Tips for Booking Magicians

If you want to know how to make a Magician magically appear at your next event, it's important to know in advance exactly what you want. Actually, knowing what you don't want is equally important, so make a list. This will save you time when you're ready to book an illusionist, magic how or magician for your next event.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself while in the planning stage of your party:

What is your magician's specialty? Conventions? Children's parties? Adult humor? Is his act family friendly? Close-up magic or Stage Magic?

Does your magician have enough experience that he can handle any last minute changes or will this result in all of your change disappearing from your pocket? The magician you hire will be a reflection of you. Excellent performers will make you shine as a host or as a business if it is a corporate event. If you are hiring your magician as a marketer, you want to be remembered as the best of the best, the Super Bowl quality of advertising and not as a Crazy Al's Cars for Crazy Low Prices commercial.

Make sure your performer is the real deal. Do they have a website? Are there pictures or video of actual performances where the audience is clearly being entertained? This is important because anybody can pose in front of a curtain with a dove and a pair of gloves. Is he a full-time professional or does he pay his rent with an office job and do a little magic on the side? Does your magician have a reputation of punctuality or is his best trick making excuses appear out of thin air?

Revisit the past. Verify the magician's list of clients, engagements, testimonials, and recommendation letters. All testimonials are not necessarily true in this day and age of marketing. Testimonials that can be followed-up on with an email or phone call are the ones to look for when hiring.

When you are checking out your magician's former clients, you will get a feel for the type of performance quality you are booking. You can also use it to get a first hand recommendation (or warning) by calling former clients of the magician. No matter how many written recommendations you see on the magicians website, always call and check references before a hiring decision is made.

Having a conversation with your prospective magician is extremely important. You can learn a lot through a single exchange. Ask them advice with the event you are organizing. A magician with much experience will be able to quickly advise how their performance would enhance your event because they will have performed numerous times in various situations. Speaking with a prospective performer on the telephone will help you measure their expertise and personality.

Show me the money!

Budget is every event planners first concern. Magicians are no different from any other product in today's market. You get what you pay for. If it seems you've hit a blue light special at K-mart or triple-coupon day at the local market, chances are they are a children's entertainer or someone who is not a specialist in entertaining a grown up audience of a higher caliber. Their fee is a telltale sign of the quality of their craft and lack of experience or confidence.

Fees will vary according to season, location, day of the week and caliber of event. Also, if you want someone who is well known, the fee can increase exponentially.

Do your research and have a working scale to measure what you need for your event and what you are willing to pay. How many hours do you require? What kind of magic do you want them to perform? Know every factor and make sure the fee is all-inclusive and that there are no hidden extras. State your budget up front and stick to it. This will save both you and the performer much time if it is clear you are not a match financially. They may even help you out and suggest a suitable replacement within your budget. With their reputation on the line, a performer would never recommend somebody who was unprofessional.

Can I take it out for a spin? You would never buy a car without driving it first. Any magician that is willing to meet up with you or invites you to see a performance prior to hire is confident in their work. They may be busy but this is a surefire way to know what you are getting. The magician isn't the only one that needs to think about his reputation. This may not be a possibility, but if it is, it's worth the extra effort.

In today's age of wireless, make sure your entertainment is accessible. It's always better if you know that your performer has a landline telephone in case their mobile phone gets stolen or damaged, and vice versa. If you need to speak to them urgently, there should be a clear plan of how to get a hold of them.

When hiring your magician, don't be fooled by smoke and mirrors. There are many people on the web advertising themselves as a professional magician, and since it is not every day that you have to hire a magician, you should have a plan in place to ensure success. We hope these tips will help make all your stress DISAPPEAR!