Discourse in Magic What Makes a Great Magic Product with Geraint Clarke
Geraint Clark runs one of the most popular magic blogs on the web and we’re super excited to have him on the show this week. His entrée into the magical was a unique one. He was early for a job interview one day and wandered into a local bookshop. The night before he had watched the British magician Dynamo on TV. It just so happened that Nicholas Einhorn’s book The Practical Encyclopedia of Magic was being sold at the shop for a mere $8. He bought it and learned an easy trick which he parlayed into impressing the boss at the job interview.
Geraint completed a multimedia degree at University and learned the basics of web design and Photoshop. He landed a job as a marketer but continued doing magic at night. Then he started doing some residencies and weddings but eventually grew to hate those kinds of gigs. Chasing payments and working as a glorified babysitter soured him on that kind of magic. Eventually, his work gravitated online and he started developing marketing plans and illusions for magicians.
Geraint’s advice for a magician who wants to begin to sell illusions depends on what you want to accomplish. Some people just want to make as much as possible. But others want to be known and respected for creating quality magic. Networking with the magic community to create something of value is hugely important. But, he advises that once you conceive of a trick you should sit on it for a while. Geraint has created tricks that he perfected over years before bringing to market.
Geraint thinks that there is a problem with the flood of magic on the market. You have to test these illusions in front of a real audience. A lot of people damage their reputations by rushing a product out that isn’t ready. People tend to get into magic they become obsessed with it and buy everything they can. But as they get older they become much more discerning. If you want to create a best-seller work out all the kinks for a long time before trying to sell it.
What was your favourite part of the episode?
Jonah liked hearing about the finer details about how something gets accepted on illusionist.
Tyler loved the words of encouragement for young people to start performing the magic they know. Don’t worry about buying the latest new thing
Geraint liked hearing the Jonah and Tyler are putting value into their audience before they try and monetize the podcast.
Who should be have on the podcast?
What do you want to ask our audience?
Can you name your five core values?
What do you want to tell our audience?
Stop performing Omnideck. The deck does not vanish!
Plugs
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