NEGOTIATING W/ VENUES

Ready to contact some venues? We've got some resources here that will help you make contact and negotiate bringing a show to the space.

Email templates

Sending an initial email to venues is a great way to begin finding business partners who would want to hold a show. You'll want to make sure your initial email isn't too long but gets out a general idea of what we do and why we think it'd be great to do a show with them. Including links to show photos, our YouTube channel and website may build a little more credibility and introduce them to what our shows look like.

GENERIC EXAMPLE:

Hi Venue, I came across your space on Instagram and it looks awesome! I work for a company called Don't Tell Comedy. We produce pop up stand-up comedy shows all over the country in partnership with local businesses. I'm reaching out to you because I think your space would make for a real fun setting to have one of our shows. If you're interested, I'd love to connect and talk more about bringing a Don't Tell Comedy show to the venue.

You can check out what our shows look like here: https://www.youtube.com/donttellcomedy

You can also learn more about us here: https://www.donttellcomedy.com

Hope to talk soon,

Your Name

Don't Tell Comedy

Feel free to tailor your email in any way you see fit. We want them to know that we're excited about what we do and would love to work with them. Below are some other resources you can use to supplement your email:

NEGOTIATING WITH VENUES

Benefits for the venue

Many businesses and other venues are looking to see how the show could benefit them. Here's some perks we can offer them:

Special discount code or complimentary tickets for friends, staff or members.
If a retail business, we can encourage guests to arrive early to shop.
We can email our guests about any promotional offers or encourage them to visit later.
Tag their business on our city Instagram pages and stories.
Opportunity to host an amazing comedy show.

6-16-21 COI - NPU, Inc..pdf

Need proof of insurance?

Some venues may request proof of insurance. We can definitely send a copy of our insurance certificate to any venue that needs it. You can find our standard proof of insurance below. If the venue requests that their address and business name be added, please reach out to Jared and he will provide you with the completed form.

We also have terms and conditions that people agree to when they purchase tickets from our website. It releases the venue and DTC of any liability if anything were to happen. We have never had any problems or events involving our insurance and we have put together over 1,200 shows!

Choosing a show day and time

You will want to try and work with venues to schedule a show on a Friday or Saturday night. Some venues may only be available on a Thursday or Sunday and if we feel confident that we can draw guests, we can hold a show on those days. Try and stay away from any Monday-Wednesday shows as they haven't historically done as well as we'd liked.

The majority of our shows start at 8:00 PM, with doors opening at 7:30 PM. Preferably, show start times are between 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM.

We want to make sure we negotiate a time and day that works for the business and is ideal for a max audience.

Show Schedule

6:30 PM

Producer arrives for set-up.

8:00-9:30 PM

Don't Tell Comedy show

7:00 PM

Lead comic (host) arrives.

9:30-10:00 PM

Guests exit, show breakdown, clean-up, thanks and farewells.

7:30-7:50 PM

Guests arrive.

It is very important that we leave the space completely clean when we pack up and leave.

Be sure to assist with cleaning up trash and any spills.

Check in with the venue staff before leaving to thank them and see if there's anything else that can be done.

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