Implementation Days 4 to 9 – Lots to catch-up on
Well, apologies for my lack of blog updates. I’ve been busy getting stuff done and if writing the blog gets in the way of that then it’s a counter productive activity. The point of this thing is to be my conscience to make sure I don’t stop getting things done.
The main things I’ve set up since my last up date are:
- Contact form on ‘Christmas Party Magician’ website
I used the WordPress plugin, Contact Form 7. This was quite tricky to set up because of the date selection functionality that I wanted. I got there in the end though. It’s satisfying to have used only free WordPress plugins as opposed to any paid service. It’s working very well so far … http://www.christmaspartymagician.co.uk/quick-quote
- Added and improved Google Maps/Places entries for different sections of company
- Began Market testing a new product
Here will be the first place to know if I decide to put it on the market or not.
- iPhone app development
Developing my own apps has been a bit slower. Most of the information I have had recently is suggesting that apps are far more expensive to develop than you first imagine and the pay back is far less. It’s now unlikely to happen unless I decide to learn programming myself down the line. In the mean time, I have replied to all of the responses I got from Elance asking them for cost and time estimates.
- Attended Nigel Botterill’s conference in Ascot
This was a day well spent! Although it means a day not implementing, it’s always a great kick up the back side to work out what exactly needs implementing and to get on with it. I returned from this day with some great new ideas on differentiating yourself from the competition and a brand new magic project.
- Detailed breakdown of new magic project
For various reasons, I knew that I couldn’t focus on implementing this new project straight away because of bigger priorities. This is very frustrating as I was buzzing with ideas the entire journey back from Ascot. To try to keep that enthusiasm, I planned out the project while I was still excited about it. I now have a clearly broken down list of steps to get the thing where I want it to go, and the document is also full of my initial enthusiasm. If I’d just put it on a list, I don’t think it would have meant much in a few days/weeks time. Looking forward to talking more about this when there’s something to show.
- Geeky iphone setup
I don’t want my phone notifying me whenever I receive an email. Far too distracting! However, there are some emails that I do want to know about, and the sooner the better. This was a tricky one to crack, but by setting up an app/service called PushMail and setting up a few rules, I now have a great system that notifies me about what I need to know urgently and nothing else.
- Adwords changes
Adwords is a Pandora’s box of depth and variation. I usually go months without looking back at the monster. This month I’m staring it squarely in the eyes and I will tame the beast.
- Tele-sales
This has been an interesting experiment. I’ve never hired anyone to make calls on my behalf for magic gigs before. The results have been very disappointing on one level (not a single confirmed booking from it), but my database has been significantly enhanced through the process and I’ve also learned a lot. The person we chose to make calls for us had a fantastic telephone manner, but wasn’t good at closing a sale. There’s now a batch of follow up calls and emails to get actioned. I’d try tele-tales again, but with someone who’s good at closing a deal.
- Created a new advert design for Wedding Whispers magazine (with trackable QR code)
This is the best service I have found for generating QR codes. I may talk in future about how to make them trackable. To the right here is the latest advert >
- Went to a couple of network meeting to showcase my magic
- Analysed where previous magic bookings have come from
To work out where to better focus efforts.
- Begun to edit a new Magic demo reel together
Only started today, but plan on getting this done quickly
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And a list of general admin type stuff that’s been keeping me busy:
- Chasing up enquiries
- VAT calculation and payment
- Catching up with agents
- Keeping on top of emails
That just about gets me back up to date.