How To Promote Your Show - Things Are Gonna Get Flyer!

What a lot of independent theatre in Chicago is like...

You're a hard working producer.  You spent so much time putting together your show behind the scenes (and sometimes in front of them) to put on something people would actually pay money to go see.  The only problem is...

NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT THE SHOW!

To remedy this stiuation, here's what most theatre folks do:

1. Put together a graphic to correspond to the show.
   
   
2. Create a Facebook event and invite all of their family and friends even if they're out of state.
   
   
3. Print up a ton of postcards to pass out.
   
   
4. Spam everyone on Facebook, twitter, and e-mail to come out to the show hoping that enough begging and pleading will get them out to your show (begrudgingly).

 
The end result is that you've alienated your friends and family, ticked off out-of-towners with your Facebook pleas, and have a trunk full of flyers that eventually get trashed.   I've been a part of this scenario too many times to count.

Let's talk specifically about the most dreadful but ncessary form of promotion - flyers.

Should You Even Get Them?
The answer is "it depends".  If you care about your show, want a competitive chance of attracting audience members, and have a budget to print them up, then YES - GET THEM!  However, if you have a one-off show, don't have the money for them, or just aren't interested in having butts in the seats come curtain time, then you can stop reading this blog and visit this site instead.

If you're still reading, you've chosen to put up an actual professional production.  Good for you!  Think of flyers as your promotion card to supplement the "word of mouth" promotion your production needs to foster.  The best thing you can do when talking to someone about your show is to have a flyer handy to whip out after they ask more about it.  Not only does it feel good to hand someone something you've made and represents your show, but people who receive them think, "Hey, that cat's got his promotion together enough to hand me a glossy flyer! Maybe I should check his show out..."

Where Should You Put The Flyers?
Targeting where you put them is ideal in this situation.  Typically, people do not want to travel more than 30 minutes to see your show.  Being Chicago, it's at least 30 minutes to get anywhere so you've got a daunting challenge ahead of you.  Not only do you have to get random people to want to see your show, you have to make it so great they get over the idea of having to travel to your show.

Make sure you put your flyers at the venue if possible.  Believe it or not, people mess this up.  Many theatres in town have a place to put promotional material.  Make sure if you're having a show in their venue, EVERYONE WHO PASSES THROUGH THERE KNOWS ABOUT YOUR SHOW!  If you can make a poster from your flyer to post, even better.

Hit up all of the theatres and talent agencies in the the city that will allow you to promote your show.  Avoid coming off as unprofessional by dropping off flyers without permission in these places.  Ask someone there who seems to have authority to answer your question first for permission and then drop off your stacks.

Ask local business around the theatre if they will accept your promotional materials.  Many of them probably get hit up for it all of the time by other productions so walk in with a kind, cool demeanor and ask as adorably as possible.  Who know - they might let your show go up on their window just based on charms alone.  See if they would be willing to perform a cross-promotion with your group to entice them to have your material in their business.

Think about who you're targeting to come see the show.  Where do they hang out?  What kinds of business do they frequent?  What diversions do they enjoy?  Make sure you have flyers at all of those places.  Coffee shops and bookstores are a staple of many theatre goers.  Try flyering outside (or even inside) events that are similar to yours if possible.  The more planning you do at this stage, the easier it'll be to target where your flyers end up.

When Should You Put Up The Flyers?
You should plan to have these postcards around at least 6 weeks out from opening night.  Keep a list of establishments you posted flyers in revisit them every two weeks to make sure your materials are still there.  If they're not, ask the people working there where you materials have gone.  Hopefully they will say, "Our clients picked them up as they walked out the door!"  The truth is they may have thrown them out.  Again, build a repoire with business carrying your promo material to avoid this unfortunate case.  If they continue throwing your stuff out, cross them off your list.  Don't waste your time or money with them.  The longer the postcard is available, the better off you'll be.



Flyering is only a small part of your overall promotion strategy but it's one of the most personal and time-consuming.  Make sure your promotion team is motivated to passing them out and hyping up your show.  Do it long enough, you will definitely see a lot more smiling faces at your show!