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MichaelDouglas Special user Portland, Oregon 766 Posts |
For those of you out there who market your magic to weddings, what recommendations do you have on how best to market your services? I'll assume that you have a web site that is optimized to rank for wedding entertainment or something like that. Additionally, do you attend wedding expos, advertise in bridal magazines, network with wedding planners? What works best in your market?
I've not intentionally targeted this market yet and am just looking for some input on how best to start in addition to a web site. Oh..yes, I have already done a search of the Café and read some older threads that talk about this topic. I failed to find many recent posts specifically addressing this. I also found the marketing course for this topic recommended by Dean Hankey back in 2004 has been discontinued. Any help would be appreciated. |
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Nash Inner circle Hong Kong ~ USA 1101 Posts |
I've been trying to break into the wedding scenes for the last couple of years. it is a tough sell because most brides are either not aware of this option or immediately think "oh why would I need children entertainment/ oh why would I put on a sawing a woman in half act in the middle of my wedding"
You have named all of the important steps. Have you looked into DIY sites like theknot / weddingwire? One thing I found is that - smaller wedding shows/ open houses give me the best chance. It gets me in front of brides, and since it's smaller, I actually get a chance to talk to the bride and really impress her. I found that in bigger shows, brides tend to move a long faster and sometimes have their eyes set on things they need and just skip my booth. You can check out my wedding page for more info: http://www.nashfung.com/wedding.php Hope this helps : -)
I teach leaders the magic of curiosity and empathetic communication. keynote Speaker | Seattle magician
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RobertSmith Veteran user 330 Posts |
If the message you're sending to brides makes them think "why would I need children's entertainment," you're doing it wrong. I know other magicians who have tried, unsuccessfully, to target weddings by selling themselves as entertainment for the children.
Expand your horizons in this market and you'll have more success. |
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Steve Yarosko Loyal user 285 Posts |
I am more of a Balloon Artist than a magician, and I have worked several weddings doing balloon sculptures for the guests. Usually it is during the cocktail hour while the wedding couple are getting their pictures. I'm hoping what I say in this post might translate to magicians as well. I always hear at least one person say at the wedding, "What a great idea having a balloon artist at the wedding!!" Most people don't think to hire a variety artist, so you have to educate them. It is always the bride who hires me. I would market to them. Let them know how creative and awesome their party planning skills are by doing something different and hiring you. Make sure the photographer gets some good pictures of you doing your thing. These pictures will go in their wedding album, and when the bride's friends look at the album they will hopefully want to hire you too, especially with her newly-wed friend's recommendation. For a while, I think I had the "Asian Bride from Orange County CA" market cornered with all of the word-of-mouth/wedding album recommendations. A few weeks ago I did a Jewish wedding, and met a couple that are going to get married in the Spring. They are interested in hiring me, so maybe I'll corner the Jewish wedding market too. That would be cool. The Jewish wedding was a lot of fun.
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Blair Marshall Inner circle Montreal, Canada 3660 Posts |
As mentioned above the smaller wedding shows are good to be at, a local one I have done has given me a booth, and just like the bridal dress supplier that gets to show their "stuff", I do a 10 minute stand-up for the audinece as a break in the show.
The BIG bonus is getting a list of the brides (only) and their contact info WITH the dates of their weddings. With the smaller shows the size of the list is manageable. (ie. there may be 200 folks attending the show, but only 40-50 brides). The group I worked with did two shows a year in different areas of the city. I basically promoted walk-around magic for the pre-dinner cocktail, and would inquire if it was a more "family" orientated, in which case I would mention my ability to keep the children entertained also. Do not forget also the wedding shower, and other events at a wedding where your entertainment could be used. Blair
Visit My Facebook Fan Page At
www.Facebook.com/BlairMarshallMontrealMagician www.BlairMarshall.ca www.ShaZzamShow.com www.MontrealMagicien.com |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-10-02 13:55, MichaelDouglas wrote: After reading the title I was going to mention two of what you have listed. 1. Find out who gives expos in your area. Ask them how much it will cost to rent a booth. Try to make a deal with them. Try and negotiate giving your strolling magic services to the visitors for exchange of a booth you can use as a trade show area. 2. Do a search on the internet for all the wedding planner businesses in your area. Send them a promo DVD of yourself. 3. Get permission to leave promotional material in a wedding dress store. 4. Contact banquet halls in your area. Explain you will support them with a finder's fee if your services are approved from their word of mouth. 5. Have the keywords "wedding entertainment" listed on your website. The best way is to have a website for performing magic at weddings only. One time I made a broom and bride appear at a reception using Flash Appearance. |
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RobertSmith Veteran user 330 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-10-03 00:24, Dynamike wrote: Was she a witch? |
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JamesinLA Inner circle Los Angeles 3400 Posts |
Nash,
Good site and video! Nice work. Jim
Oh, my friend we're older but no wiser, for in our hearts the dreams are still the same...
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mota Inner circle 1658 Posts |
A while back I went to T Jam on the Road, the traveling balloon convention. Part of it was deco-twisting and had a lecture on marketing by Robbie Furman. He had a couple thoughts about weddings that you guys might be able to use.
First, realize it is a long lead time. Weddings are planned well in advance so are a long-term project. Second, when you are at a wedding expo have one person hold down the booth while the other person visits the other booths and networks. Making sure everyone else in your area's wedding business knows about you, your work and how to contact you. Robbie said this is where most of the wedding bookings come from. You can't just walk in to a wedding expo and go booth to booth. That is considered soliciting. However, if you have a booth they don't say anything. Finally, he mentioned that wedding expos that charge an admission fee produce a much better clientele. The late S. David Walker had this same observation about fairs. If they have to pay to get in they are better prospects. Hope someone can use this information. Good luck. |
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MichaelDouglas Special user Portland, Oregon 766 Posts |
Thanks guys. This is good stuff. I also read somewhere yesterday about the idea of creating a flyer that lists the top 10 mistakes Brides make in hiring wedding entertainment. Mike, this might work as a promotional piece I could leave at local wedding vendor shops.
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
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On 2012-10-03 01:09, RobertSmith wrote: Now I get your comment. My bad, I meant "groom". |
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eatonmagic Special user Orlando, FL 737 Posts |
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On 2012-10-03 16:21, MichaelDouglas wrote: Michael, I am doing several gigs this week so I might not be able to reply to you as soon as I'd like, but I have some ideas that might help. Additionally, I am also a graphic designer and could speak with you about designing some materials. Not only have I focused on weddings as well as private events but I also help with both social media and print marketing as well. And to help make you feel more comfortable about my background, yes, I have attended several wedding expos as both vendor and performer. |
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Eldon Inner circle Virden, IL 1137 Posts |
Just brainstorming but maybe you could find the best Wedding DJ in the area and partner up with him. If he doesn't want to do it then try the second best. Of course if he worked with you he would soon become the best Wedding DJ.
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
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On 2012-10-04 03:43, Eldon wrote: Wedding photographers too. |
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mota Inner circle 1658 Posts |
Along those lines you might see about wedding singers and wedding bands too. A little appreciation of their talent could go a long way.
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RobertSmith Veteran user 330 Posts |
I would be hesitant to team up with another wedding dj, band, singer etc.
Consider your positioning in the market, not theirs. You have an opportunity to go into a market that most magicians won't bother with. Go frame yourself as the unique alternative to everything else. And you don't have to settle for framing yourself on the lowest common denominator that is kiddie magic tricks. Adults like, want and desire to be entertained also. Honestly, how many of you have been to a wedding and sat around board out of your wits waiting for photos to be taken of the bridal party? Step up. Frame yourself based on what YOU can do. Not what all the same tired DJs do. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
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On 2012-10-04 18:29, RobertSmith wrote: Yea, I know what you mean Robert. If you are doing good with entertainment at weddings, it will not be necessary. If you get very few a year, it will be better than nothing. |
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patrick1515 Regular user 142 Posts |
Without knowing it I used a page out of Joel Bauer's guerrilla marketing handbook. I attended one of these wedding shows and began strolling around simply performing little teaser routines as I met and mingled. I performed for four hours and passed out a lot of business cards that day; later booking several gigs as a result. All for the price of admission and my time. Interestingly, not once did anyone ask if I was a registered vendor. Since I was just starting to build this portion of my business, it was a good experience, but I am not convinced it is was the best use of my time and energy.
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RobertSmith Veteran user 330 Posts |
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On 2012-10-04 19:55, patrick1515 wrote: As someone who pays thousands of dollars to exhibit at trade shows, including weddings, this guerilla style approach is very telling of your professionalism or lack thereof. |
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mota Inner circle 1658 Posts |
Robert, thank you for your thoughts. What I suggest with making contact with other wedding performers is not to team up with them. I am not even sure how that would work. It is for purposes of networking...getting leads for weddings. I agree that many of these performers are a little colorful and you might not want to be directly associated with them.
There are some businesses you might consider teaming up with. I used to do wedding shows with an entertainment agency that booked the events. They rented the booth and I worked it alongside them as an entertainment option that they could see live. Again, going back to my post about the decotwisting seminar. Robbie emphasized that most of your business (at least his) came from others in the wedding business, not directly from the people having the wedding. In most areas businesses that work the events all know each other and recommend each other. As has been shown in this wonderful thread there are many good options for this market. |
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