Making Money Telling Jokes

By John Muller

Being a comic seems to be a great profession. It seems easy because people are always laughing at what you do and say. First of all be sure they are laughing because what you say is funny, not that you are acting like an idiot! At parties, people always gather around to listen to what you have to say. All right, that is a start, but again, it is important to be assured that you are saying funny things, not because after 5 beers, you can easily swallow 10 goldfish! You can learn to use some of these things as a comic, and you can learn how to make money being a comedian, but it is not easy.

Well, maybe! Many people are funny. There are lots of people that can make you laugh. There are some inherent challenges if there is a thought of a future in Comedy. But that does not mean you cannot earn a living as a comedian. People just flat out like to laugh. However, when they pay to see you make them laugh, it is a little different story. Consider this the next time you go to a Comedy Club. How many times have you walked out and thought you could have done better?

Remember that your material is only a part of your success. Your first job is to get people to like you. Just because you get a laugh at work when you tell a joke does not always transfer to the stage. Telling jokes will also not make you a comic. Your audience wants to know what you think about the world. They want to hear about the challenges that you encounter. Most importantly, they need to want to like you, but until you make them laugh, they do not!

Writing comedy seems easy. Many comics are so spontaneous that is seems as if they are making things up as they go along. This is not true. Every single line and movement is well rehearsed. However, because they have practiced these comments and facial expressions and literally every move, it seems as if it is happening right now. This is what practice will do for you.

With the mass appeal of viral marketing, it is pretty easy to record yourself and place it on one of the many sites that show videos. People are constantly searching for humorous items, so if you are funny, they will find you. If you have interesting opinions on current events or the crisis of the day, your viral audience will let you know.

This industry is all about being different. There are thousands of comics and most of them make a living doing it. If you see them on television, they are full time. They may work strip clubs and high school dance, but they are getting paid to be funny. If they can do it, perhaps you have a chance. The biggest challenge is having enough material.

To be able to get on stage it is necessary to have about 30 minutes of solid material. Unfortunately, the only method to be sure that you have great stuff to say, it to try it out on real people. Although your cat may think you are hilarious, paying customers may not find a hairball joke as funny as Mittens does. The thought of getting on stage must not frighten you.

People in a club are there to laugh and they want to laugh. So, if you have a nice personality you may get some laughs. When you win the audience over, you may even get sympathy laughs! Not likely what you are looking for, but a laugh is a laugh. Most importantly realize that you will need to become callous. People want your opinion and if it is funny, they will laugh. So, learn how to make money being a comedian, just plan on multiple failures and some major setbacks. Deal with those and who knows, maybe you will become the next big star! - 32198

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