In 2003, after making many visits to the Edinburgh Festival as a member of the audience, I took not one, but two shows there as a producer - My Uncle Arly and Frog in Love. It was a steep learning curve and I present here my top twenty recommendations to would-be performers and producers.

1) Be prepared to have tiny audiences
2) Be sure that you will lose money
3) It's worth it for the contacts you make and the exposure you get
4) Try to choose a show that nobody else is doing
5) Choose your venue the year before - go and see shows in it, see how big the audiences are, what their marketing is like, how friendly the staff are and what the best time of day for your show will be
6) Select a catchy title - even if no-one's heard of your company, they'll think they've heard of the show

7) Spend some money on brilliantly eye-catching posters and leaflets - that's how people measure the quality of the show before they see it
8) Emphasise your Unique Selling Points - a good review splashed on the poster, a famous writer, the fact that your show takes place on a submarine
9) Adapt your production so that you can set up and dismantle your show in 10 minutes (seriously)
10) Make sure the show is brilliant! Word of mouth is the biggest marketing tool in the foyers, streets and cafes of Edinburgh
11) Tell them the show is brilliant! - have flyers with you at all times and never cease from giving them out and telling people what's so unique about your show
12) Go and see other Fringe shows and talk to people in the queue - they have bags of time to listen to you and you already have something in common - you're both interested in the same kind of theatre
13) Buy lots of glue and stick your posters and leaflets everywhere you (legally) can
14) Get reviewed and splash the best bits on a flash across every poster (everybody does this after the first week)
15) Get a website and make it look professional
16) Book a slot with the Fringe Office to perform an extract of your show on the Royal Mile on one of the mini-stages (it's free) and have people on hand with flyers
17) Book a time to perform at the Fringe Sunday event (its free) especially if you are doing a family-type show
18) Offer a free workshop
19) Wear a yellow t-shirt and a grey wig - it helped me
20) Enjoy it - it really is brilliant!

Finally, if you would like some really in-depth advice, have a look at the Three Weeks Guide to Staging a Show at the Edinburgh Fringe.