Performing Humor and Smart Comedy on Stage

According to his website, robertmac.com, “Robert Mac is a comedy creator, collaborator, connoisseur, and critic,” as well as “the thinking man’s non-thinking man.” A rare breed, he is a stand-up comedian who doesn’t resort to profanity, misogyny, or chest-beating, and still made the Entertainment Business Journal’s list of top one hundred comedians. How does he define his act? That’s “the hardest part of the job,” he says. “How can I tell you what my act is when I can only see it through me-colored glasses? Other people say it’s smart, clever, silly, cerebral.”

He readily admits that he’s chosen a difficult path in life, or, as he puts it, “stand-up is a tough racket.” Still, Mac has been able to find success in his chosen field, performing not only at comedy clubs around the country, but also private and corporate gigs, along with the much-coveted television appearance.

Daily, he battles the dichotomy of the life of an intelligent stand-up performer. “I put a lot of thought into my material,” he says. One the one hand, while “it’s easy to make people laugh…it’s much more rewarding to make them think and keep them guessing.” On the other hand, his experience is that his job involves, “mostly performing for drunks.” The club scene seems to be about “free comedy and expensive drinks, which devalues the comedy. It’s really backward in many ways. The club owners make their money on booze, so they offer cheap or free comedy to get drinkers into the clubs.”

But Mac is committed to this life, and has been for some time. He remembers, as a child, listening to a Steve Martin routine and thinking, “Do people do that as a job?” His first foray into stand-up took place around 1992. He provided some written material for a friend to perform at a local club’s open mic night. “When he did my material on stage, and got laughs, I felt betrayed in a way,” Mac remembers. “I wanted those laughs. After much cajoling, he finally pushed me onstage and my first set was a hit. I was hooked.”

Almost twenty years later, he performs regularly, an iconoclast in an industry where many performers are seeking to reach an audience that is “there to do shots and whoop it up.” By contrast, Mac plays well to a “bright and attentive” audience. Where is his base? He reports, “I do well with people with glasses,” and that he can judge how successful his set has been by how well he feels when he’s done. “If I’m having fun,” he says, “they’re having fun.” His favorite shows, naturally, are “the ones where they are in the palm of my hand the whole time and they let me run the show.”

What else could a comedian ask for? Reportedly, “a few more television appearances.” But he’d settle for the ability to “make a comfortable living as a comedian . . . and I’m making my way toward that.”

Mac uses social networks to share the news about upcoming performances, including Facebook to direct his fans to hyperlinks where they can purchase tickets or make reservations for upcoming shows. Fans can watch clips of his performances on his YouTube channel. He sells CDs and digital downloads online (and hopes to offer more merchandise in the near future), and even writes an occasional blog called Comedy DNA, discussing humor. In terms of weird publicity stunts, however, he rates this article as “probably the unusualest,” thing he has ever done.

Humor, of course, is subjective. “There’s funny in everything,” Mac says, “but it takes a lot to make me laugh. I think I need to be caught off-guard. Today I laughed out loud, literally, watching my friend Myq Kaplan perform on Letterman—funny, smart stuff.”

{ 0 comments }

QR Code Posters for Educational Fundraising and School Events

What do you know about QR codes?

You’ve probably seen these distinctive, randomly-checkered, black and white squares on advertisements in magazines and other print publicity. Anyone with a smart phone can scan them in an instant, and be transported to a sponsor’s web page for more information.

How does that help your raise more money for your school?

What if that QR code sent students, parents, and other potential donors to a website where they could instantly purchase tickets to an upcoming dance, theatrical performance, fundraising event. What if that site allowed them to make an instant online donation? What if you could do it all at an affordable price?

By combining the power of QR codes with the convenience of our TicketRiver online box office, we’ve created a reliable tool for your school. TicketRiver helps you collect money, whether you’re selling tickets or just asking for charitable donations to support the arts, athletics, the building fund, or any other program that requires cash.

It’s Elementary

We know you’re busy, and that’s why we’ve made the process as streamlined as possible. You can start with a call to our friendly customer support staff at 888.771.0809 and tell them you’d like some QR Code Posters. While you’re setting up your page on TicketRiver (totally free, really easy), they’ll help get your Posters started. You can send our designers any image you’d like to use, have a custom design created just for you, or even choose a combination, like a custom design that incorporates your school logo.

We won’t print or ship your posters until you’re satisfied with the proof, so there’s no risk. When you receive them, the unique QR code will feature prominently in the image, letting everyone know that they can instantly buy tickets or send money with their smart phones.

Time to Shine

Just hang your Posters around the school or wherever you suspect your supporters may lurk. Wherever you go, whatever you do, those QR codes keep working for you, so you can sell tickets or collect donations literally any time, utilizing zero human resources. No one has to sell tickets, collect money, count change, or answer questions. Your TicketRiver page does it all for you!

If you’re looking for a way to move your fundraising campaign into the twenty-first century, capitalize on your students’ love of technology, or raise more money while committing fewer resources to the cause, QR Code Posters are smart way to achieve your goals!

 

 

{ 0 comments }

A Little Transparency: Creating Customer Confidence by Inviting Customers Behind the Scenes

The ticket legitimizes our event; it makes it look special with a specific date and time and the incorporation of our photos & logos on the ticket as well.

~Paul Komorowski, Seaway Window

Custom printed tickets can mean so much more than “Admit One!” Take, for example, the case of Seaway Window, a  replacement window company in Northwest Pennsylvania.  In the business for over 50 years, Seaway is always looking for new and interesting ways to expose its products to customers.

To show off its process and products to its customers, Seaway Window invites them onto the factory floor. “Our Event is an Open House. We open our factory for tours of one of our production lines showing how a double hung window is made. The purpose is to get people to come to the factory and see how our windows are made, thus making them confident in choosing our company for their replacement window project,” Paul told me.

For the factory tour, Seaway uses the General Concert Ticket. This ticket can be printed in several flashy colors. It has space for event information as well as custom images.

For the factory tour that took place on October 8^th, the Seaway team chose orange as a background color and included images of the factory and the company logo. Besides featuring a detachable stub and individual numbering, the ticket has discount information printed on its opposite side, which can be a handy reference for customers attending the event.

“We do not charge people to come to our event; it is free. We use the tickets to legitimize the event. Plus if they go through the factory tour, the tour guide will sign the back of the ticket for a discount applied to their project.”

For Seaway the ticket serves as a valuable form of advertising. It gets customers through the door and helps to incentivize customers to purchase replacement windows through them.

How does Seaway keep the public informed about its factory tours? “We use a multi-media approach. We use TV, radio, signage, print, direct mail, newspaper, and we use the ‘Open House’ ticket that I order from TicketPrinting.com to promote this event.” Seaway uses an all avenues approach. Rather than settling for one form of advertising, it utilizes a number of different outlets to build a buzz around its factory tours.

Paul urges others to, “Use a multi-media approach to drive people to your event.”

Those who attend the factory tour at Seagate have a good time, no matter how they learned about the event. “The best part of the event is the actual factory tour; people love to go though it,” Paul said.

 

{ 0 comments }

A Fundraiser for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

TicketPrinting.com gave us the ability to be professional, and offered us the tools we needed to make our event into a great one! Thank you for making our event a success!

~Charlotte Dunn, Co-Founder and President of Fighting For Damion

Just five months old, Damion Antonio Carbello has already touched countless lives. Born in May 2011, Damion was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), “a genetic disorder that is carried by 1 in 90 people and affects 1 in 2000. SMA is the number one genetic killer of toddlers and infants in the world.”

“Fighting For Damion is completely not for profit, and our sole goal is to help this little family with medical bills, and Damion’s needs, to make things just a little easier,” Charlotte Dunn, Co-founder and President of Fighting for Damion explained to me. She founded the organization with Vice President and Co-Founder Rachel Kessleski when they learned their dear friend’s son had been diagnosed with the disorder.

The organization’s most recent event was a benefit get together sponsored by Scale’s Grill and Deck Bar to raise money for Damion and also raise awareness of SMA. The group “held a Chinese auction, a 50/50 raffle, featured live entertainment and a dinner buffet. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to a secure account strictly for baby Damion.”

For the event, the organization chose the Blue and White General Admission Ticket, a simple but professional ticket with plenty of room for event information. The event ticket featured the details of the event on the front, as well as a logo and slogan on the back. The tickets were individually numbered and featured a detachable stub, which can be used to track attendees and keep account of the raffle.

“Because we are just starting out, we have set our goal very small and I am pleased to say we greatly exceeded it.” Charlotte told me.

To get the word out, Charlotte and her team relied heavily on Internet and radio advertising, “We advertised greatly on all social networks, and local radio stations. We also pre-sold the tickets that your company printed, which [were] a big hit! We also list every event and detail on our website, www.fightingfordamion.com.”

Some event planners choose to focus only on one method of advertising, which means they may reach only one audience. By using more than one channel of communication and reaching out to an online audience, as well as one that might hear about the event from a more traditional route, the team maximized its message and reached more potential attendees.

Another effective method that helped with ticket sales is offering a presale discount.  “We offered our tickets to anyone who would listen for $10 presale or $15 at the door. We advertised them the same way we advertised our event,” Charlotte said. “It worked very well in my opinion. If you can get the word out there on as many sources as you can, your event will sell itself.”

Though the weather didn’t cooperate, the event was still a success. “For me, the best part of the event was seeing everyone who came out having a good time for a great cause. Most of these people have no idea who this family is that they are helping, and yet they still come out to support and donate. It is truly amazing to see people put aside their busy life and help someone in need. ”

When you’re planning a fundraising event, a strong advertising and sales strategy will bring out many people who were unaware of your cause. You may find allies who come to believe just as passionately in your message as you do.

For those planning a similar event, Charlotte has this advice, “Plan ahead! Make sure all loose ends are tied a week prior to your event; it saves a lot of time and money. And remember to have lots of helping hands to help set up and break down!! That is truly the hardest part of any event.”

To donate to Fight For Damion visit FightingforDamion.com.

 

 

 

 

{ 0 comments }

Blue Heron Productions: Concerts in Support of Acoustic Music

“The tickets always show up promptly and add a touch of professionalism to the event. For most people maybe just a detail, but for me indicates a little added effort.”

~ David Reynolds, Blue Heron Productions

On September 16, The Crooked Still performed at the Hotel Colorado. The team behind this event was Blue Heron Productions, Inc. “a small company dedicated to the promotion of bluegrass, folk and other forms of acoustic music. Intimate concerts with outstanding artists,” Dave Reynolds explained to me. “This is not main stream music you hear much on TV or radio, and I have always felt it is underserved in the media and especially in the concert format. The Company really is just me. My wife handles the door, and I usually bribe my friends to become roadies and help. It is not a one person job. This is a sideline pursuit, as I am CPA in my real life.”

Blue Heron Productions, Inc. is dedicated to producing intimate concerts with outstanding artists. While it is not affiliated with the Hotel Colorado, many of the concerts take place at this beautiful venue. For the Crooked Still Event, “I used a room at the venue I have never used for the concert. It wonderfully small and intimate, but acoustically challenging. I went for audience sight line and gave up a little in the sound department, but it went very well all things considered. I prefer the high ceilings and ambiance of the Ballroom. The Hotel Colorado is on the National Historical Register.”

For Dave, “The sound quality is job number one, followed by a comfortable venue. I want the band to sound as good as it can, and I am very particular about it. These musicians are very talented and deserve being treated like the aspiring pros they are or will become.” You can visit YouTube for a taste of Crooked Still’s music.

For this event, Dave chose the All Purpose General Admission ticket, a simple but professional ticket that prominently features the band’s name as well as event information. The ticket is individually numbered and features a detachable stub, which allows organizers to keep track of attendees.

“To market the event,” Dave says, “I use posters, newspaper, radio, social media and email contacts, and anything else that I can think, given a limited budget. I am always looking for a more targeted approach. The younger bands see the benefit of Internet marketing and are generally better at it themselves too, which helps.” Bands are featured on the Blue Heron Productions, Inc. Website. They are also touted on the Facebook page for the venue. The bands themselves do their own promotion work as well.

 

{ 0 comments }

Giddy Up to a Great Event!

Ticketprinting.com “gave us a quality ticket with our logo on the back making it look really official. People buying the tickets really seemed to like that.”

~ Michael Cooper, FBCYRA

On August 6^th, the Fort Bend County Youth Rodeo Association (FBCYRA) held its Summer Series Raffle. Cash prizes were handed out to participants. First Prize was three hundred dollars. Second Prize was two hundred dollars and Third prize was one hundred dollars.

The organization chose the All Purpose Raffle Ticket design. The ticket is printed on high quality stock in black and white. It features the essential raffle information and number on the front side, and the FBCYRA logo on its reverse. The ticket has a corresponding detachable stub for participants to write down their contact information.

“We are a youth rodeo organization,” Michael shared with me. The organization’s website further describes FBCRYA’s purpose, as “a Junior Rodeo Association for kids up to 19 years of age. We provide a safe place for Fort Bend County’s Youth to have fun and experience the great sport of Rodeo.” The FBCYRA is dedicated to helping young people. As well as providing a rodeo experience for youths and young adults, the organization is committed to supporting scholarship by providing awards for those young people who compete in the Junior Rodeo.

“We have a raffle each year in conjunction with our summer rodeo series and end of the summer rodeo to help pay for the over $30,000 in prizes we give away.” Michael explained to me. The Summer Series Raffle is a fundraiser for the organization.

How does FBCYRA promote its raffle and sell its tickets? The young people who participate in the Summer Series and wish to participate in the autumn rodeo are required to sell raffle tickets. “Each contestant is required to sale $75.  We target local businesses, family members and other within the community.” If FBCYRA members don’t sell the required amount of raffle tickets, they must secure an equal amount of outside sponsoring in order to be eligible for rodeo competition prizes.

Raffle sales are not only required but also competitive, which brings a spirit of fun to the process. The member who sells the most tickets wins a belt buckle at the end of the sales cycle.

Information about the raffle and the summer series was also available on the organization’s site and its Facebook page.

For Michael, the highlight of the Summer Series Raffle goes far beyond that one event. “The best part is just seeing how the kids grow through the summer and how their riding skills improve. It is neat to watch them compete however great to see the sportsmanship they show in helping one another out and cheer each other on.”

 

 

 

{ 1 comment }

Beautiful Event, Beautiful Benefit

When Stacey Scott of Harper Monroe, a mobile spa service based in New York, wanted to host an Elegant Affair for Wellness and Beauty benefit to raise awareness of her business and funds for the Humane Society of New York, she chose the Red Rose design from TicketPrinting.com for her flyers and tickets.

The design features a close up of a red rose in full bloom with room for custom text and information. It provides the perfect backdrop for a beautiful event.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Stacey Scott to learn more about the event she hosted and some of the strategies she used to get her team engaged and sell tickets.

“We deliver spa services directly to the doorstep of our clients and host spa party events.” Stacey explained to me. “The purpose of this event was to help raise money for the Humane Society of New York and to bring more awareness about our business.” The event was held at the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan on Saturday July 23^rd. Participants were treated to two spa services and a wellness consultation. Appetizers, desserts, and cocktails were provided, and take home gifts were given to attendees as well.

When a business hosts an event, a strategy for selling tickets is essential. Stacey’s team had to analyze what they would need for the event to be successful. “First, we set a profit goal and worked up a break even analysis and decided how many tickets we needed to sell.” Making sure team members are motivated to get the word out and sell tickets is also important. “Then the tickets were split equally between team members who were given “gift” incentives to reach their goal.”

How did Stacey’s team market the event? They used several methods, from reaching out to current clients to turning to social media. “We dug into our current client base (which is relatively small…we are a start-up) and reached out to them by cold calling. We sent messages on Twitter and Facebook and used our Constant Contact account to try and reach a larger audience.

“We were able to pull off a very lovely event and our guests seemed very happy. Highlights were the luxurious services provided by my staff…mani/pedis, facials, and conditioning hair treatments and cuts. The venue was top notch and the food and wine was awesome. ”

What advice would Stacey share with those planning a similar event? “I’d say that unless you already have experience throwing profit making events, you should plan several months ahead…work out a detailed financial analysis and set a contingency plan for what to do if ticket sales are less than what is expected.”

How did TicketPrinting.com help to enhance Stacey’s event? She was pleased that a variety of payment options were available and the professional air the tickets lent the event. “It gave a different option than buying through PayPal. It provided a very professional looking alternative than just receiving tickets in the mail.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

{ 0 comments }

Event Brochures, Ad Books, Pamphlets, Booklets, Guides, and Programs

Ready to add an extra professional look to pretty much anything you undertake? Event large and small benefit from the production of beautiful, custom made Event Brochures, printed to your specifications and customized with your own text and images. Whether your event is large enough to require a guide with schedules and maps, complex enough to need detailed descriptions, or special enough to require a souvenir, printing your own booklets is a great way to solve your informational needs.

Where can you use a printed book?

Conferences and Conventions: Include vendor hall and venue maps, schedules for speaker and panels, and descriptions of events to create a complete guide to your event. Honor special guests and include highlights of the event and the organization’s accomplishments

Theater and Music: Playbills and programs let your fans know all about the show. Artist biographies, play synopses, band lineups and more all provide a stunning souvenir that helps your guests navigate performing arts endeavors large and small.

Food and Art Festivals: Publish a diagram showing who’s in which booth and where your patrons can find their favorite artists or flavors. Honor sponsors with ads large and small, and offer special deals.

Weddings and Family Reunions: Create a memorable souvenir for group gatherings of any size. Lay out the schedule or let everyone provide their own updates. Print photos old and new for a unique touch.

Fundraising: Print your own ad book, selling ads to local businesses or group members to make more money. Or, describe your organization’s work in detail, so potential donors can see exactly where their money is going.

New Member Information: A stock booklet is a great idea for any organization. Include names, phone numbers, and email addresses, and any other information that remains the same from year to year, which might be of use to those who have recently joined an existing group.

Annual Updates: Every year, there’s something new. Share your accomplishments with a large group when you write all your exciting information down into a fun narrative, complete with photos and illustrations.

In fact, there are thousands of ways pamphlets and event programs can be used. The possibilities are really only limited by your imagination. Whatever information you need to share with any size group, you can have it professionally printed in a booklet made to your specifications.

{ 0 comments }

The Drummer from Minutes Talks Concert Tickets, Social Networks, and Music

His first week of college in the big city (Grand Forks, North Dakota), rural kid Isaac “Ike” Turner attended his first punk show, “and the game was totally over. Honestly,” he says, “it changed my life.” A year later he was officially a drummer in his first band, and fifteen years and a few bands later, he’s still on the scene. Today, the thirty-something musician plays guitar and drums in a “straightforward, economical punk rock” band called Minutes, “the most satisfying music-related experience” of his life.

Minutes formed in 2008, counting Wire, Mission of Burma, Fugazi, and Neil Young among their influences. Turner counts his band mates, all experienced musicians, as his best friends and counts his blessings as a musician. Starting with no expectations, including never really expecting to play a single gig, the band has toured across the Midwest and produced an eponymous seven-inch EP (distributed by Dischord Records), which, to their great surprise, sold out, and has since been made available as a high-quality free download on the website Bandcamp. Currently, they’re working on a full-length album, as well as collaborating with Seattle indie-rock group The Bismarck on another album.

In regard to giving away free music, Turner is “actually very proud,” about being able to share the EP. “Totally free,” he says. “You can put it on your iPod or burn a hundred copies and give them away. I’m really in support of that type of porous border in music.” Using Bandcamp provided a surprising metric of success for the group, allowing it to reach “a lot of folks that it wouldn’t have otherwise.” Although it’s possible to sell music through the site, as well as merchandise, Minutes has not taken this route.

Does giving away free music help sell concert tickets? Turner is skeptical. “At our level, which is very small in comparison to, say, Beach House or Weezer or Danzig, it doesn’t really make much of a dent at all in how many people show up to see us play.” Minutes isn’t working on creating a buzz. Rather, the guys in the band are “hard-hat and lunch box dudes, and have always been very workman-like…lots of touring, lots of recording, no financial success or accolades on any grand scale at all.” They’re making music for their own enjoyment, and they’re happy if their work provides others with the same enjoyment.

If giving away free albums doesn’t get fans to your gig, then, what does? According to Turner, it’s Facebook updates. The post that takes thirty seconds to write is “like a neat little reminder for your entire social group, and sometimes that makes a difference in the folks that come out.” The members of the band make an effort to update their fan page on Facebook a couple of times a month. They also maintain a MySpace profile, which, admittedly, has not been updated in some time, although they do try to respond to all comments left by the five hundred or so fans they have on that site.

For now, leaving messages in online forums for those prepared to seek out their messages works for the band. Turner wouldn’t change their methods: “I don’t think we’re too annoying with our current approach. I certainly do not want to be invading anyone’s inbox.” It’s enough for him “to provide a venue for our information to be available (we’re not recluses, after all, although we like Pynchon and Salinger a lot). I like the balance we’ve struck so far.”

In the real world, Minutes relies on flyers, screen-printed by two members of the band, to announce upcoming shows. What else does a punk rocker need to know about marketing? Not much, according to Turner, who believes “the most important aspect of being in a successful band is to never, ever think about selling yourself at all.” For Minutes, it truly is all about the music: “We happen to make music that we love, and we are lucky to play shows.” They don’t need outside help, and are pleased the band can function “without any intermediaries at all—not one person outside of our band makes decisions for us. Not one. We have no managers or screwballs or anything like that. So, as far as marketing, we really, honestly, can let the music speak for itself.”

True to their punk roots, Minutes keep their expectations low. Asked about his goals for the band, he says, “I hope we can keep practicing once a week or so, write songs, record songs, play shows, ad infinitum.” He’d love to tour again, for a week or two, “not necessarily a marathon one like we used to do” but mostly he’s happy playing great shows with great musicians and creating great experiences. He “would say having no goals is a great goal for us, because then we feel absolutely zero pressure whatsoever.” After a moment’s consideration, he adds, “Wait, let me take that back.  I want to finish our album before May. There. That’s my goal.”

{ 0 comments }

If school fundraising is part of your job description, you’re probably well aware of two things:

1)   Your school’s financial future depends, in some part, on distributing tickets to your upcoming fund raising event.

2)   You’ve got plenty of other things to do in the front office besides distributing tickets.

Do you put the burden of selling Event Tickets on parents and teachers and then deal with the hassle of tracking sales from multiple sources, collecting and verifying money, hounding an unwilling sales team to work harder? Do you depend on the kids to start selling, and deal with the same problems on a grand scale?

How about an option that requires five minutes of commitment on your part, and does all the rest of the work for you?

If you’ve got tickets to sell, we’ve got an app for that.

It’s called Ticket River, and it’s literally the easiest, most reliable, and least expensive way to sell tickets to any school event. Even if you’re not selling tickets, it’s a great way to encourage people to check in to events they plan on attending, so you can get a head count in advance. It even lets you collect donations for your non-profit school!

All you’ve got to do is log on and create a page for your event. It takes about five minutes, and there’s help to help you get started if computers aren’t your thing. You’ll just enter the event information into a template: what kind of event you’re holding, how much tickets cost. You can upload some photographs to liven up the page, and choose a background, as well. And that’s it!

Once you’ve created a page with all your details, all you need to do is direct your students, their parents, and other guests to the URL where they can buy tickets. Ticket River will process credit card or PayPal payments, generate virtual tickets that can be printed out at home, and even track your sales for you. If you’d rather issue your own paper tickets, you can order them from Ticket River’s sister company, TicketPrinting.com, and hold them for attendees as they arrive at the event. The service is completely free: there’s only a small surcharge for each ticket sold (3%—the lowest in the industry), which you can pay yourself, pass on to your customers, or split between the two.

Now, doesn’t that sound a lot easier than waiting for kids to count out their pennies as a line forms around your desk and the phone rings off the hook?

{ 0 comments }