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kimmo
Inner circle
Sheffield
1039 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 8:31am
I've just uploaded the latest version of my partner and wife-to-be's website.
www.barmybella.com
Any comments or suggestions?
Thanks
www.kimmo.co.uk
Kimmo DVD available Now!
Watch the promo here!
Order your copy NOW! CLICK HERE!
ENTERTAINER,MAGICIAN AND VENTRILOQUIST'S BLOG - DON'T READ THIS...
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ROBERT BLAKE
Special user
810 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 8:53am
John I think it is easy to follow. obviously a female performer and a female website. fun to see.
now my english is not that good but is this correct english?
Please give me 1 weeks notice
should it not be 1 week notice?
www.RobertBlake.nl
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MoonRazor
Special user
649 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 9:38am
I like it, clean, colorful, targeted. I think it's great.
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Dynamike
Eternal Order
20615 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 10:17am
1). All the pictures on the pages are her only. Add at least one picture with kids beside her having fun.
2). Have a picture of her with a few balloon sculptures she can make.
3). It reads she has been in business for over 20 years. You will need more popular references. On the "review" page, include references from businesses, schools, or libraries.
4). The video is good. Add the video to the "home" page to help grab attention earlier. Next, change the "video" page to either FAQ, photos, etc.
Posted: May 15, 2012 10:24am
5). The fee on the first might be a great price. But I recommend let the viewers read everything she can do first, next surprise the viewer with the fee by having it on a different page. The viewer might just look at the home page and see the fee, without looking thru the rest of what she offers.
Posted: May 15, 2012 10:33am
6). The "Home" page does not mention the words "magic tricks" or "balloons" anywhere.
Dynamike
Oakland County Magician Macomb County Magician Wayne County Magician Detroit Magician Detroit Clown
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magicgeorge
Inner circle
Belfast
3990 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 11:03am
1 week's notice.
Not been on the site yet as it was loading slowly on my phone (dunno if this is important). Will check it out when I get home.
Magician Belfast
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Potty the Pirate
Inner circle
4252 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 11:16am
George's perfect English to the rescue again....although I prefer "one week's notice". also, a slight typo on the "show" page: "They will also receive special balloon animals and sculpures during to show that are exclusively made just for them." This should, presumably read: "during the show". I agree that the vid should be on the home page. Also, I'm not fond of the ad copy at the top of the site: "Now firmly established as Derby and Yorkshire's premier Children's Entertainer." This is for the clients to decide.....if it were me, I'd change it to "now firmly established as one of Derby and Yorks' premier Children's Entertainers." The difference in phrasing makes quite a difference to the impression on potential clients.
Doug
Potty the Pirate
Sussex Magician
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magicgeorge
Inner circle
Belfast
3990 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 11:33am
Actually, just tried it again on my phone and it was pretty quick. Looks great.
Magician Belfast
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dearwiseone
Special user
Portland, OR
773 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 1:26pm
Kimmo,
Great job, here are a few suggestions:
- A variety of pictures would be nice, not just studio shots.
- More reviews/testimonials
- Pictures of the goodie bags (not just text)
- In general, you need to show us that she's an entertainer, not just tell us.
- Another typo: the name (browser title) of the website is "Barmy Bella - Specialiing in entertainment for children's birthday parties" (of course, the "specialiing" is missing a "z"
- A "premiere" children's entertainer with no pictures of entertaining kids? No newspaper articles? No scans of thank-you cards?
- The "Book Now" page doesn't actually allow you to book now. That needs to be called something different like "booking info" or "contact info" because that's all it is.
- Not sure if it's intentional, but the entire home page (including the additional travel cost information) is a link to the video page.
- Lastly, the meta info and SEO needs a lot of work. Type "Barmy Bella" into google and you'll see how the different descriptions read.
Looks great! Best Wishes! - Kevin
Check out the new Instant Author Kit!
www.PrestoMagicProducts.com
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KC Cameron
Inner circle
Raleigh, North Cakalaki
1463 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 2:36pm
I think the phone number should be in actual text so people on phones can click on it.
I love the graphics, but they don't have kids. People are not hiring her to be cute, but for for how she can entertain children. I would re-work the graphics to show kids having the time of their lives WITH her.
Redneck, Blue-Collar Comedy Magician in Raleigh-Durham, NC
birthday party magician raleigh cary durham fayetteville
Kid's and Children's Magician for Schools and Birthday Parties in Raleigh-Durham, NC
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Al Angello
Eternal Order
Collegeville, Pa. USA
10484 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 3:28pm
John
You have done an excellent job, and you also selected a beautiful woman.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com
http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/
"Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone"
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kimmo
Inner circle
Sheffield
1039 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 3:39pm
Thanks for the feedback everyone. We will be tweaking a few things as and when we can. Obviously I am not always free to take video/photos at Tamar's shows and some of her older shots are out of date so we have a limited number of pictures to choose from at the moment, but that will improve.
Quote:
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On 2012-05-15 15:28, Al Angello wrote:
John
You have done an excellent job, and you also selected a beautiful woman.
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Thanks Al - I'm well aware of that, but I know she'll appreciate the comment 
www.kimmo.co.uk
Kimmo DVD available Now!
Watch the promo here!
Order your copy NOW! CLICK HERE!
ENTERTAINER,MAGICIAN AND VENTRILOQUIST'S BLOG - DON'T READ THIS...
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TonyB2009
Inner circle
3232 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 5:46pm
Lovely website - simple, direct and appealing.
The correct version is 'one week's notice'. The convention is that you spell out numbers from one to ten, then switch to digits. '1 week's notice' is never right.
Check out Tony's new thriller The Gilli Gilli Man at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Gilli-Tony-Black-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B007GFD0NQ/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1363055541&sr=8-16&keywords=The+Gilli+Gilli+Man
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The Mighty Fool
Inner circle
I feel like a big-top tent having
1770 Posts
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Posted: May 15, 2012 6:14pm
Well...I'D hire her!
I agree with the others in that all youre really missing is a photos-page
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
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Gerry Walkowski
Special user
805 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 5:12am
John,
The one thing I would recommend to everyone is to never attempt to do website work yourself. I know thousands of magicians think they're graphic artists and great writers, but that's where reality quickly becomes illusion.
While I think Bella's website looks very good, I still believe a wordsmith and a great graphic artist could make her website sizzle.
The only other bit of advice I would add would be TO INCREASE HER PRICES. Right now 150 pounds roughly equates to about $240. I know each country and each region is different, but that still seems to be a low price to me. And, if you factor in that's this is for a two hour party, then that equates to $120 per hour.
I have guys in my market that charge $190 and performs for 90 minutes. (Thirty of those minutes are for balloon animals.) Right now I'm in the $300-$350 range for a 40 minute show.
Hopefully you'll find some value in all of this.
Wishing you the best,
Gerry
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The Great Zucchini
Veteran user
366 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 7:17am
Terrific energy, great pictures, no doubt. Something to think about. Lots of moms do their party planning from work, etc, so you might not want to have the music blaring, because they might click off quickly.
Always created urgency, no matter what, telling them to book a week before, makes you seem not to much in demand. As of now, for instance, I have 48 shows in May, 45 booked in June, and July is just about booked, however even though I have sporatic shows in September, October, and November, already, when they ask about it, I say, "It's never to early to get it out of the way".
I also, agree with Dynamite that I'd never put the price on site. You want them to call you, so you can chit chat, show your charm on the phone, and everyone sales better on phone, then not.
Listen, you seem like a truly wonderful perfomer, and the kids seem like they are having a ball with ya. Your bud, Eric aka The Great Zucchini thegreatzucchini.com
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magicgeorge
Inner circle
Belfast
3990 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 9:37am
I think that looks a lot better than a lot of web-sites done by professional wen designers.
I think Bella will know what's a good price in her area. She is living in Yorkshire now...
Magician Belfast
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dearwiseone
Special user
Portland, OR
773 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 11:15am
I actually disagree with The Great Zucchini (you're finally here!). I say always put your price on the website! It's the year 2012, people are used to buying online, having immediate access to information. I personally know I would skip right past a website that didn't have prices and favor those that did have prices. They're wasting my time. Plus, people are much more used to texting and emailing these days.
It's silly not to list your prices. That's like a supermarket saying they don't put the price on their products. You have to put them in your cart, then bring them up to the front where a checkout cashier can tell you the price and "chit chat, show your charm..." etc.
It's harder to sell on the phone, it's so easy to sell with pictures, testimonials, and videos. I have mediocre pictures and testimonials, and terrible videos on my site (which I created myself) and I do just fine.
By not listing your prices, you risk losing those mothers who don't want to take the time and call you, plus there are plenty of shy, reserved moms who don't want to call and talk to someone. By listing your prices, you avoid losing the customers who don't want to call for a price, plus it immediately weeds out those who aren't in your budget. It does the dirty work for you! That means a larger percentage of the people who call you are ready to book. They know your approx. price range, they've seen the info, they just want to book!
Especially after building up a reputation in your market, people will be calling to book YOU, giving little regard to your price. To cater your entire website to the few who are not convinced by your pictures, testimonials, professional image and reputation, just so you can try to "convince" them over the phone would be silly.
By listing your prices on your website, you're appeasing both the people who are willing/able to call and those who aren't. You're providing choices and a solution! By not listing your prices, you're excluding the later group. All for the belief that you may be able to convince a percentage of those who have seen your stuff and wouldn't otherwise be convinced by your website?
I'm just providing another view to the seemingly common belief among magicians that listing your prices on your website is a no-no. I think it's great. I switched a few years ago and absolutely love having my prices listed on my website. I encourage you to do the same!
Of course, most of this mainly applies to birthday entertainers like Bella! I can see how some higher-end events would need much more information and have fewer packages so a phone call might be best.
Best Wishes!
Kevin
Check out the new Instant Author Kit!
www.PrestoMagicProducts.com
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The Great Zucchini
Veteran user
366 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 12:47pm
Actually, though what you want is for people to be calling you, I don't put prices because 9 out of 10 of my calls, they know who they are calling and you use what's called a sandwich technique on phone-tell them price-bad news of course, "however there is no limit on numbers, you can have as many kids as you want" I also don't have a traveling fee-Im 350 and its all included. This is better on phone
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Al Angello
Eternal Order
Collegeville, Pa. USA
10484 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 1:02pm
My prices are all over the map, and not until I get you on the phone can I size you up. There are some people who after I talk to them on the phone I wouldn't go to their house for any amount of money. After I give my price over the phone there is no but your web site has a different price nonsense to deal with. I'm a control freak, and I insist on having the upper hand at all times. If you are price shopping I'm probably not the guy for you.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com
http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/
"Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone"
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MichaelCGM
Inner circle
Oklahoma City
1552 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 2:09pm
Quote:
| On 2012-05-16 11:15, dearwiseone wrote:I'm just providing another view to the seemingly common belief among magicians that listing your prices on your website is a no-no. I think it's great. I switched a few years ago and absolutely love having my prices listed on my website. I encourage you to do the same! |
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So, Kevin, what's your url for your website, so we can check out some of your stuff?
Magically Yours,
Magical Michael
MagicalMichael.com  Laus Dio!
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dearwiseone
Special user
Portland, OR
773 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 4:14pm
Michael,
My website isn't great, there's not much to check out. I just have my prices listed next to the packages/options. It's that simple. I changed based on research that I did in my target market and others.
I don't want to hijack the thread, I was just offering Kimmo the advice that he keep prices on his website.
- Kevin
Check out the new Instant Author Kit!
www.PrestoMagicProducts.com
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MichaelCGM
Inner circle
Oklahoma City
1552 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 6:44pm
That's OK, Kevin. I'm not looking for perfection. I just want to see your site, so we can compare it to your suggestions and maybe get some ideas that we haven't thought of. Magicians helping magicians, right? I look forward to the link.
Magically Yours,
Magical Michael
MagicalMichael.com Laus Dio!
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kimmo
Inner circle
Sheffield
1039 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 8:57pm
Thanks for all the feedback - it's been very helpful.
I've been stung by a couple of web design companies in the past and ended up having to design my own. It's probably a case of you get what you pay for, and in both cases I'd paid less than a thousand pounds. I've never been tempted to use a professional again.
Gerry - who did you use for your website and is it possible for you to post a link? I'd be very interested in finding a reliable company who know what they are doing.
www.kimmo.co.uk
Kimmo DVD available Now!
Watch the promo here!
Order your copy NOW! CLICK HERE!
ENTERTAINER,MAGICIAN AND VENTRILOQUIST'S BLOG - DON'T READ THIS...
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The Great Zucchini
Veteran user
366 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 9:22pm
Look at my site at thegreatzucchini.com Peter wood designed it and I find him very easy to work with
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Al Angello
Eternal Order
Collegeville, Pa. USA
10484 Posts
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Posted: May 16, 2012 9:36pm
John
I paid much less than 1,000 pounds, but then again I might be easier to please than you are.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com
http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/
"Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone"
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Gerry Walkowski
Special user
805 Posts
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Posted: May 17, 2012 5:16am
John,
Zucchini has a decent website, so you might want to consider his person.
The person who worked on my site really isn't in taking on small accounts as she really works on marketing for big name USA companies. In the past a few other magicians appraoched my source and were quoted prices in the $7k - $10K range.
Gerry
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kimmo
Inner circle
Sheffield
1039 Posts
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Posted: May 17, 2012 6:23am
I see no link to your website Gerry - I'd love to take a look. Can you post one?
www.kimmo.co.uk
Kimmo DVD available Now!
Watch the promo here!
Order your copy NOW! CLICK HERE!
ENTERTAINER,MAGICIAN AND VENTRILOQUIST'S BLOG - DON'T READ THIS...
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Dynamike
Eternal Order
20615 Posts
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Posted: May 17, 2012 6:30am
www.thegreatzucchini.com
Dynamike
Oakland County Magician Macomb County Magician Wayne County Magician Detroit Magician Detroit Clown
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kimmo
Inner circle
Sheffield
1039 Posts
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Posted: May 17, 2012 6:34am
I've seen Zucchini's website Dynamike, it was Gerry's I was hoping to look at.
www.kimmo.co.uk
Kimmo DVD available Now!
Watch the promo here!
Order your copy NOW! CLICK HERE!
ENTERTAINER,MAGICIAN AND VENTRILOQUIST'S BLOG - DON'T READ THIS...
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mr shiney
Loyal user
244 Posts
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Posted: May 17, 2012 12:36pm
Zucchini website is nice but for me I much prefer bella's website for the simple layout for any mum wanting to book a birthday party
It's more birthday party friendly Zucchini looks like the type of entertainer that fills big venues with hundreds of children From the first page.
They are both great websites but I don't see anything wrong in doing your own website if it looks like that!
Ps I say this because I did my own website 
Pps, would be nice to see your website gerry sound like a top designer, monster creations are good but they have a simple layout as well.
Best Job in the world
Mr Shiney
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