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MagicCoach -
Helping you grow your Magic Business
from the Desk of Timothy Hyde
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Hi <$firstname$>
Your time is precious - This is a Three Minute Read
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Some End of year Thoughts
Well, I've just finished my years work.
Cleared the desk and doing the things that need to be done.
It's been a very BIG year for me. A few repeat clients have
kept me
very busy, a few new projects starting to "get traction" and Quickbooks
tells me I've made more money than ever before.
More importantly, I'm working well. Better than ever.
Something clicked with my show and it's getting a much better response
which is also very pleasing.
But next year might be tricky, for all of us.
Many years ago I was doing an event for one of Australia's
biggest
event producers. He is more than just a "producer" but an expert
in advertising, marketing and branding. The show was around the time a similar
economic downturn was starting to hit. I asked him for advice.
During the next year he advised ....
Be very aware of what you are offering. Don't muddy the
water.
Niche yourself as much as possible. Dominate your market.
Stick to your strengths.
Use a quiet time to grow and learn and prepare.
It was good advice then and it still is now.
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Reading for the New Year
I've been re-reading Geoffrey Durham's Professional
Secrets.
This is a fantastic book that I know MagicCoach readers will enjoy.
There are some great routines explained, but the good stuff is the story of
developing - his show, his character onstage and his whole approach
to magic. It's my book of the year.
David Regal's Approaching Magic is another treasure trove.
It's a big book, but bang for your buck... very high.
I also picked up two Steinmeyer publications.
"The Secret No one tells You" is Jim's latest lecture notes.
6 new effects, but more importantly a very powerful essay in which he demolishes
some magic myths and gives powerful guidelines on choosing effects.
I also picked up his Conjuring Anthology.
These are all the articles he wrote for Magic Magazine over the years.
I have all the magazines, but it's nice to have them all in one place
and he's added bits and pieces here and there. Jim has a great touch
for an intriguing story line, diabolical methods and clear instructions.
Speaking of Magic Magazine ... it was an honor for me to be asked
to write a cover story on my good friend Raymond Crowe, that appeared
earlier in the year. In many ways I wrote it with MagicCoach readers in
mind and explored how he shaped and put together his show.
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Other News
As I flagged to you earlier in the year, some of the
pricing on MagicCoach
products has gone up slightly.
Everything's still selling well and it's great to receive feedback from people
as they try things out.
I received a note from one of America's busiest Corporate/College and TV
performers just last week who finally added The Pig Test to his corporate
show to a great reaction!
I've also uploaded a few more clips on YouTube where you
can see snippits
of me performing a few things. These are part of my promotional material
not advertising clips for the effects but you can get a feel for my style.
http://www.timothyhyde.com/video.html
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RESOURCES
Mentalism for the Real World
The highly praised first mentalism collection of Timothy Hyde.
" I'm extremely jealous, really top notch
material.
The book is excellent as is the thinking behind it.
The Pig Test cracks me up. If I had any memory left
I'd be sure to include it in my repertoire. " Larry
Becker
"A great little collection of tips, routines
and ideas
from one of Australia's top workers!"
Ted Karmilovich
"This is certainly a wonderful compilation of
entertaining
usable material for anyone. I enjoyed it."
Banachek
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Master of Ceremony Guide
With about a third of my work being a Magical MC at Corporate Events
I obviously read a fair bit on the art of MC'ing. See link below.
I've started recommending Rachel Greens book as a perfect
introduction.
Peter Millers wedding MC book is also very valuable, and I know several
magicians now specialize in this area. If you learn to do this well, you can
charge a much bigger fee than you would get for just a show.
(Of course you can MC and do a show, or just MC with a bit of Magic.)
Great thing about weddings... there are plenty of them AND every event
is a Showcase for your services as there are ALWAYS plenty of guests there
who are starting to plan theirs.
http://www.timothyhyde.com/mcresources.html
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Finally... if you haven't had fun with this website yet .. go explore now!
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All the best for 2009
Timothy Hyde