I'm interested in seeing anyone's site that is actually getting you gigs. I have talked to a lot of non-magician marketing people about would "should" work but I want to see web sites from fellow performers who know what it means to have to book a gig or the rent doesn't get paid.

A lot of people can talk about web design and marketing but until your act is what keeps the lights on and food on the table you are at a whole differently level.

So, does anyone have a site (or know of one) that is turning visitors into paying clients?

--Professor QB

I think it comes down to the legend of the "Magic Bullet." The ideal web site does not exist.

A web site alone will probably not get you gigs. It is just one part of an overall strategy of how you market yourself.

Alone, the web site is rather passive, waiting for people to find it. You may be able to influence the ease of finding the site (SEO is a term I just learned existed although the principle has always been there) but like a horse led to water...

So, there will be a number of different approaches to a web site. Different people will be happy to fill you in on the "right" way to do it. I don't know if there is a single "right" way.

I suppose, you want to direct its content to the target market(s) you wish to work in. It should be error free when it comes to spelling and grammar (unless your character is not). It should be easy to read. It should allow people to contact you from the site.

Beyond that, people opt to include any number of things including, but not limited to testimonials, videos, pictures, a bio/history, a list of achievements in the field, amusements of some sort, and so on. It really does come down to personal tastes and sensibilities at this point (hopefully in a nonoffensive and clear way).

For what it is worth, here is our web site. http://www.evansandevans.ca

And yes, we do get contacted because of our web site and book gigs with the people contacting us.

BINGO!

Web Sites are definitely ‘PART’ of our overall marketing success strategies for sure! To think that some mythical web site alone will produce massive conversion all by itself and THAT is not even addressing the topic of getting actual targeted eyeballs toy our respective sites in the first place… (SEO, PPC, Online and Outbound Marketing… etc) THAT is a ongoing lesson for anyone who is serious anyway!

I will be honest, for years and years (Since I’ve been on the net anyway…) I have specifically NOT wanted ‘random eyeballs’ to just ‘find me’ on the net. “I” wanted to be in charge of who did or did not find my various sites. I always wanted to ‘SEND’ specific eyeballs to specific marketing tools and resources that were the best fit for them and their desired outcome.

I went as far as to purposefully REMOVE any and all meta, alt and search engine tags and markers so that I had maximum control over who visited each site and why!

Again, I did this for VERY specific reasons and On Purpose and By Design for ME and MY BUSINESS Marketing outcomes and for me it worked incredibly well.

For me, the goal was to ‘hand-pick’ my new business relationships and avoid all of the potential ‘shoppers’ to any of my sites… a totally different marketing strategy to be sure, but like I said, it worked exactly as intended and I was (and still am) VERY happy with the phenomenal results.

…but that’s me.

Over the last year, I have been delighted to see the various improvements in the web’s ability to deliver very close to the same level of “highly targeted inbound eyeballs” for some test sites I have been developing over the last year(s) or so.

Gratefully, I have seen specific SE (Search Engine) returns in as little as a very few minutes (like less than 15) and I am faaaaar from any ‘expert’ on the subject to be sure.

I have been (and continue to be) in intense, ongoing (on-growing) study with some proven insiders whom I have come to trust based on the real RESULTS they have gotten. As a matter of fact there is another 10 week intensive that begins tonight that I am holding out some considerable hope for in the advancement of theses ideals and outcomes.

The POINT, at least to THIS conversation is that the web is just another tool in a huge TOOLBOX of tools that we can use in our overall marketing mix.

For instance, you would never build an entire home or community with JUST a hammer… sometimes a power tool would serve you best and other time the finesse of a delicate hand-tool would serve the situation.

Make sense?

Oh, and YES, there are website that are conversion monsters for sure, BUT remember you have to GET THEM THERE in the first place!

Then how well you site does or does not do is a product of a combination of other ideals like selective automation, well written and effective copy, masterful ‘development’ as well as design, (though ‘development is more important than design alone…) use of form and space, applying the ‘appropriate’ technology to the appropriate market outcomes including connectivity as well as ease of use, simple, effective layout and the list goes on…

This is a BIG subject and there is no single, magic bullet answer for your question.

The GOOD NEWS IS; even and old dawg like me can learn new tricks… and THAT, to me is amazing!

Looking forward to learning and winning mastery over my-own online destiny!

“Find Your Passion… Do Your Purpose!”

I am at your service and in HIS Service,
Deano (still learnin’) in Reno
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I totally agree with this! I am one for the "clients are actually selling themselves to you" type of thinking

I agree with the above, the website is simply your show-room, you still need visitors to find you and walk through the door.
A lot of people find me through google, or magician directories that link through to my website. So you need to be featured in those places to get maximum exposure.

As for a decent website, that too is important. Its what closes the deal between you and the client.

The tips I offer are:

1. Give as much information as a possible. The clients are hiring a stranger to perform for their precious children. They want to read all about you. So don't have a 3 page website which glances over what you do, go into detail about it.

2. Have your contact Telephone number on each page (in the header or something).

3. Have lots of free giveaways on your website (posters, invitations, worksheets).

4. Clients love video. Make one up, even if it's just a slide-show and hosted on YouTube.

5. Don't bother with the fancy flash websites. I've written a book on the subject and can build flash websites with my eyes closed, but is my website flash - no. Why, because its not always readable on the CLIENTS computer. If you want maximum exposure, you need a site that everyone can read, and that means making it HTML.

6. Know your target audience. They are mothers who grew up without a computer. That means they only have basic ICT Skills. I use to be an ICT Teacher and can make fantastic websites, but if you look at mine, you will see it consists of a simple navigation bar with lots of links and very little animation (just basic gifs). That's because I know my target audience of mothers cannot handle the fancy sites, they get lost, confused and can never find the info they want.
Make your website simple, easy to navigate. Also make it colourful, but not harlequin yellow / blue like some websites. It hurts the eyes, and remember your appealing to the mothers (adults) and not the children. You have to impress them with the colours of the site.
Again, my website colours are dark red / black. But the photos have me in a harlequin suit, so they know I entertain the children, but the website itself appeals to the adults.

7. Lots of photos. Each Photos is worth a million words. But optimise them so that they load fast on even the oldest computer.

8. You need a land-line telephone, mobile telephone and e-mail contact details on the site. I get bookings via text, phone and e-mail nowadays and you need all 3 as an option for the client to choose from.

9. If you have a CRB or FBI check, scan it in and put it on the website. Some entertainers will tell you not to do this, but if you want to work the school market, then its a necessity and having it freely available will get you the work because it saves them having to ask every entertainer.
It also gives peace of mind to the mothers, even though it expired on the day you receive it. They don't know that but will be happy that they have seen it.

10. Use Verdana font, 10 pt. Make sure you break up the text with lots of paragraphs and read back everything you write to make sure it is easy to follow.
Verdana is a web-safe text which is easy to read while staying the same on everybody's computer. Most of the fancy fonts will only work on your computer and will look a mess on the clients.

11. Depending on your address, you may want to buy the extensions like.co.uk and .com. You might also need the variations of your name. I have both Stephen and Steven names going to the same site.

That's it for today's lesson.

Steve
http://www.amazingstephen.co.uk

I have a website that is BAD but gets me gigs.. I have had 3 phone calls today from it.. 2 of which where days I am already booked.. and the other well it booked

The SEO on the site is Half done and the other half is BAD..

The content isn't good but it sells..

and the REAL BAD Part.. I outrank people consistently and only work on it like every 6 months.. its about time to work on it again..

There is no "RIGHT" way to market your website..
There is however "WRONG" ways to do it..

Most of my online success is from syndication and not my actual website.
Twitter.. Guest blogging.. video..

and if your not a potential customer your probably not going to find me..
I place content in HIGHLY targeted areas..
Like the local MOPS group newsletter where I post a weekly activity list (and get about 30 parties a year from it)

You want your website to generate leads you first have to get in the mind of your perfect client and have a seat for awhile..

What do they like where do they hang out online what do they talk about on twitter
JOIN them in the social environment and interact.. become the authority to them for your industry and market.. and then bring them into your sales funnel..

NOTICE there is no newsletter sign-up on my website.. no RSS sign-up.. but I do have them out there but only in areas where the people who sign-up are HIGHLY targeted...

Build your strategy around your ideal client.. and market directly to them.. and YES this can be done online.. it's about education and knowledge

Every website is marketed differently.. while the fundamentals are the same
-Keyword strategy
-Business listings
-SE Indexing
-Crawlable Site Structure (so search engines can see and browse your site)
- Directory Listings

The details change based off of your audience..
If your audience is on Twitter.. YOU BETTER BE
If your audience is on YOU TUBE.. YOU BETTER BE
and so on

It's about targeted traffic.. if you increase targeted traffic by 100% your going to increase bookings period..
I do this all the time.. if money is thin one month I spend the time to boost traffic from the sources I know pay the bills and in turn increase gigs..

I hope this helps with mindset some..
If you need help on finding the target feel free to PM me with your # and I will call and we can chat..

Mike is da' Man!

Lot's of good stuff here, still need to add in this key point:

Your landing page has to sell.

Learn to write great sales copy that meets the customer where they're at and your website will convert. That means skip all the fluff about you and focus like a laser
on answering the questions they had in mind when they found your site.

No matter which market you're targeting, put a whole bunch of time into truly understanding what it is that customer is feeling when they click the "Google Search" button.

That effort will pay off big time in helping you nail down your keywords, the content of your Adwords ads, the various search strings you'll bid on in your PPC
campaign, and the terms you put in your meta tags on your site and associate with the videos you post online.

Get inside your customer's head and really understand what they want.

Make sure any website, any tweet, any facebook ad, any thing you post anywhere on the web fits within this framework of solving their problems.

Learn to write great copy or find someone good who can do the job for you. It will pay off.

--Jack

These are great tips. I'll try to post a link when I finally do get the site up. In the mean time, I need all the additional input I can get.

I get a lot of business thru my website. It has been great for that. the key is setting up the META staements so that the search engines find you. Ues the right key words and you pop up number 1 on google and the others and people only look at the top 2 or 3 to call and talk to.

I just redid and updated my site and changed some of the META keywords and it's looking good.

THe Meta Keyword tag is not indexed by Google anylonger..

The tags you HAVE to have

Title
Meta Description
Meta Keyword (Bing / yahoo still care but it's not needed at all for google)
You get more weight for having a RSS feed even if it's not active

Launch as a wordpress site with a domain name that matches your keyword phrase with a description and title that matches the phrase and you can rank with 0 content..

no joke ZERO content and a real estate site we put up a week ago on page 1 for a HIGHLY competitive phrase

What Google actualy looks at

Content and Backlinks
the more inbound links you have for a keyword phrase the more relivant you are for that phrase.. BUILD inbound Links.. and TONS of them

HINT: (and I don't do this often)
Build a Youtube account and post 5 videos with Keyword rich titles
Build a Squidoo account and build 5 lens with Keyword rich content
Build a Linkedin account and Link back to your site

and BUILD BACK LINKS

Totally agree on back links, etc.

Re: Meta tags, Google guidelines state this:

-----------------------------------------------------------

While accurate meta descriptions can improve clickthrough, they won't impact your ranking within search results.

We frequently prefer to display meta descriptions of pages when available) because it gives users a clear idea of the URL's content. This directs them to good results faster and reduces the click-and-backtrack behavior that frustrates visitors and inflates web traffic metrics.

-----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters......er=35264

So you should still spend time with this tag nonetheless.

--Jack

Good stuff guys!

My web site does bring me new business.

Importantly, it also makes things convenient for returning customers with online signup, a calendar and so on. You are welcome to look at it:

http://www.abbylondon.com

Other than word of mouth, my web site is my biggest source of bookings. I agree with what others have said though. I don't book directly from the website but the website gives them enough ofa taste as it were to call me or email me to book.

I have seen no business from my website, and it is even on top of google for keywords magic, magician, wv, west virginia etc. I have also submitted several articles etc.

I think it is the content that needs changed to convert more leads.

Charles

That or your prices are too high.

I don't know how much you charge, but I've spoken to many magicians with a good website that either couldn't convert a call into work (due to bad telephone manners) or simply being so expensive the client was offended by them.
Its a sad truth, but most magicians I know charge far more than the average client is willing to pay.

You've got that backwards my friend. A client "offended" because they can't afford an act should be slapped. That is like being "offended" you can't afford a new car because you only have $100. If anything, the performer should be "offended" because that person is wasting their time and insulting the value of their talent.

AMEN! Tom
you got that right. like a lot of others here this is my full time job and I cannot afford to do a birthday party for $100 or $200 at the same time I know that I charge more than the other magicians in the area but then most of my clientle knows me by reputation and when they call they usually know aobut me or have seen me.

as for the cold calls or those that found my website or phone book I never mention price until after I got the facts from them and I have educated them on my shows and what I offer. people buy benifits and you need to convince them they need your show regardless of the cost.

yes its like being a car salesman where you need to convince them this is the car "show" for them.

however if they start with the statement "well so and so will do it for $150" I usually reply "then go book them" many times the customer is just loking for the best price and if the best price is the one you stand on they usully will take it. instead of lowering your price offer a bonus or a free upsale for an extra trick, it does not cost you more but to the client they feel they are then getting a better deal.

well got to run I am performing at the tropicana casino AC at the trick zone theatre tonight so off I go. I wil be there sept 18-24

later

I have nothing technical to contribute to this discussion, being somewhat of a Luddite. But I have a poor though adequate website up. I have paid google to ensure it comes up as a sponsored link on the first page. And I am getting strong results of it.
For a certain type of customer (and the typical birthday mum is one) they don't care who they get as long as the entertainer comes. So if they google for an entertainer and I come up they will call me. The website doesn't have to be amazing.
However if you are aiming at a different market, the website becomes more critical.
So I suppose it boils down to this; if you are looking for the walk-by trade, pay google to put your add up there. But if you are looking for the top end of the market, then put some money into your website and make it a showroom for you. Tony.