I think it is all over the board with respect to measuring how much moms shop for a magician. I believe the ones willing to pay higher fees tend to also be more diligent in shopping or going through a party planner or such. My strategy has never been to win the battle of SEO because I do not have the time to spend sorting out those sort of shoppers. In general, I think there is a huge loss when one moves from a live performance to a video performance of a show. Anything that can be done to minimize this difference should be considered. Many of the promo videos I observe , I find to be boring and frankly, a turn off. No big deal if one is taking a small gamble and hiring the fist one they see, but if you want to command a higher dollar, I think you need to create a more eye appealing and exciting video.

I absolutely hat eit when someone asks to see a video or a "sample of what you are talking about." But I will say over the years I have come to respect charliecheckers and truuly elive he is trying to inprove himslef and accepts the information being offered here even if he has yet to iunderstand it or experienceit. It is being openminded and open to growth, evolvment and advancement. It is seeing your magic as a business not just as performing.

Because of this I will offer you a sample of what I am referring to. This is not a super, whizz-bang, over-produced video costing thousands of dollars, but a nice sample of a well thought out, storyboarded demo with the exact shots he desired and needed to tell his story exactly has he planned it to be. The reason I chose this video specifically is that it is reflective to what charlie said in his previous post above about wanting to expand beyond just kids parties into other family performance markets. This immediately came to mind.

This is an actual example of a video and promotional information submitted to my agency for representation. It is by no means the best demo we have received, as we get many quite similar to this. I tell you this to further demonstrate my point. Imagine you are me or my agency manager. We get roughly 45 submissions a week. Most of course are kids performers. Imagine you were one of them with your current demo and promotional materials. Compare it to this demo of which I'm sharing with you. This is exactly what prospective customers, agents and event planners are doing when they receive yours.

This speaks volumes on so many levels. Why agencies hire some entertainers and not others. How agents and similarly prospective clients think.Why you may not be getting the bookings you desire from Gigmasters, Gig Salad or other listing sites. Why schools are not interetsed in your show, and so many other aspects and reasons you and your business may not be where you desire.

Yes, the Ops video was quite decent for a first attempt. I did state that earlier as well. All I was also saying earlier was I don't understand why kids entertainers can't operate like any other performers by having a decent demo and promo. This is such a generic demo it could easily last him 5- 10 years, generate tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, countless return bookings, and so much more for a mere one time investment.

To me this is the difference of operating as a business rather than just a performer. This is an example of thing from the clients interests, needs and perspectives. This is an example of professionalism (even if he was just a part-time performer). This is not only reserve for top pros.

This is offered for a point of reference only - DO NOT STEAL IT'S CONTENT OR FORMAT! This is a professional's copyrighted work - respect that. Here charlie, enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8QQnuaA_WY Danny markets to the community and of course this drives magician's to his site and this is publicly on youtube which is why I'm sharing it.

To be fair Danny has few peers. Not many are on his level. But his video rocks.

I agree with Mindpro almost entirely. Having said that, I had a professionally produced video done for me that doesn't contain any show footage - just text and a professional voiceover. Bear in mind, the ONLY aim of this video was to generate curiosity for and interest in my Wizard School holiday magic class for kids in 2013. It was intended as a "teaser" rather than a promo video.



This one was created by a professional for me using show footage, photos and text. Again, whether it counts as a "proper" promo video is debatable. I deliberately chose to have a short video.



- Mike

Mindpro- Thank you once again for posting a thought provoking conversation. The more I re-read what you were saying the more I now understand. Especially from an agents perspective as you shared. The future I hope will hold great things. And a stronger and professional video is definitely on my list. I do want to stand out from others that is why I am asking questions and trying to better my business. I have learned so much in the past 5 months and still have a long way to go. Believe it or not I just received an inquiry for a large corporate company holiday party after viewing my video. There response back was they wanted to see if I had longer footage (that statement right there tells me that I am going in the right direction but I need more quality footage as you all said) I don't know if I will get the job but we shall see.

Regards, Nick

Mindpro- thanks for your post and the link to a professionally prepared promo video, I greatly appreciate it. Thank you as well for the kind words.

I have viewed the video several times. I now even better understand Mindpro's point of view. Danny Orleans had standard props and routines with modest investment, but rather made a significant investment in his performance and presentation. It was interesting to dissect the video and consider why each aspect of the footage was included and arranged. It was easy to arrive at explanations, even on my own. This is not true for many of the promo's I see, including my own. Camera shots were carefully focused on target actions and responses.

It seems hard to argue against such an investment, when one sees how impactful it can be. I reread the post above from Mindpro that included:


I now will need to answer these important questions for myself. I think we all should.

Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope it helps you and demonstrates my points. This is exactly what I do as part of my coaching with my students is view a variety of such video demos and break them down and understand the reasons why, how, and the precise expected results and benefits that each sot and scene are demonstrating to the viewer or prospective clients. This is the true purpose of a demo.

We hate receiving unsolicited or invited promo and demos, but I must say it has allowed me to see far more demos than most here will ever see in a lifetime. I would be embarrassed to submit what many do to represent themselves professionally. However, this does make the good ones really stand out and be easily identified.

Performers often get clouded by the purpose and what should be laser focus of the message. They, especially kids performers are often more concerns with their effects, props and themselves. This isn't what sells a customer.

Remember, this is just one modest example. This is a general demo for general and multiple markets. We often receive even more laser-focused demos for specific markets including kids birthday parties, trade shows, schools, colleges, cruise ships, fairs, festivals, etc. No, don't ask, I will not post more samples. Part of being a professional is doing your own due diligence, which is now easier than ever due to technology.

The problem I see is kids performers often to look at other less than adequate kids performers videos and promo and somehow accept that level, and that lowers the bar at a time when raising it should be most important to everyone. As you can see just having a nice professionally produced video demo can stand out mountains above the competition.

Also I apologize for the spelling and typos in my above post. Still trying to get used to my new keyboard and was in a rush at the time of the posting.