keynote speakers and other speaker people at conventions, as mentioned in last week's post, is a GREAT way to get some paying gigs. One other group that can use humor, that is often overlooked, is the average joe who has to get up and speak maybe a few times or only once in their life. I've written jokes for CEOs to kick off an company event, doctors who have to talk at fundraisers, and best men who have to give the best man speech at a wedding.
I've also written humor for
products, like embarrassing products that want to change their image. I once wrote jokes for a wart removal product because they wanted to make people feel comfortable buying their product, and they realized that humor was a great way to do that. I've also written for food product companies that want to make their food product stand out. And I've written for people who are doing training for other companies. I've written for accountants who want to make their services sound funnier, and I've written for realtors who want to make their marketing letters stand out to their clients.
Which brings me to other professions. . .
sales people, marketing people, and many other types of jobs that require customer service, can use humor. . .
And then there are
books. Yes I've written jokes for people to put in their books. And now that self-publishing is so huge, it's easy to write a book. BUT not so easy to write the humor in the book, which means there's a ripe market for your jokes.
Syndicated cartoon strips.
Another great place for selling jokes, and the jokes are needed daily! Some, not all, cartoonists are in need of funny material. Get to know some cartoon strips, find out the ones that resonate with your humor!
Greeting cards.
I've found these to be the hardest form of joke writing. I have sold to them, but they usually want a general-but-specific card. . .like a mothers day joke for mothers of any ages with kids of any ages. So you're trying to be broad but specific with the jokes.
Awards shows. . .and not just the Oscars.
There are dozens of esoteric awards shows out there. . .I've written jokes for one that you have probably never heard of. . . who cares! The Golden Globes might be out of your reach, but other awards shows are not.
And last, but certainly not least,
the comedy writing gigs that most people think about are late night TV and sitcoms. I have written for late-night TV, back when I could fax in my jokes. I doubt they use fax machines anymore, but they probably use freelancers. Just know that getting in the door to these groups can be very, very tough. . .and you usually need lots of experience under your belt. BUT if it's what you want to do, then go for it!
But how do you FIND these comedy writing gigs? That's for next week's blog. Have a great weekend. . .
Jan
Jan's keynote and humor website
