Houdini (center) faces officials as he prepares for yet another daring feat and publicity stunt.
Houdini on My Birthday
For my recent birthday my wife and our 10 year old daughter gave me a wonderful book on Houdini which brings us to our Marketing Tip of the Week.
Choose What You Wish to Be Known For
The tip is to, if possible, focus on one main thing in conjunction with your business or career. Harry Houdini did this with escape magic and look at what it did for him. It became the thing that he is known for. In my own little sphere I’m known for being an online marketer, media educator and website creator who’s also a magician. Still needs some tweaking. Maybe marketer magician?
Figure Out Your Brand
As many of you know I’ve often said that Houdini was a master marketer. Even though he died in 1926, the mere fact you likely know who I’m talking about is proof of this. He is a true household name and is so primarily because of his focus on escapes and the way that he used this focus to generate publicity.
Figure Out Something that can Go Viral
When arriving in a town for a performance Houdini would go to the local authorities and challenge them. The authorities would could handcuff him and sometimes even put him in a jail cell to thwart his escaping. And 100% of the time the great escapologist would free himself from the shackles and imprisonment. I did my own publicity stunt as a teenager (covered by the local school paper) which was to ride my bike to school while blindfolded.
Social Media is Your Friend?
All of this would of course be covered by the local press (the Social Media of yesteryear), thereby perpetuating his brand. You can do this too. Not escapes (unless that’s what you do), but rather finding something you can be known for and running with it.
Repetition is Key
Focus enables you to focus your brand like Houdini did. It is easier for someone to remember you if you’re known for something specific and then add to that thing with notoriety again and again.
The Annual “Salute to Magic”
And speaking of Houdini, the 110th Annual “Salute to Magic” performance is this Saturday the 30th at the Abrons Arts Center at 466 Grand Street, New York City (Manhattan).
See You at the Show!
It is being presented by the same Assembly (Chapter) here in NYC that Harry Houdini himself used to be the president of. Come celebrate with us. Tickets are available by clicking here. Hope to see you there!
First it’s this week’s ArtisticPreneur.com Marketing Tip and then hey presto, it’s magic show news. And now here’s the latest tip:
Work With Your Community
Especially back in our full throttle Lights Camera Read days, we used to talk a lot about community. And community is still very important to us which brings up this week’s ArtisticPreneur.com Marketing Tip which is: Work With Your Community.
Think Locally
It’s not necessary to be an enourmous corporation if you think locally. What is going on in your immediate community? How can you create a win-win scenerio and both help your community while leveraging it from a marketing perspective? This could be things like taking out ads in community theater programs (which likely will not cost much).
Partner with Your Local Library
Print bookmarks with your logo and company name tastefully integrated into the bookmark’s design. Then ask to have the bookmarks placed in your local library. And speaking of libraries, if you are thespian inclined, libraries can be a great partner when it comes to doing things like putting on a puppet show or comedy improv performance for kids.
The Library Becomes Your Theater
You can do the performance right in the library and likely the library will promote the show in advance directly to their library going parents with kids. You can design and print postcards that describe your business briefly but mostly focus on the performance you are participating it.
It’s Showtime
And when it is showtime, make sure to mention your business integrated cleverly as a magic word used or as part of a talk about community businesses of which you are one. Be sure to get the head librarian’s permission to do all of this. Now go and put on your extravaganza!
An Extravaganza Segue
And speaking of extravaganzas there is one coming up soon. Let’s begin at the beginning of our magic news.
Society of American Magicians
As you know I’m a member of the Society of American Magicians which has hundreds of assemblies (chapters) all around the globe. Within the SAM organization I am a member specifically of Assembly #1 here in the city.
SAMPA1 History
It has a lot of history including being the first assembly to be created and at one time had as its president (as I’ve said before), Harry Houdini. Also, it’s the group where a young magician of just 12 years old named David Seth Kotkin used to attend to learn tricks from the other conjurers. He grew up to be David Copperfield.
Upcoming Magic Performance
Ever since 1909 the Society of American Magicians has been producing an annual performance that is open both to magicians as well as the general public. This year’s show is being put together by SAMPA1 member Herb of Herb’s Magic. He is doing a terrific job and we are all looking forward to attending this wonderful shindig of prestidigitation on Saturday March 30th.
More Info
Salute to Magic Show, 2019. The 110th Annual Magic Extravaganza presented by the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians. Saturday 3/30/19 at 7:30 PM. To order tickets CLICK HERE or call 866-811-4111.
Are you a magic learner? Do you believe that learning is like magic in the way it can empower people? Do you ascribe to the belief that we should always be learning new things? Do you think that you can achieve your dreams with the right education? If so, you’re going to enjoy this edition of the ArtisticPreneur Newsletter, featured this week on the Manhattan Magician website.
Learning by Doing
As some of you know I am a marketer, educator, NYC magician and student who is in my last semester of grad school. I am getting a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration. In the past I have had success with doing “How To” videos, so for one of my final project for school (as a part of an “Independent Study”) I am creating a web class on the topic of making an online course and then promoting it.
The Learning Venture is, as of this Post, Entitled:
“The Online Course Method:
How to Create a Profitable Online Course
Plus Market and Sell it Using Low or No Budget
Internet Guerrilla Marketing.”
The key concepts here are “Online Course Method” and “Internet Guerrilla Marketing.”
Would You Like to Make and Promote Your Own Online Course?
The final project won’t be completed until I graduate in late May. I am weighing the possibilities and might then decide to release it to those who can benefit from it. Why? Because I believe that if you are someone who has an expertise of some sort or if you know someone who does, developing an online course can be a great way of building trust with your audience. And of course a little bit of magic.
Do You Perceive Yourself as an Expert on a Topic?
Featured in the course will be you or your designated expert. When you finish creating your learning experience you will then be able to promote it through a series of marketing campaigns. This is a terrific way to not only help people but to make a profit while doing so. Also, through the viewing of the course you are simultaneously promoting yourself and/or your products and services. It truly is a win-win situation.
Uncover Your Audience
So let’s say you wanted to create your own online course on a topic you are passionate about, how would you go about doing it? First and foremost you need to uncover whether or not there is a market for it.
Define Those Who You are Trying to Reach
Who is your audience and why do they need your course? What problem are you solving? It’s helpful if you are filling a gap in the market. Or, in other words, offering skill building that folks want to learn but no one is really providing to that niche. Yet.
Will You Be Featured or Someone Else?
Once you have your topic, you need to then decide who will be featured in the course. Will it be you? Or someone you know? This is an opportunity to become visible as an expert. Because the perception is that someone who is spotlighted in a course really knows her or his subject matter. And if you are providing a solution to a problem that can be solved with your consulting and/or your products and services, all the better.
A Technique for Getting in Front of Your Audience
So let’s say you’ve finished creating your course. Your market research has shown you that there is a niche audience for it. But now the challenge is getting your course in front of your demographic. We believe the best way to do this is through low or no budget Internet Guerrilla Marketing.
No Social Media Needed
Internet Guerrilla Marketing is totally different than offline guerrilla marketing. This is because the cyber world poses certain challenges of reaching your audience. For example, people are getting frustrated with social media as a marketing method because its reach is getting smaller and smaller, seemingly because the social media provider is trying to get you to purchase ads.
The Magic of Internet Guerrilla Marketing
Thank goodness Internet Guerrilla Marketing does not involve social media. It has instead 10+ digital marketing tools to choose from. And the magical thing about Internet Guerrilla Marketing is that it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Plus, “Abracadabra” just like that, it can get you results in the form of online course sales and as well as making additional income through your consulting and/or products and services.
2 Not 1 Income Stream(s)
Remember, being featured as an expert in an online course can entitle you to charge higher fees for whatever it is that you do. If you’ve got the knowledge you can convert it into profitability for your business as well as sales from the course itself.
If This Resonates with You Please Reach Out
At this point I’m not sure if I am going to release this course in May or later or at all. If this sounds like something that could be useful to you, please let me know. Again, I am in a very early creation phase regarding making and promoting the course.
I’m Doing as You Might Do
And finally, just like you will need to do if you decide to make your own online course, I am currently in the market research stage of course development. In fact this email is kind of a form of market research. Why do I mention doing market research? Because I try to practice what I preach! That’s all for now magic learners! I hope to hear from you!
