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Twitter For Magicians – 8 Top Tips

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

By Paul Osborne

Twitter for magicians - Top Tips

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.

1. You MUST treat Twitter as a SHARING platform.

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.

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Filed Under: how to do magic tricks, Marketing for Magicians, promotion, Questions and Answers, SEO Tagged With: marketing, Marketing for Magicians, Social Media

Magicians Performing Magic Tricks for the Blind or Visually Impaired

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

magic tricks for blind or visually impaired

Magician has been set a challenge to perform magic tricks for a blind audience

Anton writes: Hey guys, firstly thanks again for the suggestions and advice you gave me regarding my gig at a Labyrinth/Fantasy themed wedding. My routine involving soap bubbles changing to contact juggling balls leading into an anniversary waltz effect with the King and Queen of Hearts initially revealed in the balls went down a storm and will certainly become a mainstay of my act.

Now, I’ve been presented with a challenge. A friend works for a local blind service veteran care home. The residents are of various ages and degrees of disability. All of them injured on active service in various conflicts from WWII to Northern Ireland, The Falklands, Iraq etc. Few of them are totally blind, but all are seriously visually impaired and some have hearing difficulties too. This doesn’t prevent them from leading active lives (my friend has recently led them in sessions of archery!) and they apparently all have a wicked sense of humour (they are ex service men and women after all).

I think you can probably guess my challenge. I’ve been asked whether I could devise a magical entertainment for them. I’ve given it some thought and have come to realise that 99% of close-up magic relies on the visual. Any ideas or thoughts for magic tricks for the blind and visually impaired would be most appreciated.

 

Hi Anton,

That certainly is a challenge! The team at MoM have performed magic for a few blind people if the past. More thought than you think is always necessary.

Magic tricks for the blind can’t have a strong visual aspect, unlike much of the magic that is performed today. Touch is what you have to concentrate on, also sometimes it really helps having someone around who the blind person trusts to verify everything is as it should be and you are just taking advantage.

Two tricks are causing a coin to flip on their hand (well actually in their cupped hands) and invisible touch, the invisible touch involves someone verifying nobody touched them, if the verification spectator is not trusted by the blind audience members then it can feel a little flat. You can use a M5 Kit and a magnetic coin to create the flip, what you could do is use a coin unique. Lay the ‘two’ coins on their hand, have them close it, nesting the coin unique and creating the vanish. Then ask them to cup their hands all around the coin to seal it away from you, make sure their hands are loosely cupped, not tightly. With the M5 you can cause that coin to flip inside their hands, you can wave over the coin to make it vanish at the end, although they will feel like it lifts up into the air really. With the M5 you also get a matchstick you can cause to stand up on their hand, they can lift it up a couple of inches and let it drop and it will land upright on their hand and when you remove the magnetic field it will drop down flat onto their hand.

For Invisible Touches you could check out Invisible Touch by Lior Manor, Touched by Morgan Strebler (This DVD has a LOT of ideas for this routine) or there is a PK Touch routine taught with the tutorial on Inner Circle by Yigal Mesika, this is extremely similar to Lior Manor’s routine.

It is also possible to do mental magic tricks for the blind, you could perform (with a bit of thought) Peter Turner’s Isabella’s Star where you tell the spectator their birthday, they would need to write something so this would maybe only work for the visually impaired as opposed to the 100% blind. You could also check out some of Fraser Parker’s work, something like Rose where you guess ( without a billet) someone’s name that has never been said before or written down anywhere.

It may seem like you are taking advantage, but I honestly reckon if you learned to steal a watch, you could get a great reaction from them if you managed to steal a watch or two, load it into an envelope in your pocket and hand it to them as a present. Here are some links you may find relevant:

M5 Kit
Coin Unique
Touched
Inner Circle
Isabella’s Star
Rose
Sponge by Jay Noblezada

Watch Steal
Growing Ball

I hope this helps Anton, keep us up to date with how it goes!

 

Related: Visual Magic Tricks Are Killing Magic

 

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Filed Under: how to do magic tricks, Questions and Answers Tagged With: Questions and Answers, recommended

Magic Tricks For A Wedding Speech – Recommended

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

magic tricks for a wedding speechJohn has been asked to perform some magic tricks for a wedding speech. He’s not sure what to do..

 

Hi Guys, I perform close up fairly often at weddings, but recently I have been asked to perform magic tricks for a wedding speech at my Granddaughter wedding. It will be performed at the Reception directly after the speeches, therefore at the top table, but for ALL the wedding guests. Obviously I want this to go well for both my Granddaughter and her Husband. I would really appreciate any advice you could give me regarding suitable effects, and presentation under this situation. Thanking you in advance, John.

 

Hi John,

We spoke on the phone earlier, I would be more than happy to help out with some sort of ideas for a presentation. Choosing the right magic tricks for a wedding speech depends on several factors:

How long are you performing for?

Do you perform magic, mentalism a mix of both?

Are you comedic or serious?

What are the guests going to be like? Do your families have riotous senses of humor or are would you definitely be airing on the side of caution?

I saw this presentation from another pro magician at a wedding where he was performing, he was best man at the wedding and this was his 8 minute set:

Nick Crown Magician

Obviously this cost a little bit of money and it doesn’t have to be that expensive a routine but it is worth looking at the structure of the routine, the pacing etc.

Here are some products I would suggest you check out, you could easily build a 5 – 8 minute set with these.

Too Hot To Handle (Drink Prediction) Then you could switch the can at the end of the effect (on the offbeat) and perform Healed and Sealed 2.0.

Ring Leader Ring of String Routine and finish with Ring Flight

Invisible Deck sent to the bride and groom in a sealed envelope, you then have the bride decide the suit and the groom the card value and you have a very strong, easy to do prediction

You could perform a Bank Night Routine with (Like Blank Night by John Archer) but instead of money you could say inside one envelope is a photo of them together. Each envelope they choose you cut/rip up or burn until there is one left, this of course is the only one with the photo in it. You can then perform Torn 2 Pieces by Shawn Farquhar with the photo leaving them with an impossible souvenir.

Here are some other magic tricks that are perfect for Wedding Couples

Anniversary Waltz by Doc Eason and Garrett Thomas
OCL by Ben Williams
Linko
Wishbone

I hope this helps John, please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Ben Williams

 

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Filed Under: how to do magic tricks, Questions and Answers Tagged With: best magic tricks, Questions and Answers, Wedding Magicians

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