Comedy DVD - Advice on setting up an affiliate program

Hi Michael

From the clip I saw on your site and a little on youtube, the video quality was ok. I think the hard thing will be for you to objectively look at your material and/or delivery before considering marketing. And I try to say that without making a judgement of what you do, because crowds have liked things I just don't get. My only reason for pointing it out is that you have not gone viral, which you should have with the exposure you have recieved.

For a comedian is must be hard to think about marketing because, it is also a personal experience of what you find amusing in the world.

A way around it could be to research what all the best comedians at the festivals have in common, turn it into variables you can work on, and record and review your own performances after every time you go on stage. Many comedians say that it is also very dependent on the crowd. That might be true, but good acts fare better even in bad times because they have developed a craft they can rely on.

You can also practice drilling your material without crowds in empty rooms. That way you force yourself to listen to your own voice and delivery first. I did that for a sketch I did years ago, and it gave me the opportunity to develop the right "voice" and "personality" for the material I performed. It taught me that being funny was as much about having good material, and maybe a story to tell as about acting. Joan Rivers is an example of that, she claims to be misunderstood because she claims to be an actor playing a comedian, not a comedian. The difference is subtle, but maybe important, because acting is a craft most excellent comedians I have seen master.

Of personal experience, what separates the great acts I have seen from the average has been timing and ability to slow down the delivery. Usually the best acts are the slowest. Maybe it is a confidence issue. Also, each great comedian has managed to find their own unique voice from within. Bill Hicks did it, some argue Denis Leary stole it, Bill Engvall took it from his family, possibly the best clean comic I have seen.

And I LOVE early Charlie Pickering, I just don't get as much enjoyment out of his stand-up performance as 3-4 years ago.

Also, if you are at the festival this year, you must see Dr Brown. Unlike any act I have ever seen, and you can't get an understanding of how he is like from only watching youtube.

Hi Michael

If you want brutal honesty then I have started watching 2-3 clips of you, and not gotten to the end of any of them because I didn't grab me. The jokes were too obvious, material too flat, delivery weak and left me thinking, so? And because I react that way, I will not put it on my Facebook, I will not go to the show, I will not tell my friends. And because of that I will not contribute to your material going viral.

I can not conclusively say that is why you have not gone viral, particularly because clean comedy in both content and form don't appeal to me. However after watching about 50-100 shows my instinct tells me it is the act that don't work.

Regarding how to improve your act I don't have the answer. So I suggest looking at the act that you like to see yourself and take out what they have in common. Let that be your craft. Study it. Look at performances and go, what worked here, and why? Maybe take acting lessons. Then revisit your material.

Sorry if that is rough to hear, but that is what I think.