Not Exactly What I Wanted To Hear
I recently discovered something slightly unsettling about my brand.
Like many self-employed people, I’m far better at entertaining people than I am at marketing myself. So after reading somewhere that:
“Your brand isn’t what you say about yourself. It’s what other people say about you.”
I asked ChatGPT to analyse hundreds of my reviews…
I hoped for words like:
“Astonishing.” “Mind-blowing.” “Incredible magician.” “How on earth did he do that?”
Instead, the recurring themes were:
Friendly. Funny. Engaging. Charming. Professional. Put everyone at ease. Made everyone feel included.
The magic was there too, but it wasn’t usually the headline.
I’ll be honest – I felt mixed emotions.
I mean it’s not as if the magic isn’t mentioned… it is… but second.
The magician part of me wants people to say:
“He’s an amazing magician.”
Not:
“He’s a really nice bloke.”
But the more I thought about it, the more I realised something.
Who wants an amazing magician who’s unpleasant to spend an evening with?
Nobody hires a magician just to fool people.
They hire someone to create an atmosphere.
To bring people together.
To help guests relax.
To make people laugh.
To create moments they’ll remember.
The magic is the vehicle. The experience is the destination.
Of course, I’d still like people to think the magic is excellent. My ego isn’t completely cured.
But if clients leave saying:
“Danny was lovely, hilarious, engaging, and by the way the magic was incredible…”
that’s probably a better outcome than:
“The magic was technically brilliant, but I wouldn’t want to sit next to him at dinner.”
So I’ve made my peace with the verdict.
Apparently my brand is:
“A friendly, funny person who happens to perform very strong magic.”
And, on reflection, I think I’m quite happy with that.
My Word Cloud
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