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steve j Special user Long Island, New York 559 Posts |
I've been performing for some years now doing mostly close up but have come to realize the kid shows are often times a better means of income due to the market size. My question is how to get started in the kid show buisness, I already have a show lined up and have audience tested some of the tricks that I can get away with in a close up setting and they play well for the kids and for the adults. Any suggestions would be helpfull.
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Bill Nuvo Inner circle 3094 Posts or 2742 Posts |
Try putting an add in the phone book. It works.
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Whiterabbit Loyal user Kevin Mc Lean 278 Posts |
Most schools have a monthly newsletter that accepts advertisements. That will get the details out there (to your target age group and parents) in a month.
Also, I approached a fast food chain (some chains just won't make a decision though) the other day and now do a themed magic show that ties in with their themed birthday parties. They distribute my business cards and I turn up at their restaurant for bookings. Great for both of us. Hope this helps.
May your fingers never lose their deftness,
May your tongue always lead them down the garden path... Regards, Whiterabbit |
Gideon Sylvan Special user Deerfield, IL 541 Posts |
Just hand out your card as much as you can (while still being appropriate). It's amazing how people will call a year after you give them your card.
You know you are a magician when you have boxes full of lecture notes you have never read, but still are excited about going out and buying more.
www.gideonsylvan.com |
macmagic Veteran user MA 400 Posts |
If your looking to do kids parties an ad in a parenting magazine usually works out the best, yellow pages are ok but remember when people look in the yellow pages they start at the top of the list and just work there way down!
another good thing would be to book a restaurant or even a few so you p[erform there on a weekly basis, incorporate a trick or to into using your business card then let them keep it, slip in during your routine that you perform at b-day parties etc. this will get you tons of b-days and other events as well!
"Its a magic thing...........you wouldn't understand"
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Advertising is great if you focus on a target market and watch your budget. However, nothing beats visibility or what I consider "Live Auditions". Placing myself in showcase environments where parents can see me in action pulls in more bookings on a more consistent basis than anything else I've tried. Street performing, restaurant gigs, mall Kid Club shows, school carnivals, library shows, charity telethons, local festivals...all of these lead to countless bookings. Plan ahead. Have plenty of handouts such as business cards, flyers, Ed Harris Magic Dollars and so on. Good luck!
Skip :o)
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
AragorntheMagician Veteran user Metro-Atlanta 304 Posts |
Skip is right on watching your budget. I track every advertising $$ I spend and I know the return on it. I ask where each person found out about me during our general conversation and that immedieatly goes into my database whether they book or not as I want to know the actual number of calls an advertising medium generates. The actual booking is another problem & statistic. 1/2 of my advertising budget goes into our local "Parent Magazine" but about 3/4's of my present Business comes from it. When it's time to renew I move dollars away from what is marginal and into what gets the most return or a new market I want to test.
Try everything: card, post cards with your picture, coloring page of you (my favorite), ads, flyers but track every response. I even call those who were fishing and did NOT book me to find out why (ie - style, price, etc.) Skip is also right on exposure. Be seen, if the local radio station is having an event...show up...start doing something....That's the utlimate secret...get out and be ProActive. Most ads are passive...only you can create a Buzz about yourself!! My $1.25 worth, Aragorn who was once an engineer and had to deal with statistics & measurable returns.....lol
aka: I used to be BOB (It's Cellini's fault)
"All Right, Who's Volunteering to be Turned into a Frog???" www.aragornthemagician.com |
krantis Regular user AUSTRALIA 106 Posts |
Web site - web site - web site - web site : colourful pics.....
and make sure you got some good colouful props too. get a heap of stickers made and visit all sorts of places where parents and kids are associciated..... Success = good looking props and good promotion... it can be done on the cheap. If you are not in with the web thing, go do a course to learn how.... Send your web to as many schools and preschools and care centres as possible and libraries and kindergartens........ really get it out there.. ring a few as well... I would have to recommend good props from Derek Rutt Creations, David Ginn, Mak Magic, Steve Taylor..... and get yourself to the KIDabra yearly conference in the USA.. it looks good...... If you need more help email some time... Adios magic buddies Magic Mike |
krantis Regular user AUSTRALIA 106 Posts |
Oh and ring the paper........... well said aragorn....... media is the key to success!!
over and out. :) |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Media is not really the only key to success. The key to success is taking direct action upon yourself to go out there and MAKE that success happen. Without the direct mindframe of taking action, then nothing else will come of it. You have to realize that to be successful with your magic, you need to get up off your butt and stop sitting there hoping the phone will ring.
Success is also learning from failure. You might say that failure is only a stepping stone to success if one stops and learns from each failure one does. I might also mention that there is also a reason why they call it "show business". You can have the greatest magic show ever, but unless people know who you are and how to contact you, then being the grestest does not add up to a hill of beans. Yes, you must first have and provide a quality magical exxperience. That is a given. However, having that great show will not do you any good unless you take direct action to make people know who you are and the value you can give them. This is done through effective and target style marketing concepts. A successful minded entertainer will be one who strives at creating a great show experience and being able to sell this to a prospect by showing them directly how their show can benefit the prospect. They also find success in not just being a product the prospect buys. I always strive never to be just a product. Products are meant to be used and abused and forgotten about. I want that prospect to become a client and then I want them to become a recurring client who will come back to me time and time again? So how do I change this perception of them seeing me as just a product? I go and make myself known to them not just as a magician, but as a total solutions provider. I simply strive to find solutions to any of my clients needs. By listening to them, I lock in on what needs they have and structure my show and offerings to meet these needs. As soon as I meet needs and solve needs for my client, my perceived value in their own eyes increases ten fold. Now I am no longer magician XY or Z. Now I am remembered as The Magical Illusions of Kyle and Kelly and they will come back to me time and again because I can offer them something others can not offer. I have added value to them. Another thing that success-minded people strive for is NEVER forgetting about the past client. Too many magicians do a show and leave and move on. That can be one of the single most bad mistakes one can make. Instead BUILD relationships with these folks. Afterall who knows more about what you do and how you do it and how you met a need, more than a person who has experienced what you have to offer. They are walking billboards and advertisement for you. Do not forget about them. Nuture the relationship with them through out the year. By doing so, you can often not only get repeat bookings from them, but often times you get referrals from the person giving your name out to others they find might benefit from what you have to offer. Keep your name fresh in their minds at all times. Another point I will make here is that if you do any passive forms of advertising, and this is fine, you should always strive to track your results every single time. Too many people place an ad or place a flyer and then just sit and wait? Track where your gigs are coming from. How else will you learn what forms of marketing are working the best for you unless you track where they are coming from. If you do a passive form of marketing, track how many went out or how many calls you received and out of those, how many bookings did you receive. This information can be so valuable to any performer and just requires a bit of time to get used to doing it. No one said success would be easy. Successful minded thinking takes time to dvelop just as the skills do to be successful. But if you stick with it, you will find an amazing thing happening to you. You will find that successful-minded thinking and processes become a habit. Once they are a habit, then you just do them without even thinking about it. Strive to be successful as much as you want to be. Go out there and take action to make it happen. You can do anything you set your mind out to do. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Michael238 Inner circle 1192 Posts |
Great advice from Kyle.
I have asked a lot of questions to this gentleman, and now I am acting upon it. One of the things to do as well is get on the phone and start calling. I have put together a couple educational shows for schools and daycares. My wife and I have been getting on the phone and are getting a lot of interest and contacts. Walk in to places with your suit and tie on and tell any place that may need entertainment about your services. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks Mike for the kind words. I greatly appreciate that.
Part of the key to success is simply the art of DOING. Many people have the desire to be successful but do not have the ambition enough to take action upon what they are really seeking. If you want success, then you have to be willing to take action to make that success happen for you. Cold calling is certainly one technique that can be used in a very "active" style of marketing. However, when I cold call, I never ever sell myself. That is not my goal when I cold call. My main reason for cold calling is to simply "qualify" a lead. To "Qualify" a lead means to first find leads and contacts for a particular market you are trying to reach out to. Once this rough list is developed, you qualify the lead to determine if the lead is still an active lead. This may mean if they are still hosting the event you are trying to get into. It also means that you are really trying to confirm just exactly who the "decision maker" is who will be the opne person in charge of determining if you get hired or not. This is why I cold call. I find that most of the initial contact information I disocver in my research and lead generation process is not 100% accurate at all. Infact most of the times, the information I have is NOT the decision maker's information. If I just mailed out a letter or kit to the names on my rough list, my return rate would be very low. By qualifying the lead though a cold call, I can directly check my information and make sure I have the correect information for the person who will make the entertainment decisions. This way I am targeting the specific person and know that my packet gets to the person who has the greatest power over my booking potential. When I cold call, I simply state who I am, what I do and that I wanted to confirm my contact information with them so that I might be able to send along my information for possible consideration. It really is as simple as that. It is basic, friendly and to the point. I do not sell to them. I am really just asking permission to send something for consideration and confirming my information. Most of the time, the person on the other end is what we call a "gate-keeper". This is as a person who is not the decision maker, but stands between you and the decision maker. It pays to be pleasant to the gate keepers and to be polite to them. Because they have busy schedules, keeping your initial contact with them short and to the point, will more times then not, get you the results that you seek. By doing this technique, you can not send along your information and receive a much greater return rate then if you never qualified the lead in the first place. Hope this may help you. I wish you all much success with your magic. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Michael238 Inner circle 1192 Posts |
Thanks for filling in the blanks Kyle!!
See what I said, ask Kyle, and he will give a boatload of useful info. You should write a book. I would be one of the first to pick up one! |
Michael238 Inner circle 1192 Posts |
Skip has a great suggestion as well. Get where you can get the most visibility.
A great show will be the best advetisment. Money does not buy an awesome performance. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Mike,
Thanks again my friend. I hope some of this information is of use to you and others and that you find it helpful. It is my pleasure to share it with you and anyone else who takes the iniative to find success for themselves. I am indeed writing a book and am in the middle of the project. It is just taking a long time to finish as I am trying to write it in the middle of a very busy festival season for my wife and I. I also want to take my time to do it correctly to be able to provide the mnost help and information I can. I will try and keep you posted on the project if you would like. If anyone has any questions about how to market yourself effectively without breaking your bank, please ask here. It would me my pleasure to help if I can and offer suggestions and tips on what has worked for me and what might work for you. It really is not as hard as some may think nor does it mean you have to spend a fortune to do it. It really is a matter of learning new skills and placing those skills into action every day. Also, anyone can feel free to PM me at any time if they would like some advice or if you would like me to check out your current marketing materials and see how you can adjust them to get the greatest immpact from them. It would be my pleasure to assit anyone if I can. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Michael238 Inner circle 1192 Posts |
Here is another idea.
Put some sort of advetisment on your vehicle. I have done this recently, and I am starting to get leads generated from this. You can have decals, door amgnets etc. They are not that expensive really. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Great idea but just be careful of this and check your local ordinance etc. Some places this advertising on your vehicle is illegal and you can get fined for it. I know it is weird, but I have seen and heard this. SOOO best to just check first before you have it done.
Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Michael238 Inner circle 1192 Posts |
This is true.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Remember that the ultimate way to get more shows is to make sure you have a great show to begin with. You simply can not be successful for very long without having a show that is directly geared towards your audience and that plays well.
The next big step is realizing that you have to take direct action to get the success and make the success you want happen. Success is not going to come walking up your door or call you on the phone. You have to take control by taking action upon yourself to make it happen. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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