Craving the warm applause of your audience? Satisfy that desire! Start filling those cold empty seats before the show even begins. How? Get great exposure with a great website. Your theater is unique and your needs are unique, so you have to offer your audience unique opportunities. Your job is entertainment! Turn up the heat with these four must-have features for your theater’s website!

1. Online Performance Calendar- It’s the single most important aspect of your website. Your patrons should be able to look up the date and time of your performances, and the information should be simple to find and access. Calendar links must be prominently displayed on the front page, and the schedule must be easy to read. There are several online calendar applications that can easily be integrated onto your website. Google and Yahoo offer free calendars. Trumba calendars are not free, but offer many valuable features: they let visitors send automatic email reminders of upcoming events, forward event details to a friend, download event information, or sign up for an event.

Source: Google Calendar

2. Online Box Office- Save time, money, and hassles by letting your audience buy their own tickets online, day or night. No staff required! Just choose a method that allows your website to receive payments. You can either set up your own merchant account, or use a third party service provider such as Paypal or Google Checkout. Third party providers make it simple to set up these applications, but they charge you a fee for each sale. Paypal for instance, gets 1.9%-2.9% + $.30 per transaction. If you anticipate generating more than a thousand dollars per month in online revenue, create your own merchant account. It may cost more up front, but you’ll realize savings over the long term.

Once you‘re comfortable processing orders, consider how customers will receive their admission tickets. Many event hosting services allow you to create and send eTickets, which can be checked at the door using a bar code scanner. Other theaters may choose to send an actual printed ticket in the mail to each customer. Small theaters may be able to get away with emailing receipts and asking customers to present a printed copy of their receipt, along with their photo ID, at will call.

3. Get Feedback on Your Shows- Duck, swerve, and dodge those flying tomatoes on stage by creating a positive channel for your audience members to discuss the show online. Don’t be shy! Audience feedback is not only valuable to you, it also helps bring new people into the theater by making your audience active participants in your shows. Provide incentives by making performance reviews a competition, as Amazon does with their Top Reviewers page. Encourage more responses by offering prizes such as free tickets or merchandise to your top reviewers.

4. Blog Like a Celebrity- You’re a star on stage. Why not enjoy your celebrity status when nobody is looking? Get your best actors involved by letting them add posts and respond to fans through your website’s blog. Flatter your fans by encouraging your big stars to respond to their comment! You can’t buy that kind of publicity, but you can create it for free by opening up the lines of communication. It’s a great way to increase traffic to your website and generate interest about your company.

Blogs enrich your theater’s website by allowing you to connect with your fans in a media-rich, interactive way. Add pictures, music, and commentary on past and future performances to create buzz. Search engines like Google often favor websites with fresh new content. The more often you update, the more likely you are to make it to the top of a page of search results. There are tons of free and paid blog services such as WordPress (recommended), Typepad, and Blogger to help you get you started. For more information on service providers and their features, visit Top 10 Reviews.

You’re ready to hit the big time. Let the world know that you’ve arrived by making the most of your theater’s website!

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson
Lance@TicketPrinting.com
www.ticketprinting.com

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Newsletters and Blogs

(Act II)

Welcome to the grand finale of great online promotional methods for your theater. Today we focus on advertising through audience members. Newsletters and blogs effectively capture the attention of readers and connect them with behind the scenes aspects of your theater. Are you ready to take a personal approach to theater marketing? These steps will help you create the ultimate theater blog and newsletter campaign along with a strong fan base.

I. Know Your Audience
Readers of newsletters and blogs don’t want to hear an advertising crusade. Instead, market yourself by connecting with them. All your content should relate to the fans. Provide the background information they want on your theater, performers, and shows. For instance, you could write the “History of the Burlesque” in the weeks leading up to your upcoming burlesque production. A great way to connect with the readers of your newsletters and blogs is to personalize. Always use a signature and add a link to the website at the end of the article. Let your own persona shine through your writing.

II. Encourage Conversations

The biggest difference between a blog and a newsletter is the interaction potential of a blog. Comment features allow natural conversations at the end of every post. You can ask friends to get the discussions started. This will cue other readers and let them know they are part of a larger audience. Discussions also help you understand your readers better. Gauge what you write by the outcomes of the conversations. Write back! Readers need to know that you pay attention to your own blog, so it’s important to respond to comments on a regular basis.

III. Don’t be Afraid to Mix it up!
To keep readers on their toes, include more than just habitual writing. Consider a guest writer. This could include current or past cast or crew members, an angel or long time audience member, or the owner/manager of the theater. Because newsletters are generally sent out through email, you can easily attach other attention-grabbing tidbits such as helpful articles, pictures, and videos. Don’t forget to add backstage information like pictures of the cast in the greenroom, at rehearsals, or just hanging out and having fun. This will provide potential audience members with an idea of what theater is really like behind the scenes, along with a preview to the actual performances.

IV. Keep Your Readers up to Date
When new content is added to your website, let your audience know! Don’t sound like an advertisement. Mention new additions to your website or theater in your letter. No need to write a whole article about it. Casually mention add-ons like merchandise for sale on the site at the end of your letter. Performance T-shirts are popular sellers. Also, remember to write consistently. A blog should have new material posted daily (or at least weekly). Aim to updating around the same time every day/week so readers can get into the habit of expecting your newsletter or blog. While fans are on your website, offer them the opportunity to sign up for your RSS feed. This will automatically notify subscribers to any updates on your site.

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Newsletter and Blog Content Creation Quick Tips (Scene I):

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• Use word-of-mouth marketing! Let everyone know about your newsletters and blogs at performances and on your website. Create a link to allow readers to “Send to Friend” so they can promote for you.
• Whenever possible, get email addresses. Allow fans to sign up for newsletters/blogs at performances and online. Only send information about the theater if they ask for it. You don’t want to be labeled as a spammer and end up in the junk mailbox.
• Make your articles professional while emphasizing the character of the theater. This will differentiate you from the countless blogs that are out there, and will keep readers interested.
• Be aware of variance among email providers. Content in your newsletter may appear very differently in Hotmail than it does in Gmail. Create some test emails and send out a sample letter to check formatting.

Creating interesting newsletters and interactive blogs can help you take large strides in generating more visitors to your website and selling more seats to every show. To get more ideas and see how these methods are used, check out other theater blogs and newsletters.

Take the first step! Use online promotion to generate new fans, keep old fans interested, and help fill your theater for every performance.

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A hundred years ago, live theater had little competition for the consumer’s entertainment dollar. Today, you’re sharing your audience with TV, movies, and the ever-changing Internet. Entertainment is more accessible, and your competitors are more numerous. You need to stand out and generate interest in what’s happening on stage. Audio and video podcasts can be just the ticket to shining a bright spotlight on your theater. Skeptics may assume that posting your show online is virtual suicide for a community theatre, but it may very well prove to be a savior.

Why? Here’s what podcasts do best.

Show them you’re better – Most of the apprehension around displaying artistic performances online is that audiences will simply watch a free podcast instead of spending the money to go to the theatre. For some viewers this may be true, but you are more than just a show. Online videos are generally short. Consider how selecting just the right clip can inspire someone to buy a ticket. Even high quality videos offer rather low resolution and the viewers are sitting at a computer screen. Compare that to the atmosphere of your theatre building: the sound of a crowd-filled room murmuring, laughing, clapping, crying. You’re offering the ability to utilize all the senses, the close proximity to live actors. The live performance you are selling is an entirely different experience from the free podcast. Whether you offer podcasts or not, you are still competing with online media! Internet entertainment has very low barriers to entry, but this frequently translates into low-quality material, and lots of it, on the web. Your high-quality performance clip will really stand out against a background of v-logs and home movies. Leverage technology against the competition and show them you’re better.

Show them you have faith – Do you believe that your show is a superior entertainment experience? Do you believe that you offer something unique and valuable to the community? Show your potential patrons you have faith in your product! Broadcasting small morsels of genius displayed by gifted thespians and reel people in to engage in the full richness you have to offer. If your potential audience can see the people who run your theatre believe in it, they will have be more likely to respond favorably and want to build a relationship.

Show them your personality – Broadcast segments that broadcast your values. In trying times, people become more conscious of where their money is going. Don’t let this discourage you. Some companies try to use low prices to entice people with tight pocketbooks. Savvy consumers aren’t just looking for great deals. They are looking for greater value. When you really get down to it, entertainment is about human to human interaction. Every person is different — likewise theatre is different. Don’t be afraid to show them what makes you human and let the personality of your company shine through.

Let ‘em Spread the Word – Sending a link to your website via email is incredibly inexpensive. Convincing a patron to send that link is even less expensive – and there’s a greater chance readers will appreciate the link if it’s from a friend. Uploading a short podcast for your loyal supporters to share with friends and family is invaluable to your organization. It gives you a chance to go viral by providing something interesting to spread along with a reason and excuse to get others engaged with your theatre.

Podcasts help you spread word out about your community theater using marketing techniques that won’t cost you money. They’re an up-to-date method of showcasing the lineup that makes you unique and valuable. For more information about using podcasts, visit fundraising-newsletters.com for a brief and interesting on the topic, and stay tuned to this blog for other information on using podcasts for theater promotion.

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The internet is a very effective marketing tool, but you have to make sure to utilize it properly to get the best response. By creating an appealing website that attracts both fans and possible attendees you will see a large increase in the viewers at your productions. With these 4 basic steps to promoting your theater online you will be on your way to a much bigger audience and satisfied cast.

I. Promotion

• Find theater bloggers and other promoters in your area. Offer them free tickets to productions to get them in the theater and reviewing the performances online. When they write reviews, create a link to their blogs so other people can see from an outside source how great your theater is.

• As soon as you get a list of bloggers in your area, start commenting on their blogs. Even if they are not writing about your theater, this will help you get your name out there. Always provide a link with each comment that leads readers back to your website. But remember, no one likes to hear unproductive information, so make sure your comments are useful.

• Sell merchandise on your website! This is a great way to let the fans of performances promote the theater for you. Creating t-shirts and other merchandise is one of the most profitable ways to market your theater.

• Link your theater’s home page to its MySpace page (or other networking page) and vice versa. This cross promotion will allow an easy flow of traffic between all sites and allows viewers to quickly find more information. Mention your website in your blogs and press releases.

• Market your website off-line too! Have your website listed on programs at performances, playbills, and announce it at shows during the curtain speech. Tell the audience what you have to offer (discounts, merchandise, behind the scenes action) and they will want to check it out.

II. Show Character!

• Literally, make a section for the characters in upcoming events! This allows fans a smidgen of information leading up to the show, sort of like a preview to a movie.

• Also, have a segment explicitly for the performers. This should be a biography including age, where they’re from, and their ideal roll. Even ask some bizarre questions, like “If you had to be any flavor of ice cream, what one would it be”. This allows them to show their personality and can make for some good laughs.

• The best way to provide an inside look on current and upcoming performers is to take pictures and videos of everything! Post all intriguing material on the website. Include rehearsals and cast parties along with the actual performances. This lets fans get the inside scoop of what theater is really like. Creating this bond between the performer and the viewer will make the audience feel more connected to the show, and will keep them coming back for future performances.

• Be creative! Make the website entertaining and interactive. The Altar Boyz have a website which includes a specialized video game along with an “Audience Confessions” section where fans can post any statement onto the site. Some other ideas may be individualized quizzes, blogs, and audio clips (especially if you are promoting a musical).

III. Create a Community

• To make it easy for fans to know about the updates on your website, have them sign up for email newsletters or an RSS feed. These will inform the subscriber of any new content that was added to the site, so they don’t have to manually check back for updates. The subscription or sign-up process should be as easy as possible, making it only one or two clicks away!

• Creating a chat room or forum page on your site is a must. Forums allow fans to have a common place to discuss various theater productions. Be sure to have these pages focused around the audience rather than the theater itself. This will make the fans come back regularly. To get some conversations going, add an “After Performance Thoughts” forum. This way, audience members who have just seen the show can tell others their thoughts and recommend it to others. A good forum will promote itself and in turn, promote the theater.

• Let fans become part of the theater community. Make it a club, where they can receive emails, newsletters, discounts on tickets, and special deals just for being members. Allow people to enter to win prizes (maybe an autograph from their favorite performer, or free tickets). Remember to make the sign-up process as simple as possible.

• Allow people to buy tickets from your site, or at least reserve tickets. This makes the buying processes easier for the viewers, and increases the traffic to your site. It also can allow you to get email addresses that you can utilize for your email newsletters.

• Let people contact you! Set up an email address solely for the theater in highly visible areas on your website. List the address in so that people can read but it spamming software cannot, such as theater(at)website(dot)com. Make sure to respond to any inquiries in a timely manner.

IV. Track

• Record traffic, discussions, and sales on your site. This will help gauge what performances were most appealing to customers and can give you ideas for future shows, blog discussions and promotions.

With these four tips and tricks for online promotion, your theater should be showing at full capacity in no time. For more ideas and expanding thoughts of these basic steps, visit other theater sites to see how they put them into action.

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Promoting your theater online is an intensive process, but if well executed it can have huge payoffs.  There are 3 major topics that can cover online promotion effectively:

1. Press releases
2. Newsletters
3. Blogging

All of these areas have different functions so it is important to carefully think through what you would like to achieve with each. This series  takes an in-depth look at each of these major topics and gives techniques on how to improve their effectiveness so you can have the whole house coming back for more.

This first segment will increase the number of reviews for your theater’s performances by creating fabulous online content through press releases. The sole purpose of a press release is to charm an editor or reviewer to write about something that is happening with your theater. Topics may include a performance, additions to the theater, change in management, or public related events. There are some basic rules to know before writing and sending out your press release.

I.  Content
Because most press releases are posted on the web, it is a good idea to write with specific, keyword rich content. This will allow search engines, like Google, to place your press release higher on a list of search results. When writing your press release for keywords remember:

• Don’t be too general. You’ll get lost in the competition.
• Place the most important keywords in specific areas, like in the title and headers.
• Make readers your first priority.  If a keyword interrupts the reader experience it should be omitted.
• Include the location of your theater (city and state).

Also, include links to past press releases (if you have any), blogs, your website, pictures, videos, playbills, or even audio musical clips. Rich media connects readers and encourages interactive experience.

There are some things you must cover in a press release, but there are many things you also should stay way from. Follow the formatting guide below to get the basics of what you need to include in your press release.

II.  Formatting
Present only relevant information in your press release answering the following: who, what, where, when, and why. Press releases are also written in a specific format. An ideal press release should only be a page long. Normally, the information will fall in this order:

• Press release dates. This includes the day it was written, and the date you want it to be released.
• Headline. Usually this will be the name of the production and the author. Make sure to keep your headlines catchy because this will be the first thing they read.
• Body. Here will be a short description of what your theater is promoting.
• List of cast members (if applicable).
• Additional Information. This section is optional but may include awards and reviews, and cast pictures.
• Date, place, location (including area code), times of performances, and price.
• Contact information. Include at least phone number and email.
• ### or END. This signifies the end of your press release.

Below is an example of the top section of a theater’s press release for a musical comedy:

III.  Don’t be a Nuisance!
If a reviewer isn’t writing about you after you send them several press releases don’t waste any more time trying to persuade them. Instead, target reviewers who have an interest in the subject you’re announcing. When someone does write about your theater be courteous! Send them a sincere thank-you letter to encourage them to write again.  Also, consider sending your press release out to online press sites. They can help you optimize your distribution list.

Press releases have potential to create excellent public relations for your theater. With these tips for writing press releases you should be on your way to a full house. For more online promotional techniques for your theater, see the second segment of this series,

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Social networking is a fun and exciting way to gain contacts and increase recognition for your theater. There are many networking sites to work with, each of which should be used for different purposes. Before we begin discussing the top networking sites, there are some basic techniques you should apply when socializing on the internet.

• Be yourself: Show your (or the characters’) personality. Make your page unique to your persona.  The more someone can relate to you the more likely they will be interested in the theater.

• Cross link: Create a link from your website to your social networking sites and vise versa.  If you have more than one networking site, link those together too.

• Join Groups: Join as many relevant groups as you can. This will help get your name out there.

• Find Friends: But, don’t add everybody!  Only keep the ones that are related.  Other theaters, fans, and connected characters are great.

• TALK! Get your name out there by leaving purposeful and genuine comments on other profiles and blogs whenever possible. Aways respond back in a timely manner.

Now that you have the basics in socializing skills, let’s take a look at these sites to determine how to use them to their fullest abilities.

theatre-communications-group1

This not-for-profit group “Increases the organizational efficiency of member theatres”.  The site is dedicated to the more professional side of theater.  They offer many benefits including:

• Grants for theaters, directors, writers, and actors every year.

• Professional development programs for management, as well as career workshops for artists.

• Advocacy guides to allow the most recent information of “federal legislation regulations and other significant government opportunities and issues” that deal with the theater industry.

• Job postings where theaters can advertise openings for various positions.

• Publications in the American Theatre magazine where many articles and advertisements for individual theaters can be promoted.

linkedin1

This professional networking site facilitates interaction within industries.  Here, your theater can search for cast members, stay in touch with other industry professionals, and:

• Research job applicants and get “recommendations” from past employers, colleges, and interviewers.

• Cross reference your web site onto LinkedIn so other members can view important information like performance and casting call dates.

ning2

Ning has custom social networks for nearly any topic, and almost 100 networks for theater related groups.  Here you can create your own network and join many others.

• When you have a custom network you can add videos, pictures, blogs, and forums for members of your network to comment on.

• Place your own advertisements on your page. This is a cheep ($20/month) way to promote upcoming events that many members will see.

youtube-and-flickr2

These sites are ideal to promote your theaters performances through videos and pictures.  If you have an extremely good video, it will gain quick popularity or become viral.  This in turn will promote your theater.

• Also consider submitting material to other social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Technorati, and Del.ico.us to get your name out in the digital world.  Consider a video blog or podcast at these sites. Include behind the scenes material. Give viewers a taste of what it is like to be a part of the theater production.

• At the end of your videos/albums make sure to give them information on how to get tickets and more information (most likely linking them back to your website).

facebook-myspace1

These networking sites are less formal and are open to everyone. A great way to promote your theater and its well-known productions is to make a networking profile for the characters as well as the theater itself. These two sites are great for promotion because they can really let your personality shine Consider using these sites for your popular characters too. Here are some techniques for individualizing your pages:

• Add a backgroundthat relates to the profile you are promoting. Have a picture of the character for their profile picture if you are on the character’s page, and of the theater, or its logo, on your theater’s page.
• Remember to cross reference! Link your website to your MySpace and vise versa. Some other add-ins can be photo albums, blogs, notes, quizzes (for the character’s page) and personalized layouts. Definitely write a blog for your theater’s page. A good blog will create interesting conversation and do it’s own advertising for the theater. The more interactive the better!

• Add music and videos. These clips will serve as a preview for performances, intriguing the listener to come to your theater to see the rest of the show. They can be easily embedded into your page through MySpace with MySpace TV or YouTube. There are many applications for Facebook, like YouTube Video Box, AdGabber, and iLike.

• Use a calendar. This updates everyone on performance dates and other fundraisers or parties. MySpace comes with a calendar application and Facebook has many you can use, such as Jotlet or My Google Calendar

• Join groups, or create your own. This will allow people in your local area to join and discuss various theater topics.

This is an ideal social network for any character or cast member who has a blog to join because it allows a person to share what they are doing and see what other people are doing at any moment through cell phones, blogs, and instant messaging.

• Update your account through your cell phone. Here you can tell your friends what you are doing through your phone and receive updates about your friends instantly.
• Provide a link of your Twitter blog to you other networking sites. Because Twitter uses widgets , it will allow all your other pages that allow widgets to be updated simultaneously.
• This is an ideal social network for any character or cast member who has a blog to join because it allows a person to share what they are doing and see what other people are doing at any moment through cell phones, blogs, and instant messaging.
• Update your account through your cell phone. Here you can tell your friends what you are doing through your phone and receive updates about your friends instantly.
• Provide a link of your Twitter blog to you other networking sites. Because Twitter uses widgets, it will allow all your other pages that allow widgets to be updated simultaneously.

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