|
|
Go to page 1~2 [Next] | ||||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Hey guys sorry if this has already been disccussed. I am based in the UK and going through some personal things that are making me reevaluate my job choices.
In a few months I'm leaving my current teaching job in England and moving back home to Scotland. The perfect time to think about starting to get some gigs. Research ing the UK market, it seems most work in the wedding market to begin with before maybe moving to corporate. However, I see very few people advertising as mentalists. Most are advertising as magicians. I love and can do magic but feel I want to be seen as doing mentalism rather than mental magic. So, how does one advertise themselves? If people are searching for wedding entertainment, I don't see many searching for a mentalist. Do you guys just use the word magician anyway or is there some tips you can give for advertising as a mentalist Thanks
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
Chris H Inner circle Melbourne, Australia 1364 Posts |
Hiya,
I've had a quick look through Google's Keyword Tool for some phrases that include the word "mentalist", and unfortunately there's not a lot of search queries performed in the UK for that keyword (unless it's in connection to the TV show). I would imagine that, from an online perspective, "magician" is a more common search term. With that in mind, you need to be advertising where your customers are looking, so there's no problem targeting customers who are looking for a magician. You just need to find a unique selling point to make yourself stand out from the competition. Off the top of my head (and without having seen your act), I would imagine your USP's would be that: a) Your act is very different to a typical "magician" - it's something that most of the punters will have never seen before b) Your act is more adult oriented - this is not an everyday magic act for kids, it's an act for intelligent adults (which means you can charge more) From there, you need to find ways to communicate these USP's using your branding, messaging and promotional material. Show your prospects why they should hire you, the unique, different mentalist, rather than the boring, standard magician. ;-) Hope that makes sense. Please feel free to shoot me a message if you've got anymore questions. All the best with your move! Cheers, Chris |
|||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Cheers Chris. Great response. I'm probably just hung up on the whole magician vs mentalist thing. Might try advertising as magician and mentalist. Then go on to explain the differences. I am making my website now. Will post for comment s wen it's ready
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
Circusman Special user Kent, England. 555 Posts |
Hi Clel,
I, too, am from Scotland. I definitely don't think calling yourself a Mentalist would go down too well in Scotland, as they'd probably just think you're 'Mental' and an escapee from the local loony-bin ! LOL ! Why not look at describing yourself as a Mystery Entertainer with a brief description of what you will be doing ? I think that would be a better way of keeping the men in the white coats at bay ! All the best, Bobby. |
|||||||||
B. Morrison Regular user 109 Posts |
I'm not clear on what type of advice you're looking for here. Initially I thought you wanted to know how to advertise your services, but the conversation has shifted to what you call yourself. Obviously, one precedes the other.
Of the two questions, the answer to your specific situation seems rather obvious: if you're looking for wedding work, contact the event planners who handle weddings. With proper networking, that work can lead to other opportunities you hadn't originally considered. The other question (what to call yourself) can lead to "paralysis through analysis"... for good reason. On the one hand, a clever title ("Intuitive Performer", for example) will only confuse many people who have never heard the term before, which will most likely lead to one of two responses: (1) Being confused, they move on to a performer who promotes themselves with a familiar/comfortable label ("Ah, I know what a magician does... let's book him."). (2) Being intrigued, they want to know more, which opens up a dialogue and an opportunity to sell yourself. A useful exercise might be to compose your elevator speech (describing what you do in less than 30 seconds), which may clarify your thinking and lead to a title that is both original and easy for a layperson to comprehend. Call me a pessimist, but I think the vast majority of humanity falls into (1). I personally like (but don't use) "Mystery Entertainer", which is reminiscent of David Berglas ("International Man of Mystery"), and gives one a wide latitude for what actually comprises the performance. Of course, you could always just do what John Riggs has done: advertise yourself as a balloon worker, and when you show up, just do what you do. To be fair, John did make one balloon animal before going into his hypnosis act. |
|||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Thanks for the responses. B.Morrison my question was really about what to call myself when advertising on the web and other places. I was thinking that people looking for a magician would not look at or find a mentalist if magic is not mentioned.
Obviously, once you can get someone on the phone it can be easier. It was more about that initial contact - someone is having a party, they are searching for a magician - how would they ever find a mentalist? I think the question has been answered - don't call yourself a mentalist. I was thinking of advertising as a magician and mentalist. Then in my description highlighting what I do different to a magician. Hopefully, people searching for a magician would still see my site and then know what I do.
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
Doc_Z Loyal user New York, NY 229 Posts |
If someone searches for a "magician" for their wedding, they probably want to see a magician, and may be surprised or even disappointed by a mentalism performance.
If someone wants to see a mentalist, they will know the word "mentalist" and they will search for it. Or, "psychic" or "mind reader." If someone is open to all sorts of performances, they will search "entertainment" or "performer." I think it just depends on what type of events you want to work. I would suggest it is more important to show up on very relevant searches, than on a great number of searches. Think quality over quantity. |
|||||||||
Michael Zarek Special user Sweden 923 Posts |
I don't think putting to much effort into online advertising as a mentalist is a good idea, not many people look specificly for mentalists.
The best way to get clients is through a word of mouth.
Reader discretion is advised.
|
|||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Good points. If I were doing weddings it would be walk around mentalism. Nothing to serious or hard hitting. In regards to client expectations, I would try and manage them before I turned up. I'd imagine that no 2 magicians are the same and would try to sell my usp.
In terms of getting work - word of mouth - I see that but to get good word of mouth, you need gigs first.
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
Michael Zarek Special user Sweden 923 Posts |
Or just go to a dinner, I never had problem with getting word of mouth going even without payd gigs. Altough I lived in a rather small town so not sure if it will work as well in your area.
Reader discretion is advised.
|
|||||||||
David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
Unless your last name is "Cassidy" or "Osterlind" -- or your ONLY name is "Banachek" -- I honestly believe advertising yourself as a "Mentalist" is an error. People really don't know what a mentalist is. And they also have very dated notions of what a "Mind Reader" does.
I am not sure what the climate is in the UK -- but in North America I've tried several different methods to attract clients. I have two accounts on GigMaster, for example. One is under "Magician" the other is under "Mentalist." Which one do you think draws the most leads? "Magician" -- literally 20 to 1. The PURPOSE of advertising is simply to get a person who is in the market for what you do to call you. That's it. Everything else is smoke. If they can't find you, it's worth nothing. WHEN they call you, you're able to work with them and explain what you do. Hope this is helpful. Please let us know how things turn out for you. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
|||||||||
saysold1 Eternal Order Recovering Cafe addict with only 10795 Posts |
Gig Salad is also an outstanding source for leads - in our area it far exceeds leads from GigMaster in my experience. GidSalad offers a superb site and comes up higher on search...
Creator of The SvenPad Supreme(R) line of aerospace level quality, made in the USA utility props. https://svenpads.com/
|
|||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Thanks for the advice. I will check out the gig sites and see if they are applicable to UK market.
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
Wedding entertainer
|
|||||||||
B. Morrison Regular user 109 Posts |
Quote:
On , John C wrote: Not sure how that was intended, but if you consider that the wedding market is really a subset of a larger market that includes engagement, bachelor/bachelorette, and baby shower parties, you begin to see how the larger market ("relationships market", perhaps?) could provide a healthy income to the enterprising professional. Sure, it may not have the glamorous appeal that many dream of when they start out in this field, but one needs to keep an open mind when pursuing a career based on what Ford Kross always referred to as "a novelty act". |
|||||||||
Withnail Special user 974 Posts |
I'm currently toying with the idea of psychic charlatan for mentalism shows. Partially down to my current obsession with the victorian era.
Just market yourself in a different niche and book yourself a stall at at a few wedding fairs. I got a huge return plus private bookings outside of the needing circuit for an initial outlay of less than 200 notes.
Yet again that oaf has destroyed my day
|
|||||||||
JoshLondonMagic Special user 675 Posts |
Steve Cohen bills himself as the Millionaire's Magician and he does q and a and other Mentalism routines with magic. I bill myself as a magician to help with search then educate the prospect as to what I actually do whether they inquire by email or phone.
Josh
Josh
|
|||||||||
SolidSnake Special user 534 Posts |
Sounds great guys. Will definitely look at booking a stall at fairs.
As an aside. Any UK friends ever looked at hiring local town halls and putting on your own gigs? I called a few today - for a hall that seats 150 one was charging 45 pound an hour. Seems quite reasonable if you could market the show. Any thoughts on this?
There is no holy grail!
|
|||||||||
Withnail Special user 974 Posts |
Lots of thoughts. Where are not based? Give me a pm if you like.
Yet again that oaf has destroyed my day
|
|||||||||
Shrubsole Inner circle Kent, England 2455 Posts |
Are weddings really suitable for mentalism? I sure it could be made to work, but then you would have to change what you do to fit the function and if so, but how much? I mean kids running around etc does not make for a captivated audience.
I personally have never done a wedding for that reason. I once, decades ago, whilst being a roadie for a band at a holiday club venue, I witnessed a Mentalist perform. He was good and had been on TV, but after two short bits, he thanked the audience and walked off. It was just not a place conducive to Mentalism. Noisy, kids running straight across the dance floor in front of the performer and parents not that fussed in watching something that they considered too high-brow for them. I would avoid using the magician word anywhere in your advertising or else that will be what they are expecting. If you can, get a demo tape together and then take that around to people who book the types of places you want to play. If you do want to do wedding then wedding event organisers need to be shown what you are and what you do so they can sell you to their clients. Some people have a real problem with the word "Mentalist" as they really don't know what it means or think the wrong things about it. Your advertising should put it simply what you are using words like 'Mysterious', 'Entertainment', 'fun', 'exciting', 'intriguing', 'Unusual'. Words that make you sound like a very interesting entertainment and not someone who is going to have a séance in the middle of their wedding and contacting the dead.
Winner of the Dumbringer Award for total incompetence. (All years)
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Penny for your thoughts » » Advertising as a mentalist. (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.04 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |