S6E8: Clay Mabbitt — Sell Out Your Theater Show
These are show notes taken from an audio interview.
To listen to the actual interview, please use the player above.
Clay Mabbitt runs a blog and podcast called Sold Out Run where he helps theaters fill their seats with more than just friends and family.
Basically, he’s a marketer and an actor. He’s using his skills and knowledge taken from his years working in a marketing firm in Indianapolis and applying them to find out ways to get butts in seats in theater productions. It seems to work because in 2010 he applied what he knew from his professional marketing background to his first theatre production, and he sold every seat for the entire run. Hence the name, Sold Out Run.
Sponsors:
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Kris Mentioned at the Top of the Show
Overdrive – Borrow eBooks and audiobooks from your local public library.
Zombie Loyalists by Peter Shankman: This is a book that talks about using great service to create raving fans, or in this case, Zombie Loyalists, that will not only buy your services, but also tell all their friends about you and get them to buy from you! It’s a good read for sure!
Success Mantra
All things in moderation, including moderation. — Oscar Wilde
His First Sold Out Run
• What he had to start with.
• Focused on what could be done inexpensively.
• Created a blog for the show and a content calendar.
• Contests for free tickets.
• Varying content for blog and social media outlets.
• Staying Top of Mind.
• Creating a marketing calendar. (Template available at SoldOutRun.com.)
• Listing out what you’ll need and when you’ll do them.
• Other resources at SoldOutRun.com.
• Tells about the website he created for the show.
• Doing mini profiles for the cast and crew and having them share it on their social profiles.
• Having multiple points of contact with people before they actually buy from you.
• For every show there’s a specific audience and a way to reach them.
• Tells us about a marketing tactic that he thought would work well but ultimately fell flat.
Sold Out Run Blog
• Tells what he’s trying to accomplish with this venture.
• It started out as him getting his thoughts out for himself in regards to marketing a theater show.
• He wants to change the culture around the arts and make them more commercially viable.
• He gets out his ideas and reports his findings.
• Blog and podcast at SoldOutRun.com are all about helping to improve theater marketing.
• His guest post: 5 Things Theatre Marketing Can Teach You About Promoting a Magic & Illusion Show by Clay Mabbitt.
Failure Moment
Talks about his Open Book Project where he tried to help a theater with a show that just didn’t work out.
Favorite Success
His very first production, Enter Love, and his successful marketing efforts with it .
Biggest Professional Challenge
Defining his niche.
Interesting Story
Clay was on stage with someone who forgot their place and he couldn’t help them.
Rapid Fire Questions
In his podcast, Sold Out Run, clay asks his guests a series of fun rapid-fire questions. I turned the tables on him and gave him a fun Rapid Fire experience of his own!
Other Topics Covered
• If you aways play it safe, you’ll never have any real big success.
• Tells about his background in marketing and how he got into acting.
Parting Advice
Don’t get complacent with small houses.
Recommended books and resources:
Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small portion of any sales. If you’re enjoying our podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our affiliate links to help support the work we’re doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!
Resources:
AWeber email list management.
Books:
Art of the Turnaround by Michael M. Kaiser
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
Where can we find Clay Mabbitt?
Twitter @claymabbitt
By the way I completely crossed my wires on the quote that I shared in this episode. The quote I mentioned (all things in moderation, including moderation) was from a book I read that was trying to offer westernized interpretations of Buddhist doctrine. The Heinlein quote on moderation is actually, “To enjoy life take big bites. Moderation is for monks.” The quotes mean entirely different things, but I absolutely love them both.
Agreed! Equally awesome!