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Get a Website One thing that many performers forget is having their very own website. I think most don’t see the need for one or just think it is to hard to get one. The truth is, websites make you look more professional, not that hard to get one, and can get you more bookings. You’ll find that almost any retail store has the own website. They have websites to make more people aware of their products. Now you might be thinking “I’m not selling any products” well maybe your not selling products. BUT the #1 thing you are selling is yourself! Websites help you sell yourself to potential clients. With a website you can have pictures of events you have performed at. It’s always good to show pictures of you performing and the audience having a good time. So if your doing a magic show get a picture of you and the birthday kid doing a magic trick (With permission from the parents). Besides pictures you can have pages listing the types of events you perform at, where you are performing, contact info (important), and lots more. The only thing I don’t suggest putting on your site is pricing (Its best to discuss that on the phone when you got all the info from the client). Now you may still be thinking that its to hard to run your own website. All you need is about 5 pages which is simple. The first thing you need is a design and content. Many people don’t know how to design a website. To make a website it takes graphics skills and the knowledge of how to code a page using HTML or CSS(those are the coding languages used by many webmasters). So since many of us performers don’t know how to code a webpage, I suggest using a template or a designer. Templates are the cheaper way to go. Basically is all the coding and most of the graphics done for you. All you got to do is upload the template to your host (we’ll talk about hosts in a few seconds) and then add your content. If you want a designer expect to pay a few hundred dollars. With a designer you can have your site more personalized and look how you want it. What’s a hosting company? Mainly they run computers called servers which connect to the web and allow you to put content on it. One mistake that I see many magicians do is use free host. Yes free seems good but there is always a downside. Some problems with free host are the URL. Instead of having www.yourname.com as the address it’s the www.freehostingcompany.com/yourname or yourname.freehosting.com . So you tell me which is more professional and easier to remember. Also another big problem with most free host is ads. Yes the company will put ads and popups on your site (that’s how they make money for giving you free services). So trust me, ads and popups can be very annoying to potential clients. Now the great things about paid hosting. With paid hosting you get your very own domain name (www.yourname.com) which will easily fit onto any business card. Also its short enough that people can remember the name. With paid hosting you will get a lot more space and other extras. With paid hosting the support is normally great (because they want to keep your business). So if you have any questions or problems they can easily be answered. One of the biggest fears that many people have is how much is this paid hosting. Well it may be shocking but most companies charge less than $10 per month. Pretty cheap when you think of the return that you’ll get from extra bookings. This article turned out be a lot longer than what I planned but hopefully it was useful information. I do strongly suggest having a website though. A website truly can help you grow even if you just do magic part time or a full time magician.
Once your done with your website you should submit it to google HERE. And also to directory HERE at magicrelated.com. Having your site listed in search engines and directories will mean more people searching the internet will find your site.
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