Net Takes Magic to New Heights
Adam Williams began doing magic professionally at age 10, when he performed at a neighbor’s birthday party in his hometown of Cleveland. Now 25, he performs on cruises, at trade shows, college campuses, corporate events and venues such as the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Getting new customers to try his “product” is not easy, but he has found a natural sales tool in online marketing. Making sure he is listed in search engines, updating his Web pages regularly and ensuring that his site is attractive without being overly technical has brought him many new customers. Williams was interviewed by freelance writer Karen E. Klein.
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For a magician, the key to booking shows has always been the ability to go to the people. Harry Houdini was known for finding a building on fire and turning it into a news story about him. With the Internet, I am able to find my audience, go to them and speak to them with information they would not have access to otherwise.
I set up my Web site after a successful run at the Magic Castle, just after I finished college. Bookers and agents took notice of my work and began requesting background materials. But shipping promotional packages, with demo videos and printed information, was costing me more than $25 each, plus the time my office staff spent fielding requests that didn’t always turn into bookings. Then clients had to wait for the packages to arrive, by which time some of them had already found another entertainer.
The possibility occurred to me to use a Web site to promote my business. I spoke with technicians, designers, bookers and agents to get their perspectives on Web-based promotion. I found that the aspirations and ideas that I got from designers and technicians were much higher than the technical capability of the bookers and agents who would be using my site. Flash animation and heavy graphics look amazing, but how are potential bookers supposed to reach me if their browsers don’t support that technology? My first choice was to make sure anyone could access my Web site, regardless of their technical capability.
Next, I spoke with several designers and a Web stylist to determine my look. Because I am young and work with younger audiences, I wanted a design to match my cutting-edge show, but at the same time I needed to be conservative enough to appeal to my corporate clients. We developed a simple and clean design that provides the most information with the least amount of technical difficulty.
I purchased the domain MagicAdam.com and got quotes from several Web design firms. This was the height of the dot-com revolution and I felt the quotes were outrageously high: $5,000 to $50,000. I finally found a designer who did the site for $3,000. He and some friends helped teach me how to update the site, which was important because the content is always changing. Hosting is also inexpensive: It costs about $100 a year.
When the site went live in late 1999, my first order of business was to get listed on every major search engine. Instead of hiring a firm to do the job for about $500, I decided to submit myself. I was one of the first magicians online so I was almost immediately listed as the only Los Angeles-based magician on the Yahoo directory. My phone began to ring.
The timing coincided with the busy holiday season, when lots of last-minute office event planners were desperate to find holiday entertainment for corporate parties. Because all the information about my show was available at the site, most clients had already made up their minds by the time they called me. The show was already sold, and it was just a matter of inquiring about price and availability. I was booking $5,000 shows without ever having to send out a press kit, mail a video or sell my act over the phone.
Of course, the Web site is not my only marketing tool. I try to find as many different avenues as I can, including direct mail, talking to people after my shows and handing out business cards. Selling an intangible product that does not exist until the performance is different from selling any other product. The most important thing is to build trust with your client. Having pictures and clips from the show on the Web site gives prospective clients a much better idea of what’s going to happen, and from the quality of the presentation materials, they can see what the quality level of the show is.
I approach my audience from a Gen X standpoint and gear my shows for people between 18 and 25. Working for people in that age range is very different from performing on a cruise ship for an older audience. The younger audience wants fun, hip and forward-thinking magic.
The Web site is great for that, because the clients who book online are generally younger executives from growing technology companies who are used to doing all their research on the Web. They find me, they get a good look at my show and get a feel for what I do, and then book me for a performance right there.
Often, potential clients simply forward the URL of my Web site throughout the office so the planning committee can quickly make a decision on whether to hire me instead of having to wait for the promo materials to arrive in the mail.
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If your business can provide a lesson to other entrepreneurs, contact Karen E. Klein at the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016 or at kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number.
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At a Glance
* Company: Magic of Adam Williams
* Owner: Adam Williams
* Nature of business: Entertainment productions and consulting
* Location: 8581 Santa Monica Blvd., #219, Los Angeles 90069
* Founded: 1999
* Web site: www.magicadam.com
* Employees: 5
* Annual revenue: $110,000
