talkmagic.co.uk

Hello Everyone!

My official website is www.magicofmichaelkras.tk

Please give your honest feedback on the website! I look forward to hearing your replies!

Michael Kras

As a very basic site it does its job. It tells one and all who you are and some of what you can do.

For me, it was far too heavy with advertising and suggest you look for an ISP or host who will let you get a cleaner look to the site.

Images would be good but be highly selective with them. I would also maybe look to make the buttons a bit more attractive. I'm no code expert but it would be neat if you could perhaps get a fan of cards with each linking t your key pages.

Your key selling point is your age so exploit that in your marketing spiel.

I had problems linking back to the site from the YouTube links. You should be able to find a fix via the code.

Websites can get overly complex way too easily so keep it simple and to the point.

Having a site is number one. Next most important is to get it noticed and picked up by others. Much of the 'secret' there lays in obtaining credible links and ensuring the coding includes spider friendly info.

HTH

michael your young so i wont be as brutal as i would be to a fellow pro.

your site is chock full of adds which is always a bad thing when promting yourself and red is definately not your friend for text or graphics, neither are overpowering backgrounds.
in a word for a promtional site its far to busy and does you no favours, sorry to say it but you did ask.

as for your videos on the whole the content is good and presentation only improves with practise, there a bit rough and ready but the core is there.
the major drawback to all the vids is lighting, you need a lot more, get one of thoughs 500watt standing work lights from b&q or watever local hardware store you have.

your coming along fine you just need to add some polish to your routines and tone down your site a tad, ok a lot.

Thank you for your feedback. The ads are there against my wishes, and I a trying hard to find a way to get rid of them. Also, thank you for the reviews and suggestions for my Youtube videos. I will record them in a brighter setting in the future. I agree that presentation is key and my older videos lack that. Now it is all about the presentation for me!

Thanks again,

Michael Kras

I don't know anything about Canadian ISPs but I am sure there must be a way you can get free or cheap webspace via yours without having to fight with the adverts. Other than that it may be a case of persuading your parents that THEY need a different provider.
Good Luck.

Michael, I posted earlier here: http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic18453.php

I think my comments have reached into this thread, so read on and enjoy.

I arrived on your page, thought I was having an LCD induced hallucination, couldn't make out what were YOUR page nav links and what was advertising.

So I closed the window.

Firstly, I would advise against giving the names of the effects you perform. There are several reasons: firstly, as some of them are marketed effects (e.g. Leaving Home) you've given a curious internet-surfer everything they need to find out more about it, and when you someone sees that this is a marketed trick anyone can buy it takes the magic away somewhat.

Secondly I feel it takes away from your overall image as a magician: you box yourself in when you say 'I can do this and this and this and that's all'. If you were to avoid giving names and give a general description of some of the magic you can do then your audience are still getting a flavour of your work whilst maintaining that magician (as opposed to trickster) image.

The videos! I won't go into too much detail as I mostly agree with what has been said in the other thread. But here I will say that it is quite obvious in some of the videos that they are filmed around your home. Given your age I think this is something you want to avoid - the (with all respect) 'kid' doing a magic show aspect. The location and quality of the videos also changes. I would say find a consistent and neutral environment to film in high quality. Also try and embed the videos as opposed to uploading them to Youtube and embedding those.

It would also serve you well if your promo video were to include real-world performances; you performing at gigs. That's the one thing which will show the world that you are serious about your work. As a potential booker, it's something I'd like to be sure of too given your age (again, no disrespect - just a general comment).

Mention that Jon Racherbaumer is a respected magician and author otherwise his name means very little.

That's all I can think of at the moment besides general comments such as improving the overall design, moving away from free domains etc. etc.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will make some changes to the website some time today.

Michael Kras

Just to not start a new thread, just wanted to say that my website has been edited, and it is now sans ego and arrogance.

if that ego is sans ego and arrogance, then I'm sans body hair

Just to not start a new thread, just wanted to say that my website has been edited, and it is now sans ego and arrogance.

but you did and it got locked.

i refer the honourable gentalmen to the statement i made erlier and await the actual changes that i know will be forth coming and have already made a statment to same.

I hate the tiled imaged as your background, it just doesn't look professional, maybe try a diffrent color scheme.

Mike, as far as I can tell the changes you have made to your page are purely aesthetic. It doesn't seemed as thought you've changed the content at all and that's what the problem is.

in a word... b******s after cringing through the ads to find your links, i browsed the 'sleight of hand' section... why the hell are you telling people its sleight of hand? you shouldnt claim yourself as a magician... but a light fingered conjurer.

also, telling people pretty much exactly what they'll see in each 'trick' is pointless. it takes the element of surprise, if you ever perform for someone that has found you from your site. it will take the 'wow' factor, and give more of a 'look what he's going to do next' 'he told me his routine on his website'

also... the pictures, the one (if its you, i have no idea) with someone fanning a deck... they look to concentrated, as if they are afraid of messing up... and the image of cup n balls... the expression on your face looks as if you'v forgotten what you were doing...

extracts i found amusing from the comedy site of Michael Krasse

"The Linking Ropes: A fun-filled routine where three ropes, each tied into a loop, link unexpectedly against the magician's wishes!" - not really unexpectedly any more....

"combines amazing magic with hilarious dialogue " - lets just skip the magic, its all sleight of hand, yeah?

"The Stoplight Factory: Michael recounts an interesting story about how he used to make stoplights for the city, and was fired because of faulty equipment, which he just "happened" to bring along to the show. A hilarious routine filled with audience participation!" - your 14... child labor? try and make the 'story' believably, i know you have difficulty in this field, but, really, it isnt that hard.

swallowing inflated balloons though... that'd come in handy if Magic ever fails you.


oh yeah... who wrote the site? did you? if so, whats with the third person thing you have going on? do you have a quick key for the words 'Michael Kras'? doing it it a 1st person would be more 'friendly' as opposed to thinking its an introduction to royalty.