Investing in Your Artform

The question comes up about costs for Storyteller.net live training events. Right now, we are registering for the next “Outside In Storytelling Marketing Boot Camp” (OISBC) to be held in August 2008. One of the FAQ questions asks, “Isn’t this expensive?” Here are a few illustrations in answer to that question.

Here is the disclaimer: Your experiences will vary. I can’t and don’t guarantee monetary results, mostly because I can’t live your life and make your decisions. And, I can’t get into your personal self-perceptions to help you value your own time or your own worth as a person and performer.

One of our OISBC graduates wrote me this week to say that their “mind set has been permanently altered” because of the camp experience. That’s the idea. Come learn to master the business aspect of “Outside In” storytelling.

First Story:
Just tonight, one graduate of last week’s event called me on the phone. She called to say that she has two summertime clients for which she usually does free shows. She has done these shows for many years. After taking the OISBC, she is thinking differently both about her own worth and the worth of her art form and the disservice we commit against each other by not properly charging for our work as performance artists.

So, she took a deep breath and she called these two different clients. She advised them that she can no longer do free shows, but she would be willing to do a discounted fee of $400. She reminded them of the uniqueness of her presentations.

Both clients called her back.

Both clients are paying the fee.

This $800 more than covered the fee for her OISBC experience she had just completed. Not one week out from the OISBC and she has already made back her investment.

Second Story:
During the OISBC, I share a no-cost method of publicity. This very same method garnered me $6000 in bookings with a single client during this school year. After the OISBC pre-conference homework, we don’t talk theory. We talk about what works. We will teach this to you in the next OISBC.

Third Story:
There is a marketing tool that I use that costs me $60 per month. I get results from it all the time, including a single large contract of $9000 during 2007. This year, the same tool brought me a $1900 contract in January. It’s only March. We’ll teach you about this tool in the OISBC.

Fourth Story:
The accountant that appeared at the last OISBC believes that his advice alone could save the average storyteller or artist $2000 a year.

I must tell you: the OISBC can’t help you if you are not a competent artist in your art form. No one will pay money for someone who is not mastering the artistic and technical areas of a performing art.

As you can tell, our camp is not expensive at all. It’s actually priceless. Frequently, I get advertisements to comparable events that want $350 to $1200 per day for multi-day events, meals not included. Our two days costs less than that and we feed you.

Invest in your business. Come, storytellers and artists, join us in August. Yes, it will be hot in Phoenix. We have air conditioning everywhere. You’ll survive. And your business, I believe, will thrive.

The official blog for K. Sean Buvala, storyteller and storytelling coach.