Marketing
Secrets They Don't Tell
The
little secrets that the marketing gurus don´t share.
When we start learning magic, we all get the dream of performing before
a paying audience. Some of us pursue that dream, either parttime or
fulltime.
The standard procedure followed by most beginning performers is to get
a business card and a yellow page ad. Some are even more aggressive
and place some business cards or a flyer on the grocery store bulletin
board. After applying all these marketing methods, it is time to sit
back and wait for the gigs to start pouring in.
Six months and one birthday party later, (for your nephew), you decide
to mortgage the house and buy Dave Dee's Marketing secrets.
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Dave Dee or any of the other marketing gurus tell you to send out sales
letters. Many even include some less than average examples you can use.
Quickly you photocopy and send out 100 letters to a list you either
bought from the back of SpareTime Magazine, or collected yourself from
the yellow pages. After applying all these marketing methods, it is
time to sit back and wait for the gigs to start pouring in.
Six months later, you are eagerly looking forward to your next gig.
Your nephew's birthday is coming up again.
First and foremost, before placing a yellow page ad, ask yourself if
the market you are pursuing would use the yellow pages to find you.
If you are doing birthday parties and picnics, maybe. If you want to
do school shows, trade shows or restaurant work, save your money. Similarly,
if I am looking for a free dog or an used sofa, I will check the grocery
store bulletin board. The festival committe however is not hiring its
entertainment from a bulletin board.
You need to place your advertising where your prospective customer will
read it and where it will give you the credibility you need. Looking
for corporate work? Locate the proper trade magazines and newsletters
and place your ad there. Even better, find out the article submission
requirements for the publication and submit an appropriate article.
This will firmly place you as an expert.
Schools, fairs and resorts hire from showcases. If this is your market,
find the showcases and get a booth. Offer to emcee for free and you
might get even more exposure before your client.
Spend your advertising dollar where it will do the most good. Place
your face in front of people that use the services you offer.
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Business cards can be good for letting people build their collection.
Much better is to collect theirs. When someone asks for your card, always
reverse and get their card. They may not remember to contact you, but
you will remember to contact them. Get some additional information such
as when they might need you and for what type of event. The more info
you collect, the better.
What about direct mail? You must have a mailing list that is truly made
up of qualified prospects. You may want to do tradeshow magic, but sending
letters and packages to a list of companies that have never heard of
you is a complete waste of your money. You must develop a qualified
list. You can't buy a list anywhere near as good as the one you can
create.
There are many good ways to build your list. You can offer a free report
on your website and collect the information on those who inquire. The
report should be specific to your market and be attractive to individulas
that fit your prospect profile. You can collect names at a tradeshow
booth. For a birthday party magician, you could place boxes around town
where folks could enter a drawing to win a free show. The entry form
would include their contact information and the birthdays and ages of
their children.
Once you have a list, be sure to mail to it on a regular basis. Keep
your name in front of your prospects. You will book more shows if you
target a select group of qualified prospects than by mailing to new
and unqualified names every month.
Be sure to join my mailing list. I will be adding an article on listbuilding
soon.
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Dennis
Regling is a professional magician, author and lecturer. He performs
educational programs at over 250 elementary and junior high schools
every year. Additionally, he performs gospel magic programs at church
camps, Vacation Bible Schools and other church events. Dennis has authored
over 12 books for magicians. Dennis currently resides in Freeport, Ohio
and performs throughout the east and midwest.
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