The Search Is ON…

Finally.

I may have already mentioned in previous posts that this site has been designed by a non-designer, and so there have been a few problems with functionality and… you know, stuff.

WELL. At last I have integrated a proper Advanced Search facility.  NO, COME BACK! This is INTERESTING! (OK, maybe not interesting, but USEFUL.)

What it means for Employers:

If you click on the Advanced Search page you can look for performers and writers using a ton of options:

• Do you need them to look a certain way (gender, height, build, playing age, colouring)?

• Or sound a certain way (accent, language, singing voice)?

• Maybe you need them to live in a specific area, be able to play a particular sport or musical instrument, or work within your budget?

There are a ton of different choices and we’ve just made it easier for you to narrow them down to find the precise fit for your brief.

What it means for Comedians:

You know that long, complicated form you had to fill out when you created your profile?  The more fields you filled out and the more information you gave, the more chance you have of showing up in employer searches – whether by casting directors, promoters, events organisers, ad agencies or just the plain curious.

Log in to the site, click on My Dashboard (in the top right hand corner), then click on the pencil icon along from your Profile name to edit your page and check that you haven’t left anything out and most importantly, the right information is listed in the right fields.

Check out the Advanced Search page here and test how you show up in search results.

Any questions, feel free to get in contact by phone or by filling in our contact form.

1,024 total views, 3 today

10 Tricks To Get More From Your ComedyCaster Listing

Great, you’ve signed up to the site, you’ve created your own online comedy profile. Here are some tips to make sure you squeeze every last drop of usefulness out of it:

The Secret To Self-Promotion

1. Check out the competition. This applies not just to ComedyCaster but to any area of marketing. In this case have a look through the site and see which profiles you like. Define why you’re impressed. Then make sure you do the same things they did, but better if possible.

What You Need

2. Have a great photo. And if you haven’t got one already then make it head-and-shoulders to work best on this site, as the image space is quite small. Even if you’re a writer (never in-vision) and/or look like the back of a bus. If you’ve ever visited a property or dating site, or anything where someone is trying to get your attention, you know that to choose between viewing the details of two similar items, one with a photo and one without? Exactly – no contest. If you think a photo of you is irrelevant or will in some way work against you, then at least have an image of some sort – a logo or comedy picture – a blank space is just off-putting.

3. Get a video clip. Really important. If you’ve got a clip – on a DVD or your own website – but it isn’t on youtube or vimeo, then GET it on there so you can link to it on your ComedyCaster page. If you’ve only got audio then stick it up on youtube anyway with a nice picture. There are plenty of simple video creating tools, there’s even one that comes bundled with Windows – Movie Maker. You simply drag and drop the audio into it, and then add a picture (or several if you’re feeling adventurous) and voila you have something you can upload to youtube which can be linked to on your profile here. Writers, that includes you.

Work Backwards

4. In your description/biog/CV, start by mentioning what you are doing now. List your credits starting with the most recent work first and work backwards, don’t list them in the order they occurred. Then when an extract or snippet of your profile shows up – as it can in various places, eg Google searches – it doesn’t read like you haven’t worked for 10 years.

Don’t Be Shy

5. Tell everyone about your comedycaster profile, link to it on Facebook and Twitter.  Perhaps ask for feedback – it’s a great excuse to remind employers and agents you exist.

Be Thorough

6. Fill out as many fields as you can* where applicable. If you are a performer give the details of your appearance and skills. Employers, especially casting directors, may search for specifics – only Asian for example, or only in a certain height category etc – and if that’s you but you haven’t filled out those fields then your name won’t show up when they search with those words.

*Except for the phone contact fields: if you have only one contact number there’s no need to fill out all the other phone fields, it just looks messy. No one is going to think “they haven’t put a voiceovers number down, that must mean they won’t take voiceover work”. Keep it simple with just “For all enquiries”.

Get A Little Personal

7. Reviews are great but don’t make them the only thing you put in your main description. After all, no one is going to include a review that says anything less than “he/she is very funny” so they don’t really add much – the fact you have them is great, but it’s not a lot of info for the employer. Add a few details – when you started, where you grew up, or what you do well – something that will give them a hook to remember you by.

Get Serious

8. Fill out the fields seriously. Putting “war-mongering” or “plays Albanian nose-flute” (if untrue) in Skills does nothing and is a wasted opportunity. We already know you’re a comedian. The fields are a chance for you to be found for the extra things that you are/can do.

Be Specific

9. Accents. Don’t put “all” or “whatever you need” or anything vague like that. If you really can do an accent well, especially if you’re native, list it specifically. If a casting director needs someone with a Birmingham accent they will probably use the words “Birmingham”, “Brummie” or “Midlands” to search for it, so if it’s not listed in your accents field you won’t show up in those search results.

And finally…

10. Don’t lie. Employers’ time is valuable and if they allocate some to meeting you because you said you can do something you can’t then it’s guaranteed you will never be called in by them again.

Most of the above is simple common sense, but the more of these tips you follow, the greater your chances of getting work from this site. Your profile on ComedyCaster is a great resource for placing yourself firmly in the spotlight. Take advantage of it.

790 total views, 2 today

ComedyCaster – 5 Reasons To Get Listed

1.  It’s where the people you want to get seen by are looking.

ComedyCaster is the contact directory of comedy professionals. There is no other. You may have your own website, your details on your agents’ site, perhaps even a listing on various acting directories as well. But this is the central hub for contacting people who write and perform comedy. And when employers are looking for a comedian to audition or book, why would they trawl all the various sites when they can just check the one place that has everyone they need to consider? (Answer: they won’t, they’ll just come here.)

2. You’re in control.

You have your own page, the content of which YOU decide. It’s not subject to anyone else’s opinion or review. You can add one video clip, up to 3 photos, and as many words about who you are, what you’ve done and what other people say about you, as you like. And of course you can update it whenever you want.

3. You’re in good company.

Everyone applying to be on this site is vetted. Only proven professionals or newcomers with either professional representation or a reasonable CV are admitted. Click on View All to see who we’ve got so far.

4. Clarify your contact details.

Different agents for different types of work? List them all. Or just list one number. Either way, the person YOU choose will handle your enquiries, ComedyCaster doesn’t get involved or take a cut. And of course if you change agents, or get another one, simply amend those details on your page.

5. It’s FREE.

For a WHOLE YEAR if you sign up now. Eventually, once we reach a certain number of artists, this offer will be withdrawn and there will be a simple listing fee. But sign up now and for at least the next year it won’t cost you a penny. So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

It’s simple. Click “Create Your Profile” and get started now. And if you have any questions or you get a bit stuck on the technicals get in touch here and we’ll sort it out for you.

1,176 total views, 1 today

Too Orangey For Pros

I’ll be honest. ComedyCaster.com has been designed by someone who’s not a web designer. Me. I’m not even slightly a bit of one. There, I’ve said it (typed it – pedant).

4 months before this site came into existence I knew nothing about html or css, and cared even less. Frankly not much has changed. Some very late nights spent trying to decipher impenetrable code (have you seen that stuff?), 2 months and several migraines later and – ta daa!  This. And I’m still not entirely sure how it works.

Why didn’t I get a professional designer you ask? Yes, well, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but at the time I thought there’s no point starting a website and not actually being able to do anything to it without always needing someone else’s help. And so I can now heartily confirm that “steep learning curve” doesn’t just mean driving lessons on mountain roads.

So apologies for bits of the site that don’t work. Or are missing. Or are over-explained, or too orange. Like I said, this is my first ever try, or “Beta” I believe is the phrase used by those in the know. But hopefully with your feedback and suggestions we can build something really useful here, something that could make finding, booking and occasionally chucking some money at comedians and comedy folk a whole lot easier.

If you have any thoughts let me know by filling in the form here . Tell me what you think works, what might work, what really doesn’t, how clever I am considering I’m a complete amateur who never did DT and only got C in art even after actually working quite hard at it etc etc. Don’t get too creative mind, I’m not looking to turn this into a multiblog/iphone app/new social network or anything. Just the most comprehensive, easy-to-use directory of comedy performers and writers in the whole wide world wide web.

Maybe you’d prefer to leave a comment here – it is a blog page after all, just click on the post’s title. Though if it’s too mean I won’t publish it. This is my site and I’m King. Queen. Whatever. And I quite like orange.

759 total views, 1 today