3 Tips to Selling Virtual Magic Shows in an Open World (For Virtual Magicians)

There are many reasons you may prefer to perform virtual magic shows over in person ones over the next few months. It could be a safety issue such as you don’t want someone in your household who is unvaccinated catching Covid-19 or the Delta Variant. Perhaps you are at risk yourself, or maybe it’s a legal issue -you could want to avoid getting sued because of an alleged lack of safety measures or avoid facing legal consciences for not following the local pandemic protection guidelines (guidelines that are constantly changing everyday). If you’re like me you may just be a little lazy and have realized that you can make about the same amount of money as before the pandemic -but without having to leave your house. It’s way more efficient! Whatever the reason (and there are many others) it’s a good idea to have some talking points in your tool belt if you’d like to continue to offer virtual shows in addition to in person shows. If you relate to any of these issues you may want to use the following tips to sell virtual performances in a more open world..

You should use these talking points just as you would read a “choose your own adventure” novel. Use all of them or cherry pick the concepts that work for you. When discussing a booking you should always let the client speak first about their event’s needs, and then gauge what their needs and priorities are. When booking a show there is no “one size fits all” and not every approach I’ve written will work for all your clientele.

1. Give Them a Sneak Peek of your virtual magic!

The most common question I get asked when trying to sell virtual magic shows to clients is whether or not magic actually works for the virtual platform. It’s easier to show and tell then explain. Instead of discussing a possible virtual event on a lengthy phone call you can ask the client to hop on a quick video chat with you and perform a trick or two. Not only does a quick demonstration provide value, it shows potential clients that they can still have all the excitement and surprise of an interactive magic show without all the stress of an in person affair. Some people can be weary of Zoom and virtual magic because they associate those platforms with arduous corporate meetings, long classes, and zoom fatigue but you have just proved that a virtual event can also mean fun!

2. Offer a Discount on your virtual magic show

You can use virtual as an option if your in person show is out of a client’s budget. A lovely way to frame virtual shows as a more beneficial option is to explain your pricing for your various offerings and why in-person shows cost significantly more. You can try this if your virtual show is priced lower than your in person show - this is a great way to appeal to the client’s fiscal sense.

Virtual magic shows are much more amenable to a tightly packed schedule of performances and require much less physical set up, time and effort. The per show cost and hourly commitment for you to perform a virtual show versus an in-person performance is considerably less and therefore you can pass the savings to the client.

3. Sell the Unique Benefits of having a virtual magician

Having a virtual event as opposed to an in person affair can often be easier and more stress free for your client to host as there are less things to organize and keep track of. Sometimes you simply need to remind your client of the added virtual benefits and the party sells itself! 

You can also bring more quality to your show by doing virtual-specific tricks that you couldn't get away with during live in-person shows. You can describe the highlights and your favorite magic routines that are unique to your virtual magic show. There are so many ways that you can utilize the virtual platform to make original magic online. You seriously can get away with so much more! For example, a favorite trick that I do in my new virtual magic show (that I could never do in real life) -is to magically make my cat appear. 

I love being able to tell my clients that I have a live adorable animal in my virtual show. I would never have subjected my feline friend to the stressful gigging life I had led before virtual shows. Now however, since I work from home all I need in order to make my kitty the star is a few yummy treats. It’s cute, fun, the families love it, and most importantly of all my cat doesn’t hate me...that much. She is still a cat after all.

One additional bonus to having a virtual show is that the client doesn’t have to limit the party to who can fit in their backyard or living room as they would for an in person event. If they wish they can continue to have an in person gathering and put the show onto a projector for all to see, and in addition invite even more people to attend virtually! They can send invites to their work colleagues, their family members on the other side of the world, their children’s classmates, their grandparents, and even the local girl scout troop. Everyone can watch, participate, and enjoy. Despite not being physically together the virtual performance adds value to the purchase because the client can share the show with so many more people. The audience can be miles apart yet all be together, sharing an experience of wonder and laughter in the same virtual space.

You can also use your Zoom premium account or equivalent as an upsell feature. With a premium Zoom subscription you can invite up to 100 people or more for as long as you want for your virtual magic show. If you don’t have another show right after you can even offer to let them use the “room” and your account to finish up their festivities and connect with each other for a longer length of time than zoom, facebook, and skype would normally allow unpaid accounts.

These are just a few talking points to guide the conversation. I hope these ideas can help you sell virtual performances in addition to in person ones. I hope this will inspire you to think of even more unique selling points that are specific to you and your show. The possibilities are virtually endless!