Entertainment Agencies
Don’t do what most people do when you’re looking for an entertainment agency: type “entertainment agency” into Google, pick the first ad that pops up and ask for a quote. I mean, you can do whatever you want, but I wouldn’t advise that. Why?
There are a few ways an “entertainment agencies” page gets on the first page of a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) and in front of you.
1. Paid advertising.
With a budget of a few grand a month, you too can force your page to the top ranks of Google! You don’t have to be a good business, or even ethical, you just have to have lots of money! Yaaaaay! Paid ad’s are a useful tool for helping businesses reach clients but don’t always click because it’s the first thing you see. I’m not saying businesses that use paid ad’s are evil, but just think about it. Someone had to pay money to find you. If the company has a profitable business model (and they clearly do if they have the cash flow for Google AdWords), it’s likely that the money that was paid to find you will in some clever way, be added to the fee that you are charged for booking the entertainment. Also, some ad campaigns haven’t perfected their targeting so you might be looking for “corporate entertainment” but the agency specializes in heavy metal bands and that wouldn’t be helpful. Unless your company really likes Metallica. So this will be either a HUGE business with a massive marketing budget, indicating they are likely pricey, or if they are smaller, they are going to add the cost of the entertainer you book back into the price they charge you. So there is a better way to find your entertainer. Read on.
2. SEO.
Also known as search engine optimization, SEO is a great way for an entertainment agency to get in front of you.
“Number one entertainment agency near you is an entertainment agency with some of the most best top acoustic entertainers that specialize in entertaining of most entertained clients.”
Seen this before? Have you read articles that sound like they are written by robots with all kinds of “helpful advice” that isn’t really helpful at all, but just rambling sentences that seem to reiterate the same points over and over? Yeah, that’s the dark side of SEO blogging. Many companies will hire out bloggers on fiverr (it’s a website where people do stuff for $5) to spit out huge volumes of content to get their websites in front of you. Many of these bloggers do not speak native English but know how algorithms work so they write articles that repeat the same words over and over and over and over and….so that the algorithms pick up on this and shoot the website to the top, where you click on it and choose your entertainers. Some entertainment websites really put good info into their blogs but some are just trying to flood Google with high volumes of bad content, so it’s a good idea to read a couple blog posts and see if they are well written, or just fluffy nonsense. If they are fluffy nonsense, then you should hire their entertainers with the same caution you’d have them write your own companies blogs. Now, ranking for SEO is a more laborious method than paid advertising, so it can be seen as a more noble and authentic way of reaching you, but still there is a better way.
3. Being the thing you're looking for and having top quality entertainers.
The best way to get your entertainers: from a website that didn’t use ad’s or clever internet tricks but just is so good that the quality of its business practices automatically brought it to the top spot in all of the internet. Lots of good reviews, client testimonials, word of mouth all consistent high quality content all mean this is real deal. This is a truly impressive feat, kind of like that guy that climbed to Mount Everest in nothing but shorts (his name is Wim Hoff). Also, you ever heard of Sriracha? If not, punch yourself in the face, it’s the best spicy condiment EVER. It’s that red stuff that people put on everything…even if it’s disgustingly inappropriate. Well, the company is a billion dollar company and they are an internationally known brand that has NEVER….SPENT….A DOLLAR…ON ADS. Ever. The founder not only has never spend a single penny in advertising but has never hired a salesman. Why? Because they don’t need it. The product speaks for itself. Similarly, if you are searching for entertainment for your next corporate event, wedding, private party, etc. and you come across a site that didn’t use an ad or have awkwardly written blogs that repeat the same words over and over, then you may have just found your internet treasure.
So, if you don’t feel like reading all of that stuff above, here’s the Sparknotes version for finding entertainment for your next event:
1. Refrain from choosing an agency that paid to get in front of you before you explore other options. They aren’t necessarily the best, the are simply the first.
2. If the entertainment agency has a blog, go on there and read some posts, if it’s keyword-pandering nonsense, keep looking.
3. If the blogs are helpful, clearly written by a native English speaker and provide thoroughly researched information and the agency has reached you organically, there’s a very, very high chance they run a very good business. They pay attention to detail in all the little places many ignore and they are likely less costly than ones on a site that’s advertises. This is your best bet.
As an entertainer who has tried many methods of reaching my own clients, I know most of the tricks that agencies and entertainers use, so don’t let the method by which we reach you make you assume the quality of our entertainment is the same! I want to make sure you get every dollar out of your entertainer, so keep these things in mind when searching for one, always make sure you can see their videos, audio and client testimonials as well!
Happy hunting, classy planner.
Take this infographic. Click and drag it to your desktop and keep it for reference or just print it out on card stock and keep it with you!
Dylan Galvin (Dylan like “Bob Dylan”, Galvin like “Calvin and Hobbes” with a “G”) is a singer/songwriter and professional guitarist and singer in Los Angeles, CA. Follow him on Instagram, Youtube and Facebook.
