Journals, Journals, Journals

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You need to keep a journal. My latest book, 793.8 is about 70% from my journals.

When I was ready to write the book, I went through my journals and read every entry. If I felt it should be in the book, I simply wrote (in an MS Word document), “Journal Entry #71” or whatever. After I had completed going through my journals, I had a Word document that was several pages long with a list of journal entry numbers and nothing more.

Step 2 was to go back through the journals and type out, word for word, what I wrote in the journal. When that was completed, I had a dozen or two pages that listed every thing that I wrote in my journal that I was planning on publishing.

Then I grouped the material. Some of it was based on stuff already in my repertoire; some were crazy out-there ideas; others were simply essays, concepts, presentational ideas for existing effects and/or new effects. Once that was done, I took the time (several years) to flesh out the details of each journal entry. Etc., etc., etc.

The point is, without my journals, I wouldn’t have had the book which is now one of my best sellers.

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Facebook, Twitter, MySpace (?), Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn . . . on and on and on . . . What are they for? What do they mean? And how do you use them. First, let me start by saying, I’m not a cat person. But the graphic below from Visual.ly does a pretty good and clever job of explaining what each one is.

The post Using Social Media to Get Gigs appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Some months I have more money than other months. Sound familiar? Over the years, I’ve learn from experience that generosity with money brings more money and/or at the very least, good karma. So on the months when I can afford to go through the drive through at the nearest artery-clogger we call fast food, I’ll swing by and pick myself up a burger or 10. But quite often I also pay for the person behind me. I just tell the person at the drive through window that I’d like to pay for the person behind me.

In most cases, it’s easy and painless. On occasion the window worker is very confused and has to call a manager. That’s always fun. Anyway, I’m not telling you this to ring my own bell or brag about being a nice guy – though I do enjoy both of those things. I’m telling you this because I thought of an “out there” idea inspired by this that I thought I’d share with y’all.

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I’m saddened to admit that I fell prey to this particular wardrobe mishap. Then one day, my family moved to Idaho, Pocatello to be exact. Let me be the first to inform you that with a name like Pocatello, Idaho, the odds are (and they were) that you’re not gonna be current in the cool styles like peg leg . . . and even less so in the suburb(?) that I lived in, Chubbuck. Yes that really is the name of the town I lived in.

I brought with me to Chubbuck, Idaho the whole peg-leg open shirt over an OP shirt thing. Most people didn’t get it (i.e. the smart ones). But there was a young kid who had recently moved from another small town in Missouri, so he too was unfamiliar with the awesome-ness that is peg-legs and open shirts.

For whatever reason, this guy – I don’t remember his name – decided to catch the wave and started wearing his pants and shirts the same way. To top it off, he started wearing Chuck-Taylor’s as well . . .

One day, I asked him why he started wearing his clothes that way. His response was essentially that he thought I was cool – he was the only one – and wanted to be like me. Wanting to be like someone else is not, in my opinion, a good reason to parrot them.

On the other end of the spectrum is this story. In the same small town of Poca-bubuck, there was a girl named Vanessa Nye. A beautiful girl, a smart girl, and a really nice girl. A rare combination indeed. One day, she came to school with a teeny, small pierced stud in her nose. She caught so much flack from her friends, fellow students and even some teachers, that within a day or two she had removed the stud, and I never saw her wear it again. I don’t think that she was trying to be “different” or copy anyone else. I think she was just doing something she liked. It’s a shame that people reacted the way they did. I tell you that to set the stage for the rest of the story. I just want to make sure you understand that the story I’m about to share took place in a time where piercings and tattoos and extreme hair styles were not the norm.

So with that, I knew a guy who was a bit extreme in his dress, different hair color every week, tattoos, multiple ear piercings, shredded clothes, black painted finger nails, etc. – stuff that, frankly, is pretty common today. Back then however, it was pretty unusual. I actually asked him why he dressed the way he did. He said, “because it’s different from everyone else.”

That was certainly true, but in hindsight, I might have retorted with “yes, it’s different, but is it you?”

Don’t define yourself by what others do (Mr. peg-leg) or don’t do (Mr. green hair). Define yourself by who you are. If “who you are” happens to be peg-leg-open-shirt, then great; do it. If “who you are” happens to be black finger nails and yellow hair, then great; do it. I’m not attempting to judge anybody’s style. I’m merely questioning its legitimacy. If you’re doing it because someone else is or isn’t, that’s not a good reason in my opinion.

If you’re doing it because it represents you and who you are, then that is a good reason to do it.

Of course the point in all of this and how it applies to magic is pretty obvious. What material do you do? What character and style do you do? What’s your persona?

Is it Eugene Burger’s repertoire with Max Maven’s wardrobe and make up? Odds are, that’s not “you.” It’s you imitating two people you greatly admire. Be inspired by them, but don’t copy them. I do several effects from both Maven and Burger. However, I’ve made them me and I certainly don’t use their personas. I use mine. When you’re booking yourself and trying to get gigs, people want you. They want someone that the audience will like and therefore be entertained by. If you’re too busy putting on your eyeliner and make up so that it looks exactly like Dan Sperry, then you’re focusing on the wrong thing. You’re focusing on Dan Sperry instead of yourself and your audience. I love Dan Sperry and his magic . . . because it’s him AND it’s good.

Be yourself . . . even if it sucks. If it sucks, you can work on improving it and building on the strengths, and yes, in the beginning, there may be a little bit of mimmicing others until you find your own voice. But that’s the message here: Find Your Own Voice.

Until Next Month . . .

The post Be Who You Are . . . Even if it Sucks appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

So there I was minding my own business in my 9th grade English class when suddenly in walks a vision of beauty, or as much of a vision of beauty as can be comprehended by a 13 year old… This thing of beauty had a name… Dana (I’ll leave out the last name in case she happens to have grown up to become a magician and a Stone Cold Magic Magazine subscriber).

Then suddenly I heard those words that will make any 13 year old boy flush with embarrassment… “Take a Picture! It’ll Last Longer.” Yes; I was staring, and she caught me. How embarrassing for me. Were I as witty then as I think I am now, I might have responded with something like, “A picture’s worth a thousand words, yet no words can describe the site I witness before me.”

Wow! I didn’t know I was so poetic and romantic all at once as a ninth-grader even. Ok… Ok… on with this month’s issue of No Stone Left Unturned.

Let me start by saying that I’m about to give you advice that it would appear I’m not following. I’ve taken some time off from performing. I’ve been focusing on my DVD projects and some web projects (not the least of which is this very site), so I’ve let my website go stagnate. I’m not actively looking for gigs right now. I still get a few phone calls here and there from repeats or referrals, but mostly I’m taking a break until the mid to late fall-ish.

With that as a point of reference, Take a Picture; It’ll Last Longer. A picture’s worth a thousand words! If you’re going to promote yourself and get gigs, take pictures. Bring a camera to every gig. If possible bring a friend who can snap a few pics of you in action. These days digital cameras are relatively inexpensive and take very good quality photos.

You should have photos of yourself on your website (yes, you should have a website) and any other advertising material. Get pictures of a happy audience, of you in the middle of an effect, of you posing with a member of the audience or the party planner, the bride and groom, etc…

So why? Why pictures? Well because they last longer and they’re worth a thousand words. Haven’t I already told you that? To the left you see an old worn out picture of me with the CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. You’ll notice that I’ve cut his tie in half, and you may not notice that he’s also handcuffed.

That’s funny stuff folks. Oh yeah, and most importantly, you’ll notice that he’s actually smiling… The CEO of a major corporation is handcuffed, and some dufus just cut his tie in half and he’s smiling!

What does that tell a potential client? Well it tells them that their audience will have fun… that I’m a likable guy, and that the show will be memorable. What more does a potential client need to know. Back in the day when I had a functional website, I had a photos page that had several images of me “caught in the act” during my show.

The photo and a clever caption goes a long way. A photograph can capture the magic moment and eternalize it. It’s a simple way to show other clients what you do. A photo can be printed out for a portfolio. It can emailed, faxed, scanned, loaded onto a website or a blog, etc.

It’s just a solid way to show off your brand…You. I know this article is mostly a no-brainer, but the reason I wanted to bring it up is because often magicians think that they need to go get professional photos taken and spend a lot of money, etc…

I just wanted to go on record saying that there is no excuse for not having photos of yourself performing. Every single person reading this has access to a computer, seeing as how this is a website and all…

Every single person reading this either has a digital camera or knows somebody who does. Borrow one if you don’t have one. Next time you perform… even if it’s just a casual performance. Since you have access to a computer, upload the photos to your blog, or facebook, etc.

I’ll end this with one last thought. My good buddy Diamond Jim is a great example. He has a ton of great pictures of himself on his site. When a potential client goes to his site, they get a clear sense of who he his. So take a minute to check out his site.

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What do you do for a living? That, you’ll remember from last month, is the million dollar question. We discussed the million dollar answer as well. You may remember that the answer was based on two things. First, how much time you have in your schedule, and secondly how interested you are in getting a gig.

If you’re schedule is too busy or you aren’t ready for/interested in making a magic business contact, then your answer will relate more to your full time job if you have one. Whereas if you you have time and want a business contact, then your answer will be along these lines:

• “I’m a magician.”
• “I’m an entertainer.”
• “I’m a corporate entertainer.”
• “I’m a public speaker.”
• “I do stand up comedy.”
• Etc.

You get the idea. That’s where we left off last month. Your job was to pick the answer that best fits your show and your personality. My job, this week, is to help you take your million dollar answer and turn it into a gig or at least a decent contact, so let’s jump in.

When asked what you do for a living, you answer with your million dollar answer. For the sake of “discussion” we’ll use the answer that I normally use: I’m a corporate entertainer.

The beauty of this answer is that it invariably gets a response like “What’s a corporate entertainer?” That’s the question you want. You want them to ask you to explain or to ask for details. If you use the line “I’m a stand up comic,” they won’t ask you to explain, but they will ask you where you perform.

This is just as good. Either way, the secret is to get them to ask you for more details. To answer their question, explain a bit about what you do, and most importantly the type of client you work for. You want them to be able to relate to the type of gigs that you are willing to do.

In other words, if the head of a fortune 500 company says, “What’s a corporate entertainer,” you don’t want to start talking about how clever your balloon sculpting is. You want to talk about corporate parties that you’ve done, or motivational magic shows that you do, etc.

How do you know what kind of person you’re talking to? You may not know that the person you are talking to is a CEO of a fortune 500 company, so how do you decide your next “move?”

Part of it is lucky guessing; part of it is observation; part of it psychological. If you happen to be a student of mentalism and cold-reading in particular, this can be very useful here. I worked in door to door sales for years, and I quickly learned that the big secret to closing the sale (other than having a decent pitch) was building rapport. The old cliche is true that you can call someone an S.O.B. if you have a smile on your face.

People who feel a connection with you are more likely to trust you and be open with you. So when I did door to door sales, I would scan the yard and driveway before knocking on the door. Then when the door opened, I would quickly scan the environment behind the person at the door. I would notice what kind of pictures were on the wall, what they were wearing, jewelry, etc.

Most of the time, there would be something that I could relate to that I would somehow slip into the conversation. For example, I noticed that someone had out-of-state plates on his car. The plates were from California. Well I used to live there, so I made some light conversation about California with him.

Me: “I noticed you have California plates. Did you just move here?”

Him: “Yes, last month.”

Me: “Really? I’m from California. What part of California did you live in?”

Him: “The Bay Area.”

Me: “Wow! Me too.”

Etc…

I’m not going to give you a script here, but you get the idea. Develop some chit-chat with them, and probe a little. So let’s apply this to the stranger on the bus, or at the gas station or grocery store line who asks you what you do for a living.

While talking with them, notice their license plate (if you’re at a gas station), or look at the clothes they’re wearing. Do they have a company logo on their shirt? Are they wearing a ball cap of your favorite team, or at least a team you can talk about?

Are they wearing a class ring, wedding ring, etc.

Based on what you see, you can take a guess at what they might be more likely to relate to. Again if you’re a cold reader, you know how to “get information” like this. If you’re not a cold reader, that’s ok. I’m not, but I still know how to gain a bit of insight into people by observing them, talking to them and looking at them.

It’s about practice. Often, they will volunteer this information as well. So back to the question: “What do you do for a living?” You respond with “Corporate Entertainment.” At this point you’ve likely spent a minute chatting with the person and you may have even asked them first what they do for a living. Once you tell them that you’re a corporate entertainer, they will likely ask what that is.

You then will need to launch into your 30 second commercial. If you don’t remember what that is, refer back to the November 2007 issue of No Stone Left Unturned. Basically you will explain what it means and what type of person might hire you.

For example, I might respond by saying “I’m the entertainment for company parties. I do stand up comedy and magic. I recently did a show for Blue Cross Blue Shield. I also do private parties. I just did a show for a couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.”

That type of response accomplishes a few things. First it answers their question of what is a “corporate entertainer.” Secondly it lets them know that I’m booked, that I get gigs. It also is a bit of name dropping, and finally, it lets them know that I also perform for private parties not just corporations. This is likely where you will get their interest.

When I mention the recent 50 year anniversary gig, they start thinking about people in their family with upcoming major events, or they might be a good contact for a company party. Either way, you’ve interested them. Ask them for their card, and give them your card.

If, during the conversation, they mentioned an upcoming event that might be a suitable gig, make a mental note. Then at the end of the conversation, make a comment like, “I’ll call you next month when it’s closer to your brother’s birthday.” Or “Give me a call in a month when it’s closer to your parents’ anniversary.”

Either way, as soon as you can, write down everything you can remember about the conversation and the event. Then give them a call near the event time period. Your call doesn’t need to be aggressive. It’s just a simple phone call:

“Hi Mike. My name is Jeff Stone. You gave me your business card when we met about a month ago at the grocery store. Do you have just a minute? I just wanted to call and say hi, and to let you know that I actually am available around the time of your Dad’s birthday party. You mentioned that he was an avid golfer. I’ve got a great routine that’s perfect for a golfer. He’ll love it.”

The above script accomplishes a few goals. First, before the goals, let me remind you that nowhere in meeting the contact or any previous conversations did you guys discuss that you will be doing a gig. You just said, I’ll call you when such-and-such event is approaching.

When you get on the phone a month later, you just go right into the assumption that the client wanted the gig. So the first goal of the phone call is to remind him who you are and the fact that he gave you his card. That’s a major key. He gave you his card. That implies in his memory that he was interested in speaking with you again in the future.

The next goal is to let him know that you remembered his event (birthday party, anniversary, etc). Next, you let him know that you are interested in performing, and finally that you have the “perfect thing” for the event.

All of these points will lead to questions by him which will head you down the path of booking fees and dates, etc.

Remember that not everyone you speak to will give you a card, and not everyone will take your card, but many will. Not all card exchanges result in gigs, but many will. Those that don’t will often result in referrals as well.

So in summary, the flow of the conversation once the chit-chat gets going is along these lines:

1. They ask what you do for a living
2. You answer with your specific “million dollar answer” – For Example: “I’m a Corporate Entertainer.”
3. They ask you to explain
4. You explain, give examples of recent shows, and mention other venues you do
5. You ask for a business card and you exchange cards with them
6. Call them in the future to try and book a gig

Next month we’ll discuss in detail various types of venues and how to go after them. You’ll be surprised at how many gigs are staring you right in the face without you even knowing it. Although next month’s issue is not a continuation of this one, it will contain information that will be very helpful in applying this month’s information. Until Next Month…

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