My nerves are kicking in as they always do two days before my virtual burlesque show goes live. But, after five months of shows, I’m not nervous about the show run itself, I’m nervous about delivering on my promise to my performers to pay them.
A few months ago, I wrote about my three major lessons putting on my first virtual show. Four shows later, I’m learning more granular lessons around specific aspects of production. One lesson I’m currently under growing pains with is marketing to new audiences. As virtual shows have become more popular throughout the pandemic, marketing a virtual show has become more challenging. Once I reach my next level of marketing, I’ll be sure to share what’s worked for me.
One thing that I am confident about is our business model. So, in the spirit of sharing, I’m going to let you in to the during and post-show business model that’s worked well with us.
Money feels awkward to talk about as artists. Wanting to be paid for our art can feel like a dirty secret that somehow cheapens our work. But art is work. And I want to be among the artists demystifying the struggling artist trope and advocating for artists to get paid for their work.
So, I’m going to leave my shame– whether these numbers are envious or miniscule to some – and talk money.
Let’s Start with the Numbers
Alright, y’all. I’m just going to lay it all out for you here…
With 9 performers in each season, Burlesque & Chill has had an average of:
- 76 Attendees per Show
- $14,33 Net Profit per Show
- $158 Payout per Performer
We have also been donating to causes the past few seasons, and have donated a total of $1,000.
I pay out of pocket each month for:
- $100 per month for graphic design work
- $50 per month for Zoom pro account
And those are pretty much all the numbers. I could (and probably should) refund myself for the costs, but I haven’t yet. (Though I did just hire an accountant to help me with my books, so I’ll follow her prescriptions once we begin our work together.)
Forecasting the Numbers
When bringing on new cast members, I let them know that our payouts land between $140-$185 and our audiences ranges from 61-92 attendees per show. This way, they know the range in what they’re committing to and that there is still a bit of guess work.
However, each show, I keep the performers in the loop with what we’re doing. Here’s what I know based off ticket sales:
- If each performer brings in 10 tickets (including myself), we sell out the show. So, I encourage them to aim to sell that many.
- One-third to half of our audience are repeat attendees (I’ll talk about why I think that is, but it’s amazing!)
- Our ticket sales will double day of the show. Therefore, I know that if we sell 31 tickets the night before the show, we’ll hit at least our lowest target of 61 paying guests.
4 Tips for Making Money in Your Virtual Show
Now that I’ve laid it all out on the table, here the four things I see working consistently for our show.
1. Personal Outreach is Queen
As I’ve been going through growing pains with organic marketing and finding press outlets (though I do have an interview coming out soon, yay!) Personal outreach has been, time and time again, the most effective form of marketing.
Best Practices:
I do tons of personal outreach myself, inviting anyone who may have fun at a virtual burlesque show or glamorous virtual social event. I also, heavily advocate for and encourage the cast to do the same. I even provide them with example messages they can draw from for different scenarios/reaching out to different types of folks.
Pro Tip:
Encourage everyone involved to keep a list of every person they reach out to so they can shoot them a reminder text/DM/email the day of the show.
2. Don’t Have a Free Show
I know you want as many people as possible to attend your show but making it free probably won’t accomplish that goal. Here’s a few reasons why:
They will forget about it when it’s show time
At the very least, make sure attendees are required to register to reserve their seat. This way, you can send them reminders for a better chance of their showing up.
They have no obligation to show up
When people pay, even a small price like $3 (or in our case, $5) they’ll have a little more “skin in the game” and will be more likely to attend the day of the show.
You deserve to get paid for your work
However unfortunate it is, we live in a capitalistic society where we need to make money to survive. Putting on a virtual show is a lot of work and you and your performers deserve to get paid for that time (do as I say, not as I do). Set this standard for your audience, they’ll start expecting to pay you for your work going forward as well.
Best Practice:
Don’t want to exclude anyone? Offer comp tickets for fellow performers and other community members who can’t afford to attend. Make it accessible to those who need the help while ensuring those who can afford it are paying you for your efforts.
Pro Tip:
Offer different tiers of tickets.
Since season 2, we’ve had two ticket tiers:
- $5 gets you into the show
- $30 gets you a ticket to our VIP Lounge where we have a 30 minute after party that includes chatting and taking pictures with a small number of guests
This season, we’ve added a mid-tier ticket for a pre-show portion that includes live music. I’ll report back with the response once we’ve given it a go!
3. Include Interactive Ways to Accept Additional Payments During the Show
You can get as creative you want with this, just make sure you’re not offering too much extra work. For instance, you could do a virtual raffle, but I’d suggest raffling something that doesn’t require extra work and time on your part. You can also keep it simple by having a virtual tip jar or donation jar available.
Best Practice:
Make it easy on your attendees by providing multiple ways for them to contribute (Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, etc.) and pin the post with all the payment links or consistently drop it in the comments. If you have a host (which I suggest you do) they can remind the audience of the information and why they should tip (whether it’s for a cause, or to pay the performers).
Pro Tip:
Make tipping/donating interactive. Whether it’s a simple shoutout or something special happens every time you get a larger tip, make sure you’re audience knows that they are directly effecting your show and you appreciate their support.
4. Use Email Marketing
If you’re using Eventbrite (as we do) or a similar service, you not only have access to emails through the ticketing service, but you have the ability to download all your attendee emails in an Excel or CSV. Download these reports and keep them in an email service provider (I use ConvertKit) to reach out with a thank you email after the show.
You can (and absolutely should) reach out to this list again when you put on your next show to invite them to join you again. Email can be a great way to get to know your audience and make real connections. I absolutely love the audience members that reply to my emails, and have even started some fun, ongoing friendships from these correspondences.
Best Practice:
Be authentic in your communications. Invite people to respond. Use your emails to get your attendees more involved and invested in your show by taking their feedback to heart in your next virtual event.
Don’t take advantage of your audience’s emails. Only send them messages they’ll be glad landed in their inboxes.
Pro Tip:
Go above and beyond with repeat attendees by reaching out personally. Let them know how grateful you are for their support. Go the extra mile for the people showing up for you.
Your Artful Effort
Whether you’re putting on a virtual show or not, seeing virtual shows in all mediums is vital to finding the best-practices and fresh ideas that will work for your show.
Plus, especially right now, we all need to support each other to ensure our artforms continue to thrive through this global crisis. So, drop those five dollars for a show ticket. Let’s lift each other up.
Of course, I welcome you to check out Burlesque & Chill Season 5 this Saturday.
