Marketing: the basics… website
Posted by Plague | Filed under Resources for improvisers, Talkin' Shop - We talk improv. Any questions you want discussed can be. Email us @ captain@ussrocknroll.com., The Plague
Websites. Why are improv related websites ALWAYS so GD awful? Yesterday I posted a clip from the Family Guy episode where they riff on improv teams and how cheesy they can be. It’s kind of a good point. We have to teach people how to treat us.
Seriously… Google the word “improv” ( I do it for fun all the time) and just check out a bunch of the different sites that come up. Like 90% of all comedy related improv sites are just TERRIBLE! If you wanted to buy something online and you went to a company’s website that was shoddy or old and hadn’t been updated since 1999, you would probably think twice about buying from them. If they have a shitty website, then what else of theirs is shitty? Their merchnadise? Their customer service? The SAME REASONING holds for your improv site. If I hear about you from a friend or through a flyer, I’m going to Google you to see what comes up. If your site is a 1985, pastel html template with clip art… I’m going to assume only one thing; You are not funny. Your website is sometimes your only other face to the world other than your shows. What does your website say about you?
I’m gonna show you how to set up an effective, cool website… for free!
Many improvisers are actors/writers and waitresses who don’t know a lot about html or web design and don’t have a lot of money to pay someone who does. That’s okay. It’s 2009! And the good news is, most technology can be had for free!
Set yourself up with a blog. It’s easy! Just go to Wordpress and sign up. If you don’t already have a site then you can just use the domain they give you. Or, if you can pay for a specific domain and hosting site.
Next, go get yourself a free blog theme. There aren’t thousands… but there are some real nice ones. Woothemes offers a couple of great, simple free themes as well as many other sites. Just Google “blog themes.” You’ll find that you have lots of options to choose from.
Now, if you don’t know anything about web-anything, it may take you a few days to fiure out the lay of the land. But I did it and I’m a stupid face. Most of these free themes are real easy to use. Becuase they want you to be able to use them EASILY! And you can make them less bloggy and more websitey by perosnalizing them. Also, a blog allows you to update information any time you want without having to pay or wait on a web designer like the olden days.
Both these sites are sites I built with a FREE THEME! And it’s the same theme to boot!
www.mollyhale.net
www.tinyactsofrebellion.com
We made this site with a free blog theme. This blog gets hundreds of visitors a day, thousands in a week. How do I know that for sure? Because I installed a free plugin that tells me exactly how many hits I get a day. It shows me how they found the site and any and all posts they read. It’s amazing!
Next, personalize your site with lots of great pics. Don’t know photoshop? Not a problem! remember it being 2009? Picnik.com is an AMAZING site that allows you to crop, add text, add frames and do just about anything else to any photo you can get your hands on. I could spend all day just playing with their fonts, to which they’ve added some very fun ones for Halloween.
Maybe the word “blog” scares you. Did someone on the team buy a MAC after 2007? Then they have IWEB and you can EASILY make a very clean, cool website for free.
If your team does have a little money to spend on something. Pay a web designer to help you set up a nicer blog theme. Maybe spend a little to buy a nice theme. You can get a suped up theme for about 50$. A web designer can show you how to use the blog effectively, customize your header, and take out some of the code that makes the blog so bloggy. Don’t let them charge you more than $200 for this service!
Overall, I think improv troupes, organizations and promotional people need to take their web prescence more seriously. It’s up to you to get butts in the seats. Don’t let people’s first impression of you be an outdated one or one with rubber chickens on it. Please. Dear God. Also… no comedy and tragedy masks! Treat your improv image like a band treats theirs. You want people to be excited about the show you put on. You do not want them to assume you are just another half baked bit fest.
4 Responses to “Marketing: the basics… website”
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Leo1973 Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 5:27 pm$200? For a header/logo design, the original Wordpress set up (if you use a hosting package), the code clean up and a tutorial which may includes telling people the difference between domain name and hosting, Twitter vs. Facebbok, or how to upload a photo because they have never done it before?
I think $500 is a more realistic price. It's still a bargain and you get great looking stuff that is functional and works everytime. This compared to the basic professional/good looking website of $3k. And don't get me started on any of those great looking and filled with cool features (video galleries, social network integration, live updates, forms, e-commerce, etc…) great band websites you see, they are all on the $10k and up range. -
ThePlague Says:
October 15th, 2009 at 6:23 pmwhat I'm saying is… if you walk yourself through the site, and your designer is – implementing/setting up a tailored header/and cleaning up a few codes…. that's about 200$.
What I'm saying is, you the improviser will have to do a little research. You will have to google a few things. You will have to ask "wootheme" for help, and check out some youtube tutorials… but you will figure it out. I did and I'm a stupid face. -
ThePlague Says:
November 5th, 2009 at 8:15 pmThanks to Brady O'Callahan for reposting us!
http://bradyocallahan.tumblr.com/ -
Brady Says:
November 24th, 2009 at 3:13 pmHey no problem! Love the site! Keep it up!
