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Sealegs Inner circle The UK, Portsmouth 2596 Posts |
Somebody asked me the following the other day and I didn't have an answer for them. Maybe someone here does.
Suppose you were in the fortunate position of not being able to handle, or want, anymore work other than what you consistantly already have coming in. Would having your own website be an unnecessary expense and waste of time? Could it even actually be at worst not just neutral but somehow detrimental? Or are there other more subtle hidden benifits to be gained from having your own website besides the obvious publicity, promotion, marketing and sales? Neal
Neal Austin
"The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." G.B. Shaw |
ScottRSullivan Special user 874 Posts |
You have to do market research to understand WHERE all those peope are coming from. My wife is a caricature artist and I do video production/animation and we are both in that situation of turning away work and tossing to others (or placing them on a waiting list).
However, while we get a lot of word of mouth referrals from previous clients, we BOTH still get a large chunk of clients online. One of the first questions we ask potential clients is, "Where did you find out about us?" From there, I know what direction to go and I also know what marketing is working. And from that question, the two big answers: 1. "A friend saw/heard about you" or "I saw you last week at...." 2. "Online" So before you put a webite in the "unnecessary expense and waste of time" category, first find out WHY you have so many clients and WHERE they are coming from. SOMETHING must be working for you. You should know WHAT. You don't want to cut a major artery. Good luck! Scott |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Neal
I was wondering about a similar scenario. What if I won the lottery, would I still love to perform? Since niether scenario will ever happen why wonder, but just for giggles instead of giving up your web site refer your overflow business to other (hungry) magicians for a 15% commission then you will make money by just using the phone, unless you won the lottery, and don't really need any more money. HAVE FUN Al
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
icentertainment Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Or you could raise your fees - if you are getting the enquiries and the gigs- why not increase your fee
supply and demand. A web site really doesn't cost very much after some small set up fees mine is $10 a month Australian which is bugger all in US $ If your web site is doing well- as in you get allot of hits and it is successful in search engines- and you really want to get rid of it- you may wish to sell the site to someone else and thus get money this way instead of just stoping it. |
LeeDillingham Loyal user Las Vegas 263 Posts |
I think that a web site is expected of a professional of almost any field. If you are getting more business than you want, I would suggest getting a free site that is simply done. At least you will have a site if a client asks and it will cost nothing. You can always upgrade latter to a nicer site.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
As Scott indicated here the first thing for me would be to track where my shows are coming from and what formats of marketing are working. I want to know this information first because unless I do, how else am I going to know exactly how I got to a position of not needing any more work or having to turn work away. I must track my marketing and by doing so I can determine just how I got myself into this position of being exactly where I want to be.
From this information I may realize that indeed it was my website in the first place that has been getting me the shows that I am now currently doing successfully. By tracking my promotional efforts I can tell exactly what works and what does not and why. Even if I am getting the work I want to perform, I still want my website up and running as I feel that is a major "artery" that continues to promote and market me 24/7 and helps answers questions for my clients and prospects. If I am getting too much work, then I can and should think about doing one of the following. 1) Raise my prices. By raising my prices I will see some drop off but I will be doing the same amount of shows but receiving greater income from them. It helps balance things out. 2) Start referring work to others you trust and charge a small commission fee for doing so. In this way you become an agency of sorts and are still helping your prospects with solutions but also making additional income streams in the process. My 2 cents. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Kyle's answer is the feather duster aproach, and Al's answer is the sledge hammer aproach to the same question, but both of us are saying the same thing.
Al Angello
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
Sealegs Inner circle The UK, Portsmouth 2596 Posts |
I should have written the original post to read:
"Would setting up and running your own website be an unnecessary expense and waste of time?" rather than: "would having your own website..." But in a way I'm glad I didn't because your posts make for interesting reading. When I was asked about this I found myself thinking about it from an uncharacteristcally pesimistic viewpoint. I was reminded of an magic act that performed a spot on a major prime time TV show for the BBC in the UK some years ago. A few weeks later when asked if he's got anything from it he said, "yes, a cancelation". Someone who had already booked him saw his TV spot and on the basis of that decided they no longer wanted to book him. I was tempted to make the point that once you've got the gig you can 'only' lose it. One wrongly chosen picture or ill chosen phrase on a website and who knows....? In truth I agree with Lee, I think it's generally expected that an act ought to have a website even if they don't need one and, rather like discovering that someone doesn't have a cell phone, it is, for some strange reason, considered sort of slightly strange or dodgy if they don't. Neal.
Neal Austin
"The golden rule is that there are no golden rules." G.B. Shaw |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Neal
My 90 year old father often times tells me that rock and roll music is a temperary fad, and soon the big bands will make their triumphant comeback. Maybe he is right, and the rest of the world is wrong. Reluctance to change is the first sign of old age. Al Angello
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
ScottRSullivan Special user 874 Posts |
--- snip ---
Reluctance to change is the first sign of old age. --- snip --- I am reluctant to believe that, Al. :D |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Scott
You always make me laugh. Al
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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