Anatomy of a Best-Selling Magic Trick

Hands up if you want to create a trick.

Now keep your hand up if you want it to fail… Nobody?

Okay good. Because today we’re discussing best sellers in magic - and how to get one of your own.

 

Money vs Sales

The first thing you have to do is define your best seller.

There are 2 ways:

1. Highest grossing (that literally just means one that made the most money)
   
   
2. Most units sold (in terms of quantity of the trick - forgetting what it earned)

This is important for 2 reasons. You can have a download for $10 that sells 5,000 units. Or you can have a $1,000 electronic device that sells 50 units.

It’s the same outcome. $50,000.

So what do you care about? Overall money earned or overall number of units you were able to sell?

“MONEY” you scream. Okay. Good luck.

Because price and buying power are inversely correlated. So the higher you price your trick, the less people will be able to afford it.

You often work harder to sell a $100 product than you do to sell a $10 product.

Here is a handy graph showing you what I mean...

The cheaper the trick, the more people can afford to buy it, so you’re likely to sell more.

The more expensive a trick is, the fewer people can afford to buy it, so you’ll likely sell less.

Of course this doesn’t mean that pricing your trick at $1 is guaranteeing success. The product still has to be good to sell well. Low prices can’t help terrible products.

 

#1. Value for money

The term 'affordable' is subjective. To some people affordable means $10, but to other it could be $200. 

I prefer to look at value for money instead. If it's one gimmick that does one trick, then $200 may seem expensive. 

But if it's a device that can be used in 20 different routines you know, then $200 is a steal. 

If your product is 'value for money' - meaning that buyers get way more value for their purchase than what you charge, you have a winner. 

Quick example, people were blown away that Unreal Card Magic made half a million dollars ($500,000+), but it's like 12 hours of card magic gold- and the reviews prove that it provides way more value than the money we're charging for it. 

That's always part of the anatomy of a best seller. Tremendous value for money.  

(btw Unreal Card Magic in back stock now if you want one)

 

#2. Easy to do or Learn

The next step is to ask yourself, "is it easy?"

If it’s easy, how easy?

The easier something is to do or learn, the more chance of it becoming a best seller.

Don’t believe me? Think of a trick you KNOW to be a best seller.

Could anyone do it? Or did it require stack, an accomplice, 6 years of practice and an owl?

All best-sellers are accessible to everyone.

#3. Universal

“You can only do it in French restaurants”

Do you think that trick would become a best seller? Definitely not.

If you want to create a best selling trick, you need it to be diverse. Not just for camera. Not just for stage.

If it’s something that could be performed casually, for a friend in a bar & at a gig, you’re giving yourself the best shot at creating a best seller.

#4. Ready Built

Oi you! Didn’t I already tell you it had to be easy.

This includes being easy to make. So if it requires a lot of arts and crafts, it won’t become a best seller.

Buyers are busy. They prefer items that are ready built.

You could do a download on your gimmick and teach them how to make it. Lowering your costs, so you’d assume you’d make more money.

But if you built it for buyers, you’d sell more. Guaranteed.

#5. Physical items

I’ve written a blog post before about, what I call, the saturation cycle. I've drawn this basic chart below to explain it to you visually. 

This applies to everything - marketing tactics, fashion & even the sales of magic tricks.  

Now that I've said it, this won’t last forever. But right now, physical items have a better chance of becoming best sellers. 

They have higher perceived value than ‘secrets’ alone.

Plus, it’s far less likely you’ll be ripped off or copied if you had to manufacture the final outcome.

This happened because magic downloads became saturated. 

Downloads can be made quickly & shared instantly, but physical gimmicks & devices, not so much. They can take months or years to produce. 

So, for now, a physical item is King. 

 

PUTTING IT TO THE TEST

Now let’s take the best seller test…

Hearbeat. Our top trick of 2023 (also back in stock today)

• Value for money? ✅
• Physical item? ✅
• Easy to do or learn? ✅
• Can be performed in multiple situations. Casually for a friend, or as part of a show? ✅
• Ready built? ✅ (Kinda, all items are provided and it takes 20 seconds prep, max)

Let’s look at 'all-time' best sellers…

Stand up Monte be Garrett Thomas (we just started stocking it)

• Value for money? ✅
• Physical item? ✅
• Ready built? ✅
• Easy to do or learn? ✅
• Can be done for casual performances & professional gigs? ✅

 

MAKING YOUR OWN BEST-SELLING MAGIC TRICK

The name of the game when it comes to your own ideas, is to check as many boxes as you can. 

You don't have to check them all, but if your trick can't check 3 out of 5 boxes, it's very unlikely you'll have a best seller on your hands. 

Checking 5 out of 5 gives you the best shot at creating a best seller from scratch. 

Still not sure? Submit your trick to Ellusionist here and we'll let you know if it has the anatomy of a best seller. 

 

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Let me know in the comments below if you plan to use this formula in future to release a best-selling magic trick - or if you just found this interesting to read, as a lover of magic.