Why Your Magicians Business Cards May Not Be Working

Sam.. sounds like your being smart and giving out your business cards as much as possible. That’s really half the battle. So many close up magicians fail to do this. We all get a batch of magicians business cards printed, but then hesitate to give them out as we feel it seems to be touting for work.

As you know from many of the other articles on magicians business cards on the Magic blog, we suggest every magician gets cards printed and hands them out as much as possible. You are doing it right, but you don’t seem to be getting the results you would like back from them. Let’s look as some of the ways we can improve the effectiveness of your magicians business cards.

Check your worth contacting.
Firstly, are people enjoying your performance? Are you getting good feedback from your shows? It doesn’t matter how much you hand out your magicians business cards if you are not offering a product people want.

Have someone film your act and ask for   critical feedback. Ask other magicians to review your act. Some magic shops like The Merchant of Magic offer a paid service where magicians can have their live act privately reviewed by a team of trained professional magicians. Getting third party feedback can help you identify weak spots in your act that you may be blind too.

Call them instead.
It’s good business practice to give out your magicians business cards, but that’s just part of the process. If someone asks for your card, they are making a direct move to start engaging with you. Don’t leave that just to them. Give them a card and ask for their email address so you can email them a brochure. Always try to capture THEIR details. Starting a communication process with a prospect is more important to YOU than them.

Where you hand out your cards.
Everywhere! During walk around magic, at the tables, whenever you talk to someone about magic. Don’t assume the person may not be in the position to book you. Magicians business cards are like the social share buttons on a web page. People pass on details to others and can recommend you. Months may go past, then someone mentions to that person that they have an event. If the people that met you can’t remember you, they can’t recommend you.

The business cards you use.
Plain and simple magicians business cards are usually better, unless you have your business cards professionally made. Avoid cliche images of playing cards, rabbits, and top hats unless that’s exactly what you offer. The card should look expensive, clean and free of clutter.

Unless you are very attractive and that’s one of your unique selling points, don’t include a headshot image. If someone has been passed the business card and hasn’t met you, have your website communicate the impression of you, not a small headshot photo.

Remember to include your website address and a telephone number.

Working with the client.
Before you leave your magic gig, be sure to give the client who books you, some of your magicians business cards. They will often be complimented about how great the magician was, or asked about how they found you.

If you’re at the event through an agent, make sure you hand out the agents cards (with your name on) instead of your own.

It’s a numbers game.
Magicians business cards are adverts  just as much as they are your contact information. They are subject to the same statistical probabilities as any other form of advert. Some business cards are highly targeted, given to ‘leads’ that are ready to convert. Others are simple ‘spray ads’ distributed around in the hope that one finds its way to an interested person who contacts you and becomes a ‘lead’.

The only useless business card is the one that’s still in your pocket.

The 10-3-1 Rule.
There is a general rule of thumb in sales called the 10-3-1 Rule:

For every 10 calls you make, three will turn into prospects, and 1 of those three will lead to a sale.

The more conversations with clients you can start, the more bookings you will get. You may have a better or worse ‘conversion rate’ than 10-3-1, but it’s still statistically predictable over time, and there will be a degree of consistency. Your business cards are the gateway to starting each of these conversations with your prospects. The number prospects that will convert into clients are directly proportionate to the number of cards you distribute.

Use a magic trick to link your business cards to your website.

One way you can increase the number of people who recontact you from your magicians business card is to give them an added reason to reach out to you, by building in some magic.

Perform a magic tricks and bring it to climax. Give out your card and explain that there’s something special on your website, just for them. Your website can be built to have a section where another revelation happens. Perhaps a secret word they ‘chose themselves’ is revealed to them. Maybe the card they ‘picked’ is found in a photo on your site.

When you bring a prospect to your site from a magicians business card, you give them an extra special magic experience. The prospect also receives an invite to receive your brochure, or a quote. You impress them with your magic, right at the moment that they can find out about booking you. That’s a very powerful moment to convert them.

DO THIS: It’s vital that you are pro-active rather than reactive in your use of your magicians business cards. It doesn’t matter how well designed your magicians business cards may be, if you simply hand them out when asked and then wait for the phone to ring, you will not get the quantity of work from them you could be getting. Make sure YOU make contact with anyone who is interested in finding out more about your services.

Capture THEIR details and follow up as soon as you possibly can. If you can’t get their details, give them a compelling reason to visit your website or get in contact. Don’t leave your marketing to chance, and you will find that your cards are the best tool you have to getting more and higher paid work as a magician.