When it comes to building a fan club, comedians and other entertainers have a pretty good edge over most when it comes to using a blog as the foundation for building your fan club following.
Here’s why…
People are enamored with entertainment and entertainers. It doesn’t matter what field of entertainment that you specialize in.
People want to know what entertainers are doing. They want to know the struggles and the triumphs. They want to know who you meet and where you are performing. They want to know everything about you and what you are doing.
So here’s what you need to know…
Well, if you are actively performing in any entertainment field, you have plenty to talk about on a blog (a great platform for this which costs NOTHING — see my notes below) and in your fan club newsletter if you choose to have one.
You can post videos of your performances and of other entertainers that you meet.
To make a long story short, you have much to share since you are “on the inside” in the entertainment world.
If you want to build a successful online fan club, then you MUST…
Approach your fan club from the perspective of the fan — what THEY want to know about you and your comedy or entertainment adventures, good or bad.
So the big question you need to ask yourself is this:
Are you willing to share your entertainment adventures with your fans? Because if not…
There’s really no sense in starting a fan club in the first place.
Note: You should also realize that social media is now a big part of building a fan base or supporting a fan club.
Always remember this…
It is your fan base that makes you or breaks you as a comedian or entertainer. Period. He who has the largest fan base wins always.
Let me give you just ONE example of how easy it could be to connect with your fans and profit from it at the same time…
Let’s say that you are a comedian and you are really into ringtones. You discover that the place you buy your ringtones from has an affiliate program (meaning you get paid when someone buys a ringtone from the source).
You could use your blog to talk about the ringtones you use, which ones you like, why you like them and tell people where you get yours using your affiliate link.
Here’s the cool part…
You don’t need a sales pitch. You simply tell folks about the ringtones you use and give them a link to get some for themselves.
As you bring fans back to your blog with your email list to check out what gig you just got booked for and tell them about the new ringtone you now have on your phone…
Do you think they may check out some of the other offerings on your fan club blog if it is monetized properly?
I will bet my house on it.
Just know this…
As an actively performing comedian, you are doing something that most people can only dream to do. That’s why they want to know every little detail about you in your entertainment journey.
As for you…
You have an opportunity to build a growing online fan base, expand your entertainment career and monetize that effort in the process. It’s not hard.
As a matter of fact, if you have a Facebook page and a Twitter page, you have much of what you need in place already.
If you have set up a free pro EPK as I have described, then you also know how easy it is to set-up a blog at no cost that could actually be the “hub” of your fan club.
If you don’t have an online fan club yet, why not?
The social platform really is the way of the future. Being able to fully engage with your fans in create more fans and thus the cycle repeats itself. I am always baffled by the amount of comedians that don’t take care of their fans or who just do a lazy and sloppy attempt.
I follow several clean Christian comedians on Facebook. There are a few that do what you are talking about. One in particular posts funny things or thoughts on a regular basis. It love to sit back and read people’s responses. A few will have something negative to say. Many will post one of his lines from his many DVDs or a twisted version of it. Or people will try and think of a funny comeback. (Which could give him some ideas for material, if he wanted to use it.) I just checked his post today. Lots of comments and 2333 likes in about 13 hours. This is free publicity. It keeps you in people’s minds. That can only be a good thing! (PS. He recommends your course.)
When I was asked to do the comedy material development training at the Christian Comedy Association function in 2005, I was shocked to find out that the majority of Christian comedians use my information.
And I did CEP evals on all the comedians who performed at that event — they were all at 30 PAR or better (18 or more seconds of laughter per performing minute).
Also, involving your fans with your blog keeps them coming back and gets you more fans. I was just at Civilized Caveman cooking blog. Many people had tried making the recipes and had come back for more. Maybe creating humorous e-cards, posting jokes for people to share, and/or hosting funny video contests (or like one humorist, comic captions contests).