What I’ve Learned In My First Three Months On Tumblr

Yesterday marked three months since I first launched my Connected Comedy Tumblr page. Since I previously wrote a post explaining why I joined Tumblr, today I’d like to update you about how it’s going and what I’ve learned so far. →

Why Your Obsession With Getting Booked Is Actually Hurting Your Career

Most comedians are completely obsessed with the booking process and see it as the key to growing their career. But they’re wrong and here’s why… →

5 Things Worth Noticing On Comedian Steve Hofstetter’s Website

I’ve met comedian Steve Hofstetter a couple times over the years, but I don’t know him that well and I’ve never worked with him personally. But I do know that he’s a hustler who has always worked hard at marketing himself which is why I decided to check out his website yesterday and see what he’s up to.

What I found was more than a few clever features, which I thought it would be helpful to share with you today. Here’s some things on his site that jumped out at me that may also inspire you. →

Are You Playing A Game You Can Win?

It used to be that the comedy “game” could only really be played one way – in order to succeed you needed to win over the gatekeepers (Hollywood executives, comedy club owners, etc.) and convince them to give you a career.

This was extremely difficult of course, but you could take some level of comfort in its simplicity – there was a clear map to success and understandable rules of the game.

But now, as the comedy business has been disrupted by technology in recent years, the game has changed and you’re forced to figure out for yourself what game you actually want to play. →

What Does The Popularity Of Comedy Podcasts Mean For The Future Of Comedy Albums?

One of the biggest happenings in the comedy business over the past couple years has been the rising popularity of podcasts by comedians. At this point, it seems like just about every comedian – from beginners to established stars – has a podcast and collectively millions of comedy fans are regularly (and in some cases, obsessively) listening to them.

But with so many people flocking to create and listen to podcasts, what impact will it have on the business and creation of traditional comedy albums? Here’s a few thoughts I have about the new opportunities and challenges that the rise of podcasts present for comedy albums. →

You Have To Be A Leader If You Want To Get More Followers

Just about every comedian I talk to always asks me the same question – “How do I get more followers?”

Whether they’re referncing Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or their own website or mailing list, everybody wants more people to follow them and their activities. Obviously, there’s no simple answer to this question, though obviously lots of the content on this site touches on different strategies that can help.

But yesterday I read this recent post from music industry guru Bob Lefsetz and came across the following line: “Be happy, be equitable, be a leader. And then you’ll have followers.”

That sentence sparked a realization for me that the vast majority of the comedians who are asking me how to get more followers are not doing anything to be a leader. →

5 Things I Learned From Producing Comedy Shows With Potheads And Porn Stars

It’s been more than five years since I produced and promoted my first standup comedy shows, and today I wanted to share some of the things I learned from my initial experience in the business side of live comedy shows. I’ll spare you all the backstory, but the first two standup shows I ever produced were monthly shows in Los Angeles that were designed to cater to two very specific audiences – potheads and porn stars. Here’s some of the lessons I learned from that experience that can help you in your own productions… →

Connected Countdown: 10 Things You Need To See This Week

Every weekend I break down the 10 things I think you most need to see this week, including a mix of posts on this site and other stuff from around the web that I think should be on your radar. Here’s this week’s countdown… →

7 Things You Need To Understand About People

One of the reasons comedians struggle to grow their fanbase and use social media is because in order to do it successfully, you have to have a good understanding of the basic psychology of the people you hope will someday become your fans. I’m no psychologist, but there are a few things I’ve learned about what people are looking for that I think are worth keeping in mind as you create and promote your content. Here’s 7 things you should understand about people these days… →

Karmin Music: 5 Things You Can Learn From A Band That’s Gone Viral

As I’ve mentioned before, I think there’s a lot that comedians can learn about marketing themselves from the way successful musicians have approached the Internet. One of the most recent musical groups to really use the Internet to catapult their career is a duo named Karmin Music and today I wanted to tell you a little bit about how they’ve succeeded and what you can learn from it. →