Comedian, Promote Thy Self

Hmmmm... This is why I am not a Christian comedian, but a comedian who is Christian: you cannot have it both ways: "I am funny! I am talented! BOOK ME! PAY ME! TELL ME HOW WONDERFUL I AM BY LAUGHING AND APPLAUDING MY SKILLS!"
And, at the same time: "Christ is my saviour, and I am doing what I do to glorify God, and the money really doesn't matter."
Right.
I don't really understand the premise here, but I'll try and be encouraging, honest and a little bit provoking.
If you are going to go on a stage, or an altar, or a platform and get paid to tell jokes, you are (in essence) telling whoever comes to hear you: "I am funnier than you are; I have great comic insight, a keen eye for the absurd and hypocritical, and I am an excellent communicator." You can add, "God gave me these gifts," if that gives you solace. You just better be brilliantly talented and funny and entertaining. Because, if you're getting PAID, then you had better be worth it. "I'm good," is not good enough.
You're supposed to be better than that - BECAUSE YOU WANT MONEY FOR THE SERVICE YOU PROVIDE.
A comic, like an actor or a singer or a PREACHER, is a product - I'm okay with that description.
But the self-promotion should be an organic, natural effort. "Here is the service I provide: ____" and you fill in the blank ("I can bring an hour of knock-down, drag-out laughter to your singles group;" or, "I will have your couples night be a roaring success, because everyone is going to laugh hard for 45 minutes." That's not self-promoting - THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING YOU CAN DO!).
So what's the problem?
This is why all comedians who are Christian need to work in arenas that are decidedly NOT Christian: a comedian needs to be able to express his/her material to all peoples (Christians are inclusive) and do that as a person of faith - regardless of the venue/environment (we're supposed to live in this world). By performing regularly (3-4 times a week) and sharpening your performance and punchlines and personna, you also "market yourself." It's a natural outgrowth, artistically, from working at your profession. You work a lot; you find out "who you are" on stage; you have successes that far outnumber failures; you find a niche and a point-of-view and a reason that people (including churches/Christians) will WANT to book you; and you make a living in this business we call "Show."
Anything short of that is cheating yourself, the audience, and the people who are paying you.
Bluntly: it is impossible NOT to market yourself, if you are truly talented and skilled. Because that is a direct result of success you're having in your chosen field.
This should be exciting and inspiring (as in, "YES! I GET IT!") and not frustrating ("It's not that easy..."). Uh, showbiz is very very HARD - Christian and otherwise - because you're constantly being judged. Which is exactly what we want, right? "I'm here to show you my abilities. I am funnier than you are, and therefore you will appreciate what I'm going to do!"
And, oh yeah!
"God bless you!"

You took the words right out of my mouth, or the thoughts right out of my head, which is kind of scary. There was such a great spiritual emphasis, which is great. Why did I find my mind wandering to who was where, and did I get in front of the right people? Someone said that we need to promote ourselves as a product. That's a good way to look at it I guess. Networking is tougher for me. " You do my event, I'll do yours, here's my card, let me take a picture with ya'." I struggle with the business aspect. Wish I could just write and perform and do the best I can and let everything else take care of itself. Of course that's not the way it works. Beth Moore said, "Sometimes to do the stuff you love the most you have to do the stuff you like the least." That's the struggle for me. When and do I ask? Am I being obnoxious? Am I sitting back and not taking advantage of an opportunity? Blah blah blah. I usually err on the side of "Shut up" until I know someone better. I usually pray for God to send a lightning bolt.