I made a tool for gig entertainers so they could get more of the gigs they want. It’s awesome and has helped folks make more money and do more fulfilling work already. It’s called the Gig Entertainer Ramp Originally, it was called the Gig Entertainer Survival Kit 2024. i wanted to change the name to reflect the positive and uplifting effect of it.
I’m trying to get this thing out to thousands of experienced entertainers so they can get massive benefits. We all want different things from our work (some want to travel, some want to stay at home) (some want to be busy, some want to have free time) (some want families, some want adults, some want kids) (some want artistic expression, some want to help corporate people)… so there’s enough to go around. If we can get the right entertainers in the right gigs, audiences will be happier, freelancers will make more money, freelancers will find FREEdom and the world will be a happier and healthier place. I would love your help getting the word out about it. https://www.scot.fun/ramp
here’s a summary of what the Ramp is…
Scot Nery’s Gig Entertainer Ramp is a comprehensive tool designed for gig entertainers to enhance their performance and business success in 2024. This platform is aimed at assisting entertainers in securing better gigs and improving their overall impact and earnings in the entertainment industry.
Crafted by Nery, a renowned emcee and showbiz consultant with extensive experience in the industry, the Ramp is a reflection of his expertise and knowledge. It offers a range of practical tools and insights for entertainers. The focus is on real-world experiences and challenges that entertainers commonly face, such as booking gigs, engaging with different audiences, pricing their art appropriately, and maintaining creativity in a competitive field.
The Ramp includes strategies and wisdom from Nery’s own experiences and the broader entertainment community. It is designed to be practical, straightforward, and at times unconventional, mirroring the diverse nature of gig entertainment. Nery emphasizes the importance of offering tangible, useful tools rather than selling unattainable dreams, with a focus on empowering entertainers to attract and energize their audiences effectively.
We have a lot to manage with shows and we’ve gotta communicate with a lot of people to make it happen. I found a shortcut to communicating with customers. It’s what lead to selling out every week for a show that nobody wanted in the most difficult place to sell tickets on the worst night of the week… while Meranda and I were wearing all the hats producing the #1 show in LA.
I invented the sentinel technique. The gist is, I pick my favorite customer. A real person who has bought from me, who gets what I’m doing and who has high value. I talk to them. This serves them well and attracts other people like them. The sentinel guards our treasure for us.
Sales become higher value when they’re specific to a customer. When a customer says “fuck yes! This is made just for me!” They are going to be willing to bring more to the table and expect less.
Start with the impossible, then figure out if it’s realistic.
Our customer had a real name. We called him “Shary” ( because he shared the show so much ) so he wouldn’t be creeped out if he caught wind. Shary was our sentinel.
He believes good live entertainment could happen in LA and he wants his friends to know about it. He loves being in the know about underground entertainment. He also…
Likes obscure music
Is a member at the magic castle
Wears expensive shoes
Is single
Lives in an apartment
Works at a big production company
I knew a lot about him, so I could get very specific in communicating with him. I could go extremely specific with any aspect of who he is and it would still be okay with people who don’t fit his profile. I was surprised when I started serving him, how people started coming in that were insanely the same as him.
I would write an email to him… completely to this one real guy… then I would take his name off the top of it and send it out to our 4000 person email list.
It is so much easier to write an email to one person instead of trying to figure out what’s going to hurt someone’s feelings, or is going to be unappealing to a low value ticket buyer.
If I thought something I was doing was too specific to Shary, I could always pull back and be “realistic” at that point. I started with the impossible idea that I could have and attract only dream customers, and I tried to see how far I could go with that. It always worked and it got us to sell out every week quickly.
The sentinel helps with everything
Since I see all this marketing, sales, value stuff holistically; I started booking the show to still have a good singer songwriter, but now I wanted one that Shary has never heard of. I wanted to book great magicians that he has heard of so that he could tell his friends “this is the week to go!” I made TV appearances not caring how many general ticket buyers would see it. I wanted a clip that Shary could share with his friends. I wanted to help him have more credibility with his friends.
Here are the ways marketing people define their audiences in ascending order of efficacy…
“Everybody” – we think every single person in the world is a potential ticket buyer
Demo / Psychographics – try to make a profile of ranges of attributes for customers (eg: age 30 to 45, female, $100k-$500k salary)
Avatar – a fictional profile of a customer who represents a slightly narrower demo/ psychographic
Sentinel – just some weirdo
We have limited bandwidth. We need every move to be surgical and powerful. We don’t need everybody. Whether we’re in an arena or a black box, we have a limited number of tickets to sell, so we want to reach the minimum viable audience with really high value.
The next step is to think of who our sentinel is, then write down everything we can think about them. Go crazy on the details.
It takes bravery to be focussed. Being scattershot takes less responsibility because it’s unclear whether we’re succeeding or not.
“For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.” – James Joyce
Get a sentinel and serve them. They will bring a horde that will serve you. Hope this helps to cut through your workload.
I’ve been having a bunch of candid conversations with people who are trying to sell more tickets or get more attendance at things. I’ve gained a lot of insight on what’s working and what’s not working in this new post-COVID, pre-AI world. The basic thing is that people are more picky about doing only the stuff they want, so when we pursue marketing, we gotta do it super effectively.
Here’s a thing a lot of people selling tickets don’t think about: lifetime value of a customer… For HP, the initial value of a customer might be $20 for a printer, then that customer buys lots of ink. When the printer breaks after two years, the customer probably wants to stick with the familiar so will buy another printer and more ink. This means that if it costs HP $20 to get one customer, they’ll still make a great profit over the customer’s lifetime. The printer may cost more to advertise, produce and distribute than it sells for. This is called a “loss leader”
When I started doing ticketed shows, I was thinking I would make the ticket price from each customer. I think my first show a couple decades ago, I was charging $10 / ticket. So, I wanted to spend $0 on advertising / marketing. I needed that $10 for buying a karate vest or whatever.
After selling lots of tickets with very DIY marketing, I started thinking in lifetime value and suddenly had more money to spend AND I sold more tickets.
Here are some thoughts on improving the lifetime value of a customer for our ticketed shows…
Motivate group sales. Some people want to buy more tickets. There are people who buy tickets for a group of friends, then sell them to their friends. There are people that bring families. Even someone on a date has a higher value than a solo person. Set up stuff that encourages this.
Sell again. Many people will watch the same show twice if there’s a chance to. This baffles me and I’ve seen it over and over.
Merch. Turn your performance into a merch selling machine. Make sure the merch amplifies the core value of the show.
Sell different. If we’re doing a new show every year or every 3 months or whatever and it’s made for the same people, we can stay in touch with them. Keep serving them. Then, give them the opportunity to experience our new show.
Make them evangelists. Things go viral for very clear reasons. Predicting the level of virality is difficult. Understanding the core of it is pretty easy.
Get them to breed. If we can just get them in committed and fertile relationships, we can … ah, skip this one. That will take too long.
Increase buy-in. If we can make the customer experience something special that they feel committed to, they will be willing to invest more.
Find new ways to serve. Our ideal customer is probably someone we like. We can think about who they are, what they need and what do they come to us for. Then we can find new ways to serve them. These might seem like complete left-field ideas and they might be just the right-thing.
Raise ticket prices. Many people are doing low and discounted tickets as a way to incentivize purchase. These incentives are crappy because you save me $50 on a ticket, I still need to take 3 hours out of my night, I have to get a babysitter and pay for parking, and take a risk on a show that’s not good enough to charge full price… It’s probably not worth the cash savings. Especially because the competition’s often open to the same compromise. Instead, we need to create and communicate more value.
Sell again and again… sometimes the core value of what we do stays the same or increases on repeat visitation. A bowling alley keeps the same lanes and the same balls and the same chemical filled shoes and it gets better the second time we go. I’m not going bowling so that I’m surprised by the balls. I’m going for the social experience and to feel like I can do some athletic ability. My show Boobietrap got better each time people came because they would get more in on the joke. they would get to know the performers and feel part of the community. They would get more comfortable in the pretty uncomfortable situation. They would always see new details in the show that they missed before.
I hope you are able to amplify the lifetime value of your customers so that you can make more money, get more attention, and share more of the awesome that you do.
In the world of gig entertainment, every performer’s journey is littered with both landmines and goldmines. It’s a path I’ve walked, and I’ve seen many of you tread it too. The Gig Entertainer Survival Kit isn’t just a toolkit; it’s a testament to our collective stories – the gritty, the triumphant, and everything in between.
A friend, let’s call him AL, who nearly threw in the towel after being told he’d never be rebooked. But we turned that around. He not only got rebooked but became a top choice at the venue. Then there’s Dan, who believed his art was just a side hustle until he tripled her gig fees and made it her full-time passion.
These aren’t fairy tales. They’re the hard-earned victories of people who live and breathe their craft. People like you and me.
A power nudge
We’ve all had moments when a little nudge, a piece of advice, or a new perspective could have made all the difference. That’s what this kit is – it’s that nudge, that advice, that new perspective.
It’s born out of the real highs and lows we face: booking gigs, handling tough crowds, pricing our art, and maintaining our creative spark in a world that often tries to snuff it out.
So much stuff
I’m keeping the lid on all the specifics (got to have some surprises, right?), but expect a mix of personal insights, strategies I’ve used and seen work, plus wisdom from our community. It’s practical, straightforward, and, let’s be honest, a bit unconventional at times – just like our gigs.
No Sugarcoating Here
This isn’t about selling dreams. It’s about providing tools based on real experiences. We’re in an industry where smoke and mirrors are part of the show, but not part of our growth.
My dad worked for at a place called The Columbiana Foundry, and every summer, the staff party was at an amusement park called Geauga Lake. This was, in many ways, perfectly achieved the objectives of a staff party.
I’ve been a part of half-million dollar staff parties and tiny ones. The mission is the same. The awesomeness and execution is different. Big budget things can still fall flat if the objectives aren’t clear.
Togetherness and Celebration
The companies that I’ve interacted with all know that a great work environment is made when people appreciate their coworkers and feel appreciated by their organization. That means that companies need to give them a special gift when it comes to staff parties and stuff. And they need to create a shared experience that’s a little exclusive.
A landing place
The crucial thing about going to the park together was that they rented a pavilion. There was one centralized place to have awards, raffle, announcements, lay down possessions, and be together. Many of the factory workers had this day only to be face to face with many of the other employees. By being in this one place together, the company could control the narrative easily and remind everyone why they’re there together. Employees could plan on going on rides together, and everyone would get a feeling that they were in it together.
Serve Food and/or Bev
The pavilion also provided a place to eat. Food is going to be required for a day out. The foundry did a BBQ. For these people, fresh BBQ was way better than lobster.This was a low brow amusement park. Perfect for a small town company with middle America people. By keeping costs opaque – the employees could eat freely and when they wanted and feel that they were getting food directly from the Foundry. That means they felt that the company supported them and was truly hosting a celebration of them.
The pavilion was also a place to hang out, play games, drink. So, something for even the people who wanted to spend $0 and just hang out in a chill way away from the chaos of the park.
Considering everyone
The smaller the group, the more everyone needs to be considered.
The kids loved it. This was an activity for families. I’m sure that employees had varying appreciation of Geauga. The majority (over 100 ) of them had families. The day was for family bonding and fun. A gift to the families. Parents are grateful for an activity guaranteed for kids.
The foundry got it right and they did the same thing every year. They had staff with low priced needs and they had a bigger staff.
Opacity
Just like taking the price tag off a gift, we want the group to feel the value of the experience, not the price.
Tickets to a show
Tickets to a show don’t provide opacity and they don’t provide connection. Dropping a show ticket in their stocking could be a good gift. It’s definitely not a staff party.
Think small
If the budget is limited, we want to start thinking creatively and remember that our goal is togetherness and celebration. If someone loves us, understands us, and creates a gift that we really want, we don’t care if it’s expensive or not. My favorite gifts ever are hand written cards from my wife.
It’s possible to blow our budgets on things that might be exciting and not bring a feeling of togetherness and celebration. It’s also possible to do the opposite.
We feel that we don’t really start important projects on our own. We feel that, we start something and if it’s just up to us, we’ll get off track. This could be a fear that comes up for us in working on our own projects. This is probably a challenge for 100% of people. Some ways to work with this are…
Set up a practice. Instead of pushing ourselves to start something, we put ourselves in a regularly scheduled situation where we have only the choice of doing the thing. Eg: “I’m going to write something for my novel from 10am to 11am every day.” We fail at this practice and just keep getting back to it.
Create social pressure. I like to set up a show. tell everyone that it’s happening. then develop the show.
Lower the stakes.
Increase the desire. If we feel that the result isn’t really worth it, we won’t do it.
Bury the excuses. If we have 4 reasons to do something for every 1 to not do it, we’ll be pretty good.
Appreciate ourselves for taking responsibility. If we pat ourselves on the back when we do something we care about, it makes us want to do that more. We want dopamine. Let’s set our rewards in the places that are most helpful
When we leap into a NACA booth, we’re not merely looking to entertain or perform; we’re there with a purpose – to create lasting connections and secure bookings. For magicians attending the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) tradeshow, the key to success lies in mastering the art of creating “advances” with every prospect.
An Advance is like getting part of a contract signed
An “advance” in the context of a trade show represents a proactive and structured approach to lead prospects toward the next stage of the sales process. It’s not about letting them walk away with a vague promise to think things over; it’s about giving them a clear path forward and helping them make a decision.
Why Advances Matter:
Accountability: When we offer an advance, we hold ourselves accountable to the prospect’s needs and timeframe. We take responsibility for guiding them through the decision-making process.
Clarity: Advances provide clarity. Prospects are less likely to feel overwhelmed or unsure when they know what to expect next. It empowers them to make well-informed decisions.
Efficiency: By moving prospects forward with advances, we save time for both parties. There’s no need for endless follow-up calls or waiting for decisions to be made.
Service-Oriented: Offering advances is a service to the prospects. We help them navigate their options, set parameters, and decide with confidence.
Steps to Creating Advances:
Identify Needs: Begin by understanding the prospect’s needs. Engage in active listening to uncover their pain points and what they’re looking for.
Offer Solutions: Present your magic act as a solution to their needs. Highlight how your performance can address their specific requirements.
Set a Timeline: Discuss a timeline for decision-making. Ask questions like, “When would you like to finalize your decision?” This gives a sense of urgency and direction.
Propose the Next Step: Clearly state what the next step will be. For example, “If I get back to you on Monday, can we discuss your options at 2 pm?”
Confirmation: Ensure the prospect agrees with the proposed advance. Their consent signifies commitment to moving forward.
Follow Through: After the trade show, stick to the timeline you’ve set. Contact the prospect as agreed and continue the conversation.
Advances: feel good
Purpose: Advances are about progressing the prospect to the next stage of the sales process. They provide structure, clarity, and accountability in decision-making.
Benefits: Advances help prospects make informed decisions, reduce ambiguity, and save time. They offer a service-oriented approach to guiding prospects.
Outcome: The outcome of an advance is a commitment to a specific next step in the sales process, such as a follow-up call or a detailed proposal review.
Continuations: suck
Purpose: Continuations involve letting the prospect go without a clear next step. It’s a vague promise to think about the offer.
Downsides: Continuations can be vague, causing prospects to feel uncertain and potentially resulting in prolonged decision-making processes.
Outcome: Continuations may lead to prospects becoming unresponsive or indecisive, requiring more follow-up and potentially wasting time.
Our only option in following up on a continuation is nagging the person.
Closes: good and also difficult on first meeting
Purpose: A close involves securing a contract or a definite commitment from the prospect during the initial interaction.
Benefits: Closes result in immediate sales and clear agreements. They are suitable when the prospect is ready to make a decision.
Downsides: Trying to close too early can be off-putting for prospects who need more time to evaluate their options.
No’s: kinda nice
Purpose: A “no” is a definitive rejection from the prospect, indicating they are not interested in your offer.
Benefits: A clear “no” can save time and resources, allowing you to focus on more promising prospects.
Downsides: Receiving a “no” can be disappointing, but it also helps you quickly identify prospects who are not a good fit for your services.
In summary, advances are a valuable middle ground between continuations, closes, and “no”s. They offer a structured approach that guides prospects through the decision-making process, fostering clarity and accountability. While a close can be ideal when a prospect is ready to commit on the spot, advances are a more patient and service-oriented way to move prospects forward. Continuations, on the other hand, can lead to uncertainty and prolonged decision-making, while a clear “no” helps you focus your efforts more effectively.
Case studies are a way of showing that we solve problems successfully. This is especially useful when we do different stuff for different clients. They are objective proof that we have value.
Part 1: Set up the Situation
In this first part, we’re essentially introducing the scenario. We set the stage by providing context, introducing the key players, and explaining the background. Think of it as the “what’s going on” section.
Part 2: Raise the Stakes
Now, let’s crank up the stakes. In this section, we emphasize the significance of the challenge our client faced. What were the potential risks if the problem wasn’t addressed? It’s about making it clear why this was a critical issue.
Part 3: The Problem
Getting down to the specifics, this is where we define the problem. Be detailed and use real data when possible. What hurdles did our client face? What were the roadblocks? This is where we lay out the facts.
Part 4: The Solution
Here, we get into the nitty-gritty of how we tackled the problem. Explain our strategy and the steps we took to address the issue. This is where we showcase our problem-solving skills.
Part 5: The Result
Now, let’s bask in the glory of success. Share the outcomes, the results, and the impact our solution had. Use data, testimonials, or any other evidence to highlight the positive change we brought about.
Examples
Example 1: ROI with Data
Title: “ROI with Data”
Subtitle: “Chuck Lorre Productions”
Details:Legendary Chuck Lorre, the mastermind behind hit TV shows like “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Dharma and Greg,” is known for his quirky humor. At the end of each episode he creates, fans eagerly anticipate his signature “vanity card” – a humorous credit sequence. However, Chuck’s website, which serves as a catalog for these vanity cards, was facing serious issues.Mission: Our mission was crystal clear – revamp the website to efficiently organize, edit, and showcase over 700 vanity cards. Chuck Lorre’s website updates were a nightmare, requiring a team of three and plagued by multiple errors and dead links. Even minor changes often necessitated rebuilding multiple pages. Additionally, we needed to ensure the website was mobile-friendly.Obstacles: The transition to the new site had to be seamless, without losing any data. The challenge was to create an organized, minimalistic design that would truly capture the joy of Chuck’s witty vanity cards.Success: Leveraging a robust PHP backend and a user-friendly Javascript frontend, Scot transformed the website into a sleek, organized, and user-centric platform. Updates became a breeze, with a single staff member handling the process efficiently.Scot painstakingly cross-referenced all air dates and meticulously attached episode names to each card, ensuring data completeness. Rigorous testing ensured the site’s reliability, making it work seamlessly every time. We transformed all cards into graphics, ensuring consistent presentation for all users. The website became responsive and more optimized for Google search results.You can explore the revamped website at chucklorre.com.
Example 2: Curation Capabilities Expanded
Title: “Curation Capabilities Expanded”
Subtitle: “Boobietrap”
Details:Scot Nery’s Boobietrap, the #1 show in L.A. on TripAdvisor and a recipient of “Best Of” awards from LA Weekly & Los Angeles Magazine, presented a unique challenge. Despite its success, Scot and co-producer Meranda had limited time each week to curate the 15 acts that graced their weekly show.Mission: Our mission was to create a streamlined system to effortlessly track each week’s lineups, simplify act bookings and cancellations, maintain performance histories, and ensure show diversity – a true variety show experience.Obstacles: The challenge was to strike a balance between automation and personal touch. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of production had to be clearly delineated.Success: We crafted a system seamlessly integrating with calendars and emails, automating act booking notifications. Scot’s team no longer needed to manually manage contact information, saving valuable time.The system allowed easy act reordering through a simple drag-and-drop interface, with instant updates for performers. Acts were rated and tagged for effortless organization, ensuring balanced show lineups. Boobietrap’s curation capabilities expanded, maintaining its status as a top-notch show.
Example 3: Uniting a Community
Title: “Uniting a Community”
Subtitle: “Jambrain”
Details:In 2007, while most people were abandoning MySpace, bands were still using it to promote their music and tour schedules. In North-Eastern Ohio, Scot’s Dad envisioned a platform to serve the local music community, connecting bands, fans, and venues.Mission: Our mission was to create a comprehensive website for organizing bands, their playable music, venues, and schedules. The site had to be user-managed, incorporating a blog for music scene updates.Obstacles: The challenge lay in the nascent state of technology for such a platform. Many required components had to be built from scratch, and it had to be user-friendly for tech-averse band members.Success: From 2007 to 2013, Jambrain.com evolved into a thriving community hub. Built on a WordPress & PHP backend, it provided bands, venue owners, and administrators a simple platform to list gigs, showcase music, and engage fans.Bands could easily update their profiles, and fans could find shows and listen to music, all in one interaction. Jambrain united a fragmented music community, serving as the go-to gig listing for Northeastern Ohio.
1️⃣ get logical about it 2️⃣ write down the things that make us fearful 3️⃣ remove the things from that list that don’t matter / aren’t true 4️⃣ figure out why we’re doing the thing 5️⃣ figure out the higher reason we’re doing that thing 6️⃣ change the thing to remove some of the scary parts
I had a roommate that cleaned the kitchen to near perfection but left a couple of plates hanging. I didn’t get it.
My buddy had a genius (albeit quirky) approach. By leaving a tiny something undone, he was ensuring a constant stream of good feelings. It felt better to not finish than to finish. He didn’t want to leave the project undone. He did want to feel good about it.
The Satisfaction of Half-Hanging Shirts
I had a eureka moment staring at a shirt halfway out of my laundry hamper. Weirdly satisfying. I felt good about it. I felt better about it than if I completed the task. I pondered, and it hit me – it’s not just about completing the task, but about how completing it makes us feel.
Am I going to bet on a good feeling from finishing the laundry task, or will I feel bad or the same? Most likely, it will be in the hamper. I won’t see it again, or think of it again. I’ll get no trophy.
Fear of not feeling the triumph we crave actually holds us back from finishing. Think about it. We stall because we’re worried that the joy of accomplishment might not hit the mark.
“What if I flop the shirt all the way in the basket and it doesn’t feel any better?” This is an instantaneous micro-thought in my subconscious that tells me, “Danger! Don’t finish it. Things might suck!”
And… you know what? If I put the shirt all the way in the hamper, my reward is that everyone (including me) will expect me to do that every time.
The Brilliant Pivot
Now, brace yourselves for the game-changer – emotional goals. Rather than fighting against our innate desire for emotional gratification, why not channel that energy into something productive?
Step one: Identify the emotional goals that hinder progress. Those sneaky fears of “what if I finish and don’t feel good enough?” Yeah, those.
Step two: Flip the script. We’re talking “I want to feel awesome about acing this task” instead of “I want to finish this task”.
The Fabulous Four-to-One Ratio
Here’s the golden rule: For every unhelpful emotional goal, plant four helpful ones. So, if we’re tackling the living room clutter, our emotional goals might be:
Feel accomplished for taking on the mess.
Experience satisfaction knowing you can now relax in a tidy space.
Empower ourself to move on to your next creative endeavor.
Revel in pride for setting an example for friends and family.
Channeling Fear into Triumph
In the end, it’s all about translating those nagging fears into productive motivation. Instead of letting them hold us hostage, we’re flipping the script and turning them into catalysts for success.
Harness that energy, set emotional goals, and make every project a thrilling journey.
Together, we’ll conquer tasks with a newfound gusto, armed with emotional goals that bring us joy, satisfaction, and the exhilarating sensation of a job well done!
