Twitter For Magicians – 8 Top Tips

By Paul Osborne

Paul runs Merchant of Magic’s Twitter account. A former teenage magician, he took a brief 30 years off to pursue drumming and standup comedy. Now back in love with magic, he’s slowly working his way through Royal Road to Card Magic and Bobo‘s Modern Coin Magic.

Firstly, let me say, I’m not some bright young thing with a man bun, smart shoes/no socks, and a degree in marketing and social media. I’m just someone who has used Twitter a lot over the past few years and kept an eye on what works and what doesn’t; looking at which accounts get a lot of followers, and why — and which posts get a lot of retweets.

So I thought I’d put together a few tips to help those magicians — or magic fans — who want to grow a following on social media.

This is the most important tip. But what do I mean by ‘sharing’? Well, just sitting there sending out a couple of tweets a day about your new magic show is a waste of time. Most people follow a lot of accounts (sometimes thousands). The chances of them seeing your lone tweet in their timeline are nil. I’m not saying don’t send out these tweets, I’m saying you must do lots of other things as well.

And this is where the sharing bit comes in. Make a list of other magic accounts that you like — ones that tweet interesting stuff about magic, [John Cox @HoudiniWild tweets daily about Houdini, for instance] and regularly retweet them. What often happens is, after a while, people will also start checking out your account because they know you retweet interesting posts. Go through your list every day to check for new posts from these Twitter users. It gives you a more structured way of using Twitter.

Secondly, if someone mentions you in a post [eg, ‘I saw your magic show last night, it was brilliant!’] don’t just hit the ‘like’ button; retweet it as well. It’s a way of saying thank you to the person who left the comment and it’s also a bit more promotion for you. Sharing the love!

And comment on other people’s posts. Add to the conversation if it interests you. It will get your name about.

2. You don’t have to be on Twitter ALL the time, but you do have to use it regularly.

When I first started using Twitter I was often amazed at how certain ‘normal’ people (ie, not celebrities, businesses, etc) would get Twitter followings of 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 people. After a while, I realised that many of these people are, not only, on the platform for hours at a time, but they are also regularly commenting on other people’s posts and retweeting other people’s comments and posts — sharing, you see. And then the circle of people they interact with gradually grows over time — and so does their following.

Now, most busy magicians — or working magic fans — probably haven’t got time to spend hours on Twitter, but a little structured, regular use will help. Effective Twitter for magicians only needs about 30 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes in the evening? Or put aside some time at weekends. And if you regularly travel by train, then that would be a good time for Twitter sessions on your mobile phone.

And if you’re spending that time retweeting other accounts’ content, then you’ll only be using one hand (either your smartphone scrolling thumb or your mouse if you’re on your laptop) so why not practise a few coin sleights with your other hand? Kill two birds with one stone.

The important thing is that the time needs to be spread out over the day. I spend two hours in the morning on Merchant of Magic’s account, an hour late afternoon, and 30 minutes in the evening. (plus a few stints over the weekend to keep it ticking over.) If I compressed all those hours into just, say, mornings, then I’d miss any engagement/comments posted during the afternoon and evening.

3. As well as retweeting others, post interesting content yourself.

As a magician, you’ve got a skill that ‘normal people don’t have. So make sure you’re regularly posting interesting stuff about magic. It could just be a photo of you performing at that wedding last weekend. Or a photo of the latest trick you’re working on. A show or event coming up. Anything interesting. (eg, The Magic Mod @taylormod posts a Magic Mod Monday trick every week, which is very popular)

Why aren’t you posting some of your thoughts on magic? Sharing clips from YouTube of your favourite magicians? Or asking questions of the magic community, ‘What’s the worst gig you’ve ever done?’ etc. People love getting involved with these sorts of questions because it’s good fun for everyone to chip in.

And, briefly, on the subject of ‘divisive topics’, if you’re just using Twitter to promote yourself as a magician — or you’re a magic fan and want to build a following of other magic fans — then I’d personally steer clear of tweeting about politics, religion, etc, which may put some people off revisiting your site if they don’t share your views. But it’s a personal choice, of course. One way around it would be to have two Twitter accounts – one for your magic tweets and one for politics. But, again, it’s up to you. Tweeting about politics could actually help you build a following of people in your political camp if that’s what you want.

4. Don’t forget to tag in relevant accounts.

Here’s one of the Twitter mistakes I see a lot. Someone will, say, write an interesting blog about a forthcoming magic show, and they’ll just tweet out their blog post, and that’s it. Why haven’t they tagged in the magicians involved? Why haven’t they tagged in the theatre? Theatres often retweet favourable blogs/previews etc because it’s good publicity for them. If you’re writing about Mac King’s show, or you just mention Mac King in a tweet, tag in Mac King! He may retweet it, you never know.

5. Follow people back.

If someone follows you, follow them back. It’s just a nice thing to do. I’m always amused when I see people who follow no one, and into my head pops the phrase: ‘How incurious of you!’ (Sometimes follow-backs are missed, so if you’re reading this and we haven’t followed you back then give us a nudge!)

6. Make sure you have a good pinned tweet.

Twitter lets you ‘pin’ one tweet — which means that it always sits at the top of your profile. So when someone visits your Twitter site they will see that tweet first. So, if you have a show, event, or just a general tweet about you as a magician that you want people to see, then pin it to your profile. Just google ‘how to pin a tweet’ if you’re unsure how to do it.

Your whole Twitter for magicians strategy should be about creating an interesting Twitter site that encourages people to check out your account, see your pinned tweet and then check out your timeline.

7. Twitter banner pictures need to look good.

Make sure the photographs at the top of your site look great. A good picture of you performing, for instance, or a posed picture in your stage clothes. (Not in your hoodie drinking a cup of tea — unless that’s your act!) Or how about a photo of a selection of magic tricks? You can get some good photos on free images websites.

And think about the words in your bio. Put yourselves in the shoes of a magic fan checking out your account for the first time. Does it sound professional? It could even be something simple such as ‘Professional magician’ with a link to your website, or ‘Magic fan’. And make sure you double-check the spelling, grammar etc.

8. Getting followers if you’re new to Twitter.

If you’re new to Twitter and have zero followers then, first of all, you need to follow a bunch of people so that a proportion of people follow you back. But beware of visiting a famous magician’s followers and going down the long list hitting ‘follow’. Twitter may think you’re a bot and briefly kick you off. So be a bit selective. It’s probably better to search for the word ‘magician’ or ‘magic fan’ and find other magic enthusiasts to follow that way.

And finally…

Remember, it may take a few months to start building a group of people who regularly interact with you, so be patient — and just enjoy it.

If you have any more tips/ideas, please leave a comment.

I want to start performing magic commercially again – How?

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Stuart wants to start performing magic commercially again, but worries that times have changed..

Stuart writes:

Dear Dominic, I thought I would take up your kind offer of seeking advice and ask this:

I used to perform regularly as a walk around, table magician but other factors (children, day job etc) got the better of me. Now my children are a touch older I want to get back to more general/ close-up work in order to generate more income from magic and also simply because I love performing this type of magic and would like to do more of it again.

So there’s the background, but my question would be if you can offer any tips on how to get back in? The world is a very different place to ten years ago when websites, showreels etc weren’t so important and it seemed all I had to do was walk into a place and show the boss a trick.

(Lastly, I’m 46 years old, still have most of my own teeth and can still muster the energy to do the leg work for chance bookings etc!) Many thanks in advance for your advice and your time.’

Hi Stuart

That’s great news that you are thinking of getting back into performing close-up magic.

You may think that the world of magic is very different from a decade ago, but it’s actually pretty much the same when it comes to working locally as a magician. Granted, there are a wave of magic enthusiasts performing and promoting themselves online, but that tends to be it’s own bubble, often aimed at fellow magicians, and is quite distinct from ‘real world’ commercial marketing for work. The core techniques for doing magic commercially remain the same.

Who’s following you?

I often get magicians coming to the magic shop and talking about how many followers, subscribers, or facebook friends they have, yet they complain that they don’t get many bookings from those channels. I usually ask them if they know the percentage of their online followers that are magicians, or magic enthusiasts, compared to how many of them are event planners, venue owners, industry service providers, etc. It’s usually the case that magicians tend to collect other magicians in their social networks, but that is the least valuable group from a marketing perspective!

It’s not how many people you reach.. it’s who those people are! The most important activity you can do to get more work is:

Meet people that make the decisions about entertainment for events!

This could be a restaurant owner, a venue events manager, or simply people planning a party or wedding. Having a high end website or a huge social media following is great, but it all depends on who visits your website or follows you.. magic fans/friends Vs. people that are actually looking to book a magician.

Stepping back into performing magic commercially again

For you, the first move is to brand your service as a close up performer so you can market your services again.

I’m assuming you already have a range of material to perform as you were working as you were performing magic commercially in the past, so it’s mainly the approach to getting gigs that you need to kick-start.

First step:

You need a website and magicians business cards dedicated to the market you want to service. A base for clients to contact you and find out about your services. You can set one up yourself easily ( www.weebly.com ) or have a designer build it for you.

Once you have a website and some business cards, you are ready to get out and start promoting your services.

Approach 1 : Performing magic in restaurants : It’s low paid, but will springboard you into other bookings and get you out performing. Find a busy restaurant area and visit a load of establishments. See if you can get a few to allow you to perform for one night free of charge per month, so they can see you performing, and appriciate the effect of the entertainment. In exchange, you can hand out business cards to hopefully get work from it. It’s a hard slog, but you should get some gigs from it, and can go from there.

Do this now: Go online and make a list of all the local restaurants in your area. Set a date to contact or visit each one to introduce yourself.

Approach 2 : Wedding exhibitions. Look at local wedding events going on in your area and book a table. You should get a few gigs out of it.

Do this now: Read my free ebook on how to do wedding exhibitions.

Approach 3: Market to venues and corporates: Visit local hotels and event venues to chat with the event planners.

Do this now: I would recommend that you read this excellent free ebook on marketing as a close up magician. It will give you a load of information and templates to start looking for work and getting gigs: One Minute Magic Business

Hope this helps

Dominic Reyes

How Much do Magicians Make?

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Want to know how much do magicians make performing magic? The the true profits may shock you..

By Dominic Reyes

It’s an exciting step to take when you start performing magic for a fee. It could just be a side income for you, or the start of a jump into making magic your living. However, there’s something you should always remember:
Performing magic as a paid performer means you are starting a BUSINESS.

The money you receive isn’t all income. It’s revenue, rather than profit. Only a part of the fee is clear profit for you to spend. The rest needs to be treated with care…

Feeling rich as a magician.

When I first started performing, I was a student. I’d go out in the evening, perform at an event, and come back to my rooms, with a few hundred pounds. It seemed too good to be true. Especially when I watched my friends working five days a week to make the same as I banked in a few hours. I didn’t see the full picture. I thought all the fee was just profit, and mine to spend.

Over time, I realised that the fee you get as a magician needs to be treated as your BUSINESS income. Only a proportion of that should be viewed as your own ’salary’. The rest needs to be spent on maintaining and growing your business.

The business has many overheads.
Rent
Computer, Printer, Paper, Ink
Business cards, flyers
Tax
Advertising
Insurance
Society membership
Exhibition fees
Travel costs
Props
Consumables ( playing cards, Sharpies, etc.)
Business Phone
Costumes and Clothing
Dry cleaning
Backdrops
Website hosting and design
Sustenance
Business growth fund
etc etc

Basically, there is a tonne of costs involved in delivering a ‘magician’ as a product. Those costs need to be accounted for out of the money you receive from performing. All those costs; your clothing, consumables, props, travel… need to be added up, and their projected total divided by the number of bookings you get through an average year. Once you know the REAL cost of being a working magician, you will see how much of your fee is used to provide your service, and how much is actual profit.

Only a small portion of your fee is profit

The magic secret is to put your income from magic in an account, away from your personal account. All your expenses relating to your magic business come out of THAT account. What’s left, is your salary… Unless you keep that money separate from your personal income, it’s very hard to know how much you are TRULY making from your magic, and how much is left for you to grow your business.

Once you start doing this, how you view how much to charge for a magic show will change dramatically.

After costs, your fee only generates a fraction of its value as profit to you.

The hours you forget about

Now, calculate the average number of hours you spend practising, replying to emails, working on marketing, attending exhibitions or networking, travelling… You may charge several hundred pounds per hour when performing, but after expenses and the ‘admin hours’ you put in to run the business, your hourly rate is probably quite modest.

You’re not always busy

You may not get a consistent amount of bookings each month through the year, so you need to account for some months that will be quiet, but the costs of running your business and your need for a ’salary’ will still be there.

I don’t mean to be negative here. Performing magic can be highly profitable, and immensely fun. However, in order to understand how much do magicians make in relation to their earning, you NEED to see exactly how much it costs for a magician to run their business. You need to make sure your activity is as profitable as you think, and you have the budget to make it grow.

1. You MUST treat Twitter as a SHARING platform.