Drawing on six years of successes and failures, associations with people who understand business and those who don't, reading books on marketing and skill mastery, here's the first in a series of write-ups I'm planning to give all of you hopeful future pros a quick crash course in how to make it as an entertainer.
Social Media is a Joke
I thought of typing this up later, but then I remembered that I'm talking to magicians so I really need to get this out of the way. Forget trying to market yourself through social media exclusively. Oh, it has its uses, but being YouTube famous is about as productive as punching yourself in the stomach repeatedly. There are so many pitfalls and problems it will make your head spin and the rules of social media marketing change on a near-daily basis.
Thinking of marketing through Facebook? Virtually useless. Facebook is designed to keep you on Facebook, so forget about trying to link to your website on your profile. Any external link they let you post will be at the very bottom of the post in 10-point typeface in blue, making it as hard to read as possible and thus more likely to be skipped. And don't bother posting to keep people updated. The way the timeline is set up, you miss 90% of it anyway.
Thinking of going through Twitter? Same problems with visibility. Also, spammers galore.
YouTube? Vimeo? Pinterest? All a shiny objects contest competing for your audience's limited attention spans in an ocean of distracting crap. You'd have an easier time prospecting gigs by throwing bottles containing a sales letter into the Pacific Ocean than through YouTube.
New Media is a powerful tool, but like any tool you have to know how to use it properly. The keystone of all your marketing is going to be the list. The names and email addresses of everyone who likes you and would like to hear more from you.
Building the list however is going to take time. Many working pros spend years building their list before they reach anything resembling financial stability, and more still never even do that. They get gigs through sheer dogged determination and unrelenting obstinance, though that may also be why death by liver failure is considered natural causes in this industry.
Where ever you go that people are, try to get some names on your list. If someone liked what you did, tell them you have a mailing list if they're interested. Get their business card, and have them write ML on it (for mailing list, a-doy!). Most mailing lists you want to send out an email blast once a week, though in slow times one every other week can pass. Be careful though. Long periods of silence will mean you get forgotten.
Now, how do you set up this mailing list? My personal preference is to set up an account with Mail Chimp. It's a free service that allows you to take sign-ups directly from your website and actually plan a roll-out of timed emails. Very useful.
Speaking of your website that will be my topic next week.
Special thanks to my father, Matthew for giving me the guidance to got me this far and letting me learn business directly from his voice of 30+ years of experience. These write-ups are possible because of him.
Social Media is a Joke
I thought of typing this up later, but then I remembered that I'm talking to magicians so I really need to get this out of the way. Forget trying to market yourself through social media exclusively. Oh, it has its uses, but being YouTube famous is about as productive as punching yourself in the stomach repeatedly. There are so many pitfalls and problems it will make your head spin and the rules of social media marketing change on a near-daily basis.
Thinking of marketing through Facebook? Virtually useless. Facebook is designed to keep you on Facebook, so forget about trying to link to your website on your profile. Any external link they let you post will be at the very bottom of the post in 10-point typeface in blue, making it as hard to read as possible and thus more likely to be skipped. And don't bother posting to keep people updated. The way the timeline is set up, you miss 90% of it anyway.
Thinking of going through Twitter? Same problems with visibility. Also, spammers galore.
YouTube? Vimeo? Pinterest? All a shiny objects contest competing for your audience's limited attention spans in an ocean of distracting crap. You'd have an easier time prospecting gigs by throwing bottles containing a sales letter into the Pacific Ocean than through YouTube.
New Media is a powerful tool, but like any tool you have to know how to use it properly. The keystone of all your marketing is going to be the list. The names and email addresses of everyone who likes you and would like to hear more from you.
Building the list however is going to take time. Many working pros spend years building their list before they reach anything resembling financial stability, and more still never even do that. They get gigs through sheer dogged determination and unrelenting obstinance, though that may also be why death by liver failure is considered natural causes in this industry.
Where ever you go that people are, try to get some names on your list. If someone liked what you did, tell them you have a mailing list if they're interested. Get their business card, and have them write ML on it (for mailing list, a-doy!). Most mailing lists you want to send out an email blast once a week, though in slow times one every other week can pass. Be careful though. Long periods of silence will mean you get forgotten.
Now, how do you set up this mailing list? My personal preference is to set up an account with Mail Chimp. It's a free service that allows you to take sign-ups directly from your website and actually plan a roll-out of timed emails. Very useful.
Speaking of your website that will be my topic next week.
Special thanks to my father, Matthew for giving me the guidance to got me this far and letting me learn business directly from his voice of 30+ years of experience. These write-ups are possible because of him.