This morning I am starting a 3 day workshop at my house and was looking over the list of guests and was shocked that ALL but 1 are entertainers.

So I was wondering.

FOR YOU!!
whats you biggest problem.. setback.. stress.. issues..
is it
"I just get price shoppers!"
"My #1 competitor is all over the front page and I'm not!"

I am going to do a video blog series to help deal with these issues to build more content for one of my new sites, and figured the friends I have made here would be a great resource to get feedback from and would let me help the community as well.

OK off to get ready.. they all arrive in less than a hour now..

(also for some reason my MC account doesn't do PM's so if you want to contact me directly use email mike@askmikeclay.com)

My biggest stress is -- how do I create a decent-looking site that will do what it needs to do?? I'm struggling to be a good magician - now I gotta be a web designer too?? I'm at the bookstore looking at 800-page books for 60 bucks! I'm looking at Wix and Yola and everything else that promises to make me look good.

But what do I really need to look like? What are the basic elements of the site I need? How do I decide what template to use, what it should look like, what functions it needs? And then there's a photo gallery and video clips and a blog and contact forms and SEO ...

That's my stress!
Ed

I stress over not being able to recognize new trends. For example, who knew 10 years ago that Google would relegate the yellow pages to a virtual dinosaur. What will the new Google be tomorrow and will I be able to see it coming?

Just put yourself in your customers shoes - and make sure its the clients/types that you want as customers . . . where are they looking for entertainment? Don't just analyze your competition, but analyze what unique niche you and your business holds - market to a target market, don't try to do blanket advertising, those methods are old and the world of 1% returns on marketing is gone . . .

Putting my marketing efforts in the right place. How much should be blogging/FB because one you start those you can never stop!

Tony

Honestly, my current websites don't cause me much stress. They tend to work very well for me.

The biggest stress to be honest is evaluating new trends and technologies and trying to decide which are merely "hot" and which should be implemented.

This is exasperated by the fact that I'm very much a techno-goober and find diving down technological rat-holes too much fun.

Example: Amazon has a wonderful cloud computing service for streaming video called AWS or S3.
Many of the current internet marketers use that instead of YouTube or some other streaming solution.

My problem is that once I'm digging around on the topic of streaming video, I start going to places like Sourceforge.net and others to see what kind of free streaming servers are available, examine other video sharing sites, and look into the
documentation for S3 at Amazon.

A perfect example of a techno-rathole that's very fun for me, but unless I'm focused on actually making a decision and implementing something, is really not generating any cash for me.

So my stresses are typically self-imposed and driven by too much technological curiosity.

Writing copy to connect with my customer - that's something I feel pretty good about my ability to do quite effectively.

--Jack Turk

I hope that this is a serious question. LOL

Frankly, the greatest stress for me caused by having a website, is that stress caused by amateur magicians who think that the website is a major item in my marketing mix. It is not and never has been. My wants and needs from a website are not at all like theirs. Professional talent buyers, use different sources. Mass marketing is another ball game.

For a beginner in magic performance it may be a good start as a way to get introduced as a performer. As the yellow pages die, opportunities for them are also harder to identify.

As an old marketing professor and consultant, I am certainly not opposed to having websites. I have worked with computer delivered products since the 70s. For mass marketing, the SEO has a place. But the best markets are not the mass markets. (Abbott's has no reason to advertise on network television. It reaches the wrong people! That would be true even if it were free. It might even be damaging.)

One size does not fit all. Not all marketing plans need a selling website. For those that do, it's fine. Currently, there seem to be many more people into building websites than into building a career as a professional performer. That is not unlike an accountant or auto mechanic designing a tool for selling professional entertainment services. The limits are there and very real.

Critiquing websites is not the same as being an entertainment professional.

Don't major in the minors at the expense of minoring in the majors.

Any online presence should have recognized limitations. It is important that they fit your needs. You will find that many pros do not even have a listed telephone number. Guess why? Perhaps they are NOT mass marketing!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Hi Bob,

I'm just curious, why would you stress over what amateur magicians think of your marketing?

Sincerely,

Lou Serrano

Hello Lou,

LOL! They frequently write me and want me to change it to be like theirs. No joke!

Bob

I guess that's similar to magicians that have never put up a sales letter website telling me how they hate my sales letter website. I don't let it bother me. I let the results speak for themselves.

All the best!

Lou

OK so the bootcamp has been over...
and I am just now catching up on work and realized I hadn't been here in awhile..

a few things mentioned above..
Where to start what to focus on.. MANY have that problem...
NO you don't have to be a web designer.. it becomes more profitable to outsource, know enough so you don't get scammed

As far as doing it all yourself.. Wordpress with a strong theme like Builder from IThemes.com will help you have a site like a rockstar..

Knowing what to focus on.. learn it, then learn to automate it..
Twitter is only good if it DOESN'T time suck and keep you from making money.. the same for FB and the rest.. so learn to automate.

Blogging-- starting a blog is FUN.. make sure its a topic you like and related to your company.. Example.. As a birthday party performer, cupcakes are a FAV of mine.. so having the MOST extensive blog on birthday themed cupcakes.. yeah that's ALL me.. OHH and to get the info to help you write that much.. Google Alerts..

Knowing whats coming next.. umm Google has over 250 guys with doctorates to track that stuff.. when you see them make a change FOLLOW.. the current thing they are changing..

Mobile marketing.. Google announced that all future features to the system will be for mobile and then adapted for desktop.. that's the next big trend.. and that train is HUGE and just now building major speed..

As far as internet marketing not being for everyone.. umm yeah.. it isn't
but for those that need it and want it.. it becomes the lifeline of the company..

Thanks for all the imput.. I'm excited about the launch of my new site
can't wait to share it

Im hearing blogging (not websites) is the new way to go. Higher placement on search engines, corporate gigs etc. Would like to hear comments about this please.

Decomposing

True, and even better? Blogging ON your website? *grin* As Mike mentioned, by using Wordpress, you get that, and the best of both worlds. Sweet list, Mike!



Not the next big trend. It IS the current trend. Already here. iPhone/iPad/etc. Here.

Again, thanks for the insights, Mike. You hit homeruns, as usual.