marketing your trick

[Guest]

If I were to ever come up with a great trick and I want to market it, what are the process to PR my trick? Not that I have any invented.

[Guest]

Try selling it in your localarea first. Perhaps you could get a magic shop near you to carry the effect. Then Buy an ad in a magic periodical,(Genii)advertising the trick and how to contact you about purchasing it. Now begin sending out material promoting your effect to magic shops explaining what it is, wholesale and jobber price, and where it is advertised. This is just one method, but regardless of the method you use be sure to document the date you came up with the concept or you will get burned. I tell you this from experience. Oh, until you are ready to market the effect you may want to think twice about who you discuss it with.

[Guest]

Performing your effect at a local magic club will also gain interest. Be sure to ask the club scribe to write it up in the monthly journal.

You might also try submittting some of your better creations to GENII. I did this in the 1970's, about the time that my first book, "The Propshop: E-Z Tricks With Magical Accessories" was published by D. Robbins.

While the GENII contributions did nothing to fatten by wallet, it helped create name recognition, which helped get my first two books off to a good start in the magic marketplace.

Lastly, eBay is also a good marketplace, if you are prepared to manufacture the effect yourself. If you go this route, you may find it helpful to ask a write to edit your instructions so that they are easy to follow.

Good luck with your creative efforts!

[Pete Biro]

depends on what it is. You could go to a manufacturer and sell it outright, or have them made and get a distributor to handle the selling and marketing. After all, they are pro's.

I know of a few items friends have gone the latter route and the initial order was for 10,000 units. Yes, 10K.

[Pete Biro]

Tannen once offered me $25 (twenty five bucks) for a trick. I told him, "No thanks I can make more than that at one lecture."

[Adrian Kuiper]

As nice a guy as Lou Tannen was, if you look up philanthropists, you ain't gonna see his picture!!!