Profitable Performances Newsletter
December 2008
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'Helping to put the PRO in Profit'
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Did you know that 43% of all statistics are made up?
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In This Issue:
1) Miss - Information
2) MagicBase Pro News
3) Great Essay About Vanishes and Productions
4) The Comedy Bill Bar-B-Que is online
5) Great Magic website: iTricks.com
6) Clearance Sale ends Dec. 31st.
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#1 - Miss-Information can kill a show!
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This past September a woman booked me for her child's birthday.
She said there would be less than 20 kids. There were 40.
She said it would be indoors. It was outdoors.
She said the kids would be older. They were every age.
Size and age of the audience, and location, are all factors
that I consider when I plan a birthday party show.
Do you do different tricks for the under-8-years crowd?
I do.
And when the birthday child is over 10, then I usually plan
to do more sleight of hand magic around the table.
And that is what I HAD planned to do until I walked through
the door to the back yard.
I saw 40 kids jumping on a trampoline, swinging on the
swing set, and eating hot dogs and more as the
music played in the background!
I was shocked! And worried that this would be one of those
difficult audiences that would make for a bad show.
But I am a trained professional. :-) So, besides bringing my
PLANNED close-up show for kids, I had also brought along
my other standard birthday show. It was better suited for
a stand-up show in front of many children.
So, I didn't say anything to the woman about my expectations.
I just said that I had to get one more thing from my car.
That "one more thing" was a completely different show.
It turned out that all of the kids settled down and watched the
show. Since there were some older kids there, I also did a
few stand-up sleight of hand tricks for them. (Like the
Relentless Ring & String Routine.)
And the show went very well. I maintained their attention.
They laughed. The kids were happy and so were the
parents. Another disaster averted!
Moral of the story:
When you say things like "I'll do CLOSE-UP MAGIC" or
"WALK-AROUND MAGIC", your customers may not
know what that actually means. So they won't have the
experience to say, "That won't work with this group,
or at this venue." They just don't know.
So, it is your job to ask the right questions,
but then be prepared that the conditions may have
changed since you talked with them.
If you always have a BACK-UP SHOW in your car,
then you're prepared for situations like this.
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#2 - MagicBase Pro News:
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The latest version of MagicBase Pro (3.0.5) is now online.
If you're not a registered user, then you may download a
free demo. It's good for 60 days and up to 20 customers.
If you are a registered user, then please download the
latest demo and unlock it for your use.
There are a few great new features!
Also check out four new videos:
* Unlocking & Registering
* External Envelope Notes
* Categorizing Customers
* Targeted Newsletters
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#3 - Great Essay about Vanishes and Productions
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Why are Vanishes harder than Productions?
What are some of the best vanishes, and why?
Denny & Lee Magic has a great essay on their site.
They have graciously allowed us to reference it.
So, while you're there, check out all the other good stuff
on the site.
Here is this great essay from the Denny and Lee Magic Store
website:
http://www.dennymagic.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi/newsletter.html?newsletter=050725
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#4 - The Comedy Bill Bar-B-Que is online
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Are you looking for a great audience tested routine with
guaranteed laughs?
I've been performing the Comedy Bill Bar-B-Que for a decade.
I just posted a digital version online now.
See a preview of this hilarious routine at this link:
http://www.bobmillermagic.biz/BillBBQ.html
If you buy this download, you also get a bonus eTrick
'Knot LInked!' It's a close-up rubber band trick.
One band disappears and only a knot remains.
So you can get a great closing routine and a
bonus trick for only $10.
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A word from our sponsor:
Is your club looking for a UNIQUE LECTURE THAT HAS NEVER
BEEN DONE BEFORE?
I'm starting to book dates for my Borrowed And Memorized Deck
Lecture. It is an introduction to how to memorize cards on the fly
while you do card tricks.
I have an eBook on the subject. Read about it here:
http://www.bobmillermagic.biz/BAMad.html
Request information by email.
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#5 - iTricks.com - Excellent Magic site
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I just discovered this great site for magicians.
The have magic news, reviews, chat room, podcasts,
and videos.
They accept user reviews of magic that you like.
And you can read the recent post about
MagicBase Pro at this link:
http://itricks.com/newmagic/
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#6 - Clearance Sale
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This is it - the LAST 2 WEEKS of the clearance sale.
I've got some stuff at extremely low prices just to get it
out of my closet. And I have used things for sale.
And Dove props. And Games. And books.
Check out the list here:
http://www.bobmillermagic.biz/clearance.html
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YOU MAY FREELY DISTRIBUTE THIS NEWSLETTER-
It's recommended!
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Bob Miller
P.S.
Are you looking for a great shopping cart
and email broadcasting service?
Check this out:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?pr=1&id=74266
I use it all the time!
