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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Hi Guys,
I'm giving away the first chapter of my book, Marketing Magic. The goal of the book is to help inventors maximize the profit (and good) that comes from their ideas. Here's the link if you're interested: https://s3.amazonaws.com/MaxwellMurphy/M......view.pdf The first chapter is about the magic community and how it relates to the magic market. I'd love to hear any feedback you have. Maxwell Murphy Penguin Magic |
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Titanas V.I.P. 1995 Posts |
Maxwell,
Congratulations on your book, this is one of the best books I 've ever read. The journey side of the book makes it almost like Coelho decided to write a book about Creating/Releasing magic. Awesome job, Titanas
Product Developer @ Murphys Magic Supplies
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Paul Shirley Inner circle Melbourne, Australia 1206 Posts |
Only just started a thread about this book...
Great work Maxwell. Folks... do your selves a favour!! Get it! |
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insight Inner circle 3095 Posts |
Maxwell,
I hear you are in Cambodia these days. Excellent job on the book. You rock. Go Blue, Mike |
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Tom Jorgenson Inner circle LOOSE ANGLES, CALIFORNIA 4451 Posts |
I bought this one awhile ago...and I've forgotten how many paragraphs, pages, chapters each actually save you the cost of the book, not to mention saving you wasted time and efforts. Information, knowlege and experiences you'd never have thought of is laid out for you like a gift.
If you are at all interested in marketing your effects, this book is an inexpensive MUST. Spend the money and deduct it on your taxes, because this one is, truly, a business investment. Small investment, BIG value. Profitwise, this is the best buy I've made in years. Good work, and I sincerely thank Mr Murphy for writing it.
We dance an invisible dance to music they cannot hear.
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
I'm well into the book and have been amazed at what I didn't know about the retail side of magic. Maxwell also shares his own personal experiences and what he learned ( some of it the hard way ) about the magic world. I like him!
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SIX Inner circle New York City 1772 Posts |
I bought this and its a fantastic read. Many of the ideas and concepts are being applied to System 6.
Thanks Maxwell. Truly incredible of you to release this. Best, Six P.S Maxwell also rocks for everything he has done to suppport Magicians Without Borders. You should come on of our trips! |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Thanks for your kind feedback, Guys. You've made my day. I was feeling a little bummed yesterday because Murphy's told me they're discontinuing my book despite strong sales.
Apparently, they don't like some of the advice I give inventors. They think it's "not in their (Murphy's) interest". The specific part they object to is that I recommend inventors negotiate a short-term (30-day) exclusive with a lead retailer before negotiating a longer-term (6-month) exclusive with a distributor. Well... what can I say? I wrote the book to help inventors have more power and options... not Murphy's, Penguin or any magic company. I do recommend inventors work with Murphy's. Just not blindly. This is the information age. Businesses win by being open and transparent and actually offering the best deal. Not just by being the only option people happen to know about. Losing Murphy's as my lead distributor is a big loss as they really are the most convenient way for many shops to order. However, with some effort I'll be able to make up for the loss. I'll have to reach out to more retailers directly, and work with some other distributors. Pegani is a great European distributor. Magic City is stepping in to distribute the book in the US. Uday has Asia. And of course, I'll have to convince Penguin to shine the spotlight on the product a little more. I really appreciate the kind feedback and reviews. Half a dozen readers have emailed me with specific questions, and I have had a blast helping. If something comes up that's not covered in the book just shoot me an email, I'll be happy to give my advice. |
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axcreations1 New user 63 Posts |
As one of the people that emailed Maxwell with specific questions after reading his awesome book, I have to say, his advice is worth the price of the book ten times over! Being I have an effect I'm planning to release in the next few months, I've read through the book multiple times. It's filled with so much good information, I seem to learn something "new" each time I do!
If you are planning on marketing an effect in the future, or even just thinking about it, this book is a MUST read. I have never met Maxwell in person, but just from the email correspondence I've had with him (which BTW Maxwell if you read this, I'm expecting samples of my two gimmicks from India to arrive sometime this week, and plan to send you an update email once they do), he genuinely is one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of "meeting". Thanks for writing the book man - it's seriously the best magic investment I've ever made. |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Looking forward to the update on your projects, Christopher!
I'll share one question a reader emailed me. He was putting out a new version of a fairly classic effect. He had contacted Murphy's and Penguin. Murphy's had told him they'd carry the item, but only if he didn't sell directly to Penguin. Penguin had told him they'd carry the item as part of the Penguin Partner Program. He wrote to me... What to do? My response: I understand the problem. - Penguin suggests the Penguin Partner Program. - Murphy's says they will not buy from you if you supply Penguin directly. Translation: Both Murphy's and Penguin feel the item will sell, but neither company is so excited they want to fight for it. If Penguin felt certain the item would sell extremely well, they would likely not have suggested the Penguin Partner Program. Instead they would have tried to negotiate an exclusive so they could buy the item in quantity at a discount. If Murphy's felt certain the item would sell extremely well, they wouldn't mind if Penguin bought directly from you, as long as they could buy directly too. For this item, I recommend choosing Murphy's. I believe they will be able to sell more units of this effect than Penguin because it's not the type of item that Penguin typically promotes heavily and sells in high volume. If you supply the item to Murphy's, I am quite certain Penguin will carry the item and buy it from Murphy's. [Note: The inventor had another item he was also bringing to market] For the (other) effect, my advice may be different. ________ is the type of effect Penguin may be able to push and sell in large quantity (it will depend on Penguin's opinion of the effect and method). |
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-10-23 15:27, maxwell wrote: I was surprised at the candor in which you wrote about magic retail world. I actually thought as I read "I think some people are not going to be pleased about this info". But I also thought you were looking for a win-win situation for creators and companies. I applaud you for looking out for all parties and not just taking one side. It's a fascinating read! |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Thanks for your feedback Zombie Magic.
On the topic of win/win. There doesn't have to be any conflict between inventors and magic companies. Both provide real value. The problem is when companies try to leverage their information advantage to get a better than fair deal. This was a big problem 15 years ago, and it's getting smaller over time. But it still exists. I've heard producers/distributors brag about how little they paid for the rights to this or that. Transparency is a better model. I'm surprised Murphy's has discontinued my book because for years they were a powerful force in making things better for inventors. I re-read my last post, and I should clarify that the Penguin Partner Program is an awesome program. I'm selling my book through the Penguin Partner Program, and I receive a 70% royalty on retail sales. That's very tough to beat, especially for an item that isn't expected to sell in large quantity. But if I'd have approached Penguin with a high-volume item like a Raven or D'Lite, the deal would have looked quite different, and Penguin would be giving a lot more marketing support. |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Guys, if you have any questions on the topic of Marketing Magic I'll be happy to help. Whether you've read the book or not. I'll be checking back here over the next couple of weeks, so lets discuss!
Got a couple of great questions earlier today in a PM. Q: Noticed your book is being sold as both an ebook and a print version. Which version is selling better? A: The two versions are currently selling almost equally in number. Q: Why did you decide to charge the same price for the ebook and print versions. A: I did an experiment and sold ads in the back of my book. The ads are from companies that are actively looking to work with inventors, so they're on topic. And, I put them in their own section at the back so they don't interrupt the reader but serve more as a resource. But the awesome thing is the ads covered the entire cost of production of the print version. So... the advertisers paid for the printing. It makes little difference to my bottom line which version people buy. I am charging the same because I want people to buy the version that's best for them. Note: If you bought the print version and want the ebook version too, just send me an email and I'll shoot it over. Also, if you want to read the book but can't afford it, email me. I have some free copies I had set aside for reviewers. maxwell@penguinmagic.com |
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
It's refreshing ( shocking, actually ) to see someone that has a stake in the profits of what someone creates and wants to bring to market, yet presents the actual way the business works and how they can work with a company for a win/win situation. We've all heard the bitter stories of creators being screwed over on a release because they simply did not now how the business worked ( anyone that has bought a new car and the only info they had is what the dealer supplied knows;-).
Anyone running a magic company should read this book to see how by playing fair, they come out better for it. Anyone wanting to create and release, you had BETTER have this knowledge or you will find out later what you should have known. |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
Zombie Magic, thanks for your very kind post.
I should mention that Tim Trono, Acar Altinsel, Chris Smith, John Kennedy, Bob Kohler, Uday Jadugar, Paul Harris, Joshua Jay and many others who work with inventors read early drafts and were very supportive. All these guys suggested improvements, but nobody ever asked me to take out any information. |
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jprace Inner circle 2209 Posts |
I'm on my phone so I can't type an excessive amount, but I bought the hard copy of this book right when it was released. It's filled with great information, and I learned a lot about a market I thought I knew decently well. I recommend it!
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dman11 Inner circle USA 1067 Posts |
This is one of my favorite reads. At this point I don't plan on releasing anything but the topics covered really interested me.
To get to know the business side and how everything works was fascinating and it was just a fun read. And if I ever come up with an idea worth releasing I'll have the knowledge to do so. |
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maxwell New user 93 Posts |
One marketing tool I didn't include in the book, but should have, is Google Alerts.
When the book first came out, I set up an alert for "Marketing Magic by Maxwell Murphy". A few minutes ago, Google Alerts told me about a review that just went up for Marketing Magic at http://magic.about.com/b/2012/10/27/revi......rphy.htm The review happens to be positive, so I don't need to go in and do damage control More than just monitoring product mentions and doing PR work, I've seen value from monitoring key phrases related to projects I'm currently working on. Sure, I could google it. But, normal google results tend to be full of older content. Seeing what's being published TODAY about a topic is very valuable. And opens lots of opportunities for reaching out and joining the conversation. It's quick and easy to set up a Google Alert. Takes about 10 seconds. If you're already using it, let me know. If not, give it a try! http://www.google.com/alerts |
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
Maxwell, that review is from Wayne Kawamoto. Wayne works restaurants, corporate and strolling gigs and knows what's he talking about. Like myself, he doesn't create magic, but found your book "a fascinating read".
Thanks for the Google Alert info! |
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barts185 Inner circle Can you believe I've been wrong on 1355 Posts |
For as well known as google is, I think that google alerts is very under-used and misunderstood.
It's a great resource. I don't have a magic product I use it for, but use it to monitor various areas of interest, and it is fantastic. I am getting the book because I think it will be an interesting read after reading chapter 1. While I have delusions about someday bringing some items to the magic market, chapter one has already told me a lot of what I suspected was the case. Thanks, Bart |
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