Tora: Peter, Please tell something about the art of making money about this art to the people here. I am sure that you are one of the few here to talk about it. You are so busy with the shows and how does it happen ? What is the policy for the pricing of a show?? Please share these secrets here. It will not harm you I guess or am I mistaken ?

Mike: Just shadowing closely Tora's question above...Could you share with us any of your marketing strategies?

Peter: I would love to share some little secrets, but first let me know if you are talking about marketing magic effects, or marketing yourself as a performer?

Mike: I can't speak for Tora, but I'd like to hear your thoughts, insights and strategies into marketing yourself as a performer.

Peter: Ok then, Because this is a rather large topic for discussion, I will give a couple of my tried, tested and true basics, and I’m sure many may know some of these already, but if you see something you want me to elaborate on or wish to hear more, then we can go from there. Now keep in mind that these are things that worked for me and may not work for everyone, and I am also certain there are some or could be some better and faster ways to achieve positive results. First we must ask ourselves some basic questions... 1)You have to ask your self...what type of magician are you? close up stage escape artist illusionist comedic clowning Birthday party magician or more than one of the above? Now lets say you specialize in only one of the said above titles, I think its pretty clear on what your focus will be. However if you can do more than one of the above then here is something a lot of magicians don't realize and I was one of them for a long time. If you offer lets say an illusion show, and also a small birthday party package, the chances of you to be taken seriously as an Illusionist with the bigger clients is highly unlikely. For instance in the film and television industry people think that once they start doing extra work (the walk bys) they can get their foot in the door, and although this can be a stepping stone it is more likely that the casting directors will get to know you as only being an extra and will never consider you for a major role (type cast). Simple as that. Same goes for when a big business is out looking for an illusionist. They will more likely go with the performer who only specializes in doing those type of shows. They will think how good can they be at illusion shows if they still have to do shows in for kids in someone’s living room. Now whether or not the birthday party magician/illusionist is just as good as the full time illusionist, the fact remains that the one who "specializes in one thing will more than likely get the job before the other. Its just a simple marketing point of view. Offering more than one choice can be good to broaden your market, just don't give them to many choices. Now certain titles go well with each other also, such as clowning and birthday party magic, or close up and parlour, or stage and escapes, or illusions and stage. well I think you get the point. Bottom line is try and specialize rather than being a jack of all trades. There is nothing wrong with taking out of title jobs if they come along just don't advertise it. You can always change your format if you have a change in your style of performance. It doesn't matter if you do illusions or birthday parties either. Just pick one. I know guys that make large 6 figure incomes doing birthday parties every week.

2)You have to ask your self about your location. Where do you live and how far are you willing to travel with your show under realistic fees that you charge. Find your market and stick that area only. Try not to spread your advertising thin across large areas at first. Keep it local. Also when advertising, depending on your budget if it is small then go small for a longer period of time rather than large ad for a short period of time. For instance, take a local paper and place a small ad every week, rather than blowing your wad on a full page ad for only one week. People have to keep seeing you ad over and over before it starts to register in their heads. Always stay in view. Don't be frustrated either if at first your little ad doesn't get much response at first, your bigger ad wouldn't have either if they only see it once or twice. Give it several weeks and you will eventually see results. The small ad will pay off.

3)Heres one, get a good demo video done. But, Remember keep it short. A demo should not be any longer than 6min. Most people make the mistake of making their video like 15-20minutes long. Big mistake, Cruise ship directors for instance wouldn't sit thru it, simple as that. You can always have another demo of your full show if they decide they want to see more. But keep it short, catchy, and to the point. Remember people have short attention spans when it comes to this sort of thing.

4)Website with your own domain name will help you more than you could ever imagine. Try and stay away from free sites with pop ups. Major clients won't take you seriously. They will see the pop ups and say to them selves...How good can they be they can't even afford a few dollars for their own site domain, they must not get many bookings. Lets go with that other guy. You have to spend money to make money. Anyway, my hands are getting sore from typing so I will take a break and see if any of this of use to anyone and if anyone would like to hear more of my dribble.

Mister Toad: Many of us have a second major interest or occupation, one that I would call our fallback position. If you weren't a magician now what occupation do you think that you would have moved into?