We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joy Brooker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joy, thanks for joining us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?
That having a college degree is overrated. Unfortunately I know a lot of people who graduated and either ended up in a completely different field altogether, or struggled so much to get a job in their field that they gave up. I have found most of my success through hands-on experience and making the right connections.
Joy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a professional musician on the nights & weekends and, by day, I deliver singing telegrams. I was making more money from my telegram side hustle than I was from my job in marketing, so I quit and made an LLC for my entertainment business.
I started doing singing telegrams four years ago as an annual Valentines Day tradition, but people enjoyed them so much I began offering them for all occasions. Once I posted videos of the telegrams online, they got really popular and I received a fairly large following from it. It has led to some great opportunities, like being on America’s Got Talent and delivering a telegram to Simon Cowell. I’m extremely grateful for what the power of social media can do for 1 person or small business. It changed my life!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
“Can I have your confidence?” Is the #1 comment I get online, and it really surprises me. I don’t consider myself a confident person; I struggle with anxiety every single day. However, some of the best advice I ever got was from an old choir teacher who told me “nobody is gonna know you messed up as long as you act like you know what you’re doing.” I think what entertains people is the fact that I bust into places like I have it all planned out even if I don’t, and I always, always give 150%.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Posting videos of the telegrams is the absolute best marketing strategy for me because, from a local standpoint, the community is watching people they know get pranked by this singing heart. Once they see someone they know get embarrassed in such a fun way, then they think of 4-5 people in their life who they want to “get.” The product advertises itself, and thus the clientele is steady as long as I am regularly posting content!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Joy.brooker
- Facebook: Facebook.com/sjbrooker90
- Youtube: YouTube.com/JoyBrooker
- Other: Tiktok.com/thejoybrookershow
Image Credits
Jordi Newman, Amanda Camp, Derek White