One summer, when I was in college I did an internship with a Christian Leadership Youth Camp and with the exception of the one week of the actual camp…It was definitely the most boring internship I had ever done. My days were full of spreadsheets, phone calls, organization, and administrative duties.
In hindsight, of the many internships I did to get ready to be a youth pastor, this one may have been the most beneficial. Because that summer I learned that youth ministry was more then pizza parties and dodgeball. Good youth pastors knew how to budget, organize, plan and do all the administrative duties that lead to amazing events and lessons.
If you want to develop a career in standup comedy, I suggest you learn a similar truth about being an entertainer. It is called show BUSINESS for a reason. Everyone gets into comedy or entertainment for the “show” part, but if you want to be a successful professional in standup comedy, you’re going to need to learn the business part as well!
This will be far from an all inclusive blog post. I’ll be sharing some important parts of the business side of standup comedy, but I am sure I won’t be mentioning all of them. Feel free to comment about what I didn’t include in this article for the collective good!
Also, a final note before we get into it, something I am not including in this particular article, that i think is a “given” for comedians, is the importance of spending time working on your routine. Writing jokes, getting out and performing, refining your act, etc. That’s part of the business, but it’s also part of the art of it so with the exception of this paragraph, I won’t be mentioning it in this post.
If you’re wanting to transition your standup comedy from a recreational hobby to side hustle or eventually full time job, I highly suggest you take time each week to focus on the business side of your comedy. If you have a full time job or other commitments, set aside at least an hour each week to work on this stuff. If you can allot more, by all means do that! So many comedians are artists and not salesmen, and that can make the difference between you getting the gigs that they do not.
Here are some suggestions of solid business practices you should have as a comedian!
“Shooting Your Shot” and Sending Avails
The Bible says “Ask and you shall receive” and in many ways, this is a principle that is true in standup comedy as well. Or rather, if you don’t ask for gigs, you probably won’t receive them.
The truth is there are far more comedians then there are shows and performance opportunities and this is very much an “Out of sight, out of mind” industry.
I produce a few shows and I’ll be the first to admit, there are plenty of comedians I want to book but I forget about. And then they shoot me a message saying, “Hey do you have an openings on one of your shows?” And right away I think, “Oh yeah, they would be a good fit for this show!” And I’m able to book them. I hate to say it, but there is a good chance if that person didn’t message me, I wouldn’t remember that I wanted to book them.
So let this blog post be your reminder to shoot your shot and send out emails and messages to bookers today requesting interest in being on their show, and sharing your availability.
Don’t be annoying, but stay on each booker’s radar. Every comedian might have a different level of what’s considered annoying, but I suggest not messaging/emailing bookers more then once a month, requesting a spot on their shows. And when you do message them, share with them dates you are available to work. I recommend steering away from phrases like “I am available whenever!” because it sounds desperate.
There is nothing wrong with not sharing ALL your availability to a booker. If you are trying to get on a Friday gig, and you have every Friday available…maybe just share with them 3 that you have available.
I recommend taking time every week to reach out to clubs, venues, or other comedians who book shows. There is always someone you can ask if they’d be interested in you or a comedy show put on by you. If you haven’t started yet, I recommend making a list of all the comedy clubs, bookers, and comics who run shows. Google Sheets is perfect for this (because you can make different categories for clubs, indie shows, etc.)
When you’re scrolling through your social media and you see comics at your level announce the shows they are on…add that venue to your list, and reach out to them. If your social media feeds are like mine, it’s 80% comedians sharing about shows they are on…so you can definitely scroll for a bit and get lots of places to reach out to. Also remember the internet is a thing. Google “Comedy clubs near me” and see what pops up. There are also tons of Facebook comedy groups where you can see who’s producing what show. Learn about the show in the group, see who is producing it, and then reach out to that person directly.
Here’s a warning though, sending out avails and requesting gigs can quickly get exhausting. It’s basically like you are sending in a different job application with each email and message you write. Do this consistently, but don’t feel like you have to do it every day. Give your brain a break from the stress of asking for work.
There was a while where I was sending out 3 booking requests a day, and that turned into a lot of no responses every day, for several months, which definitely took it’s toll on my mental health. I learned, for me, I needed to back off a bit from all the booking emails I sent. So now I try to have at least one “booking day” or afternoon a month where I send a lot more then three.
One last thought about sending out those booking requests to get more gigs. It’s nobody’s favorite part. We don’t like rejection, and we don’t like being ignored. And you 100% will not get every gig you request (If you do, please tell me your secret!)
But if you never ask, you will never receive. You miss 100% of the shots you never take. But if send those emails out frequently, and miss 95%…that’s still 5% more gigs!
Online and Social Media Crap
OK, maybe that heading is a little harsh but it’s my blog…I can call it whatever I want. If you’ve read many of my blogposts you already know, I am really not a fan of how important social media is to the job of an entertainer nowadays.
But it’s 2025…and Social Media is exceptionally important to all of us Comedians. It is what it is. And we must handle it accordingly!
Social media is beneficial to a comedian for two reasons. To communicate with your “already” audience. And to build a bigger audience. Everything you do on social media is either to connect with your people, or find new people.
The key to whatever you’re doing online is consistency. Whether you’re posting once a week, once a day, or three times a day, you want to build up habits and train your audience so that they know when to expect a post from you. You want them to open up their phones and look for it on purpose, because they know you have posted it already!
Here is what that looks like for me. On my website I update my show schedule so that they always know where I am performing, and I make sure as soon as a ticket link is live, you can access it from my site. I have updated videos, and when I get new ones, I’ll switch them out and make people aware of the site update on social media when it happens.
On my social media, at the beginning of the month I post about the shows I have going on for that whole month (that I know about) I also post every week what shows are happening that weeks. These are usually graphics and stories. I usually post in the afternoon. Day of any show I have, I’m also posting about that show….All of these posts, are for my already fans.
To try to build more fans, I rely on my reels. Maybe it’s a comedy reel, usually it’s a reel from my podcast. The idea is to post every weekday from 8 to 9 am on all my platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube). The reels are meant to be fun, entertaining, and just a way to get my face out to more people.
A Note to comedians wanting to build a online following:
I won’t lie, not as many people as you’d want care about standup comedy. Posting your comedy clips is not the quickest way to build a following. I recommend creating shorts, sketches, or posting clips from your podcast. Crowdwork clips or a part of your set that was more unique (like a weird thing an audience member said) seem to do better then just regular clips…I hate that, because all I actually want to share with the people of this world is my standup comedy…but that’s the way it seems to be right now.
You might be thinking, “Drew all of that sounds exhausting!”
It is, I don’t love it, but it’s part of the business side of building my brand and career. A simple truth about comedy if you want it to become your profession is that you will have to make the shift from Comedy being a fun creative activity to Comedy being your job…and in all of our jobs there are necessary parts that are not fun….So the trick with everything online in building your comedy brand, is continuing to do it consistency, even when you don’t feel like it.
If what I just wrote sounds like to much for you, then you don’t have to do all of that. I recommend starting small. Posting a monthly schedule for your audience, and maybe one reel a week. The day and time that you post are not as important (I think) as just the fact that you are doing it at the same time. Train your audience to know what to expect from you.
Staying Organized with the Admin Stuff
In any business you have to keep up with the numbers. And if Comedy is your job, then that means comedy is your business. So here are some figures and numbers I recommend you start keeping up with (And again, Google Sheets is your friend!)
Keep Track of your Mileage
Start noting every time you drive to anything comedy related. This includes your out of town gigs AND your local gigs (open mics each night). This all can be useful in taxes.
When you travel, Save Your Food Receipts
Any time you are on the road for comedy, save your food receipts. This also will help with taxes.
Keep track of clubs, bookers, comedians who run shows, and when you contact them.
I already mentioned the importance of regularly reaching out to try to get booked. I’ll add to this, create a google sheet of all the places you know that book shows. Comedy clubs, independent shows, and individual comedians who produce shows. On this sheet include where they are located at, contact info, and the last time you sent a message trying to get booked.
I even take it a step further and track when I am booked with them, gauge the kind of relationship I have, and even mark it in red if I feel like “They’re never going to book me and i shouldn’t waste my time.”
Keep Track of Your Booked Gigs and how much Money You Are Making
I recommend logging every time you ever perform and categorizing your shows as open mics, unpaid shows, and paid shows. In this same spreadsheet I suggest listing the venue, where, when, booker, and what role you had in the show.
At the very least, you should definitely be tracking how much money you are making per gig. One day you might be considering leaving your day job and going full-time entertainment…the first step in making this decision, I think, is considering how much money you actually make in comedy as a side hustle. These are important records to look at because you may realize you are ready to drop the day job…or you may realize that you very much are not ready for that yet.
As I said at the beginning of this post, this is far from an all inclusive list of the business factors of Show Business…what am I missing? Feel free to comment below with other factors of the business side of comedy that you think is important for other comedians to consider.
As always, thanks so much for reading and have a great day!
