Nationally touring comedian, actor, and verbal hurricane Jimmy Shubert stops by the Funny Muscle Pod to talk about his legendary career, offer some top-shelf joke-writing advice, and reveal his secret weapon: the “20 Facts, 20 Jokes” method. Basically, he starts with facts and then writes jokes about them. That’s it. That’s the system. And it works, because he's Jimmy Freakin’ Shubert.

Described by some as a “renegade wordsmith who works to the top of his intelligence” Jimmy shares wisdom, war stories, and maybe a few borderline-illegal punchlines.

Also, he’s dropped four albums that sound like either comedy specials or monster truck rallies: “Animal Instincts,” “Pandemonium,” “Alive & Kickin’,” and “Zero Tolerance”—plus a Comedy Central special. Take notes. Jimmy did not come here to mess around.

Here at the Funny Muscle Pod, we chat a lot about the skills in crafting jokes, but in this episode, we take a hard turn to the business side of comedy. And although the business of stand-up is as glamorous as a motel continental breakfast, it’s needed. We grill Mike, a seasoned touring comedian, on crucial survival skills, such as how to avoid burnout on the road (step one: don’t live entirely on gas station taquitos), why you need an EPK (which we promise is not a new cryptocurrency), and the dark, mysterious science of venue pricing. Also, we talk about selling merch, because nothing says 'comedy legend' like convincing strangers to buy a T-shirt with your face on it.

How do you market your comedy brand? How do you get more likes, shares, and followers without resorting to bribery or adopting an emotional support ferret for viral content?

The biggest comics know the secrets of online marketing—like how to trick the algorithm into showing your jokes to more than just your mom and that one guy from high school.

To help us crack the code, we invited David Uribe—marketing consultant at comedybranding.com, dabbler in comedy, and full-time knower of things—to our podcast. David shares expert tips on how to grow your brand, land gigs, attract fans, and—most importantly—monetize your humor so you can finally afford something fancier than gas station burritos.