Last Friday, close to 100 Theater-Makers gathered in a sky-lit conference room to talk about the #1 thing that all business owners must master in 2019 . . . marketing.  (And yes, if you’re a Writer, Director, Actor, Producer, Designer, Usher, whatever . . . you are your own business owner.)

25 years ago, there were only a few ways to market yourself . . . letters, phone calls and ol’ school schmoozing.

Now?  Well, shoot, there are umpteen ways to promote yourself or your show . . . and when done well, you can get yourself a gig, an agent, investors, theaters, licensing deals, or whatever the heck you want.

Because good marketing is simple science.  Apply enough force to an object and the object will move.  Put marketing energy behind your “product” and you will see results.

And here’s the thing . . . if you’re not promoting yourself or your show, I can promise you there are a zillion other people out there promoting theirs.

Guess who will get ahead first?

I know, I know, you don’t like the thought of putting yourself out there.  news flash – most people don’t.

But the smart ones realize they have to.  News flash:  If you won’t promote yourself or your show . . . no one will.

So while it’s ok to sit back and hope that someone sweeps you off your feet to a land of big royalty checks and great reviews, I can promise you the chance of that happening is like the chance of there being a special bonus episode of Game of Thrones that the fans actually enjoy.

This was the overall message of my fantastic speakers at our first Promote U Conference (and yes, we are planning another next year), and I gotta say . . . I learned a ton myself (especially with my LinkedIn page.)

Since I know many of you couldn’t make it, I thought I’d blog you ten quick one-liner themes from our star speakers . . . and at the bottom of this blog, you’ll see a way to get the entire takeaway-laden tips.

Enjoy these 10 Takeaways from our first ever Promote U (and make sure you click on the links of each speaker to learn more about what they do and how they can help you).

Karen Tiber Leland (Growing Your Fan Base on Facebook): “Creating consistent on-brand content that contributes knowledge, as opposed to promoting it, will win in the long haul.”

Rodrick Covington (The Pillars of Productivity): “When you are clear about your identity, you become limitless.”

Ryan Scott Oliver (Getting Discovered on Youtube): “Don’t worry about going viral, just create quality content.”

Sierra Boggess (How To Be Your Authentic Self On Social): “You are enough, you are so enough, it’s unbelievable how enough you are!”  Get Sierra’s Light Lessons here.

Thomas Heath (How To Build Your Network on LinkedIn): “Claim your personal brand and make authentic connections.”

Tony Howell (Creating a Website That Tells And Sells Your Story): “Connect. Collect. Convert.”

Tyler Mount (How To Build Your Brand & Building Raving Fans on Instagram): “Authenticity and consistency are key.”

And one from me . . .

The irony is . . .  I used to think “building it” was enough.  And frankly?  25 years ago?  It probably was.  But not anymore.

If you build it, and no one sees it, you wasted your time.  Theatre is meant to be seen.  Not read.  Not sit on a shelf.  It NEEDS an audience.  You need an audience.

Master marketing . . . or heck, just get even a little bit better at it . . . and you’ll find one.

Enjoy these takeaways?  Want to see the complete talks from all the speakers above, including one from me where I reveal some of my secrets from my most successful marketing initiatives?  Click here.