Here in Germany we have one magician who saturates the Internet so much you would assume he lives anywhere in Germany. His name: Simon-Alexander Buchhagen or Simabu as he calls himself. Here is his his main website: Simabu
But he has more:
http://www.zauberer-berlin.net/,
http://www.zauberer-braunschweig.de/,
http://www.zauberer-bremen.com/,
http://www.zauberer-celle.de/,
http://www.zauberer-hamburg.com/,
http://www.zauberer-hamburg.net/,
http://www.zauberer-hannover.net/,
http://www.zauberer-hannover.com/,
http://www.zauberer-luebeck.com/,
http://www.zauberer-muenchen.net/,
http://www.zauberer-kiel.com/ and that is not even all of them.
So far all the websites are clones of his main one, only difference being that they are tailored for a specific region of Germany. Which is all of them. But he also has websites for almost all kinds of venues. Children, Corporate Events, Birthdays, Weddings and there is even more.
He also has several blogs all linking to a specific tailored website making sure the he is to be found on the Internet. He is listed in almost all free artist listing that there are. (Not to mention in every single category)
Is this good business? Well it must be, but is this a nice thing to do? Well if you are in for the money, being nice doesn't count, but if you are in for the magic it should.
This guy acts like he can do anything, anywhere. Well, is he any good?
Well I couldn't find any video. Which good, as it prevents me from tearing Simabu a new one.
You know what would be worse than that, having fake offices in all kinds of cities. But I am getting way ahead of me. More to come.
Yes this is common practice here in the UK, mostly done by very good professionals. I don't do this myself as most of my work comes through agents, but from what I know here in the UK this technique works exremely well. Of course there will be a few magicians who won't be able to deliver, but on the whole the ones in the UK doing this are some of the best here.
ReplyDeleteGary.
I don't care how well it works. Putting the same content on dozens of different websites means that no matter what search result you click, you always end up on this site, even if you're looking for something else.
ReplyDeleteIt's SPAM, plain and simple. Don't rely on cheap SEO tricks to get people to click your site, but network with fellow magicians and local entertainment directories and agents to get your bookings. It works equally well and it doesn't annoy your potential customers.
I wouldn't call it spam as you're the one doing the searching. You yourself may not like it but it works really well for some of the top pros in the UK. I suppose those who are making a very good living out of using this marketing tool (yes it's a form of marketing) couldn't really give a toss to what anyone else thinks!! While I don't use this type of marketing, I actually benefit from it, the pros doing this often get so much work that they have to pass on gigs. Would I myself do this, no, I'm with you on this, but what works for some may not be good for others.
ReplyDeleteGary.
Gary.. so you don't agree with it, you wouldn't do it yourself, but you're happy to benefit from it...?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm sure, you don't care what fee the other guys charge the client for you - as long as you get what you want?
Correct?
NO....I didn't say that I don't agree with it, read what I said again....I said I don't do it due to the fact that my work comes from agents and repeat bookings. I also said this technique works really well here in the UK. I couldn't give a toss how other people go about to find gigs, I've been in this business long enough to know that what works for some doesn't work for others.
ReplyDeleteDue to the fact that my work comes from agents and they find most of my work for me I can be a little more relaxed on the marketing side.....But....If I had to find my own gigs then I may have to use every trick in the book, as long as I don't harm anyone (like undercutting etc) then all should be OK. If I did try this type of marketing and it still didn't work, well I would just go and get a fricking job!! It's only a job at the end of the day, a great job but still only a job.
So to sum up, I don't need to do this type of marketing, I'm not personally keen on it but I don't disagree with it as it really works for some. Horses for courses!
Roland, you said "Is this good business? Well it must be, but is this a nice thing to do? Well if you are in for the money, being nice doesn't count, but if you are in for the magic it should."
ReplyDeleteI think that if you earn your sole living as a magician then you have to be realistic, this form of marketing is common practise in the business world. You can still be a full time pro and treat it as an art, your effects and performance should always be a priority, but, if you have bills to pay then you have to go and find work. You don't have the luxury of holiday/sick pay etc, and marketing is very very costly, as a full time pro you need to keep on top of marketing and keeping the gigs coming in. It's a tough world out there, like I mentioned above, as long as you don't use 'dirty tricks' it's game on!!!
One other thing, if you have the best marketing in the world you still need to deliver the goods, it's the repeat bookings which keep us going, this is why some of the best pros in the UK are doing so well using these marketing techniques, and they can deliver the goods at all levels!!!
I think if we've learnt anything from our friend Roland, it is that magicians need to aspire to be better than those lucky enough to incur his wrath and appear on WMF. Multiple domains all pointing to the one page is kinda like that dodgy life insurance agency with different names and phone numbers all being answered by the same person. It's pretty shonky. I know earlier posts debated the semantics of whether it is spam or not but to me it is as aggravating as spam. I must beg to differ with Gary Magic. Slick marketing begins with seemingly innocent techniques/ploys/scams such as "you can hire any magician as long as it's Mr Buchhagen" but can easily progress to getting creative with bogus awards to "Hey, I can't really do a trick but exposure makes me look as knowledgable as heck!"
ReplyDeleteAs I said in the beginning (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) Roland's rants are aimed at those who don't adhere to the strictest of moral and ethical conduct in the art of magic. Just ask yourself, "WWJD? er ... I mean .. WWRD?"
(anyway, you haven't seen anything until you see the website I'm working on ..... fake testimonials, bogus awards, photoshopped levitations, magic DVD torrents. I'm sure I'll make it on WMF pretty soon)
ReplyDeleteLaurence, I'm OK with you disagreeing with me, that's the great thing about this (Roland's) site, we can do this in a civilised way and without all the hassle you get on the forums!!
ReplyDelete