What’s a children’s entertainer to do in a shrinking economy? While business is up for a few, according to a couple of articles at the MiamiHerald.com, the economy is shrinking what parents are willing to spend on their child’s birthday parties.

In Tears of a clown: Economy shrinking kid parties, last year Amy Tinoco, otherwise known as Oopsy the Clown, grossed about half of what she did the previous year. In practical terms, she went from about a dozen parties on any given weekend down to three.

A similar (and obviously related) article, Kids’ parties being toned down, also notes that those who make their living from performing at parties have felt the financial pinch because parents are spending less on children’s parties.

How Much will Parents Spend

One interesting bit of information in the article is some research done by Parents Magazine on how much their readers were planning to spend on their child’s party. Here’s what they found:

• 26% – Less than $75.00
• 49% – $75.00 to $200.00
• 19% – $200 or more
• 6% – Didn’t Know

Strategies for Booking Shows in a Down Economy

One strategy mentioned in the article that may be useful for increasing bookings during the economic downturn is to offer a bonus.

For example, do you normally offer “extras” such as bubble machines or goodie bags for an additional fee? Consider offering them at no extra charge. Everybody loves a deal and it mean the difference between working and staying home.

Your turn now. Have you experienced a downturn along with the economy or is your business booming? What strategies are you using to stay busy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Why are we giving away $200 worth of classes at Circus Magic 2010? Simple, it’s a bribe!

We’re changing the provider we use to send our email newsletters and we want to encourage all of our Circus Magic friends to make the switch.

By confirming your email with our new provider, not only do you have a chance to attend one of the great Circus Magic pre-convention workshops on us, you also guarantee that you’ll continue to receive all the great articles, tips, and news you’ve come to expect from CircusMagic.com.

And here’s some great news! Everybody who confirms their email address is automatically entered into the contest. And if you are a new subscriber, you’re eligible as well.

So, if you’ve been putting off switching to the new provider, you can register here. It only takes a few seconds and you just might be one of the five lucky people to attend a Circus Magic Pre-day!.

Any change, even one for the better, comes with a certain amount of discomfort. So, you may not like the newly redesigned Circus Magic website, but, I suspect you will.

Why Fix What Isn’t Broken?

So why would I engage in such a massive project, especially since the current design functioned well? Since implementing the previous design, the web has morphed. New methods and techniques are available that will give you a better experience when visiting Circus Magic.

The previous Circus Magic design developed and morphed over a number of years. As the site grew, roadblocks in the design prevented me from implementing some of the features I thought readers would enjoy.

Finally, I like web design and tinkering behind the scenes and the redesign certainly scratched that itch.

What was the Game Plan?

Probably the most dramatic change longtime readers will notice is that all of the information about the Circus Magic convention has it’s own site. This enabled a more structured approach to providing articles, tips and new at CircusMagic.com. Luckily, you can reach the convention site from a link right on main menu.

Of course this wasn’t the only change. I also wanted to improve the site by:

• Maintaining the overall look of the site using the current color scheme and logo.
• Making it easier to find useful content.
• Bringing back and highlighting classic content that was buried deeply in the old site.
• Simplifying the look of the site in order to give readers a better visual experience.

What Are My Favorite Changes?

My favorite features by far all relate to helping users find useful content on the site. The search box is available at the top of every page and behind the scenes, the search process works much better.

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. – Charles Kettering

The sidebar helps readers easily find recent, classic, and popular articles. The category bar helps folks find all the posts that apply to their particular interests, and the breadcrumbs below the bar help you navigate through the site effectively and a redesigned archive page presents all of the material on the site in an organized way.

Another favorite feature of mine is having the ability to introduce some of the classic content over time. It will be fun updating and introducing the material anew.

Finally, the backbone of the site is the thesis theme. Thesis allows me to implement changes more easily and concentrate on bringing you the information you want.

So, How Did I Do?

Of course the site isn’t finished, there are a number of tweaks and features to finish up the re-launch. And… I still have a few surprises up my sleeve that I will be implementing over the coming year.

Let me know what you think. What do you like, and what do you think still need work? Are there other features you would like to see. Let me know in the comments below.