In this three part series you will learn the ins and outs of clown marketing which will allow you to more effectively market yourself. The most important thing you can learn is that a well marketed clown is a hired clown. Without a well thought out and executed marketing plan chances are you will sit at home while some other entertainer gets the job. Be sure to check out parts One and Two.
Today we will cover the basics of brochures and classifieds.Prior to the Internet and websites, getting a large amount of information to a potential customer was difficult and expensive. Most clowns had to use a full color brochure, which can be quite expensive, to get the information to a customer. If you are afraid of computers or not ready for a website then a brochure may still work for you.
The classic tri-fold brochure is easy to design and, while being a little boring, is what most people think of as a brochure. Conveniently a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper when tri-folded is the size of regular mail, making a tri-fold ideal for any sort of mass mailing you might do.
To start making your very own brochure you will need to pick 4 or 5 of your best pictures. These pictures are not necessarily going to be your favorite pictures so much as they are going be the most professional looking pictures. If you are flush with cash you might hire a photographer to take some professional pictures of you.
Pick at least one picture (a) that is a close up of your face, pick two pictures (b & c) that show your full costume, pick one picture (d) of you interacting with an audience member and maybe one picture (e) of a balloon sculpture or face painting you have made. Once you have these picked out, lay them out like this:
This layout is not perfect so as you are creating your brochure adjust it to fit you needs. Your about section should not just be about you as clown but also about your company. The why section should be where you start to sell yourself. Make a brief high impact sales pitch that will get you the call.
You should have a price list so that people will have an idea of the types of parties you can do. However, you can put Call for Price so that you don’t give out all of your prices for all of your parties. The referral section will grow as your business grows. Referrals are important if you live in a very competitive area, so don’t be afraid to ask for them.
The party tips section is a great section to add to the back flap of your brochure. This way even if they aren’t going to hire a clown, they will put your brochure on the fridge to help them plan their part. To compile a list of party planning tips just cruise the Internet and see what is needed to have a successful party or if you are a parent remember what you wish you would have known before the last party you threw.
Now that you have put together a great brochure it is time to work on some classified ads. Classified ads can be a great way to market yourself especially if you are new to an area and want to announce your presence.
You will want to analyze your skills, picking your top two besides clowning. You will then want to design your ad. Since you typically pay per letter, including spaces, you will want to be frugal with your letters. Some thing like:
Dylan the Clown/Juggler and Balloon Art/Birthday Parties/xxx-xxx-xxxx/www.yourwebsite.com
That way you get a lot of information in very few letters (the ‘/’ are line breaks). Once you have a couple ads put together pick the one that you feel is strongest and get in contact with a couple publication that target parents and find out the prices to place your ad.
I would start out with the cheapest and work your way up. That way as you are starting out you will get plenty of exposure and you might luck out and find the perfect niche market for yourself. You will want to run each ad for at least six weeks to track where people are getting your number.
Of course to get this tracking done you have to ask where people got your number. A lot of people who call you will say “I saw your ad in the xxx paper.” If they don’t tell you right away they will be more then happy to tell you, you just have to ask.
After the six weeks are up, unless you have been getting so many calls you are booked for three months, it is time to try another publication. Continue running ads for six weeks until you find the one publication that works for you. Make sure you track the number of calls you have received from each ad.
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