Funnyformoney.com is a new online comedy contest started by a pair of jokers: Joe Yakacki and Ari Ecker. In hopes that they will never have to have a real job again, the pair conceived the idea of paying people to come see their website, and found some deep-pocket investors who locked into the idea.
This is a lucky break for jokesters across the country who can now deliver punchlines to a national audience from the safety of their webcams. Site users can make money delivering punchlines, or voting for their favorites.
Multi-Level Marketing Comedy
In a feat of modern marketing brilliance Yakacki and Ecker have set their website up so it is almost like a multi-level marketing plan. For instance, you sign up under my link, and I get a kickback when you win something. You then get a link which you can share with friends and get the same kickback from their winnings. That's a pretty good incentive to tell all your friends... especially all those annoying extroverts you know.
That's Some Funny Money
During the launch period the site is paying out $4,000 a week in their punchline contest. Every week there are three ways to win: you can submit a video, vote for a winning punchline, or sponsor a grand prize punchline writer or voter.
Each week there are ten new topics. The best video for each topic wins one hundred dollars. As a comedian, all you have to do is go the submit page and record a punchline of 15 seconds or less and you are in the mix. You can also win by just voting. Voters for the winning punchlines have a chance to win a hundred dollars also.
Big prizes come to people who sponsor a lot of folks. Sign up all your friends, and you will be in play for a big five hundred dollar check if your friends win any big money themselves. Winners are announced each Monday in the Funny for Money News.
After the launch period the grand prizes will be going up to ten thousand dollars a month, so getting in early is a great (and noble) idea.
A Bunch of Funny Guys
I heard about the site from my son-in-law who is a professional comedian: Ryan Wingfield. Thankful to be out of the spotlight glare of Mother-in-Law jokes, I quickly signed up under him and delivered a few of my own punchlines. I learned right away that laughing or joking around the table, and being really funny when in the spotlight are two different things!
How to Vote
The site is relatively easy to use, but has a few tricks. I started out by voting.
Each week ten new "Headlines" are posted. Here is a sample from the week that I am writing this article:
- Study: Fox News viewers more misinformed vs. those who don't watch news at all...
- In Dublin, 262 leprechauns got together...
- On Craigslist, a woman put her husband up for sale...
On each topic you get three votes. The first week that I voted I did not realize that I have to lock in my final three votes. So my votes on that week were probably wasted.
To vote: go to the site, click the "Vote" tab, and start watching videos. You can click "That's Money" or "Not Money" as you watch through the list. Each time you select "That's Money" your selection is immediately added to your three favs, which shows right below the video. If you choose more than 3 you get an error message. You can change your mind by changing a Money to Not Money, but must submit your choice as your final votes.
How to Submit a Punchline
Submitting a punchline is easy if you have a webcam on your computer, otherwise you'll have to record a video, edit it to 15 seconds, and use the upload feature to upload the file to the site.
Go to the Submit tab, select a joke topic from the dropdown menu, and click the "Record My Video" button. You'll get a chance to record and review before saving it to the site. The first time I did it my camcorder didn't work right and it was pretty discouraging. But I came back the next day and everything worked just fine. So try again if you have any problems.
A few tips to keep in mind:
- Have some light on your face
- Make sure your microphone is set up right
- Plan your punchline so there is a little space at the end, otherwise it cuts off the last bit of your words and is hard to listen to.
- Plan.... period. Rambling isn't funny. Saying "Uhhhh" isn't funny.
What's Funny
It's really interesting to watch the site just to learn what is funny, and what is not. Here are a few funny posts from this week.
- Study: Fox News viewers more misinformed vs. those who don't watch news at all... "I do not believe that! I watch Fox every day and they ain't said nothin' bout it!"
- In Dublin, 262 leprechauns got together... "And they stretched their arms out together, and I believe they are calling it 'Hands Across a Half a Block.'"
Your Chance to Win
FunnyforMoney.com may or may not become the next biggest thing on the internet. But it is a good way to spend a little time, and a chance to line your pockets with some of that internet gold. If you enjoy a good laugh, or have some funny friends, you might want to give it a try.
Connie Delaney - Connie Delaney writes from Salmon, Idaho where she is a web designer, occasional funny girl, and Dances of Universal Peace leader.
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