PLEASE, don’t get upset with the question I’m about to ask as I genuinely don’t understand the inn’s and outs of kids performers.

I could see where having a reputation as a good magician and having a good show could be beneficial doing school shows and such.

But when it comes to private birthday parties what’s the point?

Let’s say you have a great show and charge more then your competition, or for that matter your competition charges the same and their show is only O.K.

What’s the point, BESIDES personal pride in oneself and making magic better off for the sake of magic?

Are you really going to create such a buzz about yourself that you will be able to charge more then your competition?

Are you really going to create such a buzz that you’ll get a whole bunch of repeat bookings and/or extra bookings?

As an example (remember I’m a novice here) let's say…

Magician “A” has a lot of money and time invested into his show and it is truly a great show and charges 200.00 bucks.

Magician “B” has little money or time invested in his show charges the same and is able to get as many if not more repeat bookings as well?

Or is it Magician “B” will get a bad rep and run out of clients?

Just asking.

If Magician B is a savvy marketer, he will do very well...but for a short time. Eventually word will get around that B is not that good.

Most of the shows I perform are birthdays. And about 20% come from referrals, or from a kid who saw me at somebody else's party. Birthday Moms DO talk to each other, and if you do a bad job, they'll let everyone know.

Cabin fever
Welcome to the magic Café. There are lots of bad kids magicians who are very successful, and they will continue to be successful indefinitely. I can name names, but we don't do that sort of thing.

People do not get hired because they are better or worse than anyone else. The thing that gets the job is if they answer the phone or get back immediately to the caller, have the date open, and don't have an outragious price tag. That is it slick, nothing more to it. Even referals mean nothing because while they are very important and a great help the spectators don't know if the magician was good or not because they usually don't have anything to measure it against. To most parents if you show up on time, keep the kids occupied and happy, and leave when done you are a great magician.

I guess maybe I just care about producing a quality product.

When you go to a house to do a birthday party, and the dad leaves the house as soon as you arrive, you can bet that the last kids magician he saw left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

I'll quote my best professors... why do you ask that question?

Are you frustrated that you see mediocrity rewarded?

Or are you trying to justify it for yourself?

Seriously, your motive for the question would help the experienced folks here answer your question better.

This is a small sideline for me, a handful of shows a year. However, I remember getting in my car a couple years ago after an annual gig that was a sure thing for rebooking, and I said to myself "they deserved a better show than that. And I can do one." - I went online and found this magic Café right here, and I've been reading the freely shared wisdom since.

Your motivation means everything. I just redid a friend's wedding DVD I made 3 times to fix small things I doubt they ever would have noticed. But I noticed. I didn't always demand better of myself, I have to admit. But now that I do, I feel better about my performances. And, I can see a difference. I got re-booked for a much tougher crowd that asked me back for this year, and I know that 5 years ago, that wouldn't have happened.

Having a quality show means almost no advertising, and LOTS of word-of-mouth recommendations. Folks DO talk about entertainers, and yes, you can create such a buzz about your show that all the parents, teachers, and most importantly, kids, will be demanding your services. Then you can increase your fees, work as often as you want (including weekdays), and you will have your clients arranging their parties around YOUR schedule, instead of the other way around.
What's more, you can earn significantly more than most "adult" magicians (who can almost never get gigs during the week), you will earn more than most other performers in fact, and your working hours are more tolerable (again, adult performers work late into the night, not so kids performers).
So there's lots to be gained by having a cracking good kids show or two, I guess the real secret is, you need a real passion for entertaining kids. That's the part that drives you to create the best shows you can.
:)

>What’s the point, BESIDES personal pride in oneself and making magic better off >for the sake of magic?

I truly believe that I create a special day for the birthday child and create memories of a birthday with that funny magician.

>Are you really going to create such a buzz about yourself that you will be able >to charge more then your competition?

Yes!!

Are you really going to create such a buzz that you’ll get a whole bunch of repeat bookings and/or extra bookings?

Yes!!

A great show, customer service above and beyond and a little time is what it takes.

-stephen

Threecardmonte producing a good product has nothing to do with it. I would hope you want to produce a quality product but the simple fact is if you have the greatest show on earth and get fan mail from Lance Burton and you get a call and don't get around to calling back for a couple days vs a guy with an out of the box using David Ginns patter for everything guy picks up the phone then HE is going to get the job because how good or bad you are isn't known and doesn't matter much to the guy trying to get a magician to shut his wife and kid up. It isn't personal.

In fact I ask that all of you watch the first episode of Night Court with the beautiful and talented Harry Anderson. Dan the lawyer finally has had enough and says "how did you get to be a judge?". Harry replies "well, they called so and so and he was on vacation then they called X and he was out at the movies and then then called XX and he was out of town cuz of the holiday weekend then they called me", Dan says "you mean you are the judge because" Harry "yup, cuz I was home".

When IBM was looking for an operating system for their lil' PC back in the early days they went to see a guy named Bill Gates. Bill didn't have an operating system so he refered them to a guy, now dead, in Monterey California. IBM guys flew there and went to his house and the mans wife, who was told not to interfere with his business, told them that he was out on a golf trip and she was told not to bother him. The IBM guys called up Gates and asked what they should do since they had a timeline to meet and Gates told them to hold tight for a bit. Gates went down the street to a guy he knew who had an operating system and bought the rights from him for something like $50,000. He called the IBM guys back and said "I have an operating system that will do what you want called DOS" and IBM dudes said "cool, you got the deal". See Valley of the Nerds for the full story.

You see, quality didn't come into play, timing and responsiveness did.

Santa
Everyone else here has given a politically correct answer, which is very appropriate for super Tuesday. I'm afraid you and I are way off base by telling the unvarnished truth.

MagicSanta
I have no doubt that that happens. I never answer my phone. (but that's another topic for another time) I don't want the gig where the guy doesn't care who he gets and just wants to shut his wife up. I want the gig where the parents care about their kid and want somebody who is good. I want the gig where they want ME, because they heard how much fun my show is. I get plenty of work with this attitude and I'm not going to change my view.

I think there's a difference between birthday party and company bookings for children's shows. I had repeat bookings for years when it came to children's Christmas parties arranged by companies, clubs etc. and I like to think they knew what they were doing when they re-booked me.
Private birthday parties are another matter. I suspect most parents try and do something different each year as their child gets older, so you're really only looking for referrals there.
Whether poor entertainers get as much work as good ones can come down to how well served your area is. In a small community, word gets round and I would expect the poor entertainer to become less popular. In a City, it's probably more down to advertising, and a poor entertainer can get enough first-time bookings to keep busy. Some of the best children's ( and most of the best adult) magicians I know don't get anything like as much work as the ones who take out ads in the yellow pages, and I've seen some pretty dire performances from 'large ad' entertainers.

The two things I took pride in were that I always gave the best performance I could (largely out of a sense of pride) and that I never, ever advertised. All my work came through word of mouth.

There is a childrens entertainer in my area who advertises herself as "voted best in Philadelphia". IMHO she is not real good, but this has not stop her from doing 4 or 5 parties every weekend for the last 15 years. She advertises extensively, and answers the phone on the first ring.

TCM....most husband really want to shut the wife up when she is nagging. Hey, if you don't answer the phone and choose not to get back in a timely manner more power to you and good luck building a rep. Not you but 'you' in general. There is a difference between competing with another magician for the job as the question is directed to and getting a job where you are refered.

I can only point to the path of wisdom folks, I can't hold your hands and guide you down it.

>But when it comes to private birthday parties what’s the point in "a reputation as a good magician and having a good show could be beneficial doing school shows and such."

Because I am expensive and only a good rep will get more customers. Most people who have seen me before, book me. Most people who have not seen me before do not book me.

>Are you really going to create such a buzz about yourself that you will be able to charge more then your competition?

Short answer? Yes. Yes I do. People who have heard I am good are willing to pay me fee.

>Are you really going to create such a buzz that you’ll get a whole bunch of repeat bookings and/or extra bookings?

See above.



> Magician “A” has a lot of money and time invested into his show and it is truly a great show and charges 200.00 bucks.Magician “B” has little money or time invested in his show charges the same and is able to get as many if not more repeat bookings as well? Or is it Magician “B” will get a bad rep and run out of clients?

If Magician B continues to get as many bookings as Magician A without spending time and money on his act then he has good business practice. Less work, investment for the same return. However, this rarely happens, if ever, in the real world. The good magicians with good marketing get more money for their shows.

As a magician, he is lowering the bar and making us all look bad. Pride in your work definitely plays an important role in making magic great.

Hold it here, all of my jobs come from my web site, agencies, business card, and word of mouth like you, but there is also room for the marginally talented person with a good head for business to stay busy also.

There sure is! But I'm not sure an average show with no reputation will be able to charge top dollar.

When I first started I can't possibly have been anything but below average. Yet my first year I ended up earning more than any other magician in my area. How? I was the only one with a mobile phone. Unless people already know of you, they might leave an aswerphone message, but sure as eggs is eggs, they'll also carry on ringing round. By the time you get back to them, the job's probably already gone.
Of course, when you're established you can get what you might consider enough work, but you'll also miss out on a lot of first-time bookings if you aren't at the end of the phone when they call.

To summarise.

You can get work if you're average by marketing yourself well.
You can get work if you're good by word of mouth.

But you'll get the most work by being good and marketing yourself well too.