I frequently monitor the search terms people are using to find this blog and my other websites.
One such term that grabbed my attention was this:
“Why can’t I make money with my stand-up comedy?”
Hmm… My first thought was this:
Could it possibly be that your stand-up comedy act just isn’t funny?
Before I continue, I should say that professional comedians can command what most people would consider an exceptional income—even on a part-time basis—provided they are able to generate big and frequent laughs consistently show after show.
Stand-up comedy is not like a government job, where a person can automatically advance due to longevity—nor due to accumulating a certain number of performances.
Those aspects only come into play for the comedian who has demonstrated their talent, is already getting paid, and is “moving up the ladder” in the world of stand-up comedy.
Why Comedians Get Paid
Stand-up comedians get paid to make audiences laugh. The speed at which a comedian can get paid to perform is directly related to four primary factors:
- The audience laughter levels they can generate.
- The consistency of high laughter levels across a wide variety of audiences.
- The duration a comedian can maintain audience laughter (performance time).
- The reputation and experience a comedian develops through perseverance.
Many who venture into stand-up comedy have more than enough comedy talent to do well as a comedian.
Why Talent Isn’t Enough
But they simply will not do what it takes to truly develop the skill to get their act up to speed and get them noticed for potential paid performing opportunities.
That’s incredible to me, considering that a complete A-Z, no-stone-left-unturned stand-up comedy education can be had for about the cost of a single college textbook (not a college course—just the textbook for the course).
Now, don’t get me wrong—some folks entering the stand-up comedy world don’t have the comedy talent God gave an ingrown toenail. A person cannot be taught to have comedy talent they didn’t possess before they decided to become a comedian.
However, there are many who do have plenty of comedy talent but are simply unwilling or unable to acknowledge that their stand-up act isn’t doing well at all.
Delusions of Grandeur
These folks don’t feel they need any assistance because they are already “killing” audiences—in their own mind.
Here’s a brief story to illustrate this point:
I had been performing stand-up comedy for about three years and had already been headlining for almost a year when I got a call from a new comedian I knew:
“Hey man, you need to come over for a beer. I did a set in L.A. last night and I killed! I’ve got the video and I want you to check it out.”
Well, not to be one to turn down free beer…
I went over and watched this new comedian’s five-minute set where he allegedly “killed” the audience.
I was blown away because the most significant reactions exhibited by the audience were…
Two people coughed during his set, and one person sneezed rather loudly.
He did get pretty good applause at the end. But I suspect that was due to the sheer relief that he was finally done with his set.
There was no real laughter to speak of as evidenced by the video. Maybe—just maybe—there was massive telepathic laughter that I couldn’t hear. 🙂
All I know is that the two best things about this video were that it was short—and there was a free beer involved for suffering through it.
Yet, in this new comedian’s mind, he had “killed” the crowd.
He couldn’t even see that he wasn’t getting any laughs and was actually bombing.
The real tragedy? This person had plenty of comedy talent and a great stage presence. But he simply could not develop or deliver a stand-up comedy act that would generate laughs.
To get regular paid work as a comedian—no matter what market you are performing in—you must be able to generate significant audience laughter on a consistent basis.
If you can’t do that, you simply don’t have a marketable or salable comedy entertainment product.
Bad Comedy is Like a Turd
Bad stand-up comedy is much like a turd—it can be varnished and polished to a high gloss on the outside. It can be wrapped in a fancy gift box and touted as a rare and exquisite delicacy that demands a sophisticated “acquired taste.”
But no matter how you slice it, bad stand-up comedy is still a turd—and audiences, talent buyers, comedy bookers, agents, and comedy club managers will continue to refuse to choke it down, no matter how a comedian tries to sell it (e.g., by labeling it “alternative” comedy).
Ultimately, it ends up getting flushed with little afterthought.
It does not matter how “meaningful” your “message” may be. It doesn’t matter how “cutting edge” or “edgy” your material is. It doesn’t matter how witty or clever your comedy material may be.
If you can’t generate a minimum of 18 seconds of laughter for each performing minute on stage (headliner level performance)…
Don’t expect to move up quickly in stand-up comedy—or to ever get paid much more than gas money, if that.
I say in my online course that: “Funny can’t hide.”
Well, unfunny also can’t hide either—and it won’t command much of a paycheck. End of story.
Related Video:
As with any art, the vast majority of performers do it for the sheer love of the craft and not for the financial rewards. I suspect that those relative few who do eventually “make it” financially in this field do so as a result of patiently honing and refining their product while it is still their first love, their passion, their obsession. The money, I would suggest, comes because of that final polished and perfected product, the 18-seconds-of-laughter-per-minute that we are all hoping to attain.