Marketing your magic business - part 3

So this is the third and final post about the absolute basics of making more money as a magician - part 3. There are of course a myriad of other ideas that you can use to make more money and I will be exploring those on this blog of the next few weeks and months.

If you have read part 1 and part 2, then buy now you should have a pretty good idea that the key question you need to answer (and believe the answer you give ) is : "What are you selling?"
If your answer still is 'I sell a magic show' then you are missing the point. As a magician you are not in the business of selling magic shows.

If you answer, 'Myself' then you're a bit closer. Yes, you are selling yourself. You already know that during your performance, if your audience doesn't connect with you as a person, as someone they respect, like, and admire, then you're going to have a much more difficult time entertaining them and making the act appear to be a success. The same is true before they book you, if you fail to sell yourself as the kind of person that they would like to have at their event you have made it very hard for yourself to get the booking. It doesn't matter what your fee is or how many competitions you have won - if they don't like you then you are not going to get booked..

But the real answer is not "a memory" or "a solution" these concepts are far too abstract to be helpful to you in selling the act. The real answer is you are selling security. Think about this for a moment and put yourself in the buyers shoes (always a good plan!): they may well have never booked a magician before, they may not have seem a magician before, they are organising an event for their friends, family or clients (all groups of people that they care about). The magician is just one element of the MANY things that need to be organised for the event. What does the buyer want? (a) the guests will be really entertained by the magician and it will add to the guests over all enjoyment of the evening (b) booking you will be a low stress process.

You are probably thinking that you have this covered - you tell them, at length, about your credentials your professionalism and show them a bunch of testimonials. Well, that is a start, but how do you present this to the prospect? My guess is that you think like a magician so you speak like a magician and use words that magicians use. If you really rip apart your sales materials (brochure. website and so on) does it help the buyer identify with you or have you put yourself up on a pedestal? Do you present your case for (a) and (b) above in a way that someone that has never seen a magician would grasp?

If your marketing materials claim that you will rock the world and change the guests lives and create indelible memories you are deluding yourself and in my experience that is not what buyers are looking to buy. The bride at a wedding would quite like to be the centre of attention and it would be nice for the guests to remember the wedding - do you really think you are going to shine brighter than that? At a corporate dinner in the 7 minutes 30 seconds you spend at a table do really believe that your ring flight is going to be a bigger hit than the complimentary drinks running freely all night? Of course not! If you believe that you are the main attraction you are not selling the service that the buyer is looking for and you are just being a muppet with your marketing!

So don't get sucked into believing you are selling "lasting memories" - your job as a magician is to ADD to the event in a professional way that will HELP with the guests having a great time, when COMBINED with all of the other things that are happening at the event.
You are part of a supply chain and understanding that one fact will enable you to be 100% more effective in your sales and marketing.

However don't think for a minute that I am trying to suggest that you should devalue or dumb down what you offer. Far from it! I am just suggesting to you that you need to focus on the right messages and those need to be what is important to the buyer rather than what is important to you.

Now - go and take this idea and see how it applies to your specific magic business and then take action. No action = No improvement, in which case you have just wasted 5 minutes reading this article. Well Done

(Comments and feedback always welcome)