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LafayetteJon New user Lafayette, LA 14 Posts |
Howdy Gang, I was recently brainstorming on ways to offer "upgrades" to my birthday party package and I came up with what I feel is a pretty good idea, I just couldn't find another thread on the idea to see if it had actually been tried before. I guess I am looking to see if any of you guys have actually tired this and if so how did it work, and if you haven't tried this what are your honest opinions on it. Here goes.
For and extra $xx.xx I will come to your house (for local customers only) and teach little Jimmy a Magic effect that he will perform at his own Birthday Show. Depending on thiers and my schedule, I will arrive at thier house sometime the week prior and spend about 30 minutes or so hagning out with Little Jimmy and family. THis will allow me time to drive a practice run to their house (while actually getting paid) so that on show day there are no suprises with the directions. It will allow me to help incorporate the birthday child into the show unlike any other. It will allow me to scout out the space for the party and work with mom on the best way to set up. ANd most importantly, it allows me to showcase my personal streght which sometimes gets rushed on show day and that is I truley am a down to earth nice guy who cares. I am very interested to hear what you veterans have to say about this both good and bad. I am sure there are many reasons that I haven't thought of that might cause me problems, please help me find them. Also there might be some benefits that I am missing that might help me sell this, I would also like to hear that also. thanks in advance. |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Hi,
First of all, let me congratulate you on an innovative idea. I haven't heard this done before. I will be completely honest as that's what you asked from our opinions. The idea you suggested is a novel one and may be an added selling feature when booking your act - that's a good thing. The drawbacks I see is a few things which I shall list: Your time is money. From a marketing viewpoint, although a good selling feature, unless you charged the same as a show you would in fact be putting out almost the same amount of time going to and fro to the home than time put in for a show. You would probably charge less for this service than the amount you would charge for a show. I see this happening in the future - you get more popular and it actually becomes a hinderance to find the time to stop in at the home. I'm saying this not entirely without some insight. My first year of business I was so afraid of not being able to find the residences I would drive there a day or so beforehand. So as I could make sure I would find the house on the day of the show and drop off flyers. As I became busier this became impossible for me to do and my fears were unwarranted as I always found the house/business regardless of my previous fears. A call two days before a show for last min instructions or quesions about directions saved me a drive. This is going to sound a bit nasty and I hope you don't get offended by this but it may be a possible scenerio. What if the child doesn't like you? Then what? Does Mom get talked into cancelling? Some children for whatever reason may become very timid in your presence or the opposite. In a room full of kids it's easier to overlook and play to the crowd. Last thing that popped into my mind. What would you teach them? They would need time to practise the effect in order to at least show something presentable on the day of their bithday party or else may be subject to embaressment. You would need a few weeks beforehand to teach them something. You'd have to take into consideration some parents book shows months ahead while others may book you at the last min. For myself my experience has been parents book aprox 1 month ahead of time for a b-day party, but this entirely my experience. Lastly, I attended a lecture on Friday where a well known magi was showing us his world famous effects. One thing that stuck in my mind was he said that if something was more trouble than it was worth it was time to stop doing it. Meaning prep for an effect or making it..ect.. I don't want to put you off your idea as my original thought was "This is a great and innovative idea!" Just stating things that I thought of afterwards and you asked for honest opinions. You may want to try it for a while see how it goes and then decide based on your experiences whether it's worth your time and effort. Good luck to you whatever you decide to do. |
Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
A good magician makes the child 'The Star of the Show' every time.
You can teach a trick to the onler kids for an extra fee after the magic show. Similar to your idea but it is a one visit stop. With my 20th century silk the birthday child vanises a silk the it appear between the two around his neck. He get the credit for doing the trick, even though he doen't know how he did it. Same with Miser's Dream, the child keeps dumping money into the bucket. Actually teaching a child magic then having him do it in your show can make your show look bad if he screws up and becomes embarrassed. I like the idea of having complete control of the way the show should run, no suprises outside of the expected ones. Just my thoughts. I do also agree with Crystals comments above.
Dennis Michael
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Nice information presented above.
I also am in agreement that by doing it on 2 separate occassions, your possiblky losing out on money from a marketing perspective. You will also not be able to book a show on the date you have to make the practice trip. My other concern is the fear factor on the child. Many kids love learning magic but they will NOT want to get up and do a trick and present it in front of their family and their friends. It becomes much to nerve racking for them and instead of a fun day for them, it becomes a day or being scared. As Dennis said so nicely, a magician will always have ways of making the b-day child the star of the show without having to have them scared or feeling they have to be perfect. I do this by using the b-day child's name as the magic word for the day that makes the magic happen. I also have a routine where the b-day child helps me bake a magic b-day cake and then always end with floating the birthday child in mid air. These things really make their event special without me having to use up more time that could be spent at another paying gig. This may be of help to you if your thinking of packages for your shows. I use a pizza type of a model where my regular show is the regular pizza. The toppings are extras that can be added to the show at an extra charge. These extras could be: - Balloon animals for the kids following the performance - Grab bags created for each kid at the show - Face painting for the kids before the show starts These are only a few suggestions, but you get the idea here. The point is you have a lot more you can offer them should they want it, but it does not cause you to have to make more then one trip to any one place. I hope this may help you. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
LafayetteJon New user Lafayette, LA 14 Posts |
Thanks guys, I appreciate the thought that you guys have given me. Before we get much further I guess I should be a little more clear on a few items. First of all the main reason for me doing this is not so much the extra $50 or whatever I can charge, it's so that I actually have a chance to build rapport with the child and family. If Mom and Pop know that I went the extra mile to come and talk with little Jimmy before the show, and when I show up at the show as Jimmy's "friend", well lets just say that I hope that will go well beyond my time and effort when it comes to references and repeat buisness.
Time is money... I couldn't agree more, but unfortunatly at this time I am not booked at all during the weeknights (i work at my fulltime job weekdays 8-5). This is deffinatly not something that a busy 12 show a week guy might can do, but I do on average about 2 per weekend, very easy to fit in for my schedule at this time. I guess maybe it's my obsessive compulsive behavior, but I catch my slef practice driving to most of my local shows. I guess I'm not busy enough for this to be a burdon, that is actually when I came up with the idea, thinking I do this anyway, why not think of a way to put it to use. What if the child doesn't like me..... interesting, I guess I never really gave that idea any thought, I suppose my intial response to that would be, I am sure with anything you do you take chances, I just think I will have more good come from it than bad. I suppose if I start getting cancelations then maybe I will have to re-think that approach. what to teach them.... my first idea was something self working like sponge ball to jumbo square and differnt colored ball. I've kind of expanded on that idea to more self working type of tricks. Make the child the star...... That is something that I have always done, best advice anyone ever gave me, now I am wanting to take that a step further, the child is already the star. If they are interested in magic, then I want to offer them a chance to actually floor thier friends and family with not just magic they get credit for, but magic that they created themselves. I think we all know how good that feeling is, why not share it? What if the child is too scared to perform?..... very good point. to be honest, I still get stage frieght so I cna only imagine what they might feel, maybe this is my biggest weakness in the idea, this I suppose will require some thinking to find ways to circumvent that from happening. This package would only be offered to parents who have children who are interested in learning magic. We all get kids who come up to us after the show and express thier interest in doing what we do. Anyway, thanks again for your brainstorming, very very helpful. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I think you are trying to find ways to build the relationship factor between yourself and your clients. Building this relationship is never wrong and is a great way to get more gigs and business.
However, I think there are better and easier ways to build up this relationship other then the idea you have stated above. Building a realtionship with your client is very important. Instead of selling features of the show, you build a relationship by meeting the direct needs of the client. You state the benefits that you can provide to them to meet their direct need. When you do this, your create a relationship with that client that is different then most others. Once you have started this relationship, how do you build upon it easily. There are many ways to do this. One way is to give the parent or client a thank you kit after your performance. This can be a simple gift with a thank you card or thank you letter. It shows that you appreciate their business. Another way is through the use of a referral rewards program. This means you let people know that you want and except referrals from them. You build the relationship by rewarding anyone who refers a name to you regardless if that name turns into a gig or not. You send them a nice thank you card and a simply gift. There are so many more ways to build upon a relationship that will generate more business for you. I just gave you a few examples so you can get the idea. I hope some of this helps. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
0pus Inner circle New Jersey 1739 Posts |
Consider offering a magic class instead of a birthday party show; it may enlarge your appeal to a slightly older audience (probably predominantly boys).
0pus |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Yes a magic class is also another consideration. Check with your local recreation center as they are always looking for ideas for the community.
Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
This pre-show visit would take up not only your time, but take up a valueable slot in your diary when you could be doing another show. Therefore instead of increasing your income by being an added extra it could actually cost you money.
Why do you feel you need this pre-show time to build a rapport with the birthday child and their family? You phone conversation when they book you is the perfect place to start and as for the birthday child, make a point to say a friendly hello, and have a laugh with them when you first arrive and let them know your both friendly and fun.
Yours Funfully
Clive "Emazdad" Hemsley www.emazdad.com "Magic is a secret, without the secret there is no magic" Remember there are only 3 types of people in the world, those that can count and those that can't. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I agree with Clive:
There are other better methods for building a relationship with your client that does not use up as much of your time. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
p.b.jones Inner circle Milford Haven. Pembrokeshire wales U.K. 2642 Posts |
Hi,
personaly I always have the birthday child perform a trick as the magician .. but actually they do not know the method either. phillip |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
You could use this time during the week at getting more gigs. You know you are doing something right when they plan the party by your schedule and not theirs.
What is your plan if the child does not want to learn any tricks or the child is to young to learn yet. They are having you at the party as entertainment. So the child will be the center of attention, not you. They are hiring you also because you are a childrens entertainer not a magician. Bill |
Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Another consideration is this. Sometimes the magic show at the birthday party is a surprise for the birthday child (not saying the party is a surprise, however sometimes just the show is). For a parent to do the "private magic lesson" the way that you propose, the parent would have to give up on this idea of the magic show being a surprise for their child, which they may prefer.
I think that Opus made a good point. Some performers do magic classes at birthday parties (yes, a magic class in the home, not just at recreation centres) instead of magic shows at birthday parties. Perhaps this might fit in with what you want to do. Also, some parents will be concerned about you having too much rapport with their children before they really know you. There are stranger danger issues involved in a parent's thinking nowadays, and they may not "buy into" your concept. This being all said, I do know some performers who privately tutor magic students, which are children who have a genuine interest. The magicians are careful to do it in a semi-public place for the reason mentioned above, or at home with a parent present (both learn, so the parent can re-inforce the lesson). This is a separate service from the birthday magic show. Perhaps you could look at doing this as well as birthday magic shows, and increase your income by offering mutliple services. - The Gr8 DonaldD.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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