So last night i went to bed after reading the forums and spent to long staring up into the dark thinking about magic again. Reading these forums before bed is like like drinking a coffee with a red bull and three bars of chocolate
Anyhoo, i started thinking about how you could make the most of a gig in terms of getting your name/number to as many people as possible. Afterall that has to be important to you working guys/gals. I need to say I'm not a working magician but i respect and admire all of you that do. At the risk of this post being a bit long winded i'll skip through in short the thought process and then get onto the final idea.
I thought about having some small labels made up with your details on like name/number and website. You can get some nice little change of address labels made up very cheap and they look nice. Then when you get the chance to leave a spec with something like a signed card or bent fork/spoon etc etc leave it with them and drop a label onto to it. I know i've kept my signed card everytime, i think people like that it connects them to magic and they get to keep your details etc.
Then I thought that's ok but that's maybe for one or two people at any table table, what about the rest? Do you just hand out your business cards, does this put a somewhat cold end to a magical moment?
I thought about lots of little things you could do, like give everyone a little something to remember you by with your details on. Could be a small pen like the bookies have with your details on printed up like a mini magic wand. Or mini wands as key rings etc but of course costs come into to play. These things actually cost pennies to buy in bulk but the bulk tends to be massive amounts and not practical for most people people i think. At a couple of pence an item though it wouldn't cost much to give out 50 or so and could be offset with the bookings you would get.
Moving on...
Then before i slipped of to slumberland i had the following idea;
Have some new business cards made up but special ones. On one side it's very plain so you can have printed clearly a couple of simple questions. What came to mind was the (and i don't know the correct wording for such things, it's not my area of magic) 'Think of two shapes one inside the other' and 'Now think of a colour'. You know the questions I'm talking about and the common answers for these. They are on Derren Browns site and lots of other place and used in many routines. On the other side of the card have the shapes printed with the colour on the centre shape etc (or whatever you go with) but have your name and website clearly printed underneath. You could have printed along the top something like 'Well done, now test this on your friends'.
How i saw this being used was as you finish your routine at a table or group of people and you've told them they were great and thanked them, and got them to applaud your specs that helped you etc. Tell them you want to leave them with one last trick and hand them all a card. Ask them to place it on the table in front of them and place their hand over it to cover it (question side up). Tell them this is something they can keep and will be amazed at the result and they can try it on friends and workmates etc. Thank them one last time and leave with them reading the questions.
So, everyone gets your details, they all have participated and all have something to take with them and play with.
Ok, what do you think? It's an idea nothing more, i just was trying to think of a cheap and effective way of giving everyone a your details and having them actually put it in their pocket and have a reason to remember you or keep the card. Just treat this as the opening of a brainstorming session.
Deshi
