you think?”  Items mentioned:  Aweber – my new email provider (if you’re curious) Rocky Horror Picture Show – the Facebook page for a previous and upcoming production of the show I was brainstorming in this episode  Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.  Thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.

<p>I have a production coming up in about 5 months that I’m promoting, and this past weekend was the brainstorming session to start dreaming up ways to market it. I got a lot of fresh ideas and energy from the conversation, largely because I had the chance to bounce around ideas with people that I’ve never talked to about marketing before. While it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to record a podcast episode about why I think a good brainstorming session is so productive for your theatre marketing and a few tips on setting up the meeting to be successful.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>the trap</b> – if you have pretty decent foundational marketing in place as your working template, it’s so easy to skip the brainstorming step</li> <li><strong>what comes out of a good brainstorming session</strong> – you’ll get new ideas, new takes on your current ideas, and access to ideas that you could not have easily stumbled upon on your own</li> <li><strong>who should be at the table</strong> – you want a mix of people that’s going to understand what you want to accomplish, but be far enough removed to bring new ideas – here’s how</li> <li><strong>what to prepare ahead of time</strong> – once you get great people in the same room, you don’t want to spend an hour looking around at each other and saying, “so, what do you think?”</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.aweber.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aweber</a> – my new email provider (if you’re curious)</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockyHorrorIndy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rocky Horror Picture Show</a> – the Facebook page for a previous and upcoming production of the show I was brainstorming in this episode</li> </ul> <h3>Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.</p>

SOR 53: Why Taking the Time To Brainstorm Your Marketing With Outsiders Is Worth It

I’m going solo in this episode of the podcast, talking about money. It’s always bothered me that so many theatres and acting companies (often those that put fantastic work up on the stage) do such a bad job of operating as a business. Just like any other business we are creating a product that people pay for, and we should have every expectation of operating at a profit.  I listened to this podcast after recording it, and I have to admit: I ramble a little bit here. Part of that is because I do get genuinely frustrated around this topic when I see organizations that are truly exceptional from an artistic standpoint and no plan for becoming financially stable. I may be the only one who notices it, but I hear the frustration in my voice when I listen to this episode. I’m keeping it, though, because it is authentically how I feel. I really cover two financial topics in this episode. The first is the subject of making money. Logically most of us get that having more money means we would be able to do even more things with our art, but there seems to be some head trash around the idea that we would have to sacrifice our artistic integrity in order to become profitable. There are more ways to become a profitable organization than to do nothing but Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat all year long. I call shenanigans. I also touch a little bit on the idea of government funding – and to a lesser extent corporate funding. I think funding can be a very good thing for organizations, but if it isn’t handled responsibly it seems like it can cause more harm than good. In this episode:  What nonprofit really means – it’s just a tax designation, not a philosophy How government funding can be bad for your finances – there are ways to use government (or corporate) funding that can be a boon to your organization, but other ways that can trap you Where funding should go in your budget – the right place to allocate these types of funds to make sure you remain financially stable How profitability gives you more artistic flexibility – more money means more resources for your shows and infrastructure, and if you know how to market a show you can still produce edgier fare  Items mentioned:  Stop Making Excuses for Non Profits – a blog post by Gedaly Guberek where he challenges the idea that a nonprofit organization can’t operate like a for-profit business What if…We Cast Off our Non-Profit Status? – In a thought experiment, Chad Bauman explores how becoming a for-profit business would change the mindset and actions of the people involved in a theatre  Have your own question? If you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a sentence or two review of the show over at iTunes. It helps the podcast tremendously. Leave your review.

<p>I’m going solo in this episode of the podcast, talking about money. It’s always bothered me that so many theatres and acting companies (often those that put fantastic work up on the stage) do such a bad job of operating as a business. Just like any other business we are creating a product that people pay for, and we should have every expectation of operating at a profit.</p> <p></p> <p>I listened to this podcast after recording it, and I have to admit: I ramble a little bit here. Part of that is because I do get genuinely frustrated around this topic when I see organizations that are truly exceptional from an artistic standpoint and no plan for becoming financially stable. I may be the only one who notices it, but I hear the frustration in my voice when I listen to this episode. I’m keeping it, though, because it is authentically how I feel.</p> <p>I really cover two financial topics in this episode. The first is the subject of making money. Logically most of us get that having more money means we would be able to do even more things with our art, but there seems to be some head trash around the idea that we would have to sacrifice our artistic integrity in order to become profitable. There are more ways to become a profitable organization than to do nothing but <em>Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat</em> all year long. I call shenanigans.</p> <p>I also touch a little bit on the idea of government funding – and to a lesser extent corporate funding. I think funding can be a very good thing for organizations, but if it isn’t handled responsibly it seems like it can cause more harm than good.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>What nonprofit really means</strong> – it’s just a tax designation, not a philosophy</li> <li><strong>How government funding can be bad for your finances</strong> – there are ways to use government (or corporate) funding that can be a boon to your organization, but other ways that can trap you</li> <li><strong>Where funding should go in your budget</strong> – the right place to allocate these types of funds to make sure you remain financially stable</li> <li><strong>How profitability gives you more artistic flexibility</strong> – more money means more resources for your shows and infrastructure, and if you know how to market a show you can still produce edgier fare</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://gedaly.com/stop-making-excuses-for-non-profits" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stop Making Excuses for Non Profits</a> – a blog post by Gedaly Guberek where he challenges the idea that a nonprofit organization can’t operate like a for-profit business</li> <li><a href="http://arts-marketing.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-ifwe-cast-off-our-non-profit.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">What if…We Cast Off our Non-Profit Status?</a> – In a thought experiment, Chad Bauman explores how becoming a for-profit business would change the mindset and actions of the people involved in a theatre</li> </ul> <h3>Have your own question?</h3> <p>If you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a sentence or two review of the show over at iTunes. It helps the podcast tremendously.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave your review.</a></strong></p>

SOR 004: Theatre For Fun and Profit

Lori Raffel

A Nice Family Gathering is a show I did back in early 2011, and it was momentous for a few reasons. It was the first time I acted on stage in Indianapolis, the first time I had a leading role in a non-musical production, and the first exposure I had to Lori Raffel. She was the producer for this show (as well as the creative director of the theatre). I got to know Lori even better last year when I appeared in a show that she directed. Her well-rounded theatre skill set doesn’t end there, though. I touch briefly in the episode on all the various hats she wears in the Indianapolis theatre community, but one of the most relevant roles to Sold Out Run readers and listeners is her “day” job as the Marketing and Media Relations Director at the Phoenix Theatre.  In this episode:  What a marketing and media relations director does – spoiler: it sounds like a little bit of everything. The differences between promoting amateur and professional theatre – how you’re viewed by the press and how the difference in budgets change how you have to approach your promotions. Getting the media to bite – what it takes to get the local press to cover your show. Why Lori still loves postcards – while social media and mobile devices are taking over most marketing discussions, don’t count simple print pieces out yet. Being part of the theatre community – how partnering with other theatres can help from an operational and financial stand point. Casting a dog for Of Mice and Men – how your biggest production challenges can become unexpectedly powerful promotional tools.  Items mentioned:  Phoenix Theatre – professional theatre in downtown Indianapolis celebrating their 30th year (Lori’s role: Marketing and Media Relations Director) Encore Association – a collection of community theatres in the Indianapolis area that work together to help individual theatres and raise the quality of amateur theatre for all of Indianapolis (Lori’s role: former President) Carmel Community Players – reference in the last two episodes of the podcast, this community theatre is located in Carmel, a suburb of Indianapolis (Lori’s role: Artistic Director) Humane Society of Indianapolis – a potential resource for canine acting talent  As I mentioned in the episode, I’m going to be giving away free copies of my marketing kit, Reaching a New Audience, to listeners who submit an audio question that I use on the podcast. Have a microphone on your computer or an iPhone? That’s all it takes… Listener Challenge: Ask your theatre marketing question, and it might appear in a future episode of the podcast. Just ask me about whatever promotional obstacles you’ve got right now. It could be not knowing where to focus your attention, problems with social media, a lack of support, or whatever is keeping you up at night. Ask away.

<p><em>A Nice Family Gathering</em> is a show I did back in early 2011, and it was momentous for a few reasons. It was the first time I acted on stage in Indianapolis, the first time I had a leading role in a non-musical production, and the first exposure I had to Lori Raffel. She was the producer for this show (as well as the creative director of the theatre). I got to know Lori even better last year when I appeared in a show that she directed.</p> <p>Her well-rounded theatre skill set doesn’t end there, though. I touch briefly in the episode on all the various hats she wears in the Indianapolis theatre community, but one of the most relevant roles to Sold Out Run readers and listeners is her “day” job as the Marketing and Media Relations Director at the Phoenix Theatre.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>What a marketing and media relations director does</strong> – spoiler: it sounds like a little bit of everything.</li> <li><strong>The differences between promoting amateur and professional theatre</strong> – how you’re viewed by the press and how the difference in budgets change how you have to approach your promotions.</li> <li><strong>Getting the media to bite</strong> – what it takes to get the local press to cover your show.</li> <li><strong>Why Lori still loves postcards</strong> – while social media and mobile devices are taking over most marketing discussions, don’t count simple print pieces out yet.</li> <li><strong>Being part of the theatre community</strong> – how partnering with other theatres can help from an operational and financial stand point.</li> <li><strong>Casting a dog for <em>Of Mice and Men</em></strong> – how your biggest production challenges can become unexpectedly powerful promotional tools.</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://phoenixtheatre.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Phoenix Theatre</a> – professional theatre in downtown Indianapolis celebrating their 30th year (Lori’s role: Marketing and Media Relations Director)</li> <li><a href="http://encoreassociation.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Encore Association</a> – a collection of community theatres in the Indianapolis area that work together to help individual theatres and raise the quality of amateur theatre for all of Indianapolis (Lori’s role: former President)</li> <li><a href="http://www.carmelplayers.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Carmel Community Players</a> – reference in the last two episodes of the podcast, this community theatre is located in Carmel, a suburb of Indianapolis (Lori’s role: Artistic Director)</li> <li><a href="http://indyhumane.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Humane Society of Indianapolis</a> – a potential resource for canine acting talent</li> </ul> <p>As I mentioned in the episode, I’m going to be giving away free copies of my marketing kit, <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/newaudience/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Reaching a New Audience</a>, to listeners who submit an audio question that I use on the podcast. Have a microphone on your computer or an iPhone? That’s all it takes…</p> <p><strong>Listener Challenge:</strong> Ask your theatre marketing question, and it might appear in a future episode of the podcast. Just ask me about whatever promotional obstacles you’ve got right now. It could be not knowing where to focus your attention, problems with social media, a lack of support, or whatever is keeping you up at night. <strong><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ask away.</a></strong></p>

SOR 003: Lori Raffel

Being part of any theatre festival is a fantastic opportunity to get exposure to new audiences. The people attending these festivals are clearly interested in discovering new performing arts options in their city. When you get accepted into a festival it would be so easy to relax on your marketing efforts because the festival itself is going to bring you all kinds of foot traffic, but you still need to get those people walking past to stop and watch your show. Putting a store in a busy mall guarantees that people will be walking past the front door, but it doesn’t guarantee they will stop in and buy anything.  Last summer I helped promote the show 465: Sex Drive as part of the IndyFringe Festival. While it was the first year that this production company had entered a production in the Fringe – in fact this was the company’s first stage production in Indianapolis –  we were the highest grossing show. Since ticket prices are set to $10 for all shows in the festival, this also means we sold the most tickets. The organizers of the festival offer workshops for the participants to help them in various aspects of marketing their shows, and they asked me to run a session this year and share what we did to promote 465. That workshop was earlier this month, and it was very well received. People were asking questions and jotting down notes. I’m pretty sure everyone left with some concrete ideas they will be using to promote their shows this summer. So I wanted to share this material on the podcast. The original workshop was 2 hours long. That’s in part because there were a lot of questions and interjections. I’ve streamlined the material quite a bit for the podcast format, and now it runs just over 40 minutes. Even with that trimming, though, I still needed to break the material into two separate episodes. Part 2 will be released next week. In this episode:  why ignoring marketing and just focusing on art doesn’t work – it has a noble appeal, but even the most amazing shows can’t find an audience without promotion questions in a potential audience member’s mind when they see your postcard – what they are thinking about you and this show as they decide if they want a ticket when word of mouth starts – hint: it should be long before opening night marketing is entertainment – we tend to lump it in with sales, but marketing has a lot more in common with performance organizing your promotions – how often you need to be releasing your promotions 2 channels you absolutely must use to market your show – press releases, posters, and Twitter can all be key for your marketing, but here are two channels you can’t do without  Items mentioned:  Slides from this workshop – If curiosity is killing you, here are the actual slides I used during the presentation. Completely optional. IndyFringe Festival – annual theatre festival in Indianapolis from which the examples in this workshop are taken 465: Sex Drive’s Facebook page – the Facebook event page for the show referenced in this case study. Most of the examples mentioned here of things like cast bios, polls, videos, etc. are linked to in status updates on this page. The Secret Power of Facebook Events – a blog post I wrote explaining why event pages are the most effective way to leverage your Facebook connections   Discussion Question: I make a pretty strong statement in this episode that I don’t think you can find an audience for your show by focusing on putting an amazing production up on stage and neglecting traditional marketing activities like putting up ads. Am I right? Under what conditions could you truly ignore the promotion and just let the quality of your work build buzz on its own? Leave your thoughts here. Have your own question? If you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a sentence or two review of the show over at iTunes. It helps the podcast tremendously. Leave your review.

<p>Being part of any theatre festival is a fantastic opportunity to get exposure to new audiences. The people attending these festivals are clearly interested in discovering new performing arts options in their city. When you get accepted into a festival it would be so easy to relax on your marketing efforts because the festival itself is going to bring you all kinds of foot traffic, but you still need to get those people walking past to stop and watch your show.</p> <p>Putting a store in a busy mall guarantees that people will be walking past the front door, but it doesn’t guarantee they will stop in and buy anything.</p> <p></p> <p>Last summer I helped promote the show <em>465: Sex Drive</em> as part of the IndyFringe Festival. While it was the first year that this production company had entered a production in the Fringe – in fact this was the company’s first stage production in Indianapolis –  we were the highest grossing show. Since ticket prices are set to $10 for all shows in the festival, this also means we sold the most tickets.</p> <p>The organizers of the festival offer workshops for the participants to help them in various aspects of marketing their shows, and they asked me to run a session this year and share what we did to promote <em>465</em>. That workshop was earlier this month, and it was very well received. People were asking questions and jotting down notes. I’m pretty sure everyone left with some concrete ideas they will be using to promote their shows this summer.</p> <p>So I wanted to share this material on the podcast. The original workshop was 2 hours long. That’s in part because there were a lot of questions and interjections. I’ve streamlined the material quite a bit for the podcast format, and now it runs just over 40 minutes. Even with that trimming, though, I still needed to break the material into two separate episodes. <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode008/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Part 2</a> will be released next week.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>why ignoring marketing and just focusing on art doesn’t work</b> – it has a noble appeal, but even the most amazing shows can’t find an audience without promotion</li> <li><strong>questions in a potential audience member’s mind when they see your postcard</strong> – what they are thinking about you and this show as they decide if they want a ticket</li> <li><strong>when word of mouth starts</strong> – hint: it should be long before opening night</li> <li><strong>marketing is entertainment</strong> – we tend to lump it in with sales, but marketing has a lot more in common with performance</li> <li><strong>organizing your promotions</strong> – how often you need to be releasing your promotions</li> <li><strong>2 channels you absolutely must use to market your show</strong> – press releases, posters, and Twitter can all be key for your marketing, but here are two channels you can’t do without</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Marketing-Timeline.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slides from this workshop</a> – If curiosity is killing you, here are the actual slides I used during the presentation. Completely optional.</li> <li><a href="http://indyfringe.org/indyfringe-theatre-festival" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndyFringe Festival</a> – annual theatre festival in Indianapolis from which the examples in this workshop are taken</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/508656909151551/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">465: Sex Drive’s Facebook page</a> – the Facebook event page for the show referenced in this case study. Most of the examples mentioned here of things like cast bios, polls, videos, etc. are linked to in status updates on this page.</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/facebook-events/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Secret Power of Facebook Events</a> – a blog post I wrote explaining why event pages are the most effective way to leverage your Facebook connections</li> </ul> <p></p> <p><strong>Discussion Question:</strong> I make a pretty strong statement in this episode that I don’t think you can find an audience for your show by focusing on putting an amazing production up on stage and neglecting traditional marketing activities like putting up ads. Am I right? Under what conditions could you truly ignore the promotion and just let the quality of your work build buzz on its own? <strong><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode007/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave your thoughts here</a>.</strong></p> <h3>Have your own question?</h3> <p>If you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a sentence or two review of the show over at iTunes. It helps the podcast tremendously.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave your review.</a></strong></p>

SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2)

As the title implies, this is the second episode of a two-part podcast where I walk-through the approach I took when promoting a show at the 2012 IndyFringe Festival. The show was very successful at the box office. In the last episode I talked about the marketing approach, including what channels (blog, Facebook, etc.) we wanted to use. In this episode I get into some of the specific tactics we used to achieve that steady content drip that is so key to successful promotion.  I’ve provided the slides that I used in the presentation. They are completely optional, but if one of the tactics is particularly appealing to you, I wanted the accompanying visual to be available in case you wanted to get a look at it. There’s also a link to an Excel file that has the last few weeks of the actual marketing timeline I used when promoting 465. Even if you don’t ultimately end up using Excel to organize your promotional schedule, I highly recommend taking a look at this file just to get a sense of how straightforward a good marketing timeline can make your marketing campaign. In this episode:  reach the personal networks of your cast – you can tell everyone to invite their friends and fans, but you can provide material that makes it easier and more effective for them why you don’t want to be the best thing in the festival – once you hit the stage that changes, but while you are promoting to your audience you don’t want to be the best how to develop intimacy between your audience and your show – give a glimpse behind the scenes to allow people to feel like they have a closer connection to the show (which makes them want to see it succeed) why you should bring your existing audience to the festival – it’s key to getting a new audience in the seats the three worst things you can say when promoting your show – these are so common (and detrimental) that it warranted a separate blog post  Items mentioned:  Slides from this workshop – If curiosity is killing you, here are the actual slides I used during the presentation. Completely optional. IndyFringe Festival – annual theatre festival in Indianapolis from which the examples in this workshop are taken 465: Sex Drive’s Facebook page – the Facebook event page for the show referenced in this case study. Most of the examples mentioned here of things like cast bios, polls, videos, etc. are linked to in status updates on this page. First-Timer’s Guide to IndyFringe – the page we created to let out audience know all the idiosyncracies of the festival ahead of time 465 Marketing Timeline Excerpt – an Excel file with the last few weeks of the actual marketing timeline I used while promoting the show profiled in this podcast  Below are the two videos we shared on social media to promote 465.   Discussion Question: As I mentioned in the podcast I’m delighted with the number of emails I’m getting lately in which people seem to be asking for good ideas to promote a particular show. My intent behind the Facebook page for Sold Out Run is to be a place where people can ask for help with the marketing challenges they have in front of them right now and get good ideas from other theatre marketers – including me. Kind of like virtual brainstorming. So I invite you to head over to Facebook and ask for ideas on promoting your current show. Have a question? Of course if Facebook isn’t your thing and you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can leave me a voicemail. This feature doesn’t get utilized a lot (at least as of the time I’m posting this) so it’s sure to get my attention. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>As the title implies, this is the second episode of a two-part podcast where I walk-through the approach I took when promoting a show at the 2012 IndyFringe Festival. The show was very successful at the box office. In the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode007/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">last episode</a> I talked about the marketing approach, including what channels (blog, Facebook, etc.) we wanted to use.</p> <p>In this episode I get into some of the specific tactics we used to achieve that steady content drip that is so key to successful promotion.</p> <p></p> <p>I’ve provided <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Marketing-Timeline.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the slides</a> that I used in the presentation. They are completely optional, but if one of the tactics is particularly appealing to you, I wanted the accompanying visual to be available in case you wanted to get a look at it. There’s also a link to an Excel file that has the last few weeks of the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/465-Marketing-Timeline-Excerpt.xlsx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">actual marketing timeline</a> I used when promoting 465. Even if you don’t ultimately end up using Excel to organize your promotional schedule, I highly recommend taking a look at this file just to get a sense of how straightforward a good marketing timeline can make your marketing campaign.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>reach the personal networks of your cast</b> – you can tell everyone to invite their friends and fans, but you can provide material that makes it easier and more effective for them</li> <li><strong>why you don’t want to be the best thing in the festival</strong> – once you hit the stage that changes, but while you are promoting to your audience you don’t want to be the best</li> <li><strong>how to develop intimacy between your audience and your show</strong> – give a glimpse behind the scenes to allow people to feel like they have a closer connection to the show (which makes them want to see it succeed)</li> <li><strong>why you should bring your existing audience to the festival</strong> – it’s key to getting a new audience in the seats</li> <li><strong>the three worst things you can say when promoting your show</strong> – these are so common (and detrimental) that it warranted a <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/3-things-never-to-say-when-promoting-a-show/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">separate blog post</a></li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Marketing-Timeline.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slides from this workshop</a> – If curiosity is killing you, here are the actual slides I used during the presentation. Completely optional.</li> <li><a href="http://indyfringe.org/indyfringe-theatre-festival" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndyFringe Festival</a> – annual theatre festival in Indianapolis from which the examples in this workshop are taken</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/508656909151551/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">465: Sex Drive’s Facebook page</a> – the Facebook event page for the show referenced in this case study. Most of the examples mentioned here of things like cast bios, polls, videos, etc. are linked to in status updates on this page.</li> <li><a href="http://redboatproductions.com/guide-to-indyfringe/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">First-Timer’s Guide to IndyFringe</a> – the page we created to let out audience know all the idiosyncracies of the festival ahead of time</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/465-Marketing-Timeline-Excerpt.xlsx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">465 Marketing Timeline Excerpt</a> – an Excel file with the last few weeks of the actual marketing timeline I used while promoting the show profiled in this podcast</li> </ul> <p>Below are the two videos we shared on social media to promote 465.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><strong>Discussion Question:</strong> As I mentioned in the podcast I’m delighted with the number of emails I’m getting lately in which people seem to be asking for good ideas to promote a particular show. My intent behind the Facebook page for Sold Out Run is to be a place where people can ask for help with the marketing challenges they have in front of them right now and get good ideas from other theatre marketers – including me. Kind of like virtual brainstorming.</p> <p>So I invite you to head over to Facebook and ask for ideas on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SoldOutRun" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">promoting your current show</a>.</p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Of course if Facebook isn’t your thing and you have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast, you can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>. This feature doesn’t get utilized a lot (at least as of the time I’m posting this) so it’s sure to get my attention.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 008: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 2 of 2)

We all fall into that rut. We find a few good marketing tactics like posters and emailing cast announcements then decide that we’re going to stick with them forever. They probably even work – but not was well as they once did. And not as well as another tactic might. So how do you know when you should pull the plug on an old favorite marketing tactic? In this episode I talk about the indications that let me know I needed to update a major marketing component of Sold Out Run.  I also want to mention that while it’s pretty modest as milestones go, I’m very pleased to be releasing episode number ten of the Sold Out Run Podcast. I’m received some very nice messages from listeners who are finding value in the podcast, and the number of downloads of the podcast has been increasing at a very healthy pace over the last few months. I will continue to strive to provide valuable ideas and resources through this channel to raise the level of show promotion going on in the world. (And it still awes me a little that people are listening to this podcast from all over the world.) In this episode:  when your visual brand changes – when you update the look and feel of your visual brand (whether as a theatre, a production company, or a solo operation) you need to make sure all of your visual marketing pieces get updated when your approach is dated – are people still getting their information about entertainment options from the same places they were a few years ago? when you don’t set the right expectations – if your artistic vision changes, have you updated all of your marketing to make sure people understand the new direction when the message isn’t compelling – the values and priorities of the individuals that make up your audience change over time – are you talking to the people they are today or the people they used to be? when you’re bored – if you aren’t excited about a particular marketing piece, there’s no way it’s going to be as strong and effective as it could  Items mentioned:  Your Marketing Tells Me If Your Show Is Any Good – a blog post I wrote discussing how people will make assumptions about the quality of your production based on the quality of your marketing Win a copy of Reaching a New Audience – where to enter if you’d like to win one of three free copies of the marketing it I created to help you DIY the Sold Out Run approach to promoting your show  Take Action: Identify one go-to marketing strategy that you think it might be time to say goodbye to. Let me know in the comments below what tactic you wish you could phase out of your marketing mix. Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>We all fall into that rut. We find a few good marketing tactics like posters and emailing cast announcements then decide that we’re going to stick with them forever. They probably even work – but not was well as they once did. And not as well as another tactic might. So how do you know when you should pull the plug on an old favorite marketing tactic? In this episode I talk about the indications that let me know I needed to update a major marketing component of Sold Out Run.</p> <p></p> <p>I also want to mention that while it’s pretty modest as milestones go, I’m very pleased to be releasing episode number ten of the Sold Out Run Podcast. I’m received some very nice messages from listeners who are finding value in the podcast, and the number of downloads of the podcast has been increasing at a very healthy pace over the last few months. I will continue to strive to provide valuable ideas and resources through this channel to raise the level of show promotion going on in the world. (And it still awes me a little that people are listening to this podcast from all over the world.)</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>when your visual brand changes</strong> – when you update the look and feel of your visual brand (whether as a theatre, a production company, or a solo operation) you need to make sure <em>all</em> of your visual marketing pieces get updated</li> <li><strong>when your approach is dated</strong> – are people still getting their information about entertainment options from the same places they were a few years ago?</li> <li><strong>when you don’t set the right expectations</strong> – if your artistic vision changes, have you updated all of your marketing to make sure people understand the new direction</li> <li><strong>when the message isn’t compelling</strong> – the values and priorities of the individuals that make up your audience change over time – are you talking to the people they are today or the people they used to be?</li> <li><strong>when you’re bored</strong> – if you aren’t excited about a particular marketing piece, there’s no way it’s going to be as strong and effective as it could</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/your-marketing-tells-me-if-your-show-is-any-good/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Your Marketing Tells Me If Your Show Is Any Good</a> – a blog post I wrote discussing how people will make assumptions about the quality of your production based on the quality of your marketing</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/contest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Win a copy of Reaching a New Audience</a> – where to enter if you’d like to win one of three free copies of the marketing it I created to help you DIY the Sold Out Run approach to promoting your show</li> </ul> <p><strong>Take Action:</strong> Identify one go-to marketing strategy that you think it might be time to say goodbye to. Let me know <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode010/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in the comments below</a> what tactic you wish you could phase out of your marketing mix.</p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/podcastinfo/#ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 010: How To Recognize When To Change Your Marketing Tactics

Bill Wilkison

Bill Wilkison is nothing if not an artistic renaissance man. He is an actor, director, writer, and genuinely kind and generous human being. One of the reasons I was so eager to get Bill on the podcast is because he’s also a talented visual artist. He is sought after in the Indianapolis area for his ability as an artist both with set pieces and promotional material.  Bill shares some great insights in this episode. I particularly loved the fact that someone who creates great posters dreads the idea of going out and trying to put them up. We’ve talked about posters before in a few early episodes of the podcast, but it’s interesting to hear an artist voice concerns with posters from a completely different angle. In this episode I also talk about an email I received from Niels Duinker. I suggest to Niels that seeking out theatres that have dark weekends he could step in and fill might be a great approach for him. It got me wondering if there are any sites out there that act like match making services for venues and acts. (We’re a 6-person improv act looking for 100-200 seat theatres on the east coast in the months of June and July.) I am not aware of this type of site, but if you do know one please, please share a link in the comments. In this episode:  what’s the relationship between the visual art on stage and the art in the marketing – the exact relationship may vary, but when you see a production it should feel familiar connected to what you saw in the advertising how much should arts marketing borrow from corporate marketing – a lot, but make sure the promise you make with your marketing is something you deliver in your production what’s the unique selling proposition for your show if you are doing a traditional production – some people are looking for exactly that, and build your marketing message around it as a strength how small theatre companies can rapidly grow – foster a community how someone who makes posters feels about putting them up – spoiler: he doesn’t like it any better than the rest of us do can theatre promotions exists as their own art form – Bill thinks so  Items mentioned: the poster that Bill talks about when we discuss the relationship between the art on stage and the promotional art  NoExit Performance and Q Artistry – two companies in Indianapolis that have experienced rapid growth in recent years that Bill and I talk about Family Dog – psychedelic posters that stand as works of art apart from the events they were designed to promote Dick Tracy movie posters – this link takes you to the image search results on Google for “dick tracy movie posters” to see the type of iconography Bill brings up in this episode B. Wilkison – Bill’s artist page on Facebook  Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast. I hope you find it useful. Namaste, gang.

<p>Bill Wilkison is nothing if not an artistic renaissance man. He is an actor, director, writer, and genuinely kind and generous human being. One of the reasons I was so eager to get Bill on the podcast is because he’s also a talented visual artist. He is sought after in the Indianapolis area for his ability as an artist both with set pieces and promotional material.</p> <p></p> <p>Bill shares some great insights in this episode. I particularly loved the fact that someone who creates great posters dreads the idea of going out and trying to put them up. We’ve talked about posters before in a few <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode002/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">early</a> <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode003/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">episodes</a> of the podcast, but it’s interesting to hear an artist voice concerns with posters from a completely different angle.</p> <p>In this episode I also talk about an email I received from <a href="http://nielsduinker.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Niels Duinker</a>. I suggest to Niels that seeking out theatres that have dark weekends he could step in and fill might be a great approach for him. It got me wondering if there are any sites out there that act like match making services for venues and acts. (<em>We’re a 6-person improv act looking for 100-200 seat theatres on the east coast in the months of June and July.</em>) I am not aware of this type of site, but if you do know one please, please share a link in the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode022/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">comments</a>.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>what’s the relationship between the visual art on stage and the art in the marketing </b>– the exact relationship may vary, but when you see a production it should feel familiar connected to what you saw in the advertising</li> <li><strong>how much should arts marketing borrow from corporate marketing</strong> – a lot, but make sure the promise you make with your marketing is something you deliver in your production</li> <li><strong>what’s the unique selling proposition for your show if you are doing a traditional production</strong> – some people are looking for exactly that, and build your marketing message around it as a strength</li> <li><strong>how small theatre companies can rapidly grow</strong> – foster a community</li> <li><strong>how someone who makes posters feels about putting them up</strong> – spoiler: he doesn’t like it any better than the rest of us do</li> <li><strong>can theatre promotions exists as their own art form</strong> – Bill thinks so</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/995984_221755387977458_1804938316_n.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><p>the poster that Bill talks about when we discuss the relationship between the art on stage and the promotional art</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.noexitperformance.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NoExit Performance</a> and <a href="http://www.qartistry.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Q Artistry</a> – two companies in Indianapolis that have experienced rapid growth in recent years that Bill and I talk about</li> <li><a href="http://www.familydog.com/artwork" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Family Dog</a> – psychedelic posters that stand as works of art apart from the events they were designed to promote</li> <li><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dick+tracy+movie+posters&amp;tbm=isch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dick Tracy movie posters</a> – this link takes you to the image search results on Google for “dick tracy movie posters” to see the type of iconography Bill brings up in this episode</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/B-Wilkison/165216153548342" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">B. Wilkison</a> – Bill’s artist page on Facebook</li> </ul> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast. I hope you find it useful. Namaste, gang.</p>

SOR 022: Bill Wilkison

A Fringe festival is an interesting microcosm of the theatre world. Everything happens on a compressed timeline in a restricted geographic area, and you can gain some interesting insights by observing how people behave. I’m recording and publishing this episode smack in the middle of the 2013 IndyFringe Festival, and this is what I’ve observed.  Good marketing requires knowing what your audience is looking for and creating an offer that caters to that need. A Fringe audience wants to see something they couldn’t see elsewhere. Assuming you deliver that on stage, how do you convey what is completely original about your show? In this episode:  people are more open to marketing – since so many people don’t know what shows they are going to see during certain spots, they are interested in learning more about them busking is difficult – although there does appear to be a science if you have the disposition for it word of mouth happens faster – more conversations happen as people bounce from show-to-show trying to learn more about what other people have seen audiences are more and less forgiving – they are more forgiving of shows that look rough and less forgiving of shows that don’t do something unique getting your fans to see other shows is critical – word of mouth spreads by asking people what other shows they’ve seen, and you need your fans circulating  Items mentioned:  The Open Book Project – a new project where you look over my shoulder as I promote a theatre production in real time SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2) – a previous podcast episode taken from a workshop I gave on specific marketing tactics and approaches for a fringe festival  Discussion Question: Do you think it’s easier to market at a Fringe festival or a more traditional run at a theatre with consistent showtimes? Respond here. Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? Leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  As always I truly appreciate all the little reviews, Facebook likes, and blog comments that you guys leave. It’s very satisfying for me to hear how Sold Out Run is affecting the marketing of your theatre.

<p>A Fringe festival is an interesting microcosm of the theatre world. Everything happens on a compressed timeline in a restricted geographic area, and you can gain some interesting insights by observing how people behave. I’m recording and publishing this episode smack in the middle of the 2013 IndyFringe Festival, and this is what I’ve observed.</p> <p></p> <p>Good marketing requires knowing what your audience is looking for and creating an offer that caters to that need. A Fringe audience wants to see something they couldn’t see elsewhere. Assuming you deliver that on stage, how do you convey what is completely original about your show?</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>people are more open to marketing</strong> – since so many people don’t know what shows they are going to see during certain spots, they are interested in learning more about them</li> <li><strong>busking is difficult</strong> – although there does appear to be a science if you have the disposition for it</li> <li><strong>word of mouth happens faster</strong> – more conversations happen as people bounce from show-to-show trying to learn more about what other people have seen</li> <li><strong>audiences are more and less forgiving</strong> – they are more forgiving of shows that look rough and less forgiving of shows that don’t do something unique</li> <li><strong>getting your fans to see other shows is critical</strong> – word of mouth spreads by asking people what other shows they’ve seen, and you need your fans circulating</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/openbook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Open Book Project</a> – a new project where you look over my shoulder as I promote a theatre production in real time</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode007/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SOR 007: Marketing at a Fringe Festival (Part 1 of 2)</a> – a previous podcast episode taken from a workshop I gave on specific marketing tactics and approaches for a fringe festival</li> </ul> <p><strong>Discussion Question:</strong> Do you think it’s easier to market at a Fringe festival or a more traditional run at a theatre with consistent showtimes? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode021/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Respond here.</a></p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear my thoughts on? <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>As always I truly appreciate all the little reviews, Facebook likes, and blog comments that you guys leave. It’s very satisfying for me to hear how Sold Out Run is affecting the marketing of your theatre.</p>

SOR 021: Marketing Observations At Fringe

Raquel Richardson

It was an absolute delight to once again share the mic with my long-time podcasting compatriot. Way back in 2012 Raquel Richardson and I were the regular hosts of the now retired Marketing Brainpower podcast. Raquel is one of the sharpest marketing minds I’ve ever met, and in this episode I convince her to apply her broad marketing wisdom to the very specific field of theatre.  In this episode:  what’s working in marketing – content is still your best bet, and advanced media forms like video and podcasting are making a splash actually be social with social media – communicate with people as individuals instead of the faceless mass of all your social followers is a lack of budget holding theatres back – the scale changes, but your marketing approach should be the same whether you have a lot of money or no money at all reach beyond your friends and family using your friends and family – give the small invested audience you already have a clear, easy assignment on how they can spread the word look for the next milestone – you eat an elephant one bite at a time, and you don’t have to jump from where you are today to packed houses look beyond arts bloggers – the bloggers in your area have a local audience, whether they post about theatre or not what’s going to keep working in marketing in the coming years – the channels may change, but continuing to share content about who you are and what you do will be key  Items mentioned:  Appartus Tech Center – this is where we recorded my conversation with Raquel – she calls it the best place to showcase new technology in Indianapolis, and I couldn’t argue Marketing Brain Power – can we call something from 2012 classic? Well, this is the classic marketing podcast that Raquel and I hosted back in 2012 Raquel’s Twitter machine – she will respond if you engage her here  How do you say roof? We uncovered in this episode that Raquel and I have very different pronunciations of the word “roof.” (I say it like a normal person, and she says it in some weird dialect I’ve never heard before. Jump to 30:07 to hear for yourself.) But we want to know how all of you pronounce it. So press the big red button below and leave a recording of yourself saying, “Fiddler on the Roof.” Record Yourself Saying “Fiddler on the Roof” I’ll edit the responses together so that we can all listen to them together, and see just how right I am and just how weird Raquel is. If I get enough responses maybe I can even get a video of Raquel’s reaction the first time she hears all of your pronunciations. Let Raquel know if you liked this session If you have a few seconds, you can let Raquel (and me) know that you liked this session by sharing it on Twitter with the link below. Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.  Huge thanks to Raquel (and producer Matt) for joining me on this episode, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening. You made episode #50 possible, and for that I am extremely grateful.

<p>It was an absolute delight to once again share the mic with my long-time podcasting compatriot. Way back in 2012 Raquel Richardson and I were the regular hosts of the now retired Marketing Brainpower podcast. Raquel is one of the sharpest marketing minds I’ve ever met, and in this episode I convince her to apply her broad marketing wisdom to the very specific field of theatre.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>what’s working in marketing</b> – content is still your best bet, and advanced media forms like video and podcasting are making a splash</li> <li><strong>actually be <em>social</em> with social media</strong> – communicate with people as individuals instead of the faceless mass of all your social followers</li> <li><strong>is a lack of budget holding theatres back</strong> – the scale changes, but your marketing approach should be the same whether you have a lot of money or no money at all</li> <li><strong>reach beyond your friends and family <em>using</em> your friends and family</strong> – give the small invested audience you already have a clear, easy assignment on how they can spread the word</li> <li><strong>look for the next milestone</strong> – you eat an elephant one bite at a time, and you don’t have to jump from where you are today to packed houses</li> <li><strong>look beyond arts bloggers</strong> – the bloggers in your area have a local audience, whether they post about theatre or not</li> <li><strong>what’s going to keep working in marketing in the coming years</strong> – the channels may change, but continuing to share content about who you are and what you do will be key</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.apparatus.net/company/atc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Appartus Tech Center</a> – this is where we recorded my conversation with Raquel – she calls it the best place to showcase new technology in Indianapolis, and I couldn’t argue</li> <li>Marketing Brain Power – can we call something from 2012 <em>classic</em>? Well, this is the classic marketing podcast that Raquel and I hosted back in 2012</li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/silversquare" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Raquel’s Twitter machine</a> – she <em>will</em> respond if you engage her here</li> </ul> <h3>How do you say <em>roof</em>?</h3> <p>We uncovered in this episode that Raquel and I have very different pronunciations of the word “roof.” (I say it like a normal person, and she says it in some weird dialect I’ve never heard before. <strong>Jump to 30:07 to hear for yourself.</strong>) But we want to know how all of you pronounce it. So press the big red button below and leave a recording of yourself saying, “Fiddler on the Roof.”</p> <p><a href="#" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Record Yourself Saying “Fiddler on the Roof”</a></p> <p>I’ll edit the responses together so that we can all listen to them together, and see just how right I am and just how weird Raquel is. If I get enough responses maybe I can even get a video of Raquel’s reaction the first time she hears all of your pronunciations.</p> <h3>Let Raquel know if you liked this session</h3> <p>If you have a few seconds, you can let Raquel (and me) know that you liked this session by <a href="http://ctt.ec/ics0Y" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">sharing it on Twitter</a> with the link below.</p> <h3>Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Huge thanks to Raquel (and producer Matt) for joining me on this episode, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening. You made episode #50 possible, and for that I am extremely grateful.</p>

SOR 50: Raquel Richardson Brings Her Professional Marketing Expertise to the World of Theatre and Talks About Connecting With Individuals

Chad Woodward

Claire Wilcher

One of the challenges in marketing a theatre production is that we’re usually on a limited run. As soon as you start to learn which message and tactics are really connecting with the right audience, it’s time to move on to the next show. ComedySportz is an improv comedy show that runs continuously year round, and I bring Chad and Claire on to talk about what’s the same and what’s different about how they promote their shows.  In this episode:  the best tactics to promote an ongoing show – is probably going to sound familiar what their audience looks like – marketing anything is going to start with understanding who you want to reach how they keep people coming back – the key is always having a way to get in touch with people again to stay in front of them is there fatigue over hearing how they’re unique – forget worrying about people getting tired of your marketing when you have a short run – imagine what it’s like when your show runs all year long what’s different promoting an all ages show from a “blue” show – sometimes the key is to respond to what your market wants  Items mentioned:  ComedySportz Indianapolis – the Indianapolis chapter of the International competitive improv comedy organization  Let Claire and Chad know if you liked this session If you have a few seconds, you can let these guys (and me) know that you liked this session by telling them on Twitter. Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.  Thanks to Chad and Claire for joining me on this episode, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.

<p>One of the challenges in marketing a theatre production is that we’re usually on a limited run. As soon as you start to learn which message and tactics are really connecting with the right audience, it’s time to move on to the next show. ComedySportz is an improv comedy show that runs continuously year round, and I bring Chad and Claire on to talk about what’s the same and what’s different about how they promote their shows.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>the best tactics to promote an ongoing show</b> – is probably going to sound familiar</li> <li><strong>what their audience looks like</strong> – marketing anything is going to start with understanding who you want to reach</li> <li><strong>how they keep people coming back</strong> – the key is always having a way to get in touch with people again to stay in front of them</li> <li><strong>is there fatigue over hearing how they’re unique</strong> – forget worrying about people getting tired of your marketing when you have a short run – imagine what it’s like when your show runs all year long</li> <li><strong>what’s different promoting an all ages show from a “blue” show</strong> – sometimes the key is to respond to what your market wants</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://indycomedysportz.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ComedySportz Indianapolis</a> – the Indianapolis chapter of the International competitive improv comedy organization</li> </ul> <h3>Let Claire and Chad know if you liked this session</h3> <p>If you have a few seconds, you can let these guys (and me) know that you liked this session by <a href="http://ctt.ec/Oa8e4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">telling them on Twitter</a>.</p> <h3>Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to Chad and Claire for joining me on this episode, and of course, thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.</p>

SOR 51: Chad Woodward and Claire Wilcher From ComedySportz Talk About Promoting a Show That Never Closes and Fighting To Be Seen As Theatre

I talk a lot at Sold Out Run about the importance of having a marketing calendar for your theatre productions. (At least if you care about people seeing them.) But what goes on it? You can download the template I use and start making changes, but how far do you need to go with those changes? The 10-second answer is to make it as detailed as you need to. The 15-minute answer is this episode of the podcast.  In this episode:  do you need a calendar – usually the answer is yes because there is some new variable (audience, tactic, team member) in the mix calendar formats – I use a simple spreadsheet, but you can also use a grid calendar or Gantt chart. It depends what types of details you’re trying to organize when a calendar is too complex – if you avoid looking at the calendar because you don’t want to get confused, your calendar has too much detail  Items mentioned:  Gantt charts – a way of visually representing the sequence of tasks – great for emphasizing steps A and B need to happen before we can start on step C Marketing calendar template – this is the simple spreadsheet I start with on each show before I start customizing if for each production  Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.  Thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.

<p>I talk a lot at Sold Out Run about the importance of having a marketing calendar for your theatre productions. (At least if you care about people seeing them.) But what goes on it? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/download-marketing-calendar-template-use-promote-shows/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">download the template</a> I use and start making changes, but how far do you need to go with those changes?</p> <p>The 10-second answer is to make it as detailed as you need to. The 15-minute answer is this episode of the podcast.</p> <p></p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>do you need a calendar</strong> – usually the answer is yes because there is some new variable (audience, tactic, team member) in the mix</li> <li><strong>calendar formats</strong> – I use a simple spreadsheet, but you can also use a grid calendar or Gantt chart. It depends what types of details you’re trying to organize</li> <li><strong>when a calendar is too complex</strong> – if you avoid looking at the calendar because you don’t want to get confused, your calendar has too much detail</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gantt charts</a> – a way of visually representing the sequence of tasks – great for emphasizing steps A and B need to happen before we can start on step C</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/download-marketing-calendar-template-use-promote-shows/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marketing calendar template</a> – this is the simple spreadsheet I start with on each show before I start customizing if for each production</li> </ul> <h3>Here’s a (free) way you can help the podcast</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you have found value in this podcast, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> </ol> <p>Thanks to all of you for downloading and listening.</p>

SOR 55: How Detailed Should Your Marketing Calendar Be

Lou Harry

It is a delight to have Lou Harry in this episode of the podcast. He made me laugh out loud repeatedly while we were recording, but beyond just being entertaining he also has some unique insight on theatre and the arts in general. He wears the hats of both a playwright and an arts critic. And while I don’t know if he would use these words to describe himself, after talking to him in this episode I see him as an activist for the arts. He endeavors to (and succeeds at) creating and consuming valuable art. He works from multiple angles to raise the level of art being produced. I can’t wait to get him back on the podcast again down the road.  Lou’s discussion on the role of criticism really made an impression on me in this episode. Prior to our conversation I had the naive idea in my head that criticism existed almost exclusively to provide a recommendation (or not) as to whether someone should buy a ticket to see that show. That might be how some critics approach it, but Lou is looking at a bigger picture. In this episode:  the unique marketing advantage of a rotating cast – when the rehearsal schedule is not too demanding and you have a unique idea, you can bring in local talent that pulls their own audience the unique marketing advantage of an improv format – you can attract more repeat ticket-buyers when each performance is different how to not-quite auction in street marketing – you can’t keep the money without a license, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go through all the entertaining mechanics of an auction a big casualty of mainstream media reducing arts coverage – it’s easier than ever to intentionally find a review of a particular show, but more difficult to stumble across a diamond in the rough the role of criticism – you can almost hear my mind expanding as I listen to Lou talking about this how Lou decides which arts events to write about – short answer: it’s complicated (interestingly being a professional company that pays your actors makes a difference)  Items mentioned:  Lou’s Wikipedia entry – a short page that cites some of Lou’s artistic and critical writing IBJ Arts – the arts and entertainment section of the Indianapolis Business Journal where Lou reviews local events The High-Impact Infidelity Diet – Lou’s first novel which he’s developed into a stage play and optioned to Warner Brothers for development louharry.com – Lou’s official site  Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>It is a delight to have Lou Harry in this episode of the podcast. He made me laugh out loud repeatedly while we were recording, but beyond just being entertaining he also has some unique insight on theatre and the arts in general. He wears the hats of both a playwright and an arts critic.</p> <p>And while I don’t know if he would use these words to describe himself, after talking to him in this episode I see him as an activist for the arts. He endeavors to (and succeeds at) creating and consuming valuable art. He works from multiple angles to raise the level of art being produced.</p> <p>I can’t wait to get him back on the podcast again down the road.</p> <p></p> <p>Lou’s discussion on the role of criticism really made an impression on me in this episode. Prior to our conversation I had the naive idea in my head that criticism existed almost exclusively to provide a recommendation (or not) as to whether someone should buy a ticket to see that show. That might be how some critics approach it, but Lou is looking at a bigger picture.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>the unique marketing advantage of a rotating cast</b> – when the rehearsal schedule is not too demanding and you have a unique idea, you can bring in local talent that pulls their own audience</li> <li><strong>the unique marketing advantage of an improv format</strong> – you can attract more repeat ticket-buyers when each performance is different</li> <li><strong>how to not-quite auction in street marketing</strong> – you can’t keep the money without a license, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go through all the entertaining mechanics of an auction</li> <li><strong>a big casualty of mainstream media reducing arts coverage</strong> – it’s easier than ever to intentionally find a review of a particular show, but more difficult to stumble across a diamond in the rough</li> <li><strong>the role of criticism</strong> – you can almost hear my mind expanding as I listen to Lou talking about this</li> <li><strong>how Lou decides which arts events to write about</strong> – short answer: it’s complicated (interestingly being a professional company that pays your actors makes a difference)</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Harry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lou’s Wikipedia entry</a> – a short page that cites some of Lou’s artistic and critical writing</li> <li><a href="http://www.ibj.com/arts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IBJ Arts</a> – the arts and entertainment section of the <em>Indianapolis Business Journal</em> where Lou reviews local events</li> <li><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20131015022758/http://indyfringe.org:80/fringe13/high-impact-infidelity-diet" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The High-Impact Infidelity Diet</a> – Lou’s first novel which he’s developed into a stage play and optioned to Warner Brothers for development</li> <li><a href="http://louharry.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">louharry.com</a> – Lou’s official site</li> </ul> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 020: Lou Harry

The only thing worse than trying to handle all of the promotion for a show yourself, is to delegate it to other people – only to see the ball get dropped. Selecting talented people is only part of a successful delegation. You also need to have them working on the right things with the right set of expectations.  When I originally started preparing this episode, it was going to be a comprehensive overview of strategies to cope with the overwhelming prospect of promoting a show. There are so many things you can and should be doing, trying to keep it all straight can easily send your mind reeling. I realized that if you are feeling overwhelmed right now, dumping all of these strategies on you at once may not be the kindest thing I could do. Instead I decided to just address on one item you can focus on to reclaim a little bit of your time: delegation. In this episode:  the skills you need – marketing requires more than just warm bodies, there are specific skills that you need someone on your team to provide subject matter expert – the unique role on your marketing team of someone who is a member of a community that you want to reach out to enjoying delegated tasks – if you delegate tasks to someone who isn’t excited to tackle them, you are setting them up for failure developing a team you take with you – there are benefits to effectiveness and efficiency when you keep working with the same people across mutliple productions the five levels of delegation – you may not want to micromanage, but there are degrees of freedom and responsibility for a delegate and you need to be intentional about establishing them up front how training can be encouraging – the light at the end of the tunnel when delegation doesn’t seem to be saving you much time  Items mentioned:  The Open Book Project – a new project where you look over my shoulder as I promote a theatre production in real time Who Do You Need On Your Theatre Marketing Team? – an old post where I talked about the skills you need on your team (I expand on these with additional skills in this episode) The Five Levels of Delegation – an explanation of the five levels from Michael Hyatt’s blog  I have been using two different types of formats for the podcast up to this point. In some episodes I bring on a guest to share their experience and perspective. In other episodes like this one it’s just me sharing my thoughts on a topic. Do you like one format better than the other? What would you like to see more of? (If you’d like to suggest another format, too, please do so in the comments.) Have a question? Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can leave me a voicemail. I could use your help An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:  Go to the Sold Out Run page in iTunes. Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves. Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).  Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.

<p>The only thing worse than trying to handle all of the promotion for a show yourself, is to delegate it to other people – only to see the ball get dropped. Selecting talented people is only part of a successful delegation. You also need to have them working on the right things with the right set of expectations.</p> <p></p> <p>When I originally started preparing this episode, it was going to be a comprehensive overview of strategies to cope with the overwhelming prospect of promoting a show. There are so many things you can and should be doing, trying to keep it all straight can easily send your mind reeling.</p> <p>I realized that if you are feeling overwhelmed right now, dumping all of these strategies on you at once may not be the kindest thing I could do. Instead I decided to just address on one item you can focus on to reclaim a little bit of your time: delegation.</p> <h3>In this episode:</h3> <ul> <li><b>the skills you need</b> – marketing requires more than just warm bodies, there are specific skills that you need someone on your team to provide</li> <li><strong>subject matter expert</strong> – the unique role on your marketing team of someone who is a member of a community that you want to reach out to</li> <li><strong>enjoying delegated tasks</strong> – if you delegate tasks to someone who isn’t excited to tackle them, you are setting them up for failure</li> <li><strong>developing a team you take with you</strong> – there are benefits to effectiveness and efficiency when you keep working with the same people across mutliple productions</li> <li><strong>the five levels of delegation</strong> – you may not want to micromanage, but there are degrees of freedom and responsibility for a delegate and you need to be intentional about establishing them up front</li> <li><strong>how training can be encouraging</strong> – the light at the end of the tunnel when delegation doesn’t seem to be saving you much time</li> </ul> <h3>Items mentioned:</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/openbook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Open Book Project</a> – a new project where you look over my shoulder as I promote a theatre production in real time</li> <li><a href="http://soldoutrun.com/theatre-marketing-team/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Who Do You Need On Your Theatre Marketing Team?</a> – an old post where I talked about the skills you need on your team (I expand on these with additional skills in this episode)</li> <li><a href="http://michaelhyatt.com/the-five-levels-of-delegation.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Five Levels of Delegation</a> – an explanation of the five levels from Michael Hyatt’s blog</li> </ul> <p>I have been using two different types of formats for the podcast up to this point. In some episodes I bring on a guest to share their experience and perspective. In other episodes like this one it’s just me sharing my thoughts on a topic. Do you like one format better than the other? What would you like to see more of? (If you’d like to suggest another format, too, please do so in the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/episode015/#respond" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">comments</a>.)</p> <h3>Have a question?</h3> <p>Have a marketing question (or comment) that you’d like to hear featured on a future episode of the podcast? You can <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/ask" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leave me a voicemail</a>.</p> <h3>I could use your help</h3> <p>An important part of being discovered by new listeners on iTunes – far and away the most pervasive podcast directory – is to get reviews from your listeners. If you think this podcast is valuable, I would very much appreciate you taking just a minute or two to leave a review. It’s incredibly easy:</p> <ol> <li>Go to the <a href="http://soldoutrun.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sold Out Run page in iTunes</a>.</li> <li>Click the number of stars for the rating you think this podcast deserves.</li> <li>Write a sentence or two about what you like (or don’t like).</li> </ol> <p>Thank you so much for being a listener. I couldn’t do this without you guys.</p>

SOR 016: How To Delegate Theatre Marketing Tasks

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