Someone has to say it…most comedian websites suck. They do. And it needs to change now. It’s time to jump into Web 2.0 and head into the 2010 web (as Robert Scoble calls it). It’s not a hard change to make, but you first need to recognize what the problem is before you can accept that your site is crap.
I’m no website guru, but I do enough reading and web surfing to know that comedians in general need a complete overhaul of their web presence. Here are a few signs that you are waaay behind and not taking advantage of the internet like you should be.
1. Your site has a splash page of any type before you actually get to the website. (Pablo Francisco)
2. Your site has to “load” because it has so much flash. (Charlie Murphy and Ralphie May)
3. Your site is built with way too much flash. (Adam Ferrara)
4. Your site navigation is so “not” intuitive that you have to have a link that says “Click Here to Switch to Standard Navigation”. (Bert Kreischer)
5. Your site is just a brochure and there is no reason for people to keep coming back because you are offering them no content. (Jimmy Dore)
6. You can’t see your site on the iPhone.
I’m not knocking the comedians btw. Just giving you examples of problems.
These are actually just a few of the things to look for when determining if you need to make a change. But let’s not concentrate on the negative. Let’s concentrate on the positive.
Your website should look like Chris Hardwick’s a.k.a. Nerdist. It’s simple. Easy to read. Loads quickly. Offers updated content so people will comeback and interact (i.e. comment). It is REALLY easy to maintain, change, and control. And wouldn’t you know it…ties in all of his social networks. But not just with a logo. The content he provides on the site makes those social networks relevant and effective. By effective…I mean driving traffic to his site. Not just keeping his fans on Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace. What good is that? You want to be able to own your relationships on your social networks and be able to move those people onto your site and create repeat, loyal users/followers. On your site. That’s called marketing.
Chris uses Word Press. He uses a theme called Thesis (I use the same theme…it’s very easy to make updates and change things around). Created a few logos and some links…and boom…he has more interactivity on his site than most comedians could dream about. And it didn’t cost him thousands of dollars…I guarantee it. Word Press is free. Thesis is $87 (and there are free themes out there like Thematic that may work just as well). You can get cheap hosting. So maybe you need a graphic artist/CSS/HTML guy to do a few tweaks for you…no big deal. Now you have yourself a website that is relevant.
Some other comedian sites that you can look at that make sense: Paul Ogata (easy to read, simply, loads fast), Joe Rogan (great content, relevant info, community, loads fast), Brody Stevens (needs some tweaking…but he provides content), Christina Pazsitzky (low tech, good content…gets the job done perfectly).
The point is…most of the sites for comedians that I am seeing look like consumer products websites. How often do you visit “Oreo.com”. Never. And if you do…you never visit again…because there is no reason to. Most ad agencies put all this flash in so they can justify their cost. They can say, “Whhooo…look how nice and pretty it is.” Your guy is probably doing the same thing.
Check out the sites that have risen to prominence in the last 3 – 5 years. Gawker Media sites, Federated Media sites, Buzz Media sites. Your site should be the same…and it’s not hard to do. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Remember…you are in the content business. Don’t forget it.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
VERY well said, Brendon – I couldn’t agree more. Tons of wasted opportunity out there.
And, without sounding too self promotional, any comedian that wants some help figuring out how to use the web right way should contact me. I’m happy to help.
Thanks Josh. Or they could contact the dude who wrote the article…me. Just sayin’…might as well go to the source ; ).
Great post. As someone who regularly is tracking down comics for a weekly comedy show, the majority of sites are really subpar. Also, what’s the deal with no contact information on their sites (self or reps)? Especially the younger comics – what’s the plan for people to connect with you?
Brendon, thanks so much for the advice. I rarely go to other comics sites, but now that you’ve narrowed it down it helps a lot. If you have any suggestions for my own, I’d love to hear it. Thanks for the article.
We just redesigned a website for UK’s comedian Jason Manford, we would like to know what you think of ours.
http://www.jasonmanford.com
Thanks
Thanks Jose! The site design is in the style that I think comedians should be moving towards. And the graphic elements are solid.
However, if I may provide some constructive criticism (feel free to ignore me). The site should lead with content…and more importantly…recurring content. The Blog is what people will come back to and it should be on the front page. Additionally, I think it’s more intuitive to have horizontal nav at the top of the page. But more importantly, there are pages that don’t provide any added value (i.e. Quotes, News, FAQ, Awards) in the nav that clutter the important parts (Gigs, About, Contact). I would move categories like Video, Photos, and Fan Gallery to a secondary nav, possibly. Mostly because all that information will be contained in blog posts. Also, I would add an RSS feed symbol to the front page for those that use it. As well as an opportunity to receive updates via email. Finally, my CMS of choice is Wordpress because it is so widely used and the development community is extensive. Anyway, those are my thoughts. Thanks for reading!