WellAttended: Event and Theatre Marketing / Promotion

Doug Borwick discusses the origins of art, how the arts can benefit the community, how to focus more on community engagement, and how to lower the barrier of entry to get non-theatre people engaged with your organization.

Doug is a past President of the Board of the Association of Arts Administration Educators and was for nearly 30 years Director of the Arts Management and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College. He is the CEO of Outfitters4 which provides management services to nonprofit organizations and ArtsEngaged which provides training and consultation to artists and arts organizations to help them more effectively engage with their communities. He is also the author of Building Communities, Not Audiences and Engage Now!, and writes a column for ArtsJournal.

Show Notes:

Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the United States

Buy Now from Amazon

Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable

Buy Now from Amazon

Doug Borwick's Blog Engaging Matters

Read our previous interview on the WellAttended blog.

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Kent Whipple discusses his overall strategy of using Yelp to grow Unexpected Productions Improv. He talks about how to create an account, how to get 5 star reviews, how to respond to reviews, and how he tracks which customers are coming from Yelp.

Kent is the marketing and development director at Unexpected Productions Improv which is located in downtown Seattle. He has served as a gallery director in some of the major art centers in the country, including Santa Fe and Scottsdale. He is also freelance writer, creating and developing articles that are published nationwide.

Kent is an active member of the Seattle' Market the Arts Task Force and part of Yelp's Coast-to-Coast Community which is a group of business owners and managers who work together to find ways to use Yelp. He has been chosen to return to San Francisco in November to Yelp's annual gathering where he will be sharing his advice on how to most effectively use Yelp.

Show Notes:

Unexpected Productions

Unexpected Productions on Yelp

Yelp for Business Owners

Claim Your page

Yelp for Business Owners Mobile App

Yelp Tutorials on Youtube

Absurd National Park Reviews

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Click here to download Kent's Yelp letter and activity report

Tony West explains how having a built in audience increases ticket sales, how he got a sponsor, how he promotes his screenings, and how he makes extra money by selling his DVDs.

Tony has worked in television for over 20 years as a cameraman, sound tech, and editor. He has worked for all of the major networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and ESPN. He is a two time National Emmy Award winner for his coverage of Major League Baseball.

The Safe Side of the Fence is his first film as a director. The documentary gives a detailed look into what workers went through in St. Louis from working on the Manhattan Project and the challenges of dealing with the fallout of creating some of the world's first nuclear waste.

Show Notes:

The Safe Side of the Fence

The Safe Side of the Fence on Facebook

Contact Tony - [email protected]

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Joanne Bernstein discusses how to set ticket prices, ways to upsell tickets, the best ways to offer discounts, and how to add value to tickets. She also explains the best ways to increase your audience attendance with the birds of a feather principle.

Joanne is an educator, author, consultant, speaker and manager for non-profit organizations, primarily in the field of arts and culture management and marketing. Joanne is the author of Standing Room Only: Insights for Engaging Performing Arts Audiences which is a comprehensive sourcebook with up-to-date marketing strategies and techniques for theater, music, dance, and opera organizations.

Show Notes:

Joanne Bernstein

Joanne's Blog

Additional WellAttended Interviews:

How to Sell More tickets and Increase Repeat Patrons

How to Increase Your Theatre's Revenue

Online Ticketing Insights

Books:

Standing Room Only

Arts Marketing Insights

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Carol Givan shares her curtain speech and breaks it down so that we understand the purpose behind what she says. She also talks about how she builds relationships with her patrons and what it takes to get them to come to her theatre time after time.

Carol is a magician and a co-owner of the Theatre of Dreams. The Theatre of Dreams is an elegant, 74 seat theatre in Castle Rock, Colorado. For over 12 years, they have featured world class magicians from across the globe.

Show Notes:

Amazing Shows

Fans of Theatre of Dreams

Dream Masterz

Carol on Twitter

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Click here to download Carol's curtain speech.

Learn how Bill Gladwell gets followers on Facebook and Twitter and how he got over 700 hundred five star reviews on TripAdvisor. We also discuss several tools that will save you time while promoting your shows.

Bill has studied and mastered the unique art of reading and influencing people, and he demonstrates his skill in a thought-provoking performance for intelligent audiences. He performs his show five nights a week on Hilton Head Island. His show is ranked number one for nightlife entertainment.

Show Resources:

Ifttt

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Hootsuite

TripAdvisor

Google Voice

Bill Gladwell

Bill Gladwell's Client Spotlight

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Click here to download the TripAdvisor thank you letter to get 5 star reviews.

Josh London talks about how to rank higher in search engines, how to build a better website to increase conversions, why you should use videos to promote your shows, and the best practices for Facebook ads.

Josh is a magician and entrepreneur. He has been performing magic since the age of 5 and travels the country performing for corporate and private events. He is also the founder of Click Convert Profit in which he coaches and consults with entertainers, performers, variety artists, bands and musicians who want to book more gigs.

Show notes:

Click Convert Profit

Magician for Private Parties and Corporate Events

San Diego Magician Josh London

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Ann-Lisette Caveny discusses how to learn improv and it's benefits, how start an improv troupe and find a venue to perform shows, and how OKC Improv built their audience through community engagement.

Ann-Lisette holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Central Oklahoma and has been performing improv for over 10 years. She currently performs with Heel Turn, Everybody and Their Dog, KHALC, and performs at various festivals across the country. Ann-Lisette has performed with OKC Improv since it's creation in 2009, and she currently teaches and works for the non-profit as the Assistant Managing Director.

Show Notes: OKC Improv Facebook Twitter Instagram

Click here to read OKC Improv's Client Spotlight.

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Joe Diamond discusses why he started a weekly show in his studio, how he builds relationships with the press and got his own radio show, and his clever use of publicity stunts to get media coverage. He also talks about the benefits of being in small venue.

Joe may look like a normal guy, but he has turned his fascination for the strange and mysterious into a full time career! In 2010, Joe became a World Record Holder for Solving the World's Largest Maze while blindfolded! Since then, he has found hidden objects in graveyards, and even driven a car blindfolded! He has become a local celebrity in his area due to these incredible stunts on TV, News, and Radio. He hosts a radio show where he talks to everyone from authors, to magicians, to psychics, to sword swallowers! He's the Co-Star of The Magic Cabaret in Chicago, named by Travel Channel as "One of America's BEST Magic Shows!". He also produces his weekly one man show, Close Encounters.

Show Notes:

Blindfold Drive

Joe Diamond on Twitter

Joe Diamond on Facebook

Joe Diamond's website

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Gloria Shanstrom discusses how to write stunning press releases that will get published, the best times to send them out, and how to start forming relationships with the media. Be sure to listen to the end where she talks about the importance of having a curtain speech.

Gloria has been involved in Denver Theatre since 1987. She has worked in marketing for the Temple Buell Theatre, co-produced the Denver Drama Critics Circle Awards, and was the marketing assistant at the Denver Center Attraction. She is currently the General Manager for the Colorado Theatre Guild. In 2004, she started Full Court Press, a company specifically designed to assist small non-profit arts organizations get a great press release out to the media.

Show Notes:

Gloria Shanstrom on Facebook

Email – [email protected]

Colorado Theatre Guild

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