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Published: Sept. 26, 2014, 9 a.m.

In this episode, I talk to corporate magician and mind reader Kevin Viner. We talk about his career in magic\xa0and numerous other topics including some insight into his internet marketing strategy. He gives some great practical advice that we can\xa0plug into our own marketing efforts!\xa0Seriously, this episode is packed! Kevin Viner is a corporate magician and mentalist. Starting young, he learned his craft and by the tender age of 14 started performing at the world famous Magic Castle. Within a year of that, Qualcomm hired him for his first corporate gig, but we\u2019ll get to that in a moment. Kevin\u2019s been recognized by his peers with numerous awards including First Place at the Las Vegas World Magic Seminar, he received a Comedy award from International Brotherhood of Magicians, and was awarded 1st Place at the Magic Castle Strolling Magic Olympics. He\u2019s appeared numerous times on television on the program Masters of Illusion, on Johnny Carson\u2019s American Masters Biopic, and on Japan\u2019s SuperDrama TV. When it comes to corporate engagements, Kevin boasts 90% of his work coming from corporate presentations and trade show work for clients like Conoco Phillips, GE, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, PBS, SONY, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros. Just to name a few. And as if he\u2019s not busy enough, in his spare time, he\u2019s also a singer/songwriter composing for both piano and guitar, and somehow found time to train for and run his first marathon last year. \xa0

\nSuccess Quote:\n

Knowledge and not doing are equal to not knowing at all.\xa0\u2014\xa0fortune cookie \xa0

\nA\xa0Moment of Failure:\n

Trying to get to the top of DIGG using some questionable means\u2026 \xa0

\nFavorite Success:\n

Kevin's favorite success is being so busy with gigs he's able to travel the country doing what he loves. \xa0

\nWhat's been Kevin's\xa0biggest challenge?\n

He learns and implements\xa0so\xa0much in his business, he has a hard time measuring the results of his efforts. \xa0

\nGetting to the top of Google Searches\n

Kevin gives us some basic\xa0steps you can use to increase\xa0your organic google listings. Let's say, for example, Kevin wanted to\xa0\xa0to get to the top of the searches\xa0for "Tulsa Oklahoma Magician." Here's what he would do: \u2022 On your website, create a title tag of no more than 70 characters that has those\xa0keywords and your name. Example: "Tulsa Oklahoma Magician - Kevin Viner" \u2022 Have "Tulsa Oklahoma\xa0Magician" a few times in the body copy\xa0and possibly in some H1 tags. (But don't keyword stuff!) \u2022 Find a couple online directories that are reputable and are local to Tulsa, link to them on you site and ask\xa0them to link back to you from their site. If you do any college shows, try to have them link to your website, as "edu" domains are more reputable. \u2022 Establish a Google+ page local listing, and get on Yelp for your city. \u2022 It also wouldn't hurt to go out and get a gigmasters or gig salad page\xa0to link back to your site for a little more "link juice" as Kevin puts it. \xa0

\nOther Topics Covered\n

\u2022\xa0If we feel stuck, it's because we're not doing the next thing that we're supposed to do. \u2022\xa0Talks about taking constructive criticism. \u2022\xa0Why it's important to "change it up"with your show when presenting for corporate clients. \u2022\xa0Making sure you have a quality show. \u2022\xa0Asking for referrals: "Can you introduce me to three of four people you think might be able to use this [my show]? \u2022\xa0Describes his\xa0workflow when it comes to emails and how he gets to the ever elusive "Inbox Zero." \u2022\xa0The psychology of shooting high. \u2022 Using correct grammar and being concise in your communications. \u2022 Recording your phone calls and re-scripting your dialogue for future use. \u2022 Maintaining confidence without boosting your ego. \u2022 Mastering skills \xa0

\nParting advice:\n

Don't do magic the way everyone else does it. Find a way to make it different. \xa0

\nRecommended books and resources:\n

Note: Many of the links in this section are affiliate links, meaning we\xa0earn a small portion of any sales. If you're enjoying our\xa0podcast and decide to purchase one of the recommended resources or books, please consider using our\xa0affiliate links to help support the work we're doing here at the Successful Performercast. Thanks!

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Kevin shared a small fortune\xa0of resources with us in this episode! Here they all are, organized for your clicking pleasure. :)

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GMail Plugins
Boomerang for Gmail

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Internet Resources
Adobe Creative Cloud\xa0- creative design software
iContact - Email marketing
Lynda.com - online instruction
moz.com - inbound marketing software
Omnifocus - Task management for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

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Google Rankings and Adwords Resources
Advanced Google Adwords by Brad Geddes
Flying Solo: How Smart Solopreneurs Make Money Online by Josh London
Google Adwords for Dummies
Perry\xa0Marshall's Adwords\xa0Products
SEO for Dummies Google's own\xa0SEO Starter Guide

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Business\xa0Books
4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Elements of Style by\xa0William Strunk Jr.
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

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Creativity Books\xa0
Thinker Toys by\xa0Michael Michalko
Whack on the Side of the Head by\xa0Roger von Oech

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How the Mind Works
Thinking Fast and Slow by\xa0Daniel Kahneman

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Magic & Performance Books
13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda
Absolute Magic by Derren Brown Designing Miracles by Darwin Ortiz [Printed or\xa0Audio] \xa0

\nWhere can we find Kevin Viner?\n

Kevin's\xa0Website Facebook\xa0|\xa0Twitter\xa0@kevinviner | LinkedIn\xa0|\xa0Email