"Offering Free Shows"

I had a really good return from a series of free shows I offered.

There is a school that hires me every year. This year, they couldn't budget me in. I decided to just do the shows anyway, it's a gamble that I might lose real paying gigs but they've always been good to me.

I ended up booking 6 birthday parties from the free shows. So, it was a smart trade.

You have to be careful though of the free shows. Mostly they lead to nothing except people taking advantage of you. The lower the price, the more phone calls, the more moving the show time around and the complete lack of respect. Even though you are giving hundreds of dollars worth of product, you are likely to be treated like the delivery person.

Things are slow, right now. I am thinking of offering some shows for promotional purposes. But I want to do it scientifically.

Why did this last free show work so well?

The children knew me from my videos and from past years
There is a heavy parent involvement in the school
The school is large.
The school really encourages parents to support their vendors, in my case, they make sure every child goes home with my postcard.

It's hard to know about the school until you get in there. I do know though, you do need a large group and agreement by the director to talk you up.

I try to think of win win scenarios. I am not the type to talk myself up. So the school gets my full show and gets the value of live entertainment for the children. The asking price is they do small promotion and hand out my materials.

I'm also thinking targeted locations will likely be most effective. I live in San Francisco, we have very wealthy communities. It's very likely the children that go to these schools are also from families that value entertainment at their child's party.

I may or may not try this. It's tough to give away shows. There is value in doing this and it is very focused marketing.