An open letter to children's entertainers throughout the UK

I want you to all know that I get it.  As well as running Non Stop Kids Entertainment I have always been and always will be a performer. I spend time frequenting the various online entertainer communities even if you don't know I'm there. As such I am aware of people's hopes and fears.

Recently I have seen more posts than ever before from entertainers talking about how they are struggling for work. Posts such as "Are you seeing a lack of enquiries" and "I'm having such a quiet year, please help" are being posted almost daily. I have spoke to three great kids entertainers in the last couple of months who have quit and got a full time job simply because they cannot afford to live.

I am well aware that not everyone is experiencing problems, a lot of entertainers are thriving. However I am seeing more people struggling than ever before. Like I said, I get it.

I also understand that I am a polarising character among magicians and children's entertainers. I run Team Building sessions exposing illusions; I've been kicked out the magic circle; I appeared for years on the Wizard Product Review and slated magicians week in and week out; I accidentally released a trick called 'Red' which wasn't my trick. There is a reason I started calling myself 'The Bad Boy Of Magic'.

However above and beyond all of this I also run Non Stop Kids Entertainment. Now I am very aware that very few entertainers like Non Stop Kids Entertainment. You probably don't like that we call ourselves the biggest and best children's entertainers in the UK. You probably don't like that we perform at thousands of parties a year when there is a perception that there is less work that ever before. You probably don't like that we occasionally highlight our strengths as a company by talking about things we do that other entertainers don't do. You probably don't like the fact that we have a team of performers working for us that aren't trained magicians. You probably don't like that we say we hate clowns because they don't fit out company image. You probably don't like that we say we won an award in a competition where myself and Russell got the second place trophy (still won an award).

There are probably hundreds more reasons why you don't like Non Stop Kids or myself however I need you to understand something. Something that is very important and if you take the following advice on board it might help you.

Stop acting like children and instead start acting like business owners

I am truly baffled my the way some people act because they feel threatened. Recently we put a social media post out online saying that Non Stop Kids are better than clowns and that clowns belong in the 1960's. I couldn't believe the backlash.  Within 24 hours a thread started with over 200 posts. Attacking Non Stop Kids, attacking me and calling me every name under the sun. Within a short while the thread had turning into an investigation into me and my company. People were discussing company accounts, who owned the company, why certain directors were in place and more. Then I started getting messages and texts physically threatening me and my team. All because we put out a social media post saying we don't like clowns. We were not attacking one company or entertainer. We simply said that we believe we do a much better job than a clown ever would.

Let me explain something. My friend Brad Burton says "The first person you have to convince about your brilliance is you". I absolutely believe we are the best and that one of our performers is worth a million clowns. I will shout this from the rooftops because I want everyone to know how passionate I am about my company and how I believe we are the very best. If you were offended about my actions I offer no apologies. It was not directed at anyone in particular but if you took offence perhaps that says more about how you feel about yourself as a performer instead of how you feel about me.

So allow me to give you some advice. I spent a few hours last night looking a hundreds of kids entertainers on the internet. I spent time making notes on their websites and social media. There were a small percentage that were doing everything correct and I applaud these people. However the vast majority of entertainers had big glaring issues. If you fix these issues then you might actually see your workload improve and more enquiries coming in. It might stop you from having to find a proper job. So in no particular order.

1.) A website should look modern and crisp not from the 1980's. You need to make sure it looks good and gives people a reason to stay. The website is your shop front and from what I'm seeing a lot of entertainers look like they are closed for business. You only get one chance to make a first impression so make sure that when people land on your site they are presented with exactly are looking for else they will look elsewhere. It's almost better to have no website than have an outdated ugly one.

2.) Pictures are a must have on a website. So many performers websites have one image of them on the home page and that is it. Spent money of having some good quality promo pictures edited and use those. Then make sure you have lots of pictures of children laughing and reacting at parties you are performing at. I'm not talking about stock images you steal from the internet. I'm talking real pictures from parties you have been to. As a general rule there should be four pictures of kids having fun to every one picture of you.

3.) Get yourself a company showreel. You need to show parents why you are the person they should book for their child's party. Marketing is all about painting pictures and helping parents get an image in their head of what their child's party will be like. Nothing does this better than video. If you can't afford to hire a professional approach a college and ask them if any students would like an opportunity to film and produce a showreel for your company. You will get hundreds of students wanting to do this for free.

4.) Blogs are great for a variety of reasons. Content marketing is huge at the moment and there are obvious benefits from an SEO point of view. However if you are going to put a blog on your website make sure it stays updated. There is nothing worse than clicking on a blog and it hasn't been updated in a year. It's lazy and puts across the impression that you don't care about your business.

5.) Written testimonials on a website are rubbish. These days clients assume they can be faked. Instead try to get clients to leave reviews on Google or Facebook. Leaving a review there will have a much more positive impact as people know a google review cannot be faked. Plus lots of google reviews helps your SEO and makes it easier for people to find you.

6.) Start using video testimonials. Every phone these days has a really good quality video camera. At the end of the party you should ask your client to record a short video testimonial. If you have done a great job they will be happy to do this and if they aren't it's not a problem. These videos can help you keep your site looking fresh, gives you content to push out on social media and gives you content you can email to previous customers.

7.) Master social media. I know a kids company that generates all their business from Facebook and yet so many entertainers do nothing with social media. Opening a social media account is like a blog. It will do more damage than good if you have a dead social media account that you post on once a year. Understand how each platform works and make sure you use it effectively. Do you know which platforms are best for children's entertainers? If not find out and make sure you are using social media to push people back to your website.

8.) Track everything.  Most entertainers have no idea where their enquiries are coming from (or they think they do but don't really). When you get an enquiry you should track the enquiry and make sure you follow up with everyone. Get yourself a sales board and track everything. Once you know the amount of enquiries you are getting and where they are coming from you will get a better understand of what marketing works and what doesn't.

9.) Have follow up systems in place. Do you have a long term nurture system in place? Do you even know what one is? Once someone has enquired whether they have booked you or not you should be keeping in touch with these people via email, text etc. These people have kids and plan parties - they are your ideal customer. Therefore keep in touch with them and give them a reason to book you in the future.

10.) Get help. You cannot do everything on your own and yet so many entertainers try to do everything themselves. For example who answers your phones when you are in a gig or unavailable? Does that call go to an answer machine? If that's the case you have just lost a potential booking. Hiring a Virtual PA would stop this sort of things from ever happening.

11.) Understand that you are running a business. Try to spend as much time on the business side of things as the show side of things. Stop procrastinating and instead put time and effort into working within the business. Learn about time management and start to manage your time.

12.) Be accountable. It's easy to blame other people and external issues or problems and a lack of success. It's not my fault my business is failing. It's because the area I work in is poor. It's because there are people charging stupidly cheap prices in my area. It's because I've been ill. It's because of Non Stop Kids. Remove the excuses and start to accept that if you are struggling it's because of you and only you can do something about it. Every time you point a finger at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you. If you aren't getting enough gigs then get off your arse and make it happen.

Like I said at the beginning of this letter I get it. Some of you are going to read this, see red and post all over social media that Craig is evil and has been attacking the industry again. However some of you will hopefully read this and implement some of the points I mentioned.

Think of it this way. How much time to you spend on the internet arguing with people about something or another? In the entire history of the internet can you think of one time that someone was able to change someone else's opinion? Probably not. However we spend all this time arguing about rubbish that doesn't matter. Brexit, Politics, Religion, Craig Petty hating clowns. How much more could you have achieved if you had applied this time to generating more work?

Think about it!