Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................. 1

Lead Generation Sites- An Overview ................................................. 11

Your Website—The Foundation of All Your Marketing................. 20

The Marketing and Sales Mindset ....................................................... 30

Your USP: How Are You Different? .................................................. 33

Setting Up Your Profile on Lead Generation Sites ........................... 37

How to Write Proposals That Win Contracts ................................... 45

Google Business Profile: Your Secret Weapon For Local Shows .. 52

About Tim Piccirillo .............................................................................. 57

 Chapter 1

Introduction

I
’m an “outsider” in the magic community. You’ve most
likely never heard of me. I haven’t created any tricks, and
you haven’t seen me at many magic conventions. You’re
probably wondering, “Who is this guy that sold me a course to
teach me a different way to make money booking magic shows?”
And, WITHOUT doing the regular stuff we used to have to do to
market our shows like mailing brochures and postcards (although
this can still work—and very well—I might add!), cold-calling
on the phone and other traditional forms of marketing?
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Well, I’m just a regular guy who grew up as a small-town boy in
a very rural area of Pennsylvania with the nearest cities—
Buffalo, NY to the north and Pittsburgh, PA to the south— being
at least 125 miles from me. I didn’t have access to other
magicians, magic clubs, or magic mentors. I learned the art of
magic largely by reading books. Back in the early 70’s when I
was coming up in magic, there wasn’t yet DVD’s, videos or
YouTube to learn from. There were only books, booklets and
pamphlets, and various magic magazines—all of which taught
magic. If you were lucky enough to live in a metropolitan area,
you could most likely visit a brick and mortar magic shop (these
are quickly becoming a rarity and “relic of the past” with all the
online magic shops in cyberspace) and find a magic club or a
mentor to help you in your magic journey. I had none of that. I
was on my own. But I had the passion and intuitively knew at
the tender age of 15 that I wanted to become a professional
magician when I grew up. So I devoured all the books I could. I
amassed a collection of several hundred books and booklets, on
just about every conceivable topic related to magic, comedy,
and/or performing.

I also had an edge over most magicians and entertainers in

general. I recognized at an early age that there were two parts to
show business. There’s the “show” and there’s the “business”.
The vast majority of entertainers I’ve met in my life love the
show, but detest the business end of things. I can say this with a
degree of candidness because for 13 years, when living in
Pennsylvania where I grew up, and before entering show
business full-time, I started and built an entertainment talent
agency from the ground up. This was pre-internet, where

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business was conducted primarily on the phone and when snail
mail was responsible for getting physical contracts back and
forth between parties, as well as sending promotional materials.
I worked with hundreds of acts of all types during that time and
got to know how they think regarding the business end of things.
And I can tell you firsthand that most of them had a real dislike
for the business and marketing side of things. Granted,
marketing can be tedious, and sometimes time-consuming. But
it’s the most high-leverage activity you can do in any business.
It’s where the money is. Without a steady stream of prospects
lined up with their “hand raised” interested in your show, you
have no business. Marketing is NOT sales. It gets people
interested in what you offer and then, hopefully, starts the sales
process.

Lead generation sites have replaced the physical agent of

yesteryear. The only real difference in how things were done
with agents and lead gen sites, is the fees involved. Any
reputable agency didn’t charge an act a fee prior to booking you
on a job. Lead generation sites require either a membership fee
or use a credit system where each individual lead has its own
number of credits you must pay for in order to bid on a gig.

My edge was that I loved marketing! And I was hungry to learn

all I could about it because I knew that it was crucial is if I was
going to make magic my full-time business. For me personally,
I went beyond that. I wanted to get really good at it and help
others grow their business through the power of marketing. As
a result, I became a digital marketing consultant and copywriter,
which I continue to do to this day because I enjoy it so much.

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Don’t get me wrong about putting the proverbial cart before the
horse on what’s important if you’re performing professionally.
And what I mean by professionally, is making money from your
magic show. As Marvin “Mr. Electric” Roy put it, “The
foundation is the act.” Meaning, your act has got to be sellable.
Notice I didn’t say great or the best. It simply has to be good
enough that people will pay you money to perform it. And
believe me, you don’t have to be a Lance Burton or Shin Lim to
make money with magic, so stay with me and know that you can
do this if you’re willing to keep learning and working on your
show as well as learning basic marketing techniques.

Then Vs. Now

The pre-internet world was a completely different time. It was a
time of traditional marketing. Just about every business and
industry used many of the same methods like mailing brochures
and postcards, cold-calling on the phone, newspaper ads and
other traditional forms of marketing. A lot of business was
conducted on the phone. My entertainment agency was
conducted almost completely by phone. Being able to sell on the
phone will always be a valuable skill but prior to the mid-90’s it
was even more crucial. If I couldn’t sell on the phone, I wasn’t
going to eat! Desperation has a way of motivating you to pay
attention to what you’re doing right when you make a sale over
a phone call. This enables you to sharpen those selling skills and
do more of what works when talking on the phone to prospects
and customers.

Today, much of traditional advertising has taken a backseat to

online methods and techniques. Prior to the internet, there was

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no social media, Facebook Ads, Google My Business, or email
marketing. These are all new mediums that can be used as
marketing channels for any business. And each of these
mediums are unique, have their own way of doing things, as well
as their own learning curve.

And the online world continually changes and evolves.

Remember MySpace? I can only assume some of you (depending
on your age) are nodding with a smile at that. For those who may
be too young or don’t remember, MySpace was one of the very
first social media platforms out there. It was hugely popular with
millions of subscribers. Then boom. It was irrelevant and then
practically gone within a few years of Facebook coming on the
scene. Today about 1/3 of the world’s population has an account
on Facebook. But this could change tomorrow.

Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and it became

the hottest social media platform around for a few years. It’s
primarily image and video-based content. Now, Instagram is
maturing and although it’s still very relevant as a social media
channel, you can see that it’s dominated by bikini-clad women
and a lot of “influencers” who’s only talent is that they won the
genetic lottery and look really pleasing to the eye.

Enter Tik-Tok. Nobody saw that this would become a huge

platform with short video clips called “reels” where people could
post everything from political opinions to daredevil stunts and
everything in between. Reels are a relatively new thing that have
crossed over to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other
platforms.

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My point in all this is that things constantly evolve and change
in the online world. But here’s the most important point: online
is where your prospects and future customers are. And it’s never
been easier to reach them than now. Although there are
downsides to the online world, like anything else, the internet has
made it extremely easy to reach your audience directly and offer
them your show. Many brands and businesses get a lot of
customers and business from their tribe on social media
platforms. I have a friend who’s a personal trainer and runs her
entire business from her Instagram account. I do NOT
recommend this. Having your business and tribe on one social
media platform is a recipe for disaster. If the platform goes down
and you have no way to communicate with your tribe, what do
you do?

Case in point: a few months ago, Facebook had some technical

problems and went down for about 8 hours one day. Nobody
could access their account. Now, remember, Facebook is a
platform that has almost 1/3 of the world’s population having
accounts with them. People panicked. Particularly people who
ran their business from there. A collective sigh of relief could
almost be heard when Facebook came online that day.

Running a business from a Facebook group is hugely popular as

I write this. I do copywriting coaching for an online consultant
who teaches other coaches and consultants how to create high-
ticket offers for their coaching programs. I continually tell these
coaches that there is danger in “putting all your eggs in one
basket” online. If you don’t have multiple ways of reaching your
target audience with your show, how are you going to book
shows and make money?

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In the pages you’re about to read, I’m going to show you how to
make money with your show, by bypassing traditional marketing
methods and most online methods like email marketing,
Facebook and Google Ads and creating sales funnels.

Lead Generation Sites—An Easier Way to Book

Shows
Lead generation websites for all kinds of industries have been
around for decades. The first one I remember, is Angie’s list,
which was founded in 1995. When it started out, it was primarily
designed to bring home contractors and people looking for help
with home renovation and improvements. It expanded fairly
quickly to go national from its roots in Columbus, OH. Although
it’s had some controversy surrounding it, it’s one of the first
websites of this type to bring buyers and service providers
together in one place.

In the business world, regarding hiring freelance talent for

various services, there is Upwork and Fiverr are the two main
players in this arena. These two sites bring freelancers and
buyers together for practically any business service you can
imagine. Some estimates for Upwork alone, are that there are
2500 hundred different freelance categories, offering everything
from website design to writing services and everything in
between. There are many more lead gen sites online, many
specialized. (In fact, I put together a list of 72 other lead gen sites
I found online for business services—-many very specialized
sites—about 4 years ago. Email me at tim@timpic.com and I’ll
send it to you. It hasn’t been updated since I compiled it, so you
know that upfront. � )

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The four lead generation websites I’ll be covering in this course
are Bark, Thumbtack, Gigsalad and The Bash (formerly
Gigmasters). Gigsalad and The Bash are platforms specifically
for entertainers. Thumbtack and Bark are more generic and
encompass hundreds of different services. From home
contractors to marketing consultants to massage therapists,
you’ll find just about anything you want or need in a service on
these Thumbtack or Bark. At this writing, Bark alone has 1500
different services available and are adding new ones all the time.

First of all, let me address a common misconception about lead

gen sites. There are still many performers who either don’t know
about these sites or have heard through the grapevine that they
don’t work or certain ones are good and others aren’t. I’ll address
this shortly. Although there are several variables to take into
account with each site, overall, they’re a great passive way to
book shows—even in rural areas with a limited population. I
grew up in a very rural area of Pennsylvania (thus being forced
to become a generalist in magic if I wanted to make money.) and
used the one lead generation site that was available to me to great
advantage. And this was over 20 years ago!

The methods I’m going to show you with lead generation sites
are extremely effective in getting shows. Particularly if you don’t
have a lot of time to market your shows in other ways, like
sending out brochures or postcards, or advertising online using
Facebook or Google Ad (Google Ads alone can be extremely
expensive) or even email. These sites are designed to bring
buyers wanting magic shows, and professional and semi-
professional magicians, together. They’re designed to generate

8
leads for you and then it’s up to you to sell the client on your
show and win the contract.

Since I’m a generalist in the magic world, meaning I can perform

for any type of audience (kids, adults, family shows), I work a
number of markets. And I’ve booked a number of different types
of shows in various markets on these sites including:

• children’s birthday parties

• school assemblies
• 55+ communities (big here in Florida)
• retirement communities
• corporate events
• family parties

As you can see from the above list, there are many opportunities
for shows on here, although some opportunities for shows in a
particular market are more prevalent than others.

What I’ll be sharing in this ebook regarding booking shows on

lead generation sites like Bark, Thumbtack, Gigsalad and The
Bash boils down to a few crucial things:

1. Setting up a profile that gets attention.

2. Differentiating yourself from other magicians.
3. Determining what kind of shows you want to focus on
attracting.
4. Sending proposals that win the contract.
5. Pricing your show for maximum results.
6. Getting reviews for work done and why it’s crucial to do
this.

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Using Lead Generation sites is the easiest and least time-
consuming way to book shows. If you’re a semi-pro with a
regular job and maybe a family, this is the perfect way to make
extra money with your magic without spending a ton of time on
marketing. And if you’re a full-time pro, this is a great way to
increase your revenue. Setting up a profile on a lead generation
site is largely a passive method of booking shows—aside from
having to respond to requests and send out proposals.

You’re going to learn that each lead gen site—or platform, as

they’re also called—has its own business model and way of
monetizing their websites.

These sites have changed the game on marketing your magic

show. They have made it easier than ever to work various
markets without doing any outbound marketing. Whether you
do schools, birthday parties, corporate dates or private parties,
you’ll find mastering lead generation sites will be well worth the
effort and time to set up profiles on one or more of them.

Going forward as you read, I ask that you keep an open mind and
not be turned off by hearsay or the negative experiences of others
with these sites. Contrary to this negativity, learning how to
leverage these sites to your advantage can not only put more
money in your pocket every month but give you a real edge over
your competition and be a great source of referral business for
you. Ok, let’s get into it….

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 Chapter 2

Lead Generation Sites- An

Overview

L
ead generation websites have made it very easy to book
shows without doing any outbound marketing. The
whole idea of these sites is to bring buyers of
entertainment and entertainers together in one place to give
buyers choices regarding their entertainment needs.

If you’re only doing shows part-time, these sites are a great way
to book shows without having to set up online sales funnels, send

11
out postcards and direct mail pieces or use email marketing. And
if you’re already a busy pro, they’re a great way to fill in dates
without doing any outbound marketing.

Another benefit to using lead generation sites is that they are

actually better than working for a talent agency. Although
smaller talent agencies are largely a thing of the past due to
people searching directly online for what they want, they used to
be a good avenue for acts that either didn’t know how, or didn’t
want to spend the time marketing themselves. Agencies would
feed them work while taking a commission. A problem with this
though, was that any date you worked for that agent, you had to
refer anyone who saw you and wanted you for their event, back
to the agent. With lead generation sites, this doesn’t happen.
You’re free to market yourself and once you book the show, you
should work the room like a politician to get more shows after
you’ve fulfilled the gig. You don’t owe the platform anything
after this.

Lead generation websites have been around for a number of years

for various niches. Some platforms, like thumbtack.com are
more generic and cater to just about any business you can think
of, while others cater to specialized services. gigsalad.com and
thebash.com, for example, only cater to entertainers and buyers
of entertainment, while AngiesList.com caters to home
improvement contractors.

For our purposes here, which is about getting shows for

magicians, we’ll focus on the sites I personally use. These
include:

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 1. bark.com
2. gigsalad.com
3. thebash.com
4. thumbtack.com

I’ll be covering each platform in separate videos where you can

actually see how each platform is set up, it’s functionality and
how to navigate it.

I’ll cover:

• How popular the site it. (this largely boils down to how
well they market their site.)
• Each platform’s billing structure.
• Site features.
• Special features you can upgrade on each site to get more
visibility.
• Pros and Cons of each site

The costs of using these sites vary as do their business models.

Gigsalad and TheBash have a subscription model, meaning you
pay a set fee either quarterly or yearly. The Bash has a yearly
fee, paid upfront as of this writing, is $149. Gigsalad charges
$139 per quarter.(I’ll explain my thoughts on the wide
discrepancy in price later). Bark and Thumbtack, on the other
hand, use a credit system. Show requests or gigs are posted by
entertainment buyers and you use pre-purchased “credits” to bid
on the request. The type of gig requested (e.g. birthday party,
corporate event, private party) determines how many credits
you’ll pay for each gig bid.

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The credit system and number of credits required for each
particular gig is set up by the individual site but there are certain
commonalities they share, such as bidding on corporate gigs.
Bidding on these gigs typically cost 3-4 as many credits as a
children’s birthday party and other events. The rationale from
the platform’s standpoint is that they know corporate gigs are
much higher-paying than other types of events, thus the higher
number of credits needed to bid on them.

Types of Shows Available

As I’ve said before, of the four lead gen sites I’m covering here
in this ebook, only Gigsalad and The Bash are exclusive to the
entertainment field. Bark and Thumbtack are lead generation
platforms that offer just about any general service you can think
of. From lawyers to plumbers and from singing coaches to
painting contractors, you’ll be able to compare vendors and
quotes all in one place.

All four sites however, have various options for magicians. I’ve
booked everything from children’s birthday parties, to high-
paying corporate and private party gigs on most of these sites.

 Know Thy Numbers

In order to maximize your profits from lead generation sites, you
need to know your costs and how much you’re willing to spend
every month on these platforms for your show. The Bash and
Gigsalad have a subscription business model, so it doesn’t cost
you anything to bid on individual shows that come in once your
membership is paid. But Bark and Thumbtack are based on using

14
credits to bid, so you’ll need to keep track of what you book and
what you spend on credits.

For example, at this writing in my own business, I’ve spent

approximately $375.00 in the last 3 months on credits between
Bark and Thumbtack. This comes out to $125/month in lead gen
costs. Gigsalad has a subscription fee of $139/quarter. You can
pay yearly and save money, but some people prefer the 3 month
commitment option—particularly when first joining— due to not
knowing whether they’ll actually get work on the site or not. In
my case, I prefer the 3-month membership which comes out to
$46/month.

The Bash’s has a basic annual fee of $149, which is reasonable,

and that breaks down to about $12/month. The Bash is also
considerably less expensive than its predecessor, GigMasters,
who sold the business to them. I remember when I first heard
about Gigmasters in the 90’s, it was a bit pricey to be listed with
them. Now, bear in mind, this was about 30 years ago and the
pricing was about the same as what Gigsalad is today.
Gigmasters was also crowded. That told me two things: 1.) If
it’s crowded, it must be getting results. 2.) Also, if it’s that
crowded, the competition will be fiercer, therefore my success
ratio when bidding may be lower.

Assessing the competition in your market is always a good idea.

The total cost cost for lead generation for all 4 platforms for 3
months totals approximately $550.00—or $183/mo. In contrast,
I grossed $2,944 just from these lead gen sites in that period. The
breakdown just for revenue generated from these sites is:

15
Gross sales: $2944.00

Marketing costs: $550.00

Net profit: $2394.00 or $798.00/month profit

ROI: 82%

What can $800 in profit in one month buy? Ok, you may not quit
your job over it, but isn’t that a nice little supplement. And
earning it doing something that’s fun? Or how about the referral
business it generates? There’s one date I booked on Bark a year
and half ago that has garnered me 5 other shows just from that
one private party. And I didn’t have to pay an agent’s
commission on any of them!

This is just a sampling of what a 3-month period may look like.

I’ve had months where I made much more and then some slow
months where I made just a little less. But I’ve never had a month
go by that I didn’t book something from one of these sites.
Depending on the markets you work and your marketing and
sales chops, you could make much more than $800, that I
illustrated. But wouldn’t an extra $800 in income from simply
bidding on shows that come in be pretty cool, in addition to your
other marketing methods? Again, this is pretty much passive
income. The buyers come to the site. It’s up to you to sell them
on your show. The only thing you really need to do once you
win the contract is to do a good show. But, like anything else,
several variables can change the numbers—sometimes
drastically. Factors that might generate more or less income
include:

16
 • The area in which you live: If you’re in a busy market,
like I used to be in when I lived near Orlando, competition
may be a bit stiffer.
• The markets you want to work: The birthday party
market, although constant and a good bread-and-butter
market, doesn’t pay nearly as well as a corporate gig.
Specializing in one particular market can be a two-sided
coin. You can work to be the #1 magician in a certain niche
like birthday parties or be a generalist and work a variety
of gigs.

Bear in mind, this doesn’t count the other shows I’ve booked
through my Google Business Profile, which I treat like a social
media platform (and is like a lead gen site in its own right), and
is a completely passive way to book shows without doing any
outbound marketing. I wrote a whole bonus chapter about
Google Business Profiles later in this ebook.

And here’s the real kicker: I am involved in 2 other businesses,

so my time is limited. The numbers I showed you are very real.
But with the gigs that I booked; I did NO FOLLOW-UP AT
ALL. (until recently*)

Read that again.

Yes, I didn’t do any follow-up, simply because of time

constraints. Imagine if I did follow up and stayed in touch with
my clients, providing value, giving advice on how to make their
event better based on my past experience, etc.? I could have
increased these numbers significantly.

17
I DON’T recommend you do what I do and not follow up. You
should follow up every lead with at least a second message and
a third if necessary. And if you’re good at phone sales, by all
means, use the phone for follow-up. I made my living as an agent
and magician in PA at one time and did everything by phone—
including responding to leads. I rarely call show bookers now.
95% of the shows I book are by using the email templates I’ve
included in this course. (Yes, they’re that effective!)

For well-paying corporate gigs, I’ll do some follow-up and keep

in close touch with the meeting planner or buyer. But many of
the events I bid on are birthday parties (both kids and adults),
private parties, schools, and for better or worse, I simply rely on
the strength of my profile and emailed proposal to get me the gig.

• I now do follow-up with my clients regularly and will most

likely offer my “email marketing system” in the near
future. I’m also a marketing consultant and copywriter in
my other life and do a lot of email strategy and
copywriting for a variety of clients in various industries,
including magicians.
 The Pitfalls
Yes, there are always at least a couple of downsides to anything
in life, but regarding lead gen sites for magicians, these are
mostly annoyances, for the most part. There are a couple of
things to recognize that can really frustrate you when being listed
on these sites. First, you may get a gig request and you’re too
busy to send a bid right away. A couple of these sites send a note
with every gig request to me saying something to the effect of,
“Reply to this request NOW! Many times, the first to apply gets

18
the job! And, in my own experience, I’ve found that this is a
truism. Some show bookers just want to get the task of hiring an
entertainer out of the way, and will book the first magician who’s
got decent (notice I didn’t say “good”) marketing materials and
at least some sort of track record. They want to be able to check
that task off their party or event to-do list.

Just last night, I was doing a show at a resort and a lead came in
that I really wanted. I didn’t get a chance to send a bid until after
I got home, about 3 hours later. It was too late. The job request
had been taken down because it was filled. This doesn’t always
happen that fast, but it happens. This is why being first to bid
isn’t necessarily a bad idea.

Once in a while you’ll get a fake job request on Thumbtack or

Bark. Again, it doesn’t happen often but it happens. It could be
a competitor doing market research to see what other magicians
are charging in the area or it may simply be a hacker or
disgruntled person just trying to stir up trouble for lack of
anything better to do.

There are actually very few downsides to these websites other

than what I mentioned above and these are not the fault of the
platforms themselves.

 The Lead Generation Site Videos

1. Bark
2. Gigsalad
3. Thumbtack
4. The Bash

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 Chapter 3

Your Website—The
Foundation of All Your
Marketing

Y
ou may be scratching your head wondering why I wrote
a chapter on on websites. Let me explain…

In today’s business world—particularly after the

pandemic—more and more businesses have moved online.
We’re moving more and more into a connected world and I
predicted this would happen almost a decade ago. The pandemic

20
simply speeded up the trajectory. I’m sure if you’re doing magic
shows and getting paid for them, you have at least some sort of
website up. It may be a simple one you built in Godaddy or Wix
or you may have one with a lot of bells and whistles.

If you’re going to do magic shows and get paid for them YOU
NEED A DECENT WEBSITE. It’s no longer a matter of
conjecture today whether you need a website or not for your
business. I say, you definitely need it in the magic business. A
good website shows you’re credible in the marketplace. Don’t
cheap out on this foundational key to your marketing. I see many
magicians and other entertainers try to use a Facebook Business
Page or their LinkedIn profile as a website. These are social
media platforms. They aren’t a website. And if you don’t have
a website, most buyers won’t take you seriously. Your website
is the foundation of your marketing and you need to have one—
even if it’s a barebones one. You need social media also, but the
foundation is your website.

The 6 Elements of an Effective Website

Most websites are a work in progress. Meaning, you should be
continually updating them, adding new pics, videos, links or
additional content on a regular basis—or at least as often as you
can. I’m guilty of not updating enough, but I have a better
solution or tool that works in conjunction with my website: It’s
Google’s FREE tool, Google Business Profile. (I’ll be covering
this in the bonus chapter at the end of this ebook).

Google prefers a website that is updated regularly. “Static” or

inactive websites won’t do well in Google search. Adding

21
content and updating with keywords in your specialty or niche or
just the general magic market, at least periodically, should be a
marketing goal for you. Doing this—in addition to setting up and
managing your Google Business Profile— will help you in
getting ranked higher.

 Keywords
When building your website, you’ll want to write the text (copy)
using SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization and is
based on keywords and phrases people use when searching for
products or services—including magicians. At its essence, doing
keyword research and incorporating the most popular ones into
your copy and metagags on your site, boils down to simply
communicating with Google about what you do so that when
people search for a magician, they can find you. Try to figure
out which keywords people would use when searching for a
magician in your area. And particularly for your niche or
specialty. In the Tampa Bay area where I live, I use keywords
and phrases like “Tampa Bay Magician”, “Tampa Magician”
“Tampa Magician and Comedian”, etc. These are the most likely
keywords that people would be searching for when looking for a
magician. If you specialize in certain markets like corporate gigs
or schools, you would modify your keywords to reflect what
these people would search for. I work several markets and have
keywords and phrases appropriate for the people searching for a
magician in each niche.

For example, I work the school market, so other keywords I use

in my description for my school shows is “school assembly
magician tampa bay”. I think you get the point and it’s not really

22
that mystical. First, figure out the markets you want to work and
then do keyword research based on each market. There are a
number of keyword tools available online. Just search “keyword
search apps” or “keyword search tools”.

If you’re new to SEO, you can learn the best way to do keyword
for SEO here. And I highly recommend using a web designer
who is versed in at least basic SEO.

 Your Home Page Headline

Your "copy” is what will get people to stay on your site and read
about you and your show. Copy is the words you use for your
website, social media posts, emails, etc. Whether writing website
copy, emails, or video scripts, it’s the words you use and how
you use them, that determines whether people will keep reading.

Your headline is the starting point and is actually responsible for

75% of the success of your website, different show offerings and
whether people are interested in reading your social media posts.

Your headline is the “ad for the ad”. It should be written to do

one thing only: get people to keep reading. A good headline
communicates your offer as a magician and what differentiates
you in the marketplace. Having a subhead below it going deeper
into what you do, is an option too.

Here’s the headline and subhead I still use for my website for
elementary shows…

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 “How to Make Your Next School Assembly
Powerful, Unforgettable and FUN!”
“Tim Piccirillo's Program, “The Magic Of Your Potential” Shows
Students How To Overcome Adversity And Thrive Despite It—
While Using Magic and Comedy To Entertain and Teach…”

I used this same headline when I moved into motivational

speaking at middle and high school assemblies. Why? Because
it works.

The headline teases my assembly program. The idea is for the

reader to want to see exactly HOW I make their assembly
“powerful, unforgettable and fun.” The subheadline then goes a
bit deeper and explains this.

Pro Tip: Headlines should be used in every marketing post or

piece you put out. This includes optin pages, landing pages,
email subject lines (yes, these are also headlines that entice
people to open the email, read social media posts—and even
video scripts.The very first line spoken in a video should be
considered a headline designed to grab the reader and get them
to keep watching.

 Your Video Demo

Doing a video demo is easier now than it’s ever been before. You
don’t need a super slickly produced video in the beginning. And
if you’re doing birthday parties and other lower-paying shows, a
slick video can actually hurt you. I’ll explain that in a bit. But
first, here’s what your video should show:

24
 • Your overall performance style: Your video will show
what type of personality you have and how you come
across.
• How you dress: Yes, this makes a huge difference if
you’re working in the corporate arena. If you work this
market and don’t have a suit or at least a couple of sport
coats, you’re probably not going to be able to compete.
• The audience reaction: This is the most important part of
the video. It determines in the mind of the meeting planner
how a typical audience reacts to your material.

If you’re just starting out, the easiest way to get a demo is to

simply record several shows with your smartphone. The quality
of smartphone cameras continues to rise and you can get a video
editor on fiverr.com or upward.com to edit your video down to
about 2-4 minutes. You can either order a cheap smartphone
tripod on Amazon or stand the phone on a table somewhere. The
more centered the better.

If you can get footage of 2 or 3 different shows where you’re

wearing different outfits, this is even better. It subtly shows that
you’re a busy, working performer.

As you get more shows under your belt you can upgrade to hiring
a videographer for a multiple camera shoot and video editing that
can make your video look great with titles, graphics, maybe a
soft bed of music underneath, or a narrator over top of the
footage.

For now, just get some footage of your act to show to potential
buyers. A video is mandatory today to get booked consistently.

25
  Pictures and Images
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

This is still true when it comes to booking magic shows. You

should have a minimum of two pictures on your website. More
than this is encouraged without getting crazy. Your web designer
can help you with this. A headshot and at least one or two
“action shots” that shows you in action performing are the
minimum.

The images will get more traction if they show the audience
smiling or laughing or you have a picture that captures a person’s
reaction to one of your tricks.

 Your Bio or About Page

This is hugely important. Your bio showcases where you’ve
performed, for what audiences and your background. Spend time
on this. If you can’t do it yourself, hire a professional copywriter
to help you. If you need help with this, message me here. You’ll
want a good headshot for this in addition to the copy.

You’ll also want to frame yourself as THE magician to book for

the markets you want to work. I’ve always been a “generalist” in
magic. Coming from a rural area, I had to adapt to a variety of
audiences, including kids, adults and family shows, as well as
stage, parlor and close-up. So, my website
www.TimothyPitch.com showcases various markets I perform
for on separate pages.

26
Your bio should address the following areas for
entertainment buyers:

• How long you’ve been performing. (If you’re just getting

started, you can leave this out.)
• What kind of magic you do Parlor? Stage?Close-up?
• Who you perform for? Kids? Adults? Any group?
• What kinds of venues and groups have you performed for?
Some clients you’ve worked for.
• Make sure your contact info includes ALL ways to contact
you including phone, email, and social media profiles.

 Your Services Page

Your services page spells out who do you shows for and the
markets you work. You may want to put specific videos and
pictures representing these individual markets. Now, here I want
to point out that I’m a big fan of the Steve Jobs quote, “People
don’t know what they need until you tell them.” You may be
thinking, “How does this translate to your services page?”

Ever done a show for bridal shower? A bachelorette party? How

about strolling at a wedding reception? Or maybe even a
neighborhood block party?

I’ve done all of the above, and maybe you have too. The point
is, many people wouldn’t even consider a magician for these
events. How about “casino night” fundraisers? If you’re a close-
up magician who’s into card magic, why couldn’t you just sit at
a table during the event (maybe even dressed as an old-time

27
gambler or in a tux) and people could come and go as you did
card magic? *

These are all gigs that a lot of people would never think of. The
place to put them is as bullet points on your website. Why?
Because the people putting in requests for magicians already
know what their event is for. They have a specific purpose in
mind already (and it just may be a bridal shower!). But you
should put them on your lead gen site profile as well, if you have
the appropriate experience. This shows you have experience in a
variety of venues and performing situations.

On my website you can see that I perform for schools as well as

corporate audiences. There are actually two separate pages on
my website to differentiate these two very distinct markets. My
home page video is more generic, with the majority of it being
shot in a theatre setting. My school video is a demo just for the
elementary school market and my corporate demo was shot at an
insurance seminar.

Your website can be a powerful marketing tool and should reflect

and represent what you do in the best possible light. If you’re
just starting out or trying to transition from part-time to full-time,
building your website should always be a work in progress. I’ve
been in this business over 40 years and still add to my website
fairly regularly, including adding blogs, additional pages, and
updated videos and pictures. This is still your foundation for
your brand as a magician and time should be spent making it the
best it can be.

• This isn’t an original idea of mine. A few years ago, I

actually saw a documentary on gifted card magician
28
 Richard Turner (who also happens to be blind) titled,
“Dealt”. A segment showed him working a casino night
fundraiser. I simply adapted the idea. I’m sure many a
magician has worked at least one casino night fundraiser.
When I entered the Tampa market a few years ago, I
reached out to several casino nights vendors and one
actually wanted to “handle” me, as they did a lot of these
fundraiser gigs all over Florida. Ultimately, we couldn’t
come to an equitable agreement in fee, so I moved on. But
I think in the right area this could be a viable market for a
good close-up magician—and not just with cards either!

Need help with a new website or need an overhaul for an existing

one? We can help. Just click here: (link to Cris Johnson’s website
design site.) All I would need is an affiliate link for this.

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 Chapter 4

The Marketing and Sales

Mindset

Y
our mindset in booking magic shows on lead generation
sites is extremely important in being successful. These
sites are set up to bring buyers and practitioners of all
kinds together so that every vendor has a fair shot at proposing
their skills to the buyer.

30
So, your job is already half-done by the platform bringing buyers
to you. You don’t have to send out direct mail campaigns or
postcards. You also don’t need to do email marketing or pay for
Facebook or Google Ads to get leads (although these are all still
good ideas!). You do however, need to sharpen your marketing
and sales skills.

Your marketing materials like videos, pictures and the copy you
write for your profile should put you in the best light possible.
It’s important to remember that there are two parts to show
business. And the “business” is just as important as the “show”—
particularly if your focus is to make money with your magic.

I’ve heard magicians and other entertainers say how they hate the
business side of magic, to which I normally reply, “Great! More
work for me!”. And I’m not kidding. If you are setting yourself
up to do shows either full-time or part-time (pro or semi-pro)
then you need to take care of business and start thinking of this
as a business. Doing this can give you a real competitive
advantage—no matter what market you’re in.

And the two elements you want to get good at are sales and
marketing. Many people still confuse these two very distinct
elements of business so I’ll explain the difference…

Marketing is the process in which you get your ideal prospect

interested in whatever it is you’re selling. It gives them enough
information so that they “raise their hand” wanting more
information about the product/service.

This is where the sales part kicks in. Knowing how to “close”
clients either by email or on the phone can be learned. And it’s

31
crucial that you get good at this. I’ll tip my hat here and say I
almost never call a prospect on these sites to book a gig. Now,
could I close more people if I did? Most likely. But my method
of getting booked is something I’ve kind of fell into due to time
constraints and other factors. If I did make more phone calls, I
know I would close more shows. This is because when I had my
talent agency years ago, all my business was conducted over the
phone. This was pre-internet so it was either get good on the
phone or starve. I got to the point where if a buyer called me, I
would close 95% of them.

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 Chapter 5

Your USP: How Are You

Different?

T
he first thing I ask a new prospect or client when I’m
doing marketing consulting for them is the same thing
everybody asks a business when considering purchasing
from them: “Why should I buy from you as opposed to everyone
else who sells what you do?” You should be able to answer this
question in one, or no more than two, sentences. It’s essentially
your marketing “hook” to separate you from the pack when
competing with other magicians.

The Myth of “The Best”

I found through hard-won experience and teachings from some
of the best marketers on the planet a wisdom nugget that was a
game-changer for me. And that is something that’s called, “the
myth of the best”. This myth assumes the best (insert job or
profession here) automatically gets the lion’s share of work when
people are looking for a product or service.

• Pro Tip: If you don’t take anything else away from this
ebook, the following tip I’m going to share regarding

33
 booking shows as a magician will serve you well. And it’s
simply this:

The best performer doesn’t usually get the shows,

the best marketer does.
Marketing and selling are all about perceived value in the minds
of your prospects and customers. And marketing is simply “a
battle of perception, not products”, according the Al Reis and
Jack Trout in their book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.

Don’t get me wrong. You have to have a sellable act to compete

and get paid for your show. But you certainly don’t have to be
the best at what you do. I continue to study the art of magic and
my show evolves as a result. It’s continually a work in progress
and you’re never done learning and growing, if you’re doing it
right. But when I learned that I could get ahead of the
competition by learning how to out-market them, this gave me
more of an edge. I learned a long time ago, a quote from Earl
Nightingale who said, “Don’t compete. Create.” This means,
don’t do what everyone else does. Create something new. From
this simple statement, I knew I had to differentiate myself—no
matter what business I was in.

So, how do you do this? There are various angles to use when
differentiating yourself. The first thing people usually think of,
is price. “If I quote lower fees than my competition, I’ll get more
work, is the thinking here. The problem is, this isn’t a good
strategy for the long-term. You don’t want to brand yourself as
the bargain-basement magician because it may be tough to get
out of that positioning once you’re in it.

34
In addition to that, low-balling fees not only hurts other
magicians and performers in your area, but hurts magic as a
whole.

Regardless, people still do it but it’s getting harder and harder to

differentiate on price anymore. Magic is no different. But we
have an edge: magic has never been bigger in the minds of the
public, so magic as a whole has better visibility and is in people’s
consciousness. This leads to more opportunities for work as a
magician. In addition, it encourages budding magicians to step
up and start performing. So, here are some ways you can
differentiate yourself:

• Type of Shows: You may specialize in day cares or

schools. Some magicians work strictly in the corporate
arena. Others are generalists like me who do it all. Even
if you’re a generalist, you can set yourself apart by
“specializing” in a particular market and then including it
in all your marketing materials.
• Special Trick: You may have an upside-down straitjacket
escape or a spectacular ending trick in your show. You
can capitalize on that in your marketing to stand out and
differentiate yourself. If you’re a birthday party magician
and produce a live rabbit that the kids can then pet, that’s
a huge differentiator in that market. Or maybe you can
levitate in public a la David Blaine. I think you get the
point here.
• A Character-Themed: Act. If you customize your act
around a specific theme (e.g. Harry Potter for birthday
shows, Christmas or holiday theme, etc.) or if you do your
act as a specific character, this can separate you from other
35
 magicians. Marshall Brodien (the guy who made a fortune
with “TV Magic Cards” in the 70’s) was ‘Whizzo the
Clown” on a local TV show before he got big with TV
Magic Cards and subsequent products. His clown
character did magic and typical clowning stuff and became
a “brand".
• Offer Different Packages: A lot of magicians don’t think
about this, but adding upsells like offering tricks for sale
at a discount or add-on’s like strolling magic, in addition
to a show, can be a good way to differentiate yourself and
offer more value to your client.
• Use a combination of the above: If you can incorporate
two or three of these ideas together, you can really set
yourself apart. How about a character act where you
perform a spectacular trick? Or how about setting yourself
up as the #1 birthday party magician in your area?

Differentiating yourself is crucial today in being able to get

attention for your act as well as separating yourself from
everyone else in your market. If you can figure out a unique
selling proposition for yourself, you’ll be miles ahead of your
competition.

36
 Chapter 6

Setting Up Your Profile on

Lead Generation Sites

T
he first step after joining a lead generation site is to set
up your profile. You’ll have a much easier time booking
shows, if you have a good profile with all the information
someone would need to make a decision on whether or not to hire
you. In this chapter, I’ll break down the crucial elements you
need to make your profile a magnet for people wanting
magicians.

37
Your profile can actually make or break you getting a gig, if it
comes down to you and another magician. Perception is reality
in the mind of the prospect. In other words, if a magician has
performance experience in a certain market— and the videos and
pictures to back it up— a buyer will see that the magician is
perfectly suited for their event. This makes it easier for the buyer
to choose you.

Case in point. I recently bid on a job on Gigsalad. It was for a

children’s birthday party. Within a couple of hours after sending
my proposal, the client emailed me directly saying how much she
liked me. Here are her exact words:

“Prior to seeing your email and seeing your fantastic

website, I hired a neighbor’s recommendation. We are
very impressed by your online videos- we can tell the
audience loves your shows! I am going to keep your
information for future parties (and I’ll pass it along to
friends who are going to have having similar parties)
and school events.”—Allison F.

This happens from time to time. People express to me how

impressed they are with my profile on one of the lead gen sites
or my personal website. This makes me feel good simply
because I know I reached them with my marketing and have
planted the seed for a future gig. I don’t show you this out of
egotism. I show you because I had the marketing materials in
place that spoke directly to what she wanted—a kid show
performer. And those videos, pictures and copy for that type of
gig are all geared for one thing: to entice someone to book me!

38
Now, the areas of your profile below are basically the same as
the elements your website should have. But below, I go a bit
deeper with each element…

 Sizzling Copy
You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to write great
marketing text for your profile—but it doesn’t hurt either. In my
other business, I’m a professional copywriter and marketing
consultant*, so writing copy that persuades a reader to book me
is something I learned to do early on.

But here’s the thing: writing good copy to promote yourself and
your act isn’t mystical. You just need to learn how to do it. And
I’m convinced just about anybody can learn to write good copy
for themselves. Granted some are better writers than others, and
if you’re not confident in your abilities or simply don’t want to
do it, you can always outsource it to professionals like me. If you
need my help with copywriting message me here. The best way
to start is to model other magician’s websites, social media
profiles and other marketing materials. Notice I didn’t say copy
them. I said to use them as a model. Modeling what they do and
then adapting it to your tone and personality is your best bet.

Each platform has its own way of asking you for information
regarding your act and who you perform for, how far you’ll travel
and a host of other things that will help an entertainment buyer
make a decision on whether you’ll get hired or not. They have
templates and you just have to fill in your information.

This is where persuasive copywriting can help. You want to

write your profile in a way that makes you stand out and shows

39
that YOU are the logical choice for them when it comes to hiring
a magician for a certain demographic or group.

One of the thing I do in my profiles is push the fact that I do

CLEAN comedy in my act. Why? Because I live in Florida. This
is the retirement capital of the US. I do a lot of 55+ communities
and because of their age and other factors, they don’t like R-rated
humor most of the time. So, this is a very good selling point for
me.

Other ways to stand out and differentiate yourself include

specializing in certain types of shows or audiences (e.g. schools,
corporate gigs, etc.), or doing something no one else is doing.
I’ve been a vocalist my entire life and was the lead vocalist in a
couple of bands, so I’m now incorporating singing in my adult
shows. In my school assemblies I also do a ventriloquist
routine(which the kids remember even more than my magic!).
They just love my puppet, “Eddie.” This goes a long way in
convincing a school principal or PTO Mom to hire me.

 Bio
Your bio is a place where you can really shine. So, take the time
you need to get this right. You’ll want to include your experience
in the types of shows you do, any clients you’ve worked for who
are well-known or are prestigious in some way, as well as your
general background. Again, the best way to see what I’m talking
about is to check out other magicians website and profiles on the
same platforms you’re on (e.g. bark.com). If you have a special
story to tell that relates to your background in magic (e.g.
meeting Lance Burton after his show in Vegas and deciding you
want to be a professional magician.) can spice up your bio. Just
40
make sure the content in your bio is relevant to the reader and
what you do as a magician.

• Pro Tip: Go to the top-rated acts on each platform and see

what their profiles look like. Check out their websites too.
Only model the best!

 Services
What kind of shows do you do? Who do you cater to? Kids only?
Adults? Are you a generalist like me who does both close-up and
stage? You can actually screen what types of jobs you want to
bid on on the four platforms I’ll be covering.

Here is the place to list the types of shows you do. Now, here I
want to point out that I’m a big fan of the Steve Jobs quote,
“People don’t know what they need until you tell them.”

You may be thinking, “How does this translate to your services

page?” Ever done a show for a bridal shower? How about
strolling at a wedding reception? Or maybe even a neighborhood
block party?

These are all gigs that a lot of people would never think of. The
place to put them is actually on your website. Why? Because the
people putting in requests for magicians already know what their
event is for. They have a specific purpose in mind already (and
it just may be a bridal shower). But you should but put them on
your lead gen site profile as well, if you have the appropriate
experience. This shows you have experience in a variety of
venues and performing situations.

41
The more versatile you are with the types of audiences and magic
you can do, the more gigs you can bid on.

 Do You Have a Specialty?

If you specialize in one particular type of show or audience, like
children’s birthday parties, you’ll want to make sure that’s
prominent in your profile. How many birthday party shows have
you done? What “extra’s” can you offer the birthday Mom? Do
you have a short video of you in action at a birthday party?

If you want to work the birthday party market in your area, I

suggest registering with all four of these sites. I get a ton of
birthday party work out of them.

 Photos
The phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is very true.
You’ll need a good headshot for your profile pic and at least a
couple action shots—pictures of you performing. If you can get
shots of smiling or laughing faces in your audience, all the better.
Pictures of people having fun and laughing or intently gazing on
something you’re doing goes a long way in solidifying the
perception you’re in the “fun business”.

Now, I want to address something that’s bugged me for years.

I’ve heard it said that every picture you put on your website or
landing page should have a caption. Hogwash. If the image is
good enough, it will elicit its own reaction in the mind of the
reader. You don’t need to explain it…

UNLESS you have a funny or attention-grabbing caption that

really shocks or gets the reader’s antennae to perk up.

42
Otherwise, ignore this piece of advice.

 Videos
At this writing, in the online world, video is King. It’s estimated
that 80% of content consumed online today is video. This makes
sense and this trajectory has held steady for years because video
can be very interactive and engage the reader in a different way
than plain text or audio can. So, here’s the truth: If you have
nothing else but a video demo that represents you well— even
without having a website—you can book shows. This shows you
how important video is.

If you don’t have a video demo, simply use snippets of your show
that were taped to showcase the elements in the video that I listed
in the first chapter on your website. You can do this easily with
your smartphone.

Clients want to see what you look like and how you perform, so
only put up clips that show you in the best possible light for your
performances.

 Awards or Honors
Here you’ll put any awards or contests you’ve won. Personally,
I’ve never been in any competitions or gotten any special awards
for performing. But there are a lot of magicians who have.
Here’s is the place to note this for potential bookers.

Conclusion
Just about all of the platforms that I currently use will show you
any gaps you may need to fill as far as info on your profile. Some

43
have a percentage system (e.g. “your profile is 75% complete”)
and will suggest things to add. I’ll address this in the videos for
each platform.

The whole idea for your profile here is to shine. The more
pictures, videos and proof that shows you’re experienced in
doing magic shows, the better chance you’ll have of beating your
competition and getting booked. This is a good place to reiterate
the fact that you don’t always have to be the best magician to get
the job. You can out-market your competition. And your profile
is a good place to start

44
 Chapter 7

How to Write Proposals That

Win Contracts

O
nce you have your profile set up and looking good, you
can start bidding on events that come in. You’ll want
to leverage sending great proposals as this is what will
“grab” your prospect and get their attention. They’ll more than
likely look at your profile (and possibly your website) and make
a decision to contact you based on that.

45
  Being the First to Bid
Just about all the lead gen sites will continually tell you to bid on
a request right away because, “many times the first one to bid
gets the job.” This is largely true in many cases. Sometimes
entertainment buyers simply want to be able to check booking
entertainment off their list. So, being the first to bid can be an
advantage, as I mentioned in a previous chapter—but isn’t
always necessary.

In a perfect world, it would be great if you were always “the

first.” But in reality, not only is this hard to do, but many times
it doesn’t even matter. Sometimes the lead is a “committee” who
will wait and gather the information of every magician or
entertainer who bid on the event. They’ll then make a decision.

Again, if you’re pressed for time and can’t do full-blown

marketing for the niches you want to work, putting up profiles
on lead gen sites is the easiest way to book shows. And it’s the
most passive way to book shows since these sites are geared to
bring buyers and entertainers together.

 Bidding on Your Specialty

If you set up your profile to specialize in birthday parties, as I
said in an earlier chapter, when these requests come up, you’ll be
able to tell the buyer that this is your specialty.

I moved to Tampa Bay about 5 years ago. It was an entirely new

market for me and I didn’t enter it as soon as I got here. But
when I started advertising my show and setting up my profiles
on lead gen sites, I saw that birthday parties were a big thing on

46
all of them, with lots of requests. Because I’ve had extensive
performing experience and have done literally thousands of kids
shows—including birthday parties—over the past 35+ years, I
immediately recognized that this was “the quickest path to cash”
in doing shows. I then set my profiles to reflect both birthday
party and school shows.

As a result, I get several requests a week for kids birthday parties.

And many times, I get birthday party Moms reaching out to me
specifically for a quote. This is not because I’m the go-to kid
show magician in Tampa Bay. It’s because my profile— with
photos and videos of smiling and laughing kids—was set up by
design— for birthday Mom’s to see that I’m the guy they should
hire.

I also have my profile set up to be attractive to 55+ communities,

private and corporate audiences. In other words, although you
can tell birthday parties are a specialty, my profile is set up to be
attractive to 55+ communities and corporate event planners.

 Develop Proposal Templates

I have a few proposal templates that I developed for the markets
I work. These are basically generic proposals that tell my story
but can also be customized for each proposal I send out. I have
templates for children’s birthday parties, 55+ communities and
private parties, which are included in this course. These
templates make sending a proposal quick and easy. You can also
customize the message in each template so that it doesn’t sound
too generic.

47
  Customize Your Proposal
You should never send a generic proposal unless it speaks
directly to the exact request the buyer wants. Even though I have
templates, I still add customized text to the proposal so that the
proposal is relevant to the show booker. This usually doesn’t go
unnoticed, by the booker, I’ve found. There’s always something
to be said about the power of the personal touch.

 Stress the Benefits

Many acts will tell the buyer all about themselves, where they’ve
performed and how many shows they’ve done. Although you
should certainly list your credentials and why you’re a good fit
for what they’re looking for, you need to focus on the BENEFITS
to the buyer if they hire you. Let’s again, use the birthday party
magician as an example.

What are the benefits to the birthday Mom? Well, for starters, in
my show, I make the birthday child the “star of the show”.
Mom’s just love when Junior is put in the spotlight. Also, I do a
funny routine where I make a balloon dog for the birthday child.
Then, at the end of the show I make a balloon dog for every kid
at the party. It’s a value-add that, again, Mom’s just love.

What are the benefits of the shows you do for the meeting planner
or show booker? How will it impact their event? How will it
make people feel? Answering these questions—and
communicating the answers on your profile— will help
immensely in booking more shows in any market you work.

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  Add-On’s and Upsells
I learned a long time ago from one of my marketing mentors to
“extract as much revenue out of each transaction as you can”.
Now, I know this may sound a little mercenary but when you
attempt to add additional value, many people appreciate it.
That’s why you should always have an upsell or two in your back
pocket.

An upsell is essentially an add-on or something else of high-

perceived value related to your main product or service (in this
case, your show) that you offer to make additional profit.

For example, for my birthday party shows, I offer the birthday

Mom a custom magic trick (“The Rising Wand”) that is white
labeled with my logo and image on the packaging. Many of these
Moms buy one for each party guest. It’s a really great alternative
to the traditional “goodie bag” and the Mom’s that go for it are
always thrilled. I also automatically include making a balloon
dog for every guest at the party as part of my birthday party
“package”. You may want to try this and use it as an upsell and
charge an additional fee for it.

 Pricing Your Show for Maximum Revenue

This is a topic that probably has more opinions than Jeff Bezos
has money. But I’m going to address it anyway. And please bear
in mind, these are only my opinions born out of my experience.

Pricing for shows boils down to not just “what the market will
bear” but also what your individual preferences are for
performing the shows you want to do and what you’re willing to

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work for. I know for me in the early days,
I would take any show that was offered to
me. I was smart enough to know that I
needed time on stage to get good. I didn’t
haggle too much over fees in those days
because of that, but now I’m probably one
of the highest-paid birthday party
magicians in my area. This is because I refuse to go below my
standard fee to perform these kinds of shows. Again, it’s
completely a personal choice that has worked well for me so far.
I juggle a number of markets as well as another business so I have
minimum fees for the markets I play.

You’ll want to do a little market research before setting your fees.

Seeing what others are charging in your particular market for the
types of shows you want to do is always a good idea. *
Conventional wisdom says that you should see who’s the
highest-priced and the lowest-price magicians in your area, and
then set your show fee somewhere in the middle. Again, that
may or may not be a good idea, but it’s a starting point that I
followed when I went into a new market a few years ago.

Once you get experience performing, you can set

your fees wherever you want.
• This brings up another point: I’ve worked in 4 different
local areas with my magic over the course of almost 5
decades (rural PA, Phoenix, central FL/Orlando, and
Tampa Bay) and pricing for shows varies greatly in all of
these markets. This is why checking out your competition
and what people are willing to pay for shows makes sense.

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The cost of living, overall population and number of other
magicians in your market are all variables that need to be
considered

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 Chapter 8

Google Business Profile: Your

Secret Weapon For Local
Shows

G
oogle Business Profile (formerly known as Google My
Business) is a free tool offered by Google for local
businesses. Google Business Profile (GBP) allows you
to take charge of the way your business appears on Google and
Google Maps. With this business proflle you can connect with
customers, post updates, list your services and more. If you do
any local shows at all, this free tool can help you exponentially.

This tool is huge in bringing me people interested in my act and

I don’t even have to pay for it! I just needed to optimize it
currently and then manage it by posting on it regularly.

With a Google Business Profile, you can:

• maintain accurate information about your business online.

• Interact with customers
• attract new customers

Google Business Profile is based on geography and SEO and was

designed specifically for local businesses. It was set up to help
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these businesses reach customers within a 20-mile radius of their
physical location. But Google’s reach extends beyond that, I’ve
found. From managing my own profile I’ve been found up to 4
1/2 hours away from where I live, so having a GBP profile
obviously helps with your overall presence on Google, as long as
you feed it info that’s accurate about your business. A fellow
magician I know, who’s an expert in SEO, get hits on his school
show web page from all over the country. SEO is still a very
valid marketing tool online today—-and not just for local
business—contrary what many say, depending on the niche
you’re in.

In my marketing consulting business, I set up, optimize and

manage Google Business Profiles for clients. After offering this
service for three years and managing several accounts, I can tell
you that for a free platform, it’s worth its weight in gold. A
couple of my clients run the majority of their business from the
leads they get with their Google Business Proflle.

Yes, it’s that powerful—and it’s FREE!

And for my magic business, it’s been a huge help. I get almost as
much business from this as I do from lead generation sites.

Essentially there are 4 components to a good Google Business

Profile….

 Profile Optimization
The first thing you need to do is input the information for your
magic business the way Google prefers it. This includes general
information about your address, contact info, etc. Google also

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allows you to input keywords that relate to your business when
explaining your services.

Optimizing your profile the way Google prefers it, is crucial in

getting the most benefit out of this tool. And once you have your
profile filled out completely, you’ll need to verify your business.
Verification is necessary to confirm you’re the rightful owner of
your business, and to manage your Business Profile. Your
business’ security is very important to Google, so they want to
make certain that only you and your approved manager make
changes and updates to your profile.

The verification process is done by letting Google know once

you’ve completed your Profile set up. They’ll then send a
postcard within 7-10 days letting you know your business has
been verified.

 Reviews
The second component of maximizing the potential of your GBP,
is getting consistent reviews. Reviews are what drive local
businesses today. Studies show that fully 95% of people look at
reviews before purchasing something from a business. And, like
lead generation sites, this is a crucial part of being successful. As
a magician, you want to establish and maintain a stellar online
reputation. The way you do this is to continually get 5-star
reviews. This also helps you to get ranked higher in Google
search.

As far as getting reviews for your GBP is concerned, here’s the

important thing to recognize: it’s not the number of reviews that
matters the most (although more reviews will help your ranking

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for sure!), but the consistency of the reviews coming in regularly
that matters most to Google. You want to ask for a review from
every show booker you work for. Online reviews can make or
break a local entertainer’s reputation, so don’t ignore this very
important component in your post-show follow-up (You are
sending a follow-up thank-you email, aren’t you? �)

 Citations
There are literally hundreds of online “directories” like Yelp,
Yellow Pages, etc, on the web that list businesses, along with ads.
When setting up and optimizing your GBP, getting listed in these
other directories will help your ranking with Google—which
owns about 90% of online searches. The key is to get listed on
them with the exact same information that’s on your GBP. Some
directories will pick you up automatically and you won’t even
have to register for it. But you can actually proactively search
out directories and it helps to be in as many as possible.

 Regular Management
Once you set up and optimize your GBP profile, you’ll want to
treat it like a social media platform, and post on it regularly.
They key here is to tag the images and use the keywords you
optimized in your posts. Remember that a successful GBP is
based on keywords and geographic area. You don’t need to get
overly creative with your images. As long as the images are
related to your magic business, such as pics of you performing,
magic images like top hats, rabbits, etc., you don’t need to fuss a
lot about what they look like. Just make sure they’re recognized
by people as “magic” or “magician” and that’s all you’ll need.

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What’s most important is the geographic tagging of the images
and a keyword inserted into some text that “explains" the image,
your offer, etc. This is what Google “reads” and largely bases
your ranking on.

If you want to dominate your local market as the leading

magician in your niche, a Google Business Profile is a must-have
for your business. It’s free and it can make you a lot of money if
managed right.

If you want help either setting up a GBP from scratch or

optimizing and managing your existing profile, I can help. GBP
management is one of the services I offer in my digital agency.
You can check it out here.

Conclusion
If you’re a full-time pro and want to add additional revenue to
your business—without time-consuming marketing, using lead
generation site, in addition to a Google Business Profile, is a
good way to not only book more shows, but has the secondary
benefit of getting your name out there in your area as a result of
being on these sites. And if you’re a part-time pro, who has a
day job and doesn’t have a lot of time to spend on marketing,
these sites are a great way to get bookings almost on auto-pilot.

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 About Tim Piccirillo
Tim Piccirillo (stage name: Timothy
Pitch) has been performing
professionally for over 35 years as a
comedy magician. He’s a veteran of
over 6000+ paid performances and
has plied his special brand of
comedy and magic at banquets,
fairs, festivals, comedy clubs,
cruises and corporate functions all
over the U.S. and Canada. Tim has been the opening act for
such notable performers as country music star Trace Adkins,
comedians Louis CK and Gallagher, and many “oldies” acts
including, “The Diamonds”, “The Platters”, “The Coasters” and
“The Marvelettes”.

Tim is also a sought-after copywriter and marketing consultant

providing strategy and writing services to small businesses and
entrepreneurs on a global scale. He’s also offered marketing
information to magicians in the form of courses, show-in-a-box
and other products for over 20 years. He lives in St. Petersburg,
Florida.

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