Holiday Gift Idea!

The code is below and more banners will be coming in the days ahead!


<a href="http://junglewebs.com"target=_blank><img src="http://marcelnunis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/scaryjunglegift4002.gif" width="400" height="72" alt="junhol" /></a>

Topics Of Web Arts Marketing Workshop 1.0

For the first time in history the playing field is leveled through the medium of the internet. This presentation introduces to practitioners of the Arts how to effectively use the web to get your message out and grow new audiences. A definite "must know" not just to survive but to thrive in your craft.

You are invited to an important workshop presented by noted Online Arts Marketing specialist Marcel Nunis and assisted by his client, artist Aileen R. Imperatrice.

Saturday, October 20th, 2007
3-5pm
Ashtree Studios
Limited to 45 attendees.
$10/person payable at the door.
A "How-To" cd is included in the price.

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS WORKSHOP!
FIRST HOUR

* A brief overview on the concept of marketing and utilizing the web for your promotional needs. The overview will include a discussion on using blogs, myspace, youtube and the differences between new and old media.

* DIY Website the Affordable DIY Way.
a. Why have a blog on/as your site? (a free approach to a web presence.)
b. Why own a Domain? (an affordable approach to a web presence.)
c. Basic website needs.
d. A blog & a Domain - Now What? Part 1. (A step by step "how to" on domain fowarding.)
e. A blog & a Domain - Now What? Part 2. (A step by step "how to" using free blog software such as Wordpress to set up your dynamic site.)

SECOND HOUR

* Promoting Your Site & Event.
a. To the Media. (Basic Press Release practices)
b. To the Masses. (Using your cyber power effectively)
c. Email Marketing (personal email vs op-in email lists)
d. MySpace Practices 101
e. "Steal This Banner/Video" (A "how to" on banner creation & basic coding.)

Watch Out For Web Arts Marketing Workshop 2.0 will include further details on Myspace, YouTube and much, much more!

Ashtree Studios
1035 N. Fulton
In the Tower District
Fresno, CA 93728

Video featuring Jungle Webs client Aileen

Mini documentaries like this embedded on your site or blog help people find out a little of who you are and what you do.

Aileen - working artist
Uploaded by dathang

Jungle Webs is proud to sponsor...

IF YOU ARE IN THE FRESNO AREA... ONE NIGHT - ONE PRICE - TWO SHOWS!
ROGUE YEAR ROUND with Suicide Lounge & Tale End! Debauchery hasn't been this much fun in a long time. A debouched lounge act followed with an even more debouched one-act!
A double header you can't afford to miss!

$10
6:30 PM (Doors open at 6 PM - no latecomers after intermission.)
Sunday, July 1

STARLINE Performance Venue
831 E. Fern

Come early... order food from next door and drinks from the bar and enjoy!



MORE INFO: AT THE ROGUE YEAR ROUND SITE!

Web Banners

You already have a jpg or gif graphic like the one below.

SIZE IS EVERYTHING
Popular sizes are between 100 - 250 pixels wide. This enables the person "stealing" the code to easily embed it in the sidebar of their blog or site. It is also generally advisable to have a choice of banners. For instance 100, 150, and 200. The banner below was created by Theatre Ventoux for their production of This Flattering Glass.

SAVING TO A SOURCE PAGE
If you have your own website... just designate a page (that may or may not be for public view for your images to be placed.

If you have a blog... upload the image within a post.

This provides your image with a "home" or location on the web. By right clicking on the image and checking "properties" most of the information that you will need will be displayed.



<a href="http://theatreventoux.net" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.theatreventoux.net/Images/TFGBanner2.jpg" alt="" height="102" width="144" /></a>

Looking at the code above... you will find the important information to fill in below to create your code

• href="http..." - this is the address you want the reader to go to when they click the banner. In the case here it is... http://www.theatreventoux.net
• target="_blank" - opens the site in a new window.
  
• scr="http..." this is the location or home of the image. In the case here it is... http://www.theatreventoux.net/Images/TFGBanner2.jpg
• height="http..." the height of the image.
• width= "http..." the width of the image.

For more on HTML Code tutorials... GO HERE!

There you have it!

I Heard About It From A Friend!

Promoting Your Event with Web Banners
by Lisa Repasky-Sandhusen, Arts Marketer

Ask someone why they attended an arts event and the most common response is, “I heard about it from a friend.”

These days, “I heard it from a friend.” doesn’t necessarily mean that the two friends spoke in person. The internet, now offers many convenient opportunities for friends to reach out to each other through blogs, MySpace pages and personal webpages. It also affords non-profit arts organizations an economical opportunity to generate “word of mouth buzz” using banners posted onto personal web pages.

The Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE) (hyperlink http://www.cmde.org/news.shtml) added the use of banners to the traditional marketing campaign to promote its 2006 Open Door Dance Concert, an annual outreach concert dedicated to presenting dance theatre to new audiences.

To keep the branding consistent, artwork from the print campaign was used to create banner/buttons that were then uploaded to the CMDE website with the accompanying HTML code available for anyone to cut and paste. Fliers were hung around the studio directing students and visitors to access the banners at the CMDE website.

Banners and buttons are an innovative way for everyone involved in your arts organization to share their interest with their ever widening circle of friends, and become an important part of any marketing campaign by opening new channels to BFF (Best Friends Forever).

63% of survey respondents at the Open Door Concert noted that they heard about this event through word of mouth although it’s not clear exactly how many were attracted by a friend’s banner button. Successful promotional campaigns depend upon repetition. Banners and buttons offer additional viewings and reminders and may be viewed more often when received from a trusted source.

Editor's Note: CLICK HERE for a "how to" on creating web banners and linking them to your event.

I got Your B.I.T.S. Pt. 3 right HERE!

(reprinted from theatrejnerique.com)

EDITOR'S NOTE: We have included this article (and a few more coming up under the B.I.T.S. section.) To read the first part of this series.. click HERE & HERE.

TALE END - marketing a new play Part 2!

(or... How we got over ourselves, experimented in web marketing and sold out 3 out of 5 performances at Rogue 2007)
by Marcel Nunis
(independent playwright/director/producer)

Mind you, even though the intent was to Create excitement (or at least intrigue) with the creation of a brand new play there was really no "diabolical" plan on how this would be accomplished. So, everything was just one step beyond the "willy nilly" stage. What would be the "hook"... apart from the fact that it was a new play? It was 4 months from "premiering" at Rogue 2007... and a completed play didn't even exist yet.

Epiphany: You can't sell a product that doesn't exist!

Then... BOOM... one morning (after a 4 week drag) there was a sudden burst of creative energy in play writing. Within 7 days the play (at least the first draft) was completed. I can only guess that my creative doodling with the video helped unblock me.

*The success of our "art" has always been dependent on "buzz".

So, now I had a product. (Yeah, chide me for calling it that... but ultimately, if you are selling tickets to a show... you have a product.) Now the promotional thrust began to take shape. 2 words came into play AWARENESS & INTRIGUE.

LET US START WITH AWARENESS

The show had been cast by this point (3 months and counting) and workshop readings were underway. I had asked the cast to post about their experience as the process of creation was taking place... warts and all! (The workshop and rehearsal process turned out to be a "love fest" but that's beside the point... if things got challenging and ugly they had the freedom to blog about it.) Though it did take a while... the cast did finally warm up to the idea.

Blogging
Theatre J'Nerique has had a website since the late 90's. It was pretty much a "static" site that operated as an electronic billbord of sorts. Since we hadn't produced for a while all the "news" there was at least 3 years old.

Adding a blog to it (which is really easy to do) made the site a lot more interactive and immediate. The fact that readers can comment also gave the potential audience member a direct buy-in into the show. * The idea is that if you follow something long enough... you'll want to catch the "final product."

(* All "art" is the skillful craft of manipulating thought and emotion.)

Poster
A poster had already been created for the show. (2 and a half months before.) Instead of limiting it to just a "hard" print form... a digital form was also created and placed on our blog. Readers were actively encouraged to "steal it" for their own blogs or sites.

MySpacing
I had my own MySpace account that I never paid much attention to. I didn't much care for their blog format (Blogger and Wordpress seemed more accessible and immediate) and it always seemed like more of a "dating network for a 13 year old mentality". On the plus side... everyone and his uncle has one and it seemed a great way to send out bulletins to a "captive audience"... if for nothing else maybe a way to get more readers hooked on to the blog at the company site.

The "target audience :

a. the usual suspects (local theatre nerds)
"Friending" target A:
Start with your friends in theatre... then move to "harvest" their friends. (Chances are they are into theatre themselves.)

b. a brand new audience.
"Friending" target B:
Hit "locals" (within a 50 mile radius) who are involved in other disciplines of the arts - poets, musicians, etc. (You'll be amazed how many of those in the other disciplines have never been to theatre... this gives them the perfect reason to check it out.)

Then, just about anyone (within a 50 mile radius) that would respond to your request to "add" them. The rationale was that if only 20 percent of your "friends" took notice of you... that's 20 percent more than you had before.

"Other" Sources:
Apart from MySpace bulletins... articles and notices were also posted in local "citizen journalism" e-zines and email forums from time to time informing of something "interesting" was occurring at our site. (BTW... owning our own domain provided a central and easy to remember location for people to check in to see what was happening at their own convenience.)

Video:
During the workshop period it was also decided that another VIDEO should be produced and posted. This brought even more immediacy to the awareness that "something exciting" was brewing and in the works.

AWARENESS COMPLETE
Two months before mounting the show our site was averaging 200-300 hits a day. Now it was time to move into the area of creating "intrigue".

Read about that in the final Part 3. Coming Soon!

If you have tips and techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web that have been successful for you... send an article 500-1000 words to itworked@junglewebs.com and we may just post it here. Please include: Your Name, Email Address, City and (yes) your Website. Jungle Webs is a webs solution business but one that cares about sharing affordable (and often free) techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web.

Arts Marketing - B.I.T.S. Pt. 2 - marketing a new play!

(reprinted from theatrejnerique.com)

EDITOR'S NOTE: We have included this article (and a few more coming up under the B.I.T.S. section.) To read the first part of this series... CLICK HERE!

TALE END - marketing a new play!

(or... How we got over ourselves, experimented in web marketing and sold out 3 out of 5 performances at Rogue 2007)
by Marcel Nunis
(independent playwright/director/producer)

As a creator of new works it used to frustrate me to no end that theatre companies would not even look at a new piece unless it had already been produced. So, in the 1990's I formed my own production company. Well, that solved that problem... sort of.

Over the years as an independent producer I learned that one has to wear hat upon hat in order to be effective in the real world of the arts. I, at first reluctantly had to learn skills that (shudder) was not part of my craft. (Come on... just let me write... that's all I wanna do!) In time, I got over it and embraced those other skills (graphic & web design, etc) as part and parcel of my chosen gig.

FAST FORWARD... ... to the Fall of 2006. I was writing my first new play in 5 years. I had come head on up against a creative wall in the writing. While waiting for that engine to be jump started again, I decided to begin marketing the not yet completed new work. (This is a trick that I have used for years. It's called "PUT YOUR BIG FOOT IN YOUR BIG MOUTH SO YOU HAVE TO DELIVER THE GOODS!") Works like a charm everytime... at least where completing the piece is concerned.

sidebar: I had read somewhere that playwrights are notorious for doing this. British playwright Alan Ackbourn would actually book a London theater for a run just to force himself to write the damn play.

OPEN MOUTH... INSERT FOOT
I had already begun blogging about my frustrations on my personal blog... this post is an example. I decided that (to really motivate myself with the possibility of grand humiliation) I would go full bore and blog about it on the theatre company site. I had recently redesigned the company site (adding a blog to it) and figured that at least our stalwart supporters would find reading about the "process" mildy interesting.

I had also recently acquired some great video editing software (don't ask how) and decided to teach myself this new skill. So, with a borrowed DV camera I produced THIS VIDEO and uploaded it to Daily Motion and YouTube. I also embedded the video there. All this cost me was the investment of time (2 days.) Surely this would create tons of interest in this brand new (and not yet completed) project.

::crickets chirping::

OK... we hadn't produced a show in a while (3 years to be exact)... so, a total of 7 regular readers to our site saw the video in the first week... and a couple of curious YouTubers. It was time for a strategy.
STRATEGY (creating a promotional thrust)

I decided that I didn't just want to hook in the usual suspects (theatre nerds) but also perhaps bring in a BRAND NEW audience to my (yet completed show) that was slated to be mounted at the 2007 Rogue Festival in March. (If you are shooting for grand humiliation... go big, I say.) So, I devised a promotion strategy.

sidebar: In so doing I was reminded of this... "Every discipline of the arts is a medium of communication." for more on this go here.

Anyway, this is what I came up with:

Create excitement (or at least intrigue) with the creation of a brand new play!! (Note: The exclamation points... this generally means "create excitement"... at least I was excited by this. BTW... if you are not excited about your own "product"... don't expect anyone else to be.)

How Would I Accomplish This? The Internet. (Afterall, not everyone is surfing for porn... you're reading this, right?) This "new media" has hardly been tapped by the arts community (at least effectively)... if nothing else, this would be a worthy (and affordable) experiment.

TOOLS I WOULD USE...

BLOGGING: From the standpoint of a potential audience the interactive nature of blogging provides a personal "buy in" to a project. (Come on... how many of us buy those "special edition" DVD's just to watch those "making of" mini features before actually watching the main feature?) So, in effect I was using this tool to give readers a "making of" as it was happening and creating a personal "insiders scoop" to the show.

MYSPACE: Everyone has one these days and it's a great way to "harvest" potential audience through "friending" and to send out bulletins to broadcast what is happening.

VIDEOS: With the rise of YouTube the potential grows to create "promotional videos" the way the "big guys" do. Everyone loves visuals... especially if they move.

LOCAL E-ZINES: In Fresno (where we are located) there is a great "citizen journalism" site (that is now owned by the local paper) called FresnoFamous.com where anyone can post articles or blog.

EMAIL DIGEST OR NEWS LETTERS: Again in Fresno (where we still are located) one exist called Mindhub.org that many in the "creative class" subscribe to. (Talk about a potential audience!)

I was still creatively blocked where the actual writing of the play was concerned... so why not exercise my creativity elsewhere? (Really, I didn't even have a title for the play yet.) The choice was between dawdling and picking my nose or perhaps jump start (and perhaps get unblocked) by exercising those muscles in another area of communication.

Find out in Part 2 how I used these tools.

If you have tips and techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web that have been successful for you... send an article 500-1000 words to itworked@junglewebs.com and we may just post it here. Please include: Your Name, Email Address, City and (yes) your Website. Jungle Webs is a webs solution business but one that cares about sharing affordable (and often free) techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web.

Arts Marketing - The Tao of BITS (Butts In The Seats) Pt.1

ARTS MARKETING of THEATRE
(or... the Internet - it's not just for porn anymore)
by Marcel Nunis (Theatre J'Nerique)

As a playwright, director and producer in the theatre I was plagued for years with these nightmare questions:

• How do I push the show without "selling out"?
• Will I compromise my "art" by marketing my show aggressively?
• How do I compete with big media for an audience on a budget?
  

Let us first admit to our own sins. Yes, there does exist a snotty "holier than thou" attitude in the world of the arts. We roll our eyes over a marketing budget and campaigns. We protest with excuses like... "That's going to cost too much!" or "This show is brilliant enough to sell itself!" Then we capitulate "within reason" insisting on "traditional arts marketing" (posters, flyers and press releases) and exercise care not to "go overboard and compromise our art" through "aggressive and crass" commercialization. Our show opens and performances are barely selling a third of the house with audience members made up mostly of family, friends and "supporters". Our show eventually closes and we are relieved that it broke even.

In the meantime, someone else's show opens. We hear the first weekend is bringing in "sold out" crowds. We turn up the second weekend to "support our comrades" only to be met with lines wrapped around the block. In fact, we are one of 30 people turned away at that performance. We envy their success (never admitting it outwardly) and inevitably discuss (gossip) in hushed tones about the "pedestrian quality" of THAT show while drowning our sorrows at the local bar without having even seen it yet.

• "Did you see their poster? She was almost naked in it!"
  
• "Those people in line are not a REAL theatre audience... they don't even have a subscriber base like we do."
  
• "We don't need a hit... we are artists!"
  
• "Can you believe they used the Internet to market their show... with promotional videos??"

The discussion eventually descends into moaning about "the death of theatre" and how the mediums of film, TV and videos are destroying the communal shared experience of "live" performance.

Let us take a few steps back, shall we? Perhaps we need to be reminded of several important factors concerning the craft we are engaged in. This cuts across the board... weather we practice theatre as a hobby, amature, professional, or student. These factors concern ANY level of theatre including, academic, community, dinner, repertory, fringe, independent, profit or non-profit. In fact, many of these factors also apply to almost any discipline in the arts.

FACTOR 1- Every discipline of the arts is a medium of communication.
Through our various mediums we utilize creativity to communicate... stories, ideas, issues, etc. Our mediums are dependent on an audience to communicate these ideas to. Without an audience... our "art" does not exist. Just because we have rehearsed our show for 4 to 6 weeks does not mean anybody is going to turn up to experience it unless they are aware that it is happening. This is where the next level of "communication" comes into play through effective marketing and creating a buzz.

FACTOR 2 - The success of our "art" has always been dependent on "buzz".
It can be argued that "showbiz" as we know it today was invented by The Bard and his peers over 400 years ago. I'm even willing to bet that in the earliest recorded history of western theatre, buzz was a major factor in getting the word out for a show.

DIOMEDES: We really have to check out that new play at the Theatre of Dionysis!
KADMOS: What's it about?
DIOMEDES: A guy who kills his father and marries his mother. Totally scandalous!
KADMOS: Yeah, everyone at the market is talking about it! That wacky Sophocles... what will he think of next?!

I will argue that until 40 to 50 years ago, practitioners in the arts were always on the cutting edge of marketing. Until the early 60's many of the "hit" songs on radio were showtunes from Broadway shows (which in turn helped sell those shows at the theater box-office).

Then a malaise set in and there seemed to be a collective rise in the "victim" attitude all around. It is true that the popularity of film and TV diminished the box-office returns of "live" theatre. Plus, trends and tastes in music were changing, showtunes began to lose it's popular voice and it became expensive to advertise in the new media.

So, do we roll over and play dead or do we pick ourselves up and exercise creativity developing new methods with a brand new affordable medium (hint: the Internet) that puts everyone on a level playing field?

FACTOR 3 - All "art" is the skillful craft of manipulating thought and emotion.
A playwright does it through the structure of plot and design of language. The director does it by conceptualizing an emphasis that he/she wants to explore in the work and communicating it to his/her cast and crew. The actor does it through the physical control of his or her instrument. Designers (set, lighting and sound) do it through the cunning arrangement in their areas of stagecraft.

Let's face it... there is a lot of creativity and innovation involved in creating our "product". Shouldn't the same energy and emphasis be given to selling it?

FACTOR 4 - At least 95 percent of those "great plays" we learn about in theatre history made money!
Sure, there were some that were "closet masterpieces, flops or were "just ahead of their time" but most of them were successes at the box-office. (Some of those "ahead of their time" flops came back to do boffo box-office.)

Even "great works" have to be effectively marketed to create a buzz to get B.I.T.S. Then, the strength of the show (product) further amps up the buzz to create more "sold out" shows. Really folks, "Death Of A Salesman" (a serious non-musical drama) that "American theatre classic" did good box-office.

Perhaps all of us in the theatre (and in the arts in general) need to rethink how we market our craft. I truly believe that a new day is emerging. The novelty of movies, TV and videos have plateaued. Audiences are ready to get out again and partake in "live" performance once more. Theatre can become a vital (and profitable) medium again. It really does not matter the style of theatre you engage in... it can all be vital once more.

We just have to put aside our stuffy attitudes and fears and strike out to once more become innovators. Not just within our craft (and the products we create) but also in marketing them. Perhaps if we are willing to learn once more we can take note of the techniques utilized by our brethren in rock and roll, film, etc and pounce on the new affordable media like the Internet which is capable of reaching out to a new audience.

The choice is to rise from the embers or to diminish into the ash of irrelevancy.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 - Especially if you are in Independent Theatre. Other articles on the other disiplines of the arts will be added soon!

click here for more on Web Arts Marketing.

If you have tips and techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web that have been successful for you... send an article 500-1000 words to itworked@junglewebs.com and we may just post it here. Please include: Your Name, Email Address, City and (yes) your Website. Jungle Webs is a webs solution business but one that cares about sharing affordable (and often free) techniques in Arts Marketing on the Web.

Arts Marketing - Visuals

(reprinted from Rogue Festival)

The Impact Of Visuals!

The visual element is an important factor in attracting the potential audience member.

Web Design
This extends to the "look" of your site or blog. I have seen many an arts website that just comes of as "corporate". Is this the image you really want to project about what you do? I, myself prefer sites that are visually interesting and if nothing else... fun. Afterall, we are in the business of entertainment.

Here are a few examples that I think are effective (and these are Rogue 2007 participants):

• Tanjora
• Mia Pascal
• Jesus in Montana
  

Poster Design
A good poster design can do wonders... and should be included on your site. This is part of "branding" your show... providing a visual link and hopefully interest. A few have been posted on this post. By The Way... if you click on them... it will take you to their sites!

TIP: Resolution
For Printed Media (posters, flyers, etc) at least 300 DPI
For Web Visuals (website, blog) about 72 DPI is good for quick loading in any browser.

Slide Shows
OK, not many people are going to do promotional videos for their shows. (Though, with a little effort... it's really an affordable to do these days... more on that later.)

But a slide show is easier to handle. There are several sites that allow you to upload pictures and create one. Once you do... just copy the code and paste it onto your website or blog. Reading about what you do is great and all... but remember... it's the visuals that grab your audience.

Below is a list of slideshow sites that you may consider using.
http://www.picturetrail.com
http://www.flickr.com
http://www.bubbleshare.com
http://www.slide.com
http://photobucket.com

Here are a few examples from Rogue 2007 participants:

• Ashtree Studios
• Theatre Ventoux
  
  

Then There Is Video
Sure, it takes a little time. And yes, editing can be a bitch. But it has become very affordable! Really, a camcorder and a basic editing program (that now comes standard with most operating systems these days) will provide you with the in-home possibilities to create an exciting visual

There is no medium that is more stunning than video. Once again, there are sites out there that will host your video... and once uploaded... just embed the code onto your site or blog. Presto! You now have a cool and interesting visual to sell your show to the world!

Below is a list of video hosting sites that you may consider using.
http://youtube.com
http://www.dailymotion.com
http://www.streamload.com
http://www.vimeo.com
http://www.zippyvideos.com
http://video.google.com

Here are some examples (once again from Rogue 2007 participants)

Example 1
Example 2



More on Arts Marketing on the Web - Coming Soon!

A Domain & Blog... Now What? Part 1

So, you took the plunge. You bought a domain (hopefully from Jungle Webs). But, you are not ready to commit to hosting yet... and you have a blog on a public server (like Blogger or Wordpress, etc...). Now what do you do?

THE EASY-LAZY WAY
"Forward" your domain.

What does this mean? Well, when you forward your domain to "point" to your blog, folks typing in http://yourdomain.com will magically arrive at your blog. This way you still have a nifty DOT COM and still keep the traffic you have built on your free public server.

Easy Steps To Forward Your Domain. (assuming you bought it at Jungle Webs) BTW... clicking the pictures will make them full size.

1. Sign in to your Jungle Webs account.

2. Look under DOMAINS and click "Manage Domains" or "Manage Domain Forwarding".

3. This will bring you to the Domain Control Center where you will...
a. Check-mark your domain name.
b. Click "forward".

4. That will bring you to this page where you will...
c. Click "enable".
d. Type in your blog address in the blog (e.g.) http://yourblog.blogspot.com
e. Click "OK" and in about 15 - 30 minutes your domain address should point to your blog.


That's it! Tah Dah!

DID YOU KNOW: That buying a domain at Jungle Webs gives you your very own FREE EMAIL ACCOUNT?

More on "Masking" coming soon!

In the Arts and starting a presence on the Web

So, you are in the Arts (musician, visual artist, theatre group, dance company, etc...) ... you want a presence on the net... you are a novice... you are not sure where to start.

"Darn, this is scary! What is CODE or URL or... or... " It all seems like a daunting task, right? Wait, take a deep breath.

Lets start with this...

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR PRESENCE ON THE WEB TO DO?

• Ultimately get the word of your vision out there! Drum up an audience! Get B.I.T.S. (Butts In The Seats). After all, without an audience... your art doesn't exist!

• Repeat business! Build on the audience you already managed to scare up in the first place.

Now, here are some start-up tips that range from free to affordable.

NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

Get A Website - The Free Way!
(yeah, we realize we are cutting our own throats by giving you this information... but this site is a designed as a resource... and we're hoping you will go the "affordable" routes listed below and become happy and loyal customers of Jungle Webs.)

What you should have regardless...

1. A MySpace page - Great for networking and building up an audience through their "friending" system. You can also send out "bulletins" and "invitations" to your events and shows. Especially good for musicians and comedy acts... but not exclusively so. HERE is an example of a theatre group with one. Really, almost everyone has a MySpace page... even politicians. Techniques on building a friend base coming soon.
2. A Blog - This can also function as your "starter" website. You can sign-up for a free one with blog services such as Blogger and Wordpress. The user-friendly interface allows for easy postings with little or no knowledge of code. *Reasons to have a blog... coming soon

Get A Website - The Affordable Way

(and the main reason NOT to look "cheap" to potential audience members.)

1. Buy Your Own Domain - This really creates a presence! A potential audience member will look at www.yourdomain.com and instantly realize you are serious (and totally for-real) in your art. Plus, it's a lot easier to remember than something off a free server like http://somefreewebsite.com/yada/user/yourname.html . See the logic here? On top of that... buying your own domain costs UNDER $10 A YEAR... and comes loaded with tons of useful freebies! *Money Saving Tip: Own your own domain and associate it to your free blog... coming soon!
2. Buy Affordable Hosting - This opens up even more options to your presence on the web. Plus it puts you in control of the image you want to present. Affordable? Yep... our generous and reliable hosting plans start under $5 a month!
   

At Jungle Webs your own Domain and Hosting (*economy plan) will only cost you less than $5.60 a month! Click Here for more on this topic.

Check back at our blog JUNGLEWEBS.NET for more "How to's" plus affordable and creative tips and topics to create your presence on the Web.

Cheers!

an example of creative affordable arts marketing

Shameless and Blatant
(in pursuit of butts in the seats)

Why are people in the Arts so afraid or shy to push their craft? Are they guilty for what they do? Isn't it more embarrassing to have no BITS (Butts In The Seats) when they put on a show? Have they totally lost themselves in their "art" that they've forgotten that it does not exist without an audience? Why are so many in the arts so afraid of new media... like the internet? Do they not realize that for the first time in history there is a medium that puts everyone on a level playing field?

I admit I have been guilty of all those things in the past... but not anymore. It’s a new day with some pointed lessons from the masters! Da Vinci got paid so did Shakespeare... it could be argued that Bill and his peers invented what is show-business today. Those are 2 words that need to be paid more attention to in equal parts. (Sure, argue with me that those guys had patrons and I’ll tell you they are called “sponsors" or “advertisers"? today.)

Over the last few months I have been developing some ideas on arts marketing from an affordable, creative and pedestrian level. (Pedestrian meaning… a little effort and time and any idiot can do it.) I won’t just write about it… I’m doing it. If these methods work… cool! If they don’t… at least I tried.

So, here is the first of my shameless ideas in action…

Rehearsals for a brand new play, TALE END, begins today and... postings on our blog at the Theatre J’Nerique site will occur at least once every 2 days (save the weekend) from this point on.

Posts will vary from the writing process to acting to marketing in the creation of this new piece. Think of it as a "MAKING OF" as it's happening consisting of blog posts from the participants and videos (there are 2 so far).

Labels in the blog make it easy for you to follow your areas of interest in this creation. If you haven't been there yet... you can catch up at THEATRE J'NERIQUE... and keep coming back for more!

If you are on MySpace come over and "friend" us for updates and bulletins http://www.myspace.com/jnerique

You can follow this ride of the beast all the way through it's premier at Rogue 2007!

This show is designed to tour and we are planning to hit some of the venues on the Fringe Festival circuit in the Summer of 2008.

p.s. Our posters will be featured in t-shirts soon for your purchase... is that shameless or what?

more coming soon!

hola