I'm a young magician and I was wondering: How do you spread the word that you would like to perform birthday parties and such? I am working on a routine for parties and shows, but I don't know how to get myself performances. Any advice would be great.

Put a ad in the paper for one.
Word of mouth thru friends and family.
And get on a site like GIG SALAD.
These are all good ways to land a gig.
Todd

If there are any childrens' party venues in your area (skating rinks, bowling alleys, minature golf, etc.) you can talk with them about leaving flyers or cards offering your services. You may find that some venues would be interested in booking your show for parties they book for a small commission. They would most likely need to see your show or a video before they would be comfortable promoting you.

Word of mouth is the best way. Once you have a few, and I'd you do a great job, other spectators will want you for their own kids shows. Make sure you have business cards to hand out - you can get cheap ones from vistaprint.com

You will find the work comes seasonally, usually leading up to Christmas or holidays.
Try calling youth camps, churches and go to do shows for nursing homes, they are great for exposure.

You can make a profile of yourself publicising your show info, photos, video showreels etc at http://www.entertainersworldwide.com

It's a directory, not an agency so anyone that books you through the site books you directly, i.e. you don't have to pay a commission like to an agency. You just click the 'create your profile' button and add all of your publicity within a few minutes and it's done. They've always got membership offers on their facebook page, just search for Entertainers Worldwide on facebook.

Hope that helps, good luck!!

Put an ad on Craigslist. No 1 reads the paper anymore.

There are a lot of ways to get gigs, but have an act ready to go before you advertise. And please, until you are worth your pay, don't charge, volunteer. Kids shows are the hardest audiences to work for and volunteering will give you a chance to be bad at first in order to get good without creating a negative impression of magic and magicians. Once you have a solid act, find out what the other performers are charging and don't undersell them. Offer value for value and you will be better off in the long run and won't make enemies within the magic community.

Find out where dad's or mom's hang out when they are spending time with their kids and advertise there. Think library bulletin boards, coffee shops, McDonalds indoor playgrounds, Chuck E. Cheese, book stores (if there are any left) etc. In my town at least, all of the local vendors have public bulletin boards or windows where folks can post freely. Or, if your neighborhood allows posting on telephone poles...go for it. There is something to be said for going old school.

Your young, use social media to your advantage, make many videos and encourage interaction on facebook, the rest will follow!

Hey champ,

The best way I have found to do this is by doing a few free shows for some people. At these shows you have to make sure you are performing your BEST material and really blow people away. Because you are doing these events for free (corporate or private parties, I only work corporate), make sure you get testimonials from the clients and ask them to allow you to give out business cards. I literally can fill my diary when it's empty just by booking in a few free shows and immediately you will get bookings from that event. This by far has been my best strategy.

Those above could not have said it better, word of mouth is amazing and if you combine social media with what you do, it's like word of mouth on steroids.

Good luck