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“’OTHER?’” I grumble at my computer. “What does ‘OTHER’ mean?”

I had just received notification that yet another prospect had filled in one of my contact forms on my website. I have my system set up to let me know when a form is filled out and it sends me the person's information.

I don’t ask for much information. Just name, phone, email, city, and state. That’s actually too many fields.

Any good marketer will tell you that the more fields you require a person to fill out, the lower the response.

I see a lot of magicians require people to fill out 15 or more fields! Madness, I tell ya.

In my case, I have to know what city and state the person is from. It affects pricing. And in my case, I get requests from schools across the country.

I turn away probably 90-95% of gig requests I get. Why?

Three little letters: SEO.

Short for search engine optimization, SEO is the holy grail of online marketing. Done correctly, you can receive gig requests for years by doing absolutely nothing.

I have highly optimized my site correctly over the years. I emphasize ‘correctly’ because there is still a lot of flat-out wrong information about SEO floating around on the Internet.

And most small business owners don’t have a clue how to do it correctly. Nor do they have the patience.

In mid-2021, I secured an agreement with a small charter fishing company based in Canada. The owner wanted to increase traffic for his site and secure more bookings.

I wrote some great copy for him, offered him a lot of advice, and fought a LOT with the company in charge of his site. (Long story.)

In the end, he wound up terminating our relationship about 75 days after the changes I had put in effect.

In SEO terms, 75 days is barely enough time to get your feet wet. Google takes its time crawling (evaluating) sites. Yes, there are certain things you can try to do to speed it up.

But really, it’s Google’s world and we are all just living in it.

When you embark on an SEO campaign, go into it with a marathon approach. You may not see results for six months or more. It’s just how it works.

And beware of any ‘SEO expert’ who guarantees first-page results. If you hear that, RUN. There are a lot of shifty SEO folks out there.

I still get a lot of solicitation emails from supposed SEO experts who critique my site, telling me I don’t come up high in search results.

Really? I have been on page one on Google for years.

But like I said, it didn’t happen overnight.

Want to know the overall secret to good SEO?

Know your audience and write for them.

Yes, you have to know your keywords. And how to write good copy. And other important details.

But the main overarching theme is simply to write for your audience. Tell them why your magic shows can solve their problem.

‘Knowing your audience’ is a drum I’ve been beating both in this newsletter and the podcast for quite a while.

The thing that far too many amateur magicians don’t seem to understand is that very few people want a magic show just to have a magic show.

People book magic shows because they have a need they have to fill.

The HR director looking for entertainment for the annual company holiday party is filling a need.

The school principal booking an assembly program is filling a need.

A parent booking a magic show for their child’s birthday party is filling a need.

“But what are those needs?” I hear a few of you ask.

Each one has different needs. Fortunately, I have already covered a lot of those needs for you. Go back and search through past episodes of The Professional Magician Podcast.

While many of the episodes feature interviews with industry experts, some are solo shows. In them, I break down the wants and needs of several markets.

Check them out. I’m rather proud of those episodes.

Once you know what your prospects want and need, you can start researching keywords.

Then, start writing your website copy. Your copy needs to be written primarily for real people reading the information.

Too many people ‘write for Google’ first. That won’t work. Google is placing a premium on content written for people.

They just released an update that will target and penalize content written just for Google.

Want to know who is freaking out? Bad SEO businesses only target Google search results with bad writing that does not take into account the humans reading the website copy.

Me? I’m thrilled.

This new Google update means I can tell all the so-called ‘experts’ in a couple of groups I belong to that the AI copywriting revolution is going to be over before it really gets started.

Now let me wrap this up. Why did I spend an entire issue of the newsletter telling you about SEO?

Simple. If you want long-term stability in your magic marketing, SEO can give it to you.

Other than the $500 I spend each year on Mago to send out contracts, track prospects, and keep me organized, I have not spent a dime on marketing my magic business in over 3 years.

Zip. Zero. Nada.

I laid the groundwork for great SEO. Fed the machine. And now I’m still living off that initial work.

Every day, I get requests for shows. Every. Single. Day.

Yes, I turn down most of it. But that’s because magic is not my sole means of earning money anymore. These days, it’s around 40% of my income.

I still love performing. I just don’t like traveling.

If you want to build a solid foundation of SEO to give your magic business stability over the long haul, contact me. Working together, we can build up your site’s SEO and give you a steady stream of prospects.

I won’t sugarcoat it. It will take time. Don’t go into an SEO campaign thinking you’ll see a flood of gigs in a month or two.

But I can tell you from personal experience that it works. From a marketing perspective, it was the best decision I ever made.

Oh, and that reference at the beginning of this issue about ‘OTHER?’

That was from a royal twit of a prospect.

Instead of filling out the city and state fields, she merely typed in ‘OTHER.’ And in the comments, she wanted to know what my prices were.

Sigh.

At the end of the day, we are still dealing with humans.

And that’s the real secret of successful SEO. Always remember the goal is to connect with real people.

Want more information on my SEO services? Contact me today and we can discuss your needs.

Have a great week!

--Cris

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:


1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.



This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy by clicking HERE.


2. Get my website video training for under $10:


In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details by clicking HERE.


3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.


Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

© Copyright Cris Johnson, Inc.