free magic Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Free Magic Jokes – Know Your Audience Part 1

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 06:04:52 +0000

Man o’ man is my face red! The best way to introduce this article is to remind you that the “standard” magician jokes, antics, routines, bits o’ business are not universally accepted in all ages. Not too long ago, I performed for a group of elderly ladies. They were one of the nicest and sweetest groups of people I’ve ever performed for. However, their take on life is a bit different from ours.

Let’s start with Lame Incident number one. How many times have you performed for a woman who jokingly said, “Can you make my husband disappear?” Or vice-versa. It happens all the time. So I thought it would be clever to start my “all women” show by saying, “How many of you would like me to make your husbands disappear?”

That’s funny, right? A moment of awkward silence was preceded by their response: “Can you bring mine back?” You might think that they (and yes I do mean “they”) were joking, but their countenance and their collective sigh told me otherwise. They were dead serious (pardon the horribly tasteless pun).

Lame Incident number two: All Strung Out. This is an effect by David Regal that I love. However, it requires the audience members to thread beads onto a string… Not smart when you have arthritic women with less than perfect vision. Thanks to my brilliant lack of forethought and non-planning, I got several women whipped up into a frenzy as the room began to buzz with faint sounds of “I can’t see the hole” and “I keep dropping the string” and “What color is this bead” and so many more that I’ve since tried to block from my memory.

Finally, Lame Incident number three: Sponge Balls! Oh yeah! I tried to do sponge balls with ladies whose hands stopped working properly years ago. Of course, anyone who does the sponges at some point puts a “single” sponge into the spectator’s hand with strict instructions to keep the hand closed. This is usually accompanied by the magician’s eager, nay, aggressive assistance in closing the spectator’s hand for her.

Of course I darn near broke her hand as I tried to forcefully close it, and I thought I was being gentle. She was just a frail old woman with a severe case of arthritis.

There were more than three atrocities that day, but my crushed ego will only allow me to tell you about these events and no more. In the end, there was a huge lesson to be learned. Despite having to pay for a “challenged” magician (me), they still had a great time. Imagine how much more they would have enjoyed it had I taken the extra couple of hours of thought to customize a routine to their liking or better said to their needs.

The moral of the story is simple: Know your audience. Study them ahead of time. Get advice from others who have gone before.

All kidding aside, I truly enjoyed my time with these wonderful ladies. Even with their late husbands and broken hands, in a world where it’s so easy to complain, these ladies found the silver lining in the cloud of their lives. I love them for that, and I thank them for that. Until Next Time . . .

The post Free Magic Jokes – Know Your Audience Part 1 appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Silk

Jeff Stone — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 00:07:29 +0000

This month, we have a simple effect, that’s more about the utility of it all than it is the actual effect. Magic with silks.

Effect:

The magician displays a small yellow silk. He then balls it up in his hand. When he opens his hand, the silk has changed into a small yellow ball. The silk is nowhere in sight, and both hands are empty (other than the ball).

Method:

This is the standard vanishing silk that you’re all familiar with using our friend the Thumb Tip (TT). The only difference is that you’ve got a small yellow sponge ball finger palmed ready to replace the silk. The sponge is in your left hand finger palm. The TT is on your right thumb. Your right hand holds the yellow silk at the index and thumb tip concealing the TT. Then, per the usual procedure, load the TT into the left fist as you stuff the silk inside of it.

The only difference is that you already have a sponge ball hidden in your left hand. When you finishing poking the silk into the TT (supposedly your left fist), you remove your right hand (with the TT secretly stolen onto your right thumb) and show the right hand apparently empty using the standard display to conceal the TT by holding it in the audience’s line of sight.

You then draw attention back to your left hand and slowly (finger by finger) open it to reveal something yellow. For a brief moment, they’ll likely think it’s still the silk. Then open it all the way and show that it’s a sponge ball.

Going Beyond:

That’s a simple effect, but it goes beyond. Here are a few ideas you can use.

If you know a couple of good sponge ball vanishes, you’ll find that you can perform most of them with the thumb tip on. You can then do a vanish and a reappearance. You can make it vanish in such a way that it’s apparently in your left hand, but it’s hidden in your right hand (e.g., retention vanish). Then claim that it jumped into your right pocket. You can then reach in the right pocket, ditch the thumb tip and reproduce the sponge. While you’re in there, why not secretly grab another sponge in finger palm in preparation for a splitting effect or a color change.

Rather than reproducing the vanished sponge from your pocket, keep the TT on your thumb and reproduce the sponge ball from under your knee, behind someone’s ear, etc.: Flurry style. I’m not a fan of Flurry effects, but if that’s your thing, you can do that. Then when you’re done, you can vanish the sponge completely the exact same way you vanished the silk by using the TT that’s been on your thumb the whole time. As you go to tuck the ball into your left fist, load the TT into your fist. Then stuff the ball into the TT. It’ll fit in there with the silk with no problem.

You then vanish the ball and the silk without ever going anywhere near your pockets. You could do this trick naked . . . freak.

Notes:

Think back to the beginning when you first read this, and I mentioned a yellow silk. I’m guessing that your mind did NOT immediately go to TT and vanishing silk. If I started by saying “red silk,” however, odds are you would have gone right to that effect in your mind. Lay people are no different. They know about the “fake thumb” trick. However, for some reason, using a yellow (or any other color) leads their thoughts down a different path. You further obscure the “wrong” path by NOT vanishing the silk, but rather, turning into a ball. Then there really is no heat on the TT.

But to continue down this “better” path you further sell it by doing a couple of vanishes and reappearances with the ball without ever ditching the TT. Then finally, you vanish the ball in the TT as well which something that nobody knows you can do. This can be a fun little routine on its own, or it can be used to introduce sponge balls.

What if We Went the Other Way?

That’s my all time favorite question when I think about magic. In this case, the “other” way would be turning a sponge into a silk. Use the exact same technique but backwards. Have a silk rolled up and finger palmed in your left hand. Then hold the sponge in your right hand which is wearing the TT. Then load the TT into your left hand and stuff the sponge ball into it to effect the change. You then slowly open your hand to reveal the silk in place of the sponge.

Of course, if you’re a clown, this is perfect. You can make some comment about needing to blow your nose. So as a gag, you remove your nose (the sponge with a split in it), then with your mouth, blow on it. You “blew” your nose. Then you joke and say, of course, that’s not how normal people blow their nose. Most people use a hanky. It’s at that moment that you’ve changed your nose into a silk. Feign blowing your nose, then shove the whole thing, silk, TT and all into your pocket.

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Stupid Faro

Jeff Stone — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:07:18 +0000

Stupid Introduction

Man! Stupid Faro Shuffle. I have a love/hate thing going with the Faro. On the one hand, you can be an amazing, talented, entertaining, professional magician without ever learning the Faro. On the other hand, however, there are so many great effects that can be done if you do know the Faro. Unshuffled by Paul Gertner comes to mind. Or how ’bout getting from new deck order to our friend Si Stebbins with just a few Faros and a displacement or two. How ’bout . . . How ’bout . . . How ’bout . . . I could go on and on, but I won’t.

The bottom line is that the Faro is a valuable tool. I’ve been the rounds with this thing, and could never quite master it. The few times that I did nail it taught me something, and it’s that “something” that is this month’s free magic trick. Okay; fine . . . it’s not technically a trick, but rather, it’s a technique for practicing your Faro.

Stupid Flush Cards

The key to a smooth perfect interweaving of the cards, is to have perfectly squared cards in each packet. Until you can get those darn cards perfectly flush, you’ll never get your Faro down. There are many grips and techniques to get the cards squared, and I’ve mastered none of them. However, the images below will show you grips and where the perfect squaring is supposed to happen. Don’t worry, we’ll get to my breakthrough in a moment. But you have to start here.

The first photo shows the left hand’s grip; The second shows the right hand’s position. The packet in the right hand is pressed against the base of the right thumb and the base of the right pinky. This is where the packet squaring is supposed to happen on the short ends. Then on the long ends, you’ve got the right thumb pad and the middle finger pad.

On the left hand, you’ve got the bottom of the left index finger tip keeping the short end flush and the pads of the thumb and middle finger keeping the long ends flush. Then you’ve got the left pinky under the packets and the right index finger on top of the packets acting as guides to keep the top and bottom of each packet kind of “squished” together.

From that point, theoretically if you you angle the inner corner of the right packet and push it into the left hand’s inner corner, you’ll get a perfect weave. The problem is that it’s hard. The cards don’t stay flush. The cards don’t stay “squished.” You end up putting too much or too little pressure on the top and bottom or on the sides. Obviously, after a ton of practice you start to get a sense of the pressure points and how it feels, etc. For those of you who don’t have that kind of time, I’ve come up with a cool little idea that will drastically reduce your learning curve.

Not So Stupid Binder Clips

Divide your deck into two piles of 26 cards each. Then stand them on their short end and tap them square on a flat surface (figure below). Once they’re square, put a binder clip on one end. Repeat for the second packet. Now you have two perfectly squared packets. This will make the squaring/flush step no longer necessary. All you have to focus on, for the time being, is the proper pressure needed to weave the corners. You can still use your left pinky and/or right index finger for guides. Also, this technique does not guarantee a perfect weave every time, but the odds go way up. If you were getting 1 out of 20 to work before, you’ll likely hit 10 out of 20 times or better.

The goal is to get the knack for what the pressure feels like. Once you’ve got that experience and you know what it’s supposed to feel like, then you can focus on your squaring techniques. Meanwhile, while you practice with the binder clips on, continue to maintain all of the pressure points and hand positions. That way when you’re ready to take off the clips, your hands will be trained to hold the cards properly.

You’ll then still need to spend a fair amount of time practicing the flushing of the cards and keeping them aligned, but you’ve cut miles off of your journey because you’ve now got the weave touch mastered. Finally, keep in mind that there are many different ways to hold the cards for the Faro shuffle. Use whatever method you’re used to. I prefer the handling shown above, but whatever you’re comfortable with is best. Of course, remember that this is, obviously, just a practicing technique. Don’t be retarded and try to use binder clips in performance.

Here’s a clip of a perfect weave using the binder clips:

I hope this helps you develop your Faro. Please comment below with any tips you learn along the way.

The post Stupid Faro appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend

Jeff Stone — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:16 +0000

Condolences to the Tom Loveridge Family

I’m truly saddened to announce the death of a friend and fellow magi, Tom Loveridge. Tom, a member of the IBM Ring #193 here in Salt Lake City, Utah passed away on Monday (2/6/12) on the day after his 58th birthday. He died during a routine surgery. He was just one of those downright nice guys and will be sorely missed by many. We offer our sincerest condolences to those left behind. You can read his obituary in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Scarnecky is Back!

You may remember about a year ago, Stone Cold Magic stopped carrying one of it’s best e-books, Room 538 by Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon . . .

When we dropped the product, I got some polite “hate” mail asking to bring it back. Many people expressed their disappointment that I was no longer carrying it and that it would be a while before Brad made it available again.

We retired it because at the time, Brad was planning on selling it on his site. However, over time, the focus of his site has changed, so even though I thought Room 538 would be gone forever, Brad has generously offered to let us bring it back to the Stone Cold Magic Family of products!

Because of the demand for it and because of the change in Brad’s focus on his site, we are welcoming back this smooth, serenely styled scroll with a 40% discount.

Get Room 538 Now for only $15 bucks!

This offer ends on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:58 PM PST

As always, however, don’t take my word for it.

Check out what people are saying about Scarnecky’s Super Smooth Room 538:

I envision exciting, excellent effects when employing Envisage by Brad Gordon. ‘Reveal Your Design’ is a particularly promising piece with pasteboards for psychic precognition and readings. Get this!
– Dale A. Hildebrandt

After reading through Toddler Pack, I was really exciting about your thinking behind it. I have 2 girls, a 3 year old and a 9 month old that would create a background perfect for this. Very clever thinking and such a charming, disarming premise to present this cool effect.
– Bosco L

This is great material. I really like the psychological side of what you are doing.
-Jason P

In this day and age, it’s near impossible to come up with a new idea using playing cards. Enter Brad Gordon!
– Don Theo III

Hey Mr. Scarnecky I realy love your material.
– Riley B

There is lots of (ready to drive) material here. You also have 2 or 3 things I can’t remember seeing anywhere else. Unique, a word so corrupted in our public-school culture, certainly applies (in its original dictionary meaning) to these effects. Direct and commercial.
– Kevin K “Magic Doc”

I just wanted to write and thank you for this most excellent book, I love the wallet reading idea and used it last night as it works beautifully with a routine I use with tarot cards. I love monk and found bold matches very clever too, thank you.
– Dean D

I bought Envisage for the Wallet Readings, which I think is an excellent idea! But the Toddler Pack and Reveal Your Design are also great pieces. I rarely find ONE idea in a manuscript that I will use, in Envisage I found THREE!
– Ben Salinas

Luck of Astonishment (windfall): Being an avid Paul Harris fan (I have a framed picture of him under my pillow) I really enjoyed this creative add-on from Brad. Those familiar with PH’s effect “Shape of Astonishment” will really want to try this Scarnecky variation on an audience, and that I did. I must admit, I had never tried the original PH effect, but when done with a “twist of Scarnecky” there was a delightful TANG to the effect which left a bitter-sweet taste in my wife’s mouth. Not sure about others thoughts, but there is an almost spiritual mystery about foil and imprinting objects within it.
– Kambiz

The Butterflower: Very artistic. Zen-like simplicity and beauty
– Sean Waters

Remember gang. . . this welcome back price ends next week.

Order it Now.

This offer expires on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:59 PM PST

Win Free Magic Without Buying Stuff

In an effort to further encourage participation in the Magazine, we’re implementing a brand new contest/drawing. We’ll try it out for the month of February and see how it goes. The February winner gets a Karl Fulves three pack of books:

Self-Working Mental Magic
Self-Working Coin Magic: 92 Foolproof Tricks
Self-Working Handkerchief Magic

The game is simple: post comments on the articles for this month (or any past month). For every substantive post that you make, you’re name will be entered into a drawing. At the end of the month (on 3/1/12), a drawing for the three pack of books will be held. The more comments you make (must be posted before 2/29/12 11:59 PM PST), the more chances you have to win.

The post must be meaningful and contribute to the discussion. Simple statements of agreement or disagreement will not suffice. That’s it. Good luck to all. By the way, I own my own personal copy of each of these Fulves books, and they’re excellent, particularly the Mental Magic one . . . there is a ton of stuff that you’ll use.

Good luck folks! Enjoy The February 2012 Issue of Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The post Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Stuff!

Jeff Stone — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:08:55 +0000

Help Me Win a Contest Before January 20, 2012

What a headline . . . but it’s true. I entered my effect Quarter Bird into the MagicSeen magazine Master Class Contest. If you liked that effect then vote for me. Of course, to keep things fair, here are my competitors, so if you like their effects better, then vote for them:

From Magicseen Magazine Issue 42:

All the entries for the Masterclass Award 2011 have now been published and we need you, dear Readers, to help us to decide which of the contributions is worthy of receiving the framed Masterclass Award 2011 certificate and the £250 cash prize.

Below you will find listed the entries – what we would like you to do is to send your top 3 favourites, in a 1-2-3 order, via email to markleveridge@magicseen.co.uk. We will then use the votes to help us to declare the winner in the next issue. Your vote must reach us no later than Friday 20th January 2012, and there is only one vote allowed per person. So get your vote in now!

Pene-sational – Ian Adair (issue 37)

It’s Right Ear – Michael J. Fitch (issue 37)

Time Is Of The Essence – Marc Spelmann (issue 38)

Bullet Catcher – John Bannon (issue 38)

X-Change Of Mind – Mark Townsend (issue 38)

4 Coin Production – Damian Surr (issue 39)

1992 – Mike Gancia (issue 39)

A Fine Chance – Wayne Fox (issue 40)

Quarter Bird – Jeff Stone (issue 41)

Spectator-Cut Christ Aces – Paul Gordon (issue 42)

The Sugar Routine – Dave Bonsall (issue 42)

Free Copies of Magicseen magazine

If you’d like a free issue of Magicseen Magazine, email me your mailing address with the subject line of “Free Magicseen Magazine.” The first three emails will be sent a free copy, courtesy of Lybrary.com

2012 Free Tricks

What Do Max Maven, Paul Harris, David Acer, Wayne Dobson, Larry Hass, Jay Sankey and Steve Beam have in common? Answer: Every single one of them have offered a free trick of the month for the year 2012! That’s right, in upcoming issues, you’ll be learning Free magic from Paul Harris, Max Maven, and all the rest of the gang listed above! As you might have noticed already, we’ve started of January with David Acer’s effect, Ghost In The Machine.

Thank you all for your loyal readership! Enjoy January 2012

The post Free Stuff! appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Publicity Stunts

Jeff Stone — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:04:43 +0000

As Oscar Wilde once stated, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” They say that the best form of advertising is word of mouth. That’s more true than most people realize. Think about all of the other forms of advertising: radio, T.V., billboard, etc . . . what’s the purpose of those commercials and ads, etc? Isn’t it simply to get people to think about their product . . . top-of-mind awareness.

It’s even more than that. If you see a commercial for a lawn care service – and the commercial is funny or “speaks to you” on some level, then you’ll likely remember it when a friend asks if you know of any lawn care services in the area. Suddenly, you’ve just become the word of mouth advertisement for the lawn care service. This scenario works best – paradoxically – for products categories that you’ve not used before. If you see a shampoo commercial that’s funny or “speaks” to you, but it’s for a brand that you’ve not used, you’re more likely to still refer others to the shampoo that you currently use. However, in the lawn care example, you’ve never used a lawn care service before, so you can’t speak from experience . . . you can only speak of what you’ve heard about.

Think about that last sentence for a moment . . . you can only speak of what you’ve heard about. So the goal of a commercial in that case is to get you to remember them so that they’ll be the first one you think about when someone asks about their industry – lawn care in this case.

In the shampoo market or cleaning product market, etc . . . they’re just trying to get you to try out a different version of a product you already have. It’s much more difficult. In our industry – entertainment – we’re more likely to fall into the former category rather than the latter. In other words, most people have never hired a magician. However, everyone buys soap. Lucky for us we’re not trying to convince (most people) to switch brands because they have no experience with any brand when it comes to hiring a magician. That’s good news for us. Now that we understand that, the next step is to just get people talking about you. There are so many ways to do that.

Below I’ll list a few with a few basic pointers. It’s up to you to apply it. I’ll also recommend a few resources that can be very valuable in helping you get publicity.

Free Magic

When it comes to free magic, there are a handful of things that come to mind. Some are big, and some are small. There are, I’m sure, plenty of charities or hospitals in your area that would love a free show. Senior centers are another great venue for free shows. The beauty of some of these situations is that they’ll do the advertising for you. They’ll advertise in their newsletters, with fliers, etc. It’s not unlike restaurant magic. The restaurant does some of the advertising for you.

Another great venue is toy stores that sell magic tricks or kits. Talk with the owner about setting up a magic day at the toy store. I worked out a deal with a local costume shop that sold a few magic tricks. The owner gave me a bunch of products that she was trying to move. I took them home for a few weeks and worked out some routines and put together some demos. Meanwhile, she’s advertising in her newsletter, with fliers and on her marquee in front of the building: Come see Magician Jeff Stone on Saturday X date for free.” It drew in a crowd, sold some magic, and gave me some leads.

Perform for your local library – In Salt Lake City, they actually will pay a couple hundred bucks. I worked the libraries several years back in my kid show days. I did about 20 shows for the libraries, and from it, I booked about 8 or 10 private shows, plus I met a local magician at one of the library shows. We exchanged cards, and for the past several years, he’s called me relatively frequently when he gets overbooked. Even if the libraries didn’t pay me, it still would have been worth it.

Challenges & Stunts

Challenges are much more . . . ahem . . . challenging, but still doable. Predict the outcome of a game a local event, etc. How to predict it is another story. Volumes have been written about this stuff (a couple are mentioned below under “resources”). However, the point is, if you know a good prediction method for this type of thing, it’s not too hard to get the attention of local media. Submit a press release to the local stations announcing that you will predict the outcome of a local election. On a smaller scale, get with a local high school or college and predict the outcome of an upcoming football game. Get with the college press and local media for coverage. If you’re an escape artist or more of an “extremist,” you may want to brush up on your Houdini history. Public stunts like driving blind folded and the like will definitely get the attention of the media.

In general, a free show that has some sort of catch or gimmick will get the media’s attention. Of course, your first step is to get their attention. Get some contacts. Have the guts to walk into the local T.V. or radio station and show the receptionist a trick or two . . . draw a crowd of employees and bystanders. Do that a few times and word’ll spread. Local reporters will watch a trick just like anyone else. Let them know that you can predict the outcome of x, y or z. A lot of this stuff is, obviously, easier said than done. And even more of it is way out of the comfort zone of a lot of you within the reach of my voice. And even further, it may back-fire miserably and land you no extra gigs. My intention here is to merely plant seeds, get you thinking, motivate you to think outside the proverbial box.

Resources

There are plenty of places to read and learn about publicity stunts and ideas. Of course Annemann’s Practical Mental Effects is a classic with some excellent ideas and methods for publicity effects. John Riggs has some great headline prediction methods in Heavy Mental. Sankey’s got an excellent effect on Disk II of Secret Files that could be used for getting gigs. Additionally, Jerome Finley’s work on “Cloud Busting” is excellent as well.

Hopefully I’ve met my goal by getting you thinking, and hopefully people will start talking about you.

Until next month . . .

The post Publicity Stunts appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Downloads, Discounts and Due dates

Jeff Stone — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:08:32 +0000

Stone Frixion Fire E-Book Sale

For the next two weeks, you can get my all time best seller, Stone Frixion Fire (e-book) for only $9.95. That’s 33% off!

If -as the saying goes- ‘God is in the details’ then Jeff’s e-book, Stone Frixion Fire, is one of the more divine little manuscripts I’ve read in a long time. He breaks down everything from presentations to crediting with the fervor of an obsessive 16th-century monk. Best of all, he also shares some extremely MAGICAL effects!

-Jay Sankey

For a sample of what you’ll find, check out this month’s free magic effect, Do You Know What This Is?

This offer ends on November 12, so don’t wait!

Printer Friendly

You may notice a little link labeled “Printer Friendly Version” under the headline of each article. That is a new addition this month. Click that link, and a new page will open up that strips out all of the “gunk” and makes a clean text version of the article for your printing and reading-on-the-porcelain pleasure. You’ll thank me later when that burrito kicks in.

Tarot Update

I know . . . I know . . . I’m working on it. The Tarot book has taken me forever. I’m still not done, but Brad and I were finally able to hook up, so I have the final information I needed to add his beautiful idea to this crazy project. Soon folks . . . soon it will be done. I’ve decided to not offer any more due dates, since I keep missing them. Thanks for your patience. Hang in there folks.

Download My DVDs

This month, Stone Cold Magic teamed up with Lybrary.com. Now All of my DVDs are available for instant download!

Enjoy this month’s issue. Happy Halloween!

The post Downloads, Discounts and Due dates appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

And The Winners Are

Jeff Stone — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:08:16 +0000

And The Winners Are . . .

As you know, we held two contests for the month of September. The prize is one Free Stone Cold Magic DVD (Stone Cold Magic, Gemstones or Stone Frixion Fire) and a free deck of Mandolin Back Bicycle Playing Cards. The rules were simple: a) post comments on the article pages using the Facebook interface, or b) post comments on my free magic download video (and be a subscriber). All this before October 1st, 2010.

Congratulations to our winners below:

Facebook/Comment Winners:

David Ung
Alex Anderson
Chet Cox
Jeff Prace
Nathan Smith

To Claim Your Prize, email me which video you want for free (see list above), and I’ll give you further instructions from there.

YouTube Contest Winners:

MagicDiner
CloseupMagic
joserjedi
JayDiBiaseMagic
HybridMagic

To Claim Your Prize, send message through the YouTube interface to let me know which free video you want. I’ll give you further instructions from there.

Haunted Site

Beware of the Stone Cold Magic Magazine site. This time of year it’s haunted. I’ve already received email reports of people who have been scared stiff by the ghost and ghouls lurking on the site. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, turn on your speakers and wait 60 seconds . . .

Enjoy the September issue . . .

The post And The Winners Are appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Fishbowl Marketing

Jeff Stone — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:04:11 +0000

You are about to enter the world known as The Stone Cold Journal. Very few people have had the honor, and most people who have usually end up a wee bit crazy when it’s all over. So what am I talking about? I’m a big fan of the concept of “write everything down” even if it’s not a fully developed thought. Usually as I write down an idea that pops into my head, it’s a bit random and rambley (I just made that word up), but the idea seems to further develop itself as I write it down.

So you are about to witness first hand what is, essentially, a journal entry. It’s an idea I had that I think has potential, but I’ve not tried it. And I’m not even sure all of the ways it could be used or its full potential, but as I make the entry here in a moment, the hope is that something will come out of this that will either become a good idea or point to an idea that is good, so here goes:

I went to a Chinese Restaurant (maybe it was Japanese . . . who knows – I’m not that cultured) for lunch today, and they had the “win a free lunch by placing your business card in the fishbowl” fishbowl. I’ve placed my card in these bowls before. What they are is a totally independent person/company that has no affiliation with the restaurant. It’s someone looking for a lead. So they pick out business cards and call the card owner to invite him/her to a free lunch at the restaurant. They are encouraged . . . nay . . . required to bring so many friends.

Next thing you know, you and a few friends are eating sushi while being pitched on the benefits of xyz company, etc. Not a bad strategy. So could this be adapted to a magical marketing mission? I don’t know, but here are a few thoughts swimming in my head. All of them assume that you work out an arrangement with a restaurant or two (or ten, etc) to place a fishbowl in the restaurant with a flier/cardboard tent/etc saying win a free lunch and/or a free magic show.

So here are the ideas – note that these are just that, ideas . . . very rough and not developed. Hopefully you guys will post some comments that will further these ideas.

Idea #1:

If you’re a corporate performer, then dig through the fishbowl and pull out a card that you suspect is a decision maker for a company that interests you as a client. Then do some research on the company and put together a brief presentation/sales pitch in the form of a magic show. Plug their product in the show (a close up magic show). Then once you’ve got the “pitch” ready, call the business card holder and invite him and a few people from his staff back to the restaurant for a free meal and a free magic show. Your goal is, of course, to land a gig at a company party or some corporate function for this particular company.

Idea #2:

Just give away a free magic show, rather than a free meal. The advantage here is that you don’t have to fork over the dough to pay for 5 or 6 people’s meals. The intent here is to basically “audition” for repeat performances. Again, since you have a bowl full of business cards, dig through it. Find companies that are bigger and maybe have an entertainment budget. Call them up and let them know that they’ve won a free magic show for their employees. Depending on the size of the company, etc, you could arrange to do a show at their office . . . more of an informal gathering.

Of course, at the end of the show, you will follow up with the manager (or whoever can rehire you for a future show). Do all of the follow up techniques that I’ve taught in other Roots and Branches articles. Of course the intent is to get re-booked, get referrals, etc. If they’ve got a big event coming up (Summer party, Christmas party, etc), then this informal show with the employees is sort of your audition for the big gig.

Idea #3:

This idea could work just as well for birthday party magicians (child birthdays). Do a free show for someone who has kids or who might refer you to other leads. Maybe when you call the “winner” you tell them that their name was drawn from the fishbowl from such and such restaurant and that they won a free magic show for their family/friends/etc. Have them invite a few friends over to their home and do a small intimate show. You could make part of the deal to get the show that they give you x number of referrals . . . or not. Either way, you are making contact with people who have seen you perform. Make sure you get these people on your mailing/email list(s) so that you can stay in touch with them.

Further Ideas:

I’ve got a few other related ideas swimming around in my head, but I want you to come up with your own. Keep in mind that the above three ideas (however good or bad they may be) came out of my head right now as I wrote them and they were all inspired by the simple fact that I noticed a fishbowl at a restaurant. Ideas are everywhere. Maybe the above three are the worst ideas in the world, or maybe they’re the best ideas, but either way, they can spark even more ideas. It’s a chain reaction that happens when you Write Things Down. So take the time and write something down in the comments below . . . let your creative juices flow, and just write. Don’t worry if it’s a lame idea or a great idea . . . just write.

Please take a moment to reply to and “like” this article

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Free Magic DVDs and E-Books

Jeff Stone — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:08:06 +0000

Free Stone Frixion Fire!

Yep. You read correctly. You want a free copy of my latest DVD, Stone Frixion Fire? It’s yours. Of course there’s a catch, but it’s easy. All you have to do is post a review of the DVD.

Order the DVD from Stone Cold Magic.
Post a review on the Review Page.
I’ll reimburse you the entire cost of the DVD.

In fact, I’ll extend that offer to anyone of the following products:

Stone Cold Magic DVD
Stone Cold Magic E-Book
Gemstones DVD
Stone Frixion Fire E-Book
Stone Frixion Fire DVD
Underground Jam Download 4 Pack (You must review all four effects)

That’s it. The “fine print” is simple:

The product(s) must be ordered from Stone Cold Magic.
The product(s) must be purchased on or after May 31, 2010
You must post the Review by 11:59 PM MST on June 30, 2010
Does not apply to Brad Gordon’s New E-Book, Room 538.
That’s it!

If you buy all of the products above and you review them all by June 30, 2010, then you will be reimbursed for every single product. I will extend this offer to as many people who choose to participate. There are no restrictions to the number of participants. There’s no reason not to do this folks. Especially when you combine it with the following offer.

$10 Off any purchase over $29!

Use the coupon code below before June 5th (this Saturday) and receive $10.00 off on any order over $29. Now is a great time to get a couple of DVDs or a couple of e-books, especially considering that if you review them you’ll get your money back anyway. Coupon code for $10 off: JuneTen$OFF

Brand New From Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon!

Brad’s latest e-book, ROOM 538, is a must have for any serious student of the mind and/or human behavior as it relates to magic and mentalism. As you read the presentations found in this book, the thought of serenity and peace will constantly enter your mind. These presentations are magical in and of themselves. This is a perfect insight into the mind of Brad Gordon. You’ll find some old classics from his past works, Troika, Envisage, and Clever 8 along with some amazing new effects and presentational ideas. You don’t want to miss this e-book gang. 94 pages of pure genius! ROOM 538 – ORDER IT NOW! Don’t forget to use the coupon above.

Will Jeff Ever Actually Release the Tarot Book?

Yes! I promise. Recently my basement got flooded by the City Sewer System. Luckily it was the city’s fault, so they’re paying for everything. However, it’s turned our life upside down. My kids are all living in the upstairs family room while the basement is out of commission, so needless to say, the Tarot book took a small hiatus. But we’re not far . . . hang in there.

Stone Cold Genii?

Nothing’s set in stone yet, but David Acer has asked for permission to publish an effect from Stone Frixion Fire in an upcoming issue of Genii Magazine. The who, what, when, where, why and how has yet to be determined. I’ll keep you posted.

Stone Frixion Fire Secret Site

Remember that if you order Stone Frixion Fire you get access to a secret website with extra bonus content. Recently I’ve added some new material to the site . . . contributions by:

Mike Skutt
Brad Gordon
Dan Paulus

If you own the DVD and haven’t gone to the site yet, what are you waiting for? It’s free! If you don’t own the DVD, get it! It gives you access to the site. That’s a lot of news folks . . . Enjoy the rest of this issue . . . see y’all in a month.

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