As you try to get established as a Vent in your part of
\nthe Country, you already know most of the basics for
\nperforming. You know that you have to have the skills of
\nVentriloquism fairly well polished, but getting your first
\nseveral bookings can be a real obstacle. The “business”
\nside of the art can be a real tripping hazard if you don’t
\ntake the time and effort to market yourself and your skills.<\/p>\n
Once you begin to get known, getting more bookings becomes
\nmuch easier because every show that you do can also become
\na reference to point at. This is another reason that you
\ncannot afford to leave less than a good taste in EVERY
\ncustomer’s mouth. But getting those first bookings can be
\na real traumatic experience. Fortunately there is not a
\nsingle “right way” to go about it. You must be prepared to
\ntry whatever works for you. Be ready to be flexible. If
\nyou try one thing and it does not work, be prepared to try
\nsomething different. If that does not work, switch off to
\nyet another avenue of effort. Do NOT get discouraged.
\nKeep trying. You will eventually find one or more things
\nthat do work for you.<\/p>\n
Here are just a couple of things to try.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In almost every community there is a local sale paper.
\nSome folks get those free sale papers every week and read
\nthem religiously. In our area the paper is called “The
\nNifty Nickel” want ads. Contact the paper and place an ad
\nfor your services. No, you will not land a corporate event
\nfrom this avenue, but if this edition of the newsletter
\nseems to be written for you, you probably are not yet ready
\nfor a corporate event. That is down the road a piece. Run
\nan ad telling that you are a Ventriloquist who does
\nbirthday parties, Church groups or whatever your target
\nmarket is for the time being. Make sure to put a good
\nphone number in the ad so that people can call you, and be
\nready to entertain some spoiled little rascals at several
\nparties. You need this experience as part of your growth.
\nIt will give you “audience time”. This in turn will allow
\nyou to refine your material and become more comfortable
\nperforming in front of an audience.<\/p>\n
Always have a stack of business cards in your pocket. If
\nyou are waiting in line to get into a movie, don’t hesitate
\nto strike up a conversation with the people in line. Tell
\nthem that you are a Ventriloquist. Give them your card.
\nYes, it is hard work, but then nothing worth having in life
\nis going to just happen without effort on your part.<\/p>\n
Go to a local restaurant. Ask them if they will let you
\ncome in and entertain on nights when they have a large
\nfamily crowd. Tell them you will perform at no cost to
\nthem.<\/p>\n
They are thinking “free”. That’s good. You are thinking
\n“FREE advertising”. As you walk up to a table with small
\nchildren, do a little ad lib performance and strike up a
\nconversation between your puppet and the kids. Before you
\nmove on to the next table, make sure to hand one of your
\ncards to the adult(s) at the table. On your card it should
\nsay “Birthday Parties”, and whatever other types of
\noccasions you are looking for.<\/p>\n
This is just a few of the tips that will help get you
\nintroduced to your beginning market. Use your own
\nimagination. Think of any way that you can put that 1 cent
\nbusiness card into someones hand. Always be pleasant even
\nif folks don’t appear interested. They may not have any
\nneed of your services at that moment, so it may appear that
\nthey are just blowing you off. Don’t let that bother you.
\nAs long as they have your card, they may wake up next week
\nand realize that they have a child who was intrigued by
\nyour puppet who has a birthday coming up. If you hand out
\n10 cards, and get even one phone call, you are on your way
\non the journey of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
That’s all for now folks, we will talk again real soon.<\/p>\n
\nSteve and JET<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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