Magicians Testimonials – Creating Fake Audience Feedback or Reviews

We received this question about using actors in magicians testimonials:

I have a question about video testimonials. I've been collecting some, but even when people are enthusiastic, some just don't come across very well. Do you think it would be acceptable to hire someone to record the same testimonial that was given by an actual person without saying that it's a paid testimonial (which would sort of defeat the purpose) ?

Don't fake customer testimonials.

People WILL spot that something is fake. Remember how hard it is, even for professional actors to pretend to be members of the public. It always has a scripted feel, and you sense that the person is an actor or stooge. It's easy to spot fake enthusiasm. Faking testimonials that just use actor to deliver them can still ruin trust. An acted magicians audience testimonial may still be seen as 'fake' even when you keep the true feedback content unedited. The goal of testimonials is to create trust and 'social proof' about your services.

Raw and real customer testimonials.

The best testimonials look raw, real and unedited. They may not look professionally produced, but they meet the goal of the testimonial perfectly. Real people, saying how awesome you are, or that they were fooled by your magic tricks. A client is interested in real people's reactions, so even 'home made' quality footage appears authentic.

There's nothing to stop you asking a friend or even another spectator to film some feedback on your smartphone video camera. The venue is a live event, so it's even better when it looks like the place is buzzing, noisy, and full of energy.

Swearing.

Although you shouldn't edit a spectators feedback, it's fine to bleep out swearing, or blur out anything inappropriate in the footage. Even though you may be an adult entertainer, you should still be considerate of everyone what is viewing the footage.

If you really need to change the footage.

Sometimes the footage may be too poor quality to use. Perhaps the audio failed or the footage when totally out of focus. If the magicians testimonials are so good that you really want to include them, convert the testimonials to text and show a picture or screen grab of the person next to it.

Collecting magicians testimonials is one of the most effective forms of marketing a magician can use. There's no need to worry about low quality footage as long as it's genuine and represents your services well.

Magicians Testimonials – How to Ask for Feedback

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

What's the most effective way for magicians to get testimonials from people that hire them?

You did a great job performing magic at the show. The crowd loved you and you are finished for the night. Before you pack up your magic props and leave the venue, there is an inportant step to take: Set up your magicians testimonials!

Dominic Reyes recorded a short video for the blog whilst at a magic gig. He talks about how he gets feedback when people hire him to perform magic.

Before you leave your magic gig, make sure you speak to the client and ASK FOR FEEDBACK. It's fine to ask for a magicians testimonials because it shows that you care.

Follow up a week or so later. Send a letter, or ask your agent to contact the cleint and get feedback.

Ask for a copy of any photographs that were taken of you performing your magic.

Ask for a copy of the raw video footage of your magic performance. Ask the client as well as the videographer as that will greatly increase your chances of getting the footage. Video companies get very busy, so unless it's specified from the client, it can often be forgotten.

Send the client some business cards with your follow up letter. They may have been approached after the event and can send them on. It also gived client another reason to contact some of the guests at the event, which is valuable to them if the event was a networking exercise.

Remember to publish your magicians testimonials on your magicians website or in a performers blog. Don't just file them away, they are valuable content that gives social proof to your claims.

If you can, take a friend to a few gigs and ask them to record video testimonials from guests outside of the event or in the outer bar area.Ask permission for this, and it will usually be granted. Your video testimonials don't need to look perfect, they should look real, raw and unedited feedback from people that have just seen you perform.

Taking the time to get feedback is one of the most effective ways you can build up your marketing as a magician. Don't feel shy about asking. Most people love giving their opinion, and will be happy to help.

This Magic Blog is Wasting Your Time – Magicians Practice Plateaus

by Dominic Reyes 2 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

In this magic blog post, let's look at why learning plateaus happen to magicians, and what we can do to push past them.

As magicians, we need to commit to a routine of magic practice, both to develop new material, and also to stay sharp and fresh with our working acts. However, sometimes we can be practicing as hard as ever but seem to be treading water and making no progress.

It's in your head.

Sometimes we can create our own problems within a magic trick, or with part of the practice. These 'problems' may be tiny errors, or adjustments that we become completely focused on, and in your minds they become huge road blocks. We may obsess over the timing of a sleight, or the exact placement of an object on our close up mats. These fixations can become all consuming, and much of our practice time becomes devoted to working on them, to the detriment of the rest of the routine.

It's important to examine on your whole practice program, making sure that you don't fixate on aspects that may not be a good use of your time. To help prevent this, we recommend that you drill the WHOLE routine repeatedly, rather than working on single moves one at a time. The aim is to develop the complete routine together as a single performance, rather than as modules that combine to create the magic trick.

Unreal Practice.

When you have a boring or repetitive task to do, everything becomes a distraction. It's easy to spot distractions like TV, music, facebook etc, but those are not the most dangerous because they are so noticable.

The most dangerous distractions and those that feel like real work! You may be devoting many hours each day to your magic, but how are you really spending the time? Watching magic DVD's, reading magic magazines, sorting out and cataloging your magic props is not practicing.

Magic research on the internet is not practicing.
Reading this magic blog is not practicing.

Make sure that you set aside a dedicated practice time, planned out in advance. This practice time should be work on a specific magic trick, with no other distractions. By doing this, you will find that you need to spend far less time on your magic as the work is applied where it really counts.

Getting help from a magic teacher.

Just about every sporting professional makes use of a coach. Coaching isn't a luxury, or just a way to motivate the student to practice. Coaching allows a third party, who is detached from the learning process, to examine the whole practice program from an emotional distance. The coach cuts through all the distractions and imaginary problems that can suck up practice time. By using a third party to oversee your magic practice, you stay on track over time and work towards ONE goal, avoiding distractions.

If you find yourself making no progress in your magic practice, it may help to book a single session of personal magic tuition. This session isn't to learn more magic tricks (You probably already know enough). The goal of the coaching session is to look at your current progress, oversee your practice program and identify problems that you may not notice yourself as you are too close to the process.

Find a magic coach that you can trust to give you professional tuition. Ask them to watch your current material and give you HONEST feedback.

If you can't afford a professional magic coach, you can ask a trusted friend or your partner to help you stay focused on the practice program you set yourself. The important thing is that you have someone independent to keep you on track.