Working Professionally

Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
Hey Fam.

It's been a long time since I've performed professionally but I'm getting back into it for supplemental income to my full time job.

I started advertising on Facebook about two weeks ago in bridal groups to book weddings and quickly landed a booking for 2019 - which was surprising because I have a very small amount of photos and videos of me performing for people (social proof). I only really have Instagram practice videos and a couple good pictures.

I've been advertising my prices at $200/hr with $50 off per hour if you book two hours or more. Outside of that one inquiry/booking I haven't had a single other bite. Do you think it's time to lower prices? I'm thinking if I get more bookings for less, I can leverage the photos I'll get from those to eventually raise my prices again. For those of you that perform at weddings, what were your starting prices and where are you at now?

And for the curious, here's my new website - www.magicbyrob.com
 

obrienmagic

Elite Member
Nov 4, 2014
1,469
1,422
Orange County, Ca
www.obrienmagic.com
Depends on where you are located but your rates don't sound too high to me to be honest. I think you just need to do more advertising. There are tons of free avenues aside from just social media marketing (craigslist, yelp, gig salad, gig masters, etc.)

You can also take advantage of cheap paid advertising a well such as Facebook ads, google ads, youtube, newspaper, etc
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Check the prices in your area. You're very likely charging like half what others are charging.

While this may seem like a way to bring in more business, it backfires in three significant ways:
1) You're undercutting other performers. That's going to be bad for your reputation among the performer community. That means they won't be inclined to pass gigs your way, or even help you find venues or anything. Why would they help someone who's making their life harder?

2) Would you buy wedding decorations at the Dollar Tree? You're charging the entertainment equivalent of Dollar Tree prices. It looks like you're not worth anything.

3) If you get people used to these prices, you're going to have a challenge trying to raise them in the future. It will most likely mean losing the majority of your client base at that time and having to rebuild it completely with the new prices.

To put it into perspective: You said $200 for an hour.

$200 seems like a lot, doesn't it? But then you realize you also spend a lot of time perfecting those skills, and then you have to travel to the event, and you have to purchase consumables for the performance, you want to get to the venue early so that's a little more time.

You're really looking more at $200 for closer to 20-30 hours. Easily more, if you're concerned with presenting a well constructed and smooth performance. $6.66 - $10 an hour, or less. Is that what your performance is worth?

It's kind of odd, but if something is too cheap, people don't want it. At least in the US. We're taught that price is a direct indicator of value. If your price is too low, the value must not be there either.

I highly suggest looking up some marketing books.
 
All the advice you have received on here is gold and I highly recommend taking everything they have said into account. The only thing I really have to add is a question: What do you offer that other magicians in your area can't offer me? I'll give you an example of what I mean.

Here is another magician's promo reel really close to my location that I found on GigMasters:

He clearly is an experienced and talented performer. So I asked myself what can I offer that this guy can't? And that was the basis behind my own promo reel:

Most of what the performer previously listed did was card tricks and there wasn't too much variety besides that. I wanted my promo reel to demonstrate a variety of content. The first part is inspired by David Blaine's intro to his Beyond Magic special (it also shows that I can be entertaining which is far more important than anything else), then I wanted to show (dare I say it) "edgy" material with me spiking an apple, pulling needles threaded on a string out of my mouth, swallowing a sword, and the classic Harry Houdini chain escape with a tease of it being mixed into a stage illusion in the background.

The other performer I listed as an example is clearly more experienced than I am. But where I feel I can compete is in how versatile I advertise myself to be. I can do close-up as well as stage material. Not only that, I do a variety of content that I wanted to be a little more "edgy" thus why I picked the royalty free rock music (that I still had to pay for to use for commercial purposes). Another area I feel that I could compete in was the length and quality of the video. As an event planner, I want to go through a variety of options and may not have the time to watch a two and a half minute video. My video is purposely kept under a minute for that reason so it's quick and to the point. I also exported it in HD with a pretty decent track in hope to psychologically influence them into thinking I'm a quality performer if my video is of good quality. Also make sure you look good. I didn't show a lot of myself street performing for the sole reason that I was not dressed the way I would want an event planner to see me. For the show I purposely picked out a trendy European designed suit to look professional as well as different.

In short, look at what other magicians are doing in your area, diversify yourself from them, and compete to the best of your ability. Best of luck!
 
Jul 26, 2016
571
795
Yes, all good advice from the members who have posted on this. I would also suggest that you get in touch with special events/party planners within maybe a 50 mile radius of where you live. It is best if you can go meet them in person, and do a strong trick for them, but at minimum, speak with them on the phone, as opposed to just sending your promo materials. They can be an incredibly good resource for getting you work. As an example, I got in with two particular event planners about 15 years ago and to this day, they are still booking me regularly for special events.

It is also important to have a good website, which includes videos of you performing for people who are reacting strongly and look like they are having a great time. You can always gather friends and family together and have yourself videoed while performing for them.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Oh! Chamber of Commerce! This ties into Ale's comments above - Most cities have a Chamber of Commerce, which will usually hold get togethers periodically. Often monthly. If you become a member of the Chamber and/or go to these get togethers, you'll be socializing with local business owners - many of which are event organizers or venue owners, looking for entertainment.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Rob:

The first question is who is your target audience?
The second question is who is the person buying your services?
The third question is what distinguishes you from other entertainment (not just magic) for that buyer?

If you answer those questions, then you need to redesign the content of your website to reflect those answers.

I'd be glad to give you specific feedback on the website.

As for your rates, I would raise them. They are two high for someone looking for a bargain and two low for someone looking for quality.
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,182
119
31
Houston, TX
I've taken everything mentioned into consideration. On the plus side the market for magicians here is not saturated so undercutting/putting off other local magicians isn't an issue. I'm friends with them all anyway. I really appreciate the advice. I do think it's a bit far fetched to equate me to a dollar store magician - my experience and website (although still in the works) are a lot more professional than that. Without those, I could see the prices coming off that way. I'm still working on learning the Houston market and better game plans for my business and shows and I do think more marketing is definitely necessary. Again, I really appreciate all the advice.
 
I haven't performed professionally in a long time as well. I may not be able to give you any insight, but I just want to tell you that your website looks great. I've recently read one of Etienne Pradier's books on card magic where he gives some stories from his professional career. The only tip I have to give is to give a reason (or reasons) to your potential clients to book you. Maybe give details on what sets you apart from other forms of entertainment.

Wish you the best!
 
I've taken everything mentioned into consideration. On the plus side the market for magicians here is not saturated so undercutting/putting off other local magicians isn't an issue. I'm friends with them all anyway. I really appreciate the advice. I do think it's a bit far fetched to equate me to a dollar store magician - my experience and website (although still in the works) are a lot more professional than that. Without those, I could see the prices coming off that way. I'm still working on learning the Houston market and better game plans for my business and shows and I do think more marketing is definitely necessary. Again, I really appreciate all the advice.
Yeah man at the end of the day this is all you. It's whatever you want to make out of it and what you feel as an artist completes you. Check out chapter 14 in The Approach by Jamie D. Grant if you have it to use his pricing system. It's really good. Best of luck to you!
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
Tons of solid advice given here, but I'm just going to be brutally honest with you with what I charge and I have 18 years of experience. Keep in mind this fluctuates big time based upon your demographics. In the area I live in, Canton, OH, I can barely charge $100 per hour of "strolling" magic at venues. Now if it is a nice close up show for 35-40 minutes, in a country club, I can sometimes charge about $250-400 for a performance. For birthday parties around here most local magicians get about $125-$200. The problem is we have a local IBM ring with about 20-25 members and people start getting greedy and undercutting each other. It ends up hurting people like me.
 
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