Mastering the art of ventriloquism is not hard. It takes practice, but learning is fun. Trying out voices and personalities for your figure gives your creative side a chance to flourish. Writing an act isn’t difficult either, but a good sense of humor will help!

Once you’re practiced your act enough to be proficient, you’re going to want to find an audience. Here are some ideas to start marketing your show.

1. A website or blog. This is the perfect way to post pictures of you and your ventriloquist figures. You can tell about the different shows you have available. You can also have a page for testimonials.
2. Business cards. Have a picture of you and your vent figure on your business card. Always have your webpage address listed on all printed promotional materials, too. Give these out to all your friend and relatives and request they hand them out to everyone they know. Be generous with these and give them away at every opportunity. It sometimes helps to put a special offer on the back such as, “Twenty dollars off the next show you book.”
3. Flyers or brochures. List the various types of programs that you offer. If you’re targeting audiences of children, mail these to churches, child care centers, and libraries.
4. Free shows. Starting out you’ll need to do a few free shows to know how audiences react to your act. You can find open mic nights if you want to perform for adults. There are also retirement centers that would love to have a free program. Libraries and churches are also good options. Offer to perform at some child care centers in return for an honest testimonial. But make sure your show is age appropriate. The pre-school market is completely different from an elementary school age audience. If you don’t know (or like) children don’t attempt to perform for them. You won’t fool them.
5. Coloring pages. Have someone draw a caricature of you and your figure that you can use as a coloring page. Then make sure your name, phone number, and webpage address is on the bottom. Also, be sure and use your tag line, “Making your child’s birthday a memorable event”, or whatever tag line you choose.
   
6. Party planning guide. This is a short pamphlet you put together to help parents with birthday party planning. It can have checklists of what they need to do a month in advance, a week in advance, and the day of the party. Take them to local party planning stores and leave them as a free give-a-way. Of course, you have your contact information on the back of the planner.
7. Enter Talent Contests. Thanks to the popularity of shows like America’s Got Talent and American Idol, talent shows have become popular again. Many cities are holding their own local contests. The prize you win but not be much, but the exposure of getting your act in front of a lot of people can work wonders.

No matter whom you perform for, always ask for a testimonial. Then display these on your webpage. Put a few on your flyers and brochures, too. It’s always better to have someone else saying how great your show is, instead of you saying it!

Follow these ideas and your calendar will start to fill with paid ventriloquist shows. You and your figure will be in show-biz!