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impossible man Elite user 403 Posts |
Okay, so I've got a professional web developer ready to go to work on my site. What are the elements that ABSOLUTELY must be present on my site? For instance:
My unique story - why hire Impossible Man Contact information Types of shows Testimonials - written and video Easily updatable content area to keep people coming back What else? Thanks! Dean |
Matthew W Inner circle New York 2456 Posts |
Unique Story
Contact info Types of Shows Testimonials Pictures (studio shots and live shows) Video Contact FORM Past performances/clients Locations/States you have and can perform in Magic clubs you are members of Use multiple pages, the longer they are on your site, the more they get to know you, and therefore you will stay in their mind longer. Use an appealing layout
-Matt
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marty.sasaki Inner circle 1117 Posts |
Why should I hire you rather than someone else?
Where are you located, how far are you willing to travel?
Marty Sasaki
Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Standard disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist who enjoys occasionally mystifying friends and family, so my opinions should be viewed with this in mind. |
jackturk Elite user 463 Posts |
Marty's dead on.
What's in it for me to hire you? Tell me what you'll do for me. Explain how you're going to make my event a bigger success than any other option. Describe for me how you'll make my life easy. Just to be ornery, why bother to update to get folks to come back? I don't understand. What makes a magician different from a plumber? I have a problem to solve. He or she will fix it. Once I find and hire a magician I'm happy. End of reason to return to the website, unless I'm interested in learning more about plumbing. And if I make my website about plumbing, and continually add more info about pipes, drains, and toilets... does this detract from my core message that I'm here to solve a specific problem you have? Not saying you shouldn't update the site regularly for SEO or other reasons. I was just intrigued by the statement and wanted to dig a little deeper into the reasoning behind it. --J
"59 Ways To Recession Proof Your Entertainment Business -- FREE!"
http://www.GetLeadsLikeCrazy.com "How To Make $25,000 a Year Doing Birthday Parties Part-Time" http://www.magicmarketingcenter.com/birthdayPT |
KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
Dean,
IF you have a true pro, they will know what you need. A true pro is had to find. |
impossible man Elite user 403 Posts |
CaptainKid-
I do think their are small-business and magic-related items that can be missed by someone even though they can program in several languages. I am a programmer at the senior programmer level, but I can't always know what Ford needs in their warranty system. Overall, though, he's going to be guiding me, not the other way around. Jack- The idea is not to add more content, but to rotate it. For instance, my new effects, Sharpshooter, Win-A-Pony, and Cream Pie Escape are ready. As new material evolves it can be news, creating new content. A quarterly email to clients announcing these can link to my descriptions. A lot of my writing on how to speak in front of groups can be helpful to people BEFORE they need a magician. As we all know, the one they know is the one that gets the job. All - So far it looks like everyone rates the "My Unique Story - Why Hire Impossible Man" item as high priority. Dean |
KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
Dean,
Much of this post is for others reading it since I imagine you are aware of all the problems in this industry. I also am a programmer - or was before I did magic full time 20 years ago. You don't need a programmer for a website. You need a website pro, someone how knows HTML & CSS, SEO, Photoshop, Illustrator/Freehand and understands the local market. If they have a little Perl and PHP, great, but that can be easily subbed out. Sure you will guide them, but they should understand marketing for a small business website and the best placement for info & graphics. Most "Professionals" know how to work DreamWeaver or a simular program, and use the graphics programs. They make good eye candy that can't be found on a search engine easily. There are probably more scam artists calling themselves "Professional Web Developers" than in any other field today. This is because clients don't have a clue what to look for, and if it is pretty, they are happy. These are the ways to see if you have a pro: 1) Look at sites he has done, and insure you like his style and marketing ability. 2) Use the key words for the site and see how it ranks. 4) Go to http://netmechanic.com/ (free) and see how it likes the page. 5) Go to: http://www.w3.org/ (free) and see how compliant he is in his code. 6) Call the client and insure your web pro actually made the site and optimized it. Ask them how he was to work with and if they would recommend him. 7) Ask if he does any off site optimization (DMOZ.org, Local listings in Google & Yahoo etc.) 8) Get a quote. 9) Compare all this with the next guy you are interested in using. Often one is great with graphics but a dud on SEO, and another is a dud on graphics but a master in SEO. I personally do not recommend a flash site, but if you go with one, make sure the web pro knows how to get it ranking on the SE. As for content, SE love it. Clients like if it is easily navigable, so don’t rotate it, add new pages. Killer graphics are important because they set the mood. Use professional photos, they will pay for themselves. This is a big one! Don’t use your opinion on how it looks and functions - or other magicians. Ask your market their opinion. |
impossible man Elite user 403 Posts |
Hey, CaptainKid.
Yeah, this is a guy who is a web professional full time at an online only web agency. He handles work for one of the major car companies, as well as large clients in our metro area. He is constantly training in web technologies. I'm not so worried that the site have all the latest and greatest bells and whistles, everything must have a purpose. I just don't want to leave one of the useful tools off the website that I should have, like a contact form. |
MikeClay Special user Atlanta GA 761 Posts |
When you hire a "Web Pro" find out thier strong points and their week points..
Like me.. I tell them upfront.. I'm not a graphics guy.. I know PHP, CSS, HTML exc.. and know more about SEO / SEM than most others you can hire. If they know the Internet Marketing end that's what you NEED.. the artsy site looks good but then a plain site like mine comes along and goes after your rankings and all the sudden your on page 2 or 3 of the SERPS and the phone stops ringing.. Currently withing the entertainment industry there are very few "Sharks" that REALLY know SEO / SEM.. so there is very little competition in any geographical area.. the Key steps you NEED and Key Items you NEED.. 1. A strong Keyword Strategy (if they can't help you build a good one then you don't need them) 2. A website built with SEO in mind.. - XML site map - Text menu or a CSS skinned menu (flash menu is suicide) - targeted keyword content on pages written for visitors - SOLID "title" & "Description" tags (lets you dictate to Google how they present you to potential clients) - a Blog (in today's web 2.0 market.. yeah its a MUST) - a GOOD ping list for your blog (ping.pingomatic.com is the one EVERYONE HAS.. I have almost 50 in my list) - You need a CMS so you don't have to pay them to update content.. (cause what if one of your keyword phrases / clusters don't convert and you need to rewrite the content to rerank for a different phrase)"Wordpres is great and search engines like it" AND most important.. you need to EDUCATE yourself on solid Internet Marketing Strategies.. (prepare for shameless self promotion) Like going to one of my boot camps and learning all this stuff in 2 days (end of shameless self promotion) but in all seriousness SEO is not tricky, there are no hidden secrets, but there is a ton of misinformation out there. so find someone that can coach you and has already waded through the BAD info like StomperNet.. the NETEffect ... Dan Theis.. Howie Schwartz.. Sherman Hu (blog master)... there are others .. OHHH and most of all READ what "Mat Cutts" says on SEO and the internet.. he knows more about what Google is doing than ANYONE else on the planet (he's the VP) and he constantly gives out clues to what they are doing and looking at...
its ok.. balloon dogs don't bite
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marty.sasaki Inner circle 1117 Posts |
It's an advanced technique but is interesting.
When testing the efficacy of a web site some folks actually set things up so that when someone goes to their site they are randomly sent to one of many sites. Things are set up so that the next time they get the same site. The contact us button is slightly different for each of the different sites. If your operation is big enough, you can have different phone numbers. Why bother with this? If one of the sites has more contacts than the other, you learn which works better. If the guy you are working with knows about this, or better yet, has actually worked this way, then he/she might be a good choice for developing your site. You definitely want a CMS. Some web folks don't want you to have a CMS, that way you have to hire them (or someone like them) to fix/change/update the web site. More business. A question to answer is what you are trying to accomplish with your site and how much time you want to spend on it. If it's primarily to get customers/clients then it can be static. If you are looking to build a community and have people listening to you and you are willing to spend time updating it, you want the ability to update and interact. I think that all sites should allow a bit of updating. If you have shows that the general public can attend, you might want to list them. Perhaps giving someone the opportunity to see you perform might encourage them to hire you. A growing list of satisfied customers is also a good idea.
Marty Sasaki
Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Standard disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist who enjoys occasionally mystifying friends and family, so my opinions should be viewed with this in mind. |
Oscar999 Elite user 401 Posts |
As a copywriter, let me second the recommendation for a good SEO strategy. But SEO is more that tags and keywords, it's about "content". Make sure you've got plenty of good content ...
Good luck, and good fortune. Oscar |
TheDean Inner circle Reno, Nevada 2164 Posts |
Thanks all... nice shares!
Dean Hankey, *M.D. - The Dean of Success Solutions!
Serving & Supporting YOU and Your Success! "Book More Shows... Make More Money... SERVE MORE PEOPLE! - Not Necessarily In That Order…" (*Marketing Doctor) |
impossible man Elite user 403 Posts |
Well, I'd say this will get me started nicely! Thanks.
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RobertTemple Regular user Newcastle, UK 174 Posts |
Every website needs a blog. Especially entertainers, because people really care and are interested in our day-to-day lives. It makes building trust and personal bridges with our customers or potential customers a doddle!!
This is one of my all-time favourite books I've ever read and its just genius!! http://tinyurl.com/cafubg RT |
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