Start and Host a Recurring Comedy Showcase Night

1. 1

   Pitch the venue on their math, not yours

   Target bars and restaurants with a side room or back room and a slow Tuesday through Thursday. The standard deal: the venue provides the room free, keeps 100 percent of food and drink, and you keep the door. Sixty people who each buy two drinks is the easiest yes a bar manager will ever give.

2. 2

   Structure the show like the pros do

   A host (probably you), three to five comics doing 10 to 15 minutes, and a closer with real credits. Pay comics $20 to $50 a set and the headliner $100 to $300 depending on the door; paying even modestly gets you better comics and a reputation as a room worth playing.

3. 3

   Sell tickets online, in advance

   Price at $10 to $20, sell presale through an online ticketing link, and keep a few at the door. Presales tell you by Wednesday whether Saturday works, and a sold-out sign is the best marketing a recurring show gets. Set up payment rails through the Get Paid directory (/getpaid).

4. 4

   Make the room actually work

   Comedy dies in bad rooms. You need a corner with a stage or riser, a real microphone and speaker (a used PA runs $300 to $800 if the venue has none), light on the comic's face, and the TVs off. A great lineup in a bad room still bombs; protect the conditions.

5. 5

   Promote like the show depends on it, because it does

   Clips from every show posted on local social accounts, every booked comic promoting to their own followers as a condition of the spot, flyers in the venue for the next date, and an email list of past attendees. Use the Social Media Studio (/social) to keep the drumbeat going between shows.

6. 6

   Turn one room into a small empire

   Once one night sells consistently, add a second venue, a themed show, or a monthly headliner series at higher prices. Local sponsors commonly pay $100 to $500 per show to be named on a hit night, and a proven room makes you the person venues call, which is exactly where a comedy producer career starts.

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