Effective Marketing with YouTube Videos

As a Christian Comedian for women's events,  I am often approached by church groups who are looking for a clean comedy performance.  They find me in a number of ways including mailings, word-of-mouth and SEO.  Therefore, I spend many hours each day trying to get to the top of that very important Google search.

The Overlooked Power of YouTube

In addition to finding the ideal keywords, meta tags and descriptions for my site, I am continually searching YouTube videos regarding the most recent developments for optimizing websites.  Ironically, the YouTube video I discovered recently discusses the optimization of YouTube videos!

Dave Bowen is very clear in his instruction and he offers daily tasks for serious students of YouTube SEO.  I recommend his videos to other keynote speakers and Christian Comedians hoping to advance their videos for promotion.

http://humorousspeakersbureau.com Sally Edwards is the president of The Humorous Speakers Bureau marketing corporate comedians and funny keynote motivational speakers.
http://sallyedwards.org - Laugh to Good Health
http://comedybysally.com - Christian Comedian

Smile - You're Doing Stand Up Comedy!

I am a stand up comedian who did not smile. Not only was I a stand up comedian who did not smile, I was a wife, mother, friend and stranger who did not smile. The odd thing is that I thought I was smiling.

Five years ago, my husband said to me, “Sally, you’ve got to learn to smile on stage!” I said, “I do smile. What are you talking about? I’m very happy.”

I saw the videotapes and realized I was wrong. Five years ago, I began to teach myself to smile. I made it my mission and passion. I wanted to communicate correctly how I was feeling. If I met someone, I thought to myself, “Make youself smile!” When I greeted my children when they came home from school, I thought, “Make yourself smile!” And, of course, on stage, it was a constant, “Make yourself smile!”

At first smiling felt very insincere because it required a constant mental and physical effort. However, as I continued my efforts, I realized that, in fact, it was much more sincere to be happy and communicate that emotion. It changed my life so greatly for the better. If you are not a natural smiler, now is the time to make the change.

I’m convinced that smiling is hereditary. Some people have such an easy time with it. They’re smiling all the time from an early age. Consequently, they seem to have more friends, successful careers and happier children. Truly they have unknowingly harnessed the power of this great secret.

Does your dog smile? Mine does. And I’m willing to bet that you’ve noticed that your dog smiles too. Doesn’t a dog’s smile make you feel great? A dog doesn’t smile often but when it does, everyone notices and everyone comments. A smile counts and it goes a long way.

Now it’s your turn. Even if you smile only as often as your dog, you have the ability to teach yourself to communicate more effectively and sincerely. It requires a concerned effort and will feel very unnatural at first. It will feel like you’re not being “you”. That’s the good news! You’re becoming a better “you!”

Smiling comes very easily to me now. I feel as if I have made a great discovery and I am truly enjoying it. The other morning as I walked my two dogs in the park, I ran into a friend and he gave me a wonderful compliment. He said, “Sally, it’s good to see you. You always look so happy!”

That’s because …. I am.

Mom Stories - "Mom, Who Am I?"

   I don’t know what goes on in kindergarten but I can tell these kids are doing a heck of a lot more than me when I was five.  I know that “David” was the longest name I’d ever seen and I still had no idea was “M,N,L,O,P” was when I entered first grade.  Kids today are reading at a third grade level at a time when my father would simply look at me and say, “Don’t flunk sandbox.”

            This was never more apparent to me the day Christine came home from kindergarten and said, “Mom.  We’re going to play a game.  Standing in a white lace dress and ankle socks, Christine looked like an angel and she spoke with the innocence of someone who didn’t know they were about to challenge the incredible competitive character known as “Mommy.”  Christine continued in a soft voice.  “I’m going think of something in the world and you get three guesses to figure out what I’m thinking of.”  Maybe this heavenly being knew a little more about playing the big slots than I gave her credit for.  It seemed that the “world” is a pretty big playing field and the human component of “thinking” could not be scored in a fair and honest manner.    I became aware that the odds of winning were stacked in her favor.

            I began to guess.  “Christine, you’re thinking of your big red doll.”  “No!”  “Christine, you’re thinking of your baby doll.”  “No!”  “Christine you’re thinking of that lamp right over there.”  “No!”   I’d lost – but by how much?   I had to know now.  “Christine, what may I ask were you thinking about?”  Christine looked at me in the eyes as if she was pulling in her poker chips.  …. “Mount Fuji!”  … I wasn’t even close.  “Christine?”  “What.”  “I want to talk to your teacher.”

A Female Comedian's Insight - Understanding Your Children's Gifts

I understand it now. I understand how to recognize a unique "gift" within oneself. After years of soul searching I have been able to share my insights with my children and other adults. I find it funny that a personal gift should be so difficult to recognize. To our friends it can be quite apparent. It is best to listen to friends and family as they praise our uniqueness. It is difficult for us to recognize our own gift because we assume everyone shares our talents.

With my own children I was always on the lookout for clues. It was a daily fun exercise to notice repeated patterns of actions or words that were unique to each child. My oldest son, Brendan, was only six years old the first time he asked me, "Mom, what do you think of black holes?" Was I supposed to be thinking of black holes? My heart raced for a correct answer that wouldn't scar him with my lack of knowledge on the subject. Black hole questions were followed by comet and constellation questions. None of my other children were that inquisitive of the night sky. Today Brendan is an astrophysicist.
Our senior babysitter noticed our second son's gift when he was only 11 months old. "This kid is hilarious and he knows just how to make you laugh. He is the funniest baby I have ever seen." Steven established a pattern of making us laugh to tears. Today he lives in Los Angeles and is in an internship program for comedy sketch writing.

Our youngest, Christine, was a quick study. At nine years old she would take graph paper and draw sketches of the interior of her room. Every piece of furniture was measured and labeled. I said, "Christine, are you doing that for school?" Christine used graph paper for fun! Being a "math-o-phobic", I knew the clues were adding up quickly. Christine is now in San Francisco getting stellar grades. She is majoring in Architecture.

In retrospect I see my own life story was formed by the time I was eight. My parents signed me up for piano lessons and I began to teach myself to sing. I didn't stop singing. I started dancing and twirling and I loved making people laugh with my miniature shows. My older sister started bringing me to audition at community plays. Because of my lack of voice and dance training I did not get the parts. I worried I had no special talent. Fifteen years later, I walked on to the standup comedy stage of Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago as a new talent. Within minutes I experienced the joy of performing and making people laugh. I discovered my gift and knew I was home.

Sally Edwards is a professional Corporate Comedian who tours nationally. Sally Edwards' clean comedy has been featured on A&E's "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Comedy Club Network."

Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups with Keynote Speaker Sally Edwards

It has been a wonderful week booking Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups.  Clean comedy that is non-offensive allows women to laugh without the fear of embarrassment.  We have a great time and everyone is a winner!  Upcoming Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups include:

Catholic Women's League of Rockford - Sept. 18th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

St. John Neumann, St. Charles, IL - September 27th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

St. John United Methodist Church, Louisville Kentucky:  Nov. 14th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

Christ Community Church, St. Charles, IL - Dec. 14th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

Keynote Speaker and Comedian Sally Edwards

Clean Comedy for Women - Sally Edwards' Keynote Speaker

http://ComedyBySally.com

Where'd I Go?

I'll admit. Blogging is a tough one for me. I tend to go, go, go and I have a hard time stopping to talk about it.

This week, we're getting ready to put on another clean comedy show in Wauconda. "Clean" comedy is being met with rave reviews as people are tired of the young and brash comedians of cable TV where anything goes. I find it ironic that we, as Americans, are so easily offended by political incorrectness and yet national television broadcasts every rude gesture, comment and word known to man. I see a gap.

Today I scheduled another corporate event which will be a get together for the women of Queen of Rosary Parish in Elk Grove Village. Although that's a bit of drive for me, the very nice woman who booked me said she lived in Lake Zurich. Ironically, we live about 10 minutes away from each other. Where did the conversation lead from there? We talked of the beautiful outdoors and (my personal) love of deer. I absolutely love the outdoors and thrive living near nature. Seeing a deer is a beautiful and peaceful experience for me.

When my family was looking at houses in this area, we were checking out the backyard of one of the homes. From behind a group of trees walk three deer - a mother, a father and their baby. It was a scene Disney creators would envy. My husband immediately asked the realtor, "Now how much did you pay to have the deer appear? You sure know what my wife likes." Unfortunately, the house was out of our range but I have since driven by it a couple of times hoping to see that vision again.

Life is good. One of my favorite quotes is, "It's not what happens to you in life, it is how you interpret it." What a fantastic freedom. I decided from that day - I will interpret everything as positive and "for the best." And do you know what?  It works.