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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
Hey all, I just relaunched my website with a full rebrand, emphasizing my magic much more heavily than balloon twisting (which had previously been my main business). I specialize in kids show magic, and that's the emphasis in the design of it. So Matt The Balloon Man is now Matt Matthews Magic! I'd really appreciate your thoughts about the overall website. Looking for feedback on everything from usability, design, content, etc.
A thing of note that I touched up or added were the blog posts. I added one in particular talking a Zoom Magic show I did over the summer for a local library in order to try and promote my Zoom magic shows, since those seem to be really big right now. I also created some landing pages for specific towns and added links from blog posts that were relevant. So, for example, I'd had a blog post from years ago talking about how I taught balloon twisting to S.A.M Assembly 127, so I created a landing page for that town -- Wallingford, Connecticut -- and linked to it from the post to see if it helps drive traffic. I'm no expert at this stuff, but this is the kind of thing the experts recommend, so fingers cross, we'll see how it all goes One last thing I did was I finally ditched my gmail account and signed up for a Google Workplace account to host my email address. So I'm finally got a business email address and feel like I might actually be starting to turn in to a professional. I'm kind of sorry I didn't do this sooner - it's only $12 a month and gives me all the power of gmail to use with my domain email, plus 2 terabytes of cloud storage, which seems like a useful thing to have. But I'll report back in time as to whether it's really worth it or not. I know there are free options for hosting email through your domain, but I just don't want to use a crappy interface from my hosting company. I'd much rather something solid like a Google product. Of course I'm all ears if anyone else has other options! Thanks in advance for the feedback, I look forward to hearing what you all have to say
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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psychod Loyal user I may not be a millionaire but at least I have 244 Posts |
Matt,
I think your website looks pretty good. I think it does tend to look more professional when you have your own domain email but that may just be me. I have a couple of suggestions and they are really small and they might just be me: The top page picture on your website is kind of blurry. I understand when another person takes a picture, you don't control it but it kind of stuck out to me as your video right under it is nice and crisp. The other thing is also really small in your FAQ section where you ask if you are the right magician for the child's party and you say that the parent is asking the right questions and it just feels to me that you should write that the parent is asking the right question (singular). I know, these are pretty picky details and I may be the only one who sees them as an issue! Overall, I think it looks really good and I wish you the best of luck and hope that it brings you a lot of business! Dave
Just adding my 3 cents worth because anybody can add their 2 cents worth...
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thomasR Inner circle 1189 Posts |
In 5 seconds without scrolling I could tell what you do and who you perform for. That’s better than most performers websites right there.
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 25, 2020, psychod wrote: Thanks! I agree on both points. I corrected the singular/plural issue. And I agree on the photo. It's just kind of the best I had for the moment (it's actually a screen grab from a video I took of myself at one of my shows). It's not the best quality, but I liked that it showed me on stage, which is a little more impressive that in someone's living room. I think it lends a little bit of authority to me. Unfortunately with no shows happening now, probably all winter, I won't have many opportunities to get better. But I do have someone I've commissioned to do some art of me for a different project, and I may be able to repurpose that in to a cool collage. I may try to do that when the art is done, thank you for the suggestion. I wouldn't have thought to do that without your nudging!
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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docdazzal Veteran user San Tan Valley, AZ 360 Posts |
Hey Matt...
Great looking site...lots of info, but doesn't overwhelm. Wishing you all the best... |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
I guess I would have to disagree with most that are giving favorable reviews here. My first question is what is the purpose of your website? What is the one action or response you want a viewer to take? What is your primary message? Who are you targeting with your primary message?
Answer these then I will offer some quick at-a-glance, first impressions of it if you're interested. It always amazes me how guys will praise a performers website without having any idea of it's actual intended purpose. It seems to be the typical web site guru's idea of what a website, should be, but not for an entertainer or an entertainer's audience, but for general business. |
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
The website is for people looking to book a magician for a child focused event, usually a birthday party. I want the people to fill out my contact form and book me.
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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danfreed Inner circle West Chester PA 1354 Posts |
The photo at the top is blurry, change that ASAP. It's really worth it to hire a pro photographer to go to an in person event, though you can wait till in person gigs go back to normal and maskless. You can also pull stills off your video if needed, and not too grainy. Once in a while if a photo is a bit blurry or grainy but otherwise a really great photo, then that might be OK, but not as a main photo. Also, change your font in your paragraphs to something readable, not a cartoon style font. Better yet, hire a web designer if you can afford it.
Dan Freed
AKA The Amazing Spaghetti https://www.magiciandanfreed.com/birthday-party-magician-for-kids http://thecaricatureartist.com http://danieljayfreed.com |
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
Okay, so I spent a couple of hours playing around with other concepts for the cover photo and finally came up with something I like. It currently sits as my Facebook cover photo, but when I went and put it on the site, it occurred to me that I actually think the site is better without a cover photo. As a couple of you had mentioned, the video just below the cover photo is nice and crisp, and I'd love to just get people to watch the video (since I think doing that sells the show better than any photo or block of text can). So why not just get rid of the photo all together and let the video of my magic show stand as the main visual, above the fold, so to speak.
So I threw up a test for you all to check out. My home page has no cover photo, but my landing page for Waterbury (a city I'm advertising to) currently DOES have the cover photo. You can take a look at both and let me know what you think is better. I'm strongly leaning toward just axing the cover photo all together. Thank you all for your feedback! It's been very helpful
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 27, 2020, TKD27 wrote: Yeah, obviously, which is what I was afraid of. I just glanced at your website which I always prefer to do when I check out a site to get a general first impression. As someone who has seen hundreds of kids performers websites, here are my first thoughts… Very poor, ineffective first fold - non-grabbing, no establishing or positioning, no contact info Poor Headline, Poor Sub-Head Don’t get me started on the “same as many kids magicians” animated logo that looks nothing like you, lol Poor quality photo (as others have pointed out), I’m guessing a screen grab Very Texty - Your font is a feature font (large, bold) I am not a fan of the hands-off, fill out a form, no live contact type of booking - especially for kids performers Way too many mentions or references to Matt The Balloonman if you are trying to rebrand or reposition Connecticut’s BEST birthday party magician” - Really? Says who? Prove it. I hate false, unsubstantiated claims like this. They are unnecessary, especially for someone not known as a birthday party magician! Not a fan of guarantees, especially one that promises “screaming” 7 minutes is a bit long for a kids show demo I prefer websites to be directed to a specific target, to speak directly to them and their language. The site is slated very much to you rather than them. Your FAQs comes up way too soon, prematurely It took me way longer to just type this all out than I spent at your site, but please accept these as being helpful critiques as intended. I typically go much more, greater and deeper into such critiques with my coaching students, but this is a start for you since you asked. If you are doing and marketing for Zoom shows this should be on your home page, preferably the first fold - front and center. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
Oh man it went from bad to worse!
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
That's a lot to mull over, thanks for feedback!
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
Quote:
Probably! Maybe? I'm based out of Wallingford, CT, which has the advantage of be fairly central to the state. I joke that the Wallingford/Meriden area is close to just about everything in Connecticut, due to their proximity to I91, I84, I691, and Rte. 15. Two grammatical mistakes in those sentences. Better, "being fairly central" and "due to its proximity."
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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danfreed Inner circle West Chester PA 1354 Posts |
Well, about photos versus videos, I suggest using both, and both need to be quality. I've noticed some people don't watch the video before they contact me, they just see the photos of laughing happy kids and a fun silly guy(me), maybe read reviews, etc. Others watch the video, sometimes several times. Some just watch a minute of the video, some birthday moms tell me their kid has watched it multiple times.
Dan Freed
AKA The Amazing Spaghetti https://www.magiciandanfreed.com/birthday-party-magician-for-kids http://thecaricatureartist.com http://danieljayfreed.com |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
One more typo:
Quote:
I need you to provide access to and electrical outlet Change to "an electrical outlet"
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
Thank you for catching those grammatical errors! They are fixed now
I agree, I should really get some high quality photos. I've had a few shared with me by birthday parents who own fancy cameras, but I used to wear this crazy orange suit back then. I've since switched the look, so the photos are no good anymore. It'll have to be a priority once shows start happening again.
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
First observation. The main font (body text) you use on your website is very challenging to read in large quantities. Makes me want to skip reading.
Also, I don't know if this has been mentioned to you yet, but you have too many fonts on your website, between the headlines, body text, and the various fonts (and various point sizes) you use for testimonials, etc. Conventional advertising pros suggest 2-3 fonts at the most in marketing pieces. I have a really hard time reading to testimonials part of your website, because nothing seems to match. - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
Quote:
On Dec 1, 2020, Donald Dunphy wrote: Thanks - I'll reevaluate that. But the testimonials are screenshots from various websites where they've been posted and I think the relative value of showing that they are real reviews outweighs issues with the fonts. But I have heard from a few people that the main body font should change, so I may consider doing that. Thank you for the advice
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10587 Posts |
A lot of good and helpful advice has been offered. Are you understanding the "whys" behind these things or are you just taking them as criticisms? Hopefully you can see many of these things are directly connected to your business model and approach to business, which is a component of your foundational level. If this is not in place and clearly understood -first, you are kind of approaching the building of your website on a wing and a prayer or just based on personal preference.
Is the goal to increase bookings? Positioning your self in a certain, predetermined way? To differentiate yourself from other kids magicians in your market or performance area? To allow you to get greater pricing within your market? These and many other important questions need to be addressed or determined first. This will dictate and almost guide you properly into what and how your website should look, be designed, and then created. Remember, this is an entertainment website, which is different than conventional business websites. The entire mindset, approach, and process differs. There are many components to a successful entertainer's website. I hope you are understanding much of this rather than just seeing it as a surface level thing or just thoughts and opinions from some friends offered here. Are you part-time or full? Why have you chosen to offer your pricing on your website? Just curious, as there are so many questions. |
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TKD27 Elite user Wallingford, CT 458 Posts |
So I went and cleaned up the font stuff a bit, thank you everyone for that feedback. Looking more critically at it I realized that my footer text was all in a completely unrelated font. That was just a mistake, so it's fixed. And the hard-to-read stuff is changed to a cleaner font that compliments that headline font. I have left the reviews for now, but one option I considered to bring them more in line is to only use screenshots from one source - like, only Google reviews with none from Facebook or GigSalad, for example. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I may experiment with it.
Connecticut Kids' Magician, Matt Matthews (formerly known as Matt The Balloon Man)
Magic Shows, Face Paintingand, Balloon twisters. |
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