On Apr 15, 2024, TomBoleware wrote:
If it works to elect a local Mayor, A Governor, or even a President.

On Apr 15, 2024, Mindpro wrote:
Every type. Literally. Every single type of advertising has not worked for most performers. However, it is not the type of advertising's fault it is the buyer's, in this case the performer.

As Danny said, this is a great topic, yet a topic most will not spend any time or depth with to truly understand which is why most lose money in their marketing and advertising efforts.

Just like I regularly say - if you have properly made the right decisions and addressed the proper elements correctly in the Foundational process of setting up your business, soooo many of the typical problems and setbacks most performers experience will be eliminated as so many other elements, such as marketing, promotion, and advertising, will almost work themselves out and provide answers almost automatically.

While, the same applies with marketing and advertising. Most one see advertising only on the surface level - I pay this amount that the advertising costs, and then I wait and hope for a return. In almost all cases you will lose. This is not how advertising works or should be approached.

There are many elements to advertising and the different types of advertising that must be determined and in place before even expecting it to work. Strategies, campaigns, calls to action, response formula, customer acquisition cost, and so much more.

Using the longtime big 3 - radio, television, and print (newspapers, magazines, fliers, inserts, etc.), I have seen so many people just buy ads and then become very disappointed when no results occur. The first thing they (falsely) believe is the medium doesn't work, and that they've "tried that and lost money." Both on the surface appear true but in reality the medium did just what it was supposed to do - placed your ad in its medium, period. Your message was placed in front of their audience. They did and completed their responsibility. What didn't happen is you didn't use or utilize their medium properly or understand the use of their medium properly and therefore got the results you deserved.

In my radio station we would see this all the time. People couldn't understand why. Why do some of your advertisers get these fantastic results, yet when I do the same advertising program I get absolutely 100% nothing? It is because the first advertiser knew and understood how to use the radio advertising format for their business. They understood the different types of radio advertising and that each type had different expectations.

Like so many things magicians and many other types of performers THINK they know something about marketing, advertising and promotion, but all they really know is what it appears to be on the surface. When they do the math it doesn't work for them, so they pull back and do the worst thing - they do nothing. Instead of putting in the time and mind power to think and determine how can I make this medium really work for my business?

One of the reasons I have had so many kids or kids/family performers I've coached, consulted and trained is because I have done extensive work - research and development for marketing, promotion, and advertising programs, strategies and campaigns just for these types of performers and markets. Do you know the next 11 weeks is one of the strongest times of the year for the best marketing and promotional campaigns for kids performers? To have their business in front of thousands of ideal prospects for very little costs? Most do not.

Just one of my proven promotion, marketing, and advertising programs (yes, it covers all three aspects) almost assures you becoming your area's top kids performer, with celebrity recognition and status throughout your community, generating many, many bookings now as well as into the future, and pretty much allowing you to dominate the kids performance markets you are choosing to work with, and allowing this one single source ot be your primary (if not only needed) source of advertising. This has been proven for decades in markets worldwide. Yet most kids/family performers will have never heard of it and if they do will immediately reject it for believing it is too good to be true, or because of the price involved. This unfortunately is how the typical magician or performer thinks and works.

I could go on and on about different research and development programs I have created as a result of all of this. For years I would hear from performers who would say "I tried radio, t.v., newspapers, and magazine advertising and it is so costly and I didn't get any results. It was expensive, then it was over and done. They immediately deemed these mediums too costly, ineffective, and not worth their time, effort, money or consideration. Then I released my Press & Media book (no longer available, as it is now a course) and I heard from hundreds of performers throughout the world who said they generated tens of thousands of dollars in feature stories in newspapers and magazines,and guest segments on radio and t.v. that exposed them to thousands of viewers and readers - ABSOLUTELY FREE! It cost them nothing when they were armed with all of the elements on how to best use these mediums to their performing businesses' unique advantages. It's been crazy!

Why did it work? What was they difference from what they had previously spent (and lost) on advertising in these mediums? It is the missing aspects beyond the surface that they were missing. I had done all of the work for them all they had to do was follow the structure, system, and program. It works because it is understood and executed beyond just the surface level. They had an education on how the media works, the language they speak, their wants, needs and expectations, the "whys", and so much more that once understood, allowed many of them to do all of this in as little as a week, most within a few weeks to 30 days.

The problem is twofold - 1. Knowledge - they lack the knowledge and real understanding, and 2. the unwillingness to educate themselves properly and then invest in themselves and their businesses.

Most aren't really actually businesses, but playing self-employed "business."

As far as customer acquisition, one must first look at the LVC - Lifetime Value of a Customer. If all of your efforts are for a onetime customer and booking, your customer acquisition cost will be outrageous. So therefore your efforts should be on extending the lifetime value of that customer. Once figured out this may lead you to the best source(s) of which to utilize for marketing, advertising, and promotion.

So, none of the advertising will work on just a surface level - SEO, Adwords, print, radio, t.v., mailings, websites, carrier pigeons, etc. What works for you is what advertising strategy, approach, campaign, CTA, and more are exclusively designed for your business, market, and specific medium.

Again, great topic and kudos for wanting to learn more about this.

On Apr 15, 2024, TomBoleware wrote:

Also, if I were just starting, I would never position myself as a kidshow magician that only performs for children. Nothing wrong with that, but why pigeon-hole your business to a small audience. I would be known as the local Family Magician that performs for more than just children. There is no rule that a ‘Magician’ can’t perform for all age levels. I did it and I know some magicians today, some on here, that can put on a good show for a Daycare, a School, a Church group, or a Company meeting. Many do birthday shows with more adults in the audience than children and everybody walks away please. I call those kind a Family Magician.

Tom

On Apr 15, 2024, Andy Young wrote:

Quote:

On Apr 15, 2024, TomBoleware wrote:

Also, if I were just starting, I would never position myself as a kidshow magician that only performs for children. Nothing wrong with that, but why pigeon-hole your business to a small audience. I would be known as the local Family Magician that performs for more than just children. There is no rule that a ‘Magician’ can’t perform for all age levels. I did it and I know some magicians today, some on here, that can put on a good show for a Daycare, a School, a Church group, or a Company meeting. Many do birthday shows with more adults in the audience than children and everybody walks away please. I call those kind a Family Magician.

Tom

Hey Tom the reason you might want to put yourself as one thing over a jack of all trades is so that when you are advertising or trying to get your client base, you would understand your target demographic better. I don't know personally, but I would think understanding and going after a select group would make your advertising / promoting go better both financially and from a overall success rate.

If you want to do different things that are completely different like doing kid shows vs weddings, I would think you would want to set up two different websites with different advertising / promos. However, kids shows / family shows I would say can be practically the same.

Thanks

On Apr 15, 2024, Andy Young wrote:

To get to Danny's real question about customer acquisition. I will have to look closer at all my expenses to truly understand that and I will admit I do not have that process in place to get that at the moment. I will say that I would also need to factor in my time into that, which I do spend a lot of it in July doing the local carnival type event. But that has given me a good amount of business and I always enjoy it.