As promised here’s the next 5 important aspects to consider when hiring a close up magician, to follow on from How to ensure the close up magician you book doesn’t suck! Part 1.

More top things to check to weed out any poor quality close up magicians…

1. Public Liability Insurance - close up magic has a very low risk, but in the unlikely event that anything at all does go wrong, you need to ensure beforehand that the magician you have hired is fully covered with public liability insurance on the date of the performance so you have nothing to worry about. Some venues won’t even permit an uninsured magician to perform on their premises and require a copy of the entertainers insurance certificate before the event – so definitely check that the magician can send you a copy of his public liability insurance certificate if needed.
   You can be reassured that I am fully covered by £5 million worth of public liability insurance as well as £10 million employers liability insurance for larger events where I have organised several quality magicians on your behalf. If you or your venue need to see a copy of my insurance certificate, I have it scanned in and ready to email straight to you, just ask! For added peace of mind, I am also Enhanced CRB cleared.
2. Cost – “How much does a close up magician charge?” This is probably the most frequently asked question after “How the @*$% did you just do that?!” and really, there is no set answer – every event and close up magic performance is different. Several factors are usually taken into account by a good quality close up magician before calculating a quote, such as: the location, the number of guests to entertain, the performance times and duration, whether any overnight accommodation will be needed etc. The best way to find out how much a close up magician charges is to chat to the magician, provide them with as many details as possible about your event – they should then be able to give you a fair and accurate quote and suggest the best options for your particular event.
   Remember: as with most things in life - you get what you pay for. If you have received an extremely cheap quote by a magician, it may well be because they lack experience, confidence or have yet to develop the skills needed to become a quality professional close up magician.
3. Talk to the magician - give the magician a phone call and actually chat to them to see how friendly and helpful they are instead of just communicating by email alone. A quality close up magician will be able to confidently offer help and suggestions to provide the best possible entertainment at your event based on their years of experience of what they know works well in those kind of situations.
   I’m always happy to help any potential clients, so if you want to get in touch and ask me about your event, just give me a call: 07845 694 236 
4. Look before you book - If you feel you need to reassure yourself you are choosing the right close up magician for your event you should request a meeting. Although professional close up magicians are often busy either performing at events or dealing with bookings and enquiries, they should be able to spare a few minutes to meet up with you to have a chat in person, give you a demonstration of the kind of magic they perform and recommend how it will fit in best with your function. They may even invite you along to another event they are performing at to see them in action if they have any suitable events upcoming (although a lot of events are often private parties so that isn’t always feasible). When you meet with a close up magician in person, you can gauge whether their performance style is right for your event before committing to booking them.
   I always jump at the opportunity to meet up with somebody who is interested in booking me because each and every meeting I’ve had in the past to demonstrate my magic and chat with a potential client has resulted in them booking me for their event! This is why I was chosen by companies such as O2 and Leeds United. If you are interested in hiring me for an upcoming event, but feel you need to see my magic in person first, just let me know and we’ll arrange a suitable place and time to meet! 
5. I just need a magician, why is all this so important? - From the above points you should be able to tell how to find a top quality close up magician and how to spot a really bad one, but here’s a summary of what the differences are and how that can affect your event… positively or negatively: 
   A bad magician who lacks experience, expertise and even social skills may well make you and your guests hate magic and never want to see a magician again. With a poor quality magician you risk them treating your guests, clients or customers inappropriately and they will create a negative memory of your event for your guests…
   However, with a good close up magician you can rest assured they will provide a thoroughly entertaining service that you and your guests will remember for months, if not years to come! The close up magician will be able to share their experience and recommend tips to ensure the close up magic at your event is a complete success! A quality close up magician can definitely be trusted to be punctual, well dressed, well groomed and generally act professional and friendly at all times as well as blow your mind with awesome close up magic!

Filter out any bad close up magicians with these top 10 tips!

In this post I’m going to share some vital tips that will ensure you avoid ruining your event, leaving your guests with a bad impression and making everyone hate magic for life. Instead you’ll learn how to find a top quality, reliable close up magician who can be trusted to entertain and astound your guests in a fun and friendly manner because quite simply; professional magician hire isn’t something most people are required to look into every day.

So what do you look for when booking a close up magician?

Good question. It’s important to check a close up magician’s credentials and experience as, unfortunately with the magic of the internet, it’s possible for anybody to buy cheap self-working tricks online, design themselves a website and refer to themselves as a “close up magician” in just a short period of time in an effort to try and make some fast cash… like me… just kidding – I’ve been performing and practising as a close up magician for the last 15 years (since the age of 7!) and I absolutely love astounding people! You can read more about how I got interested in magic and just how passionate I am about my art on the About the Interactive Magician page.

Top 10 things to check to weed out any poor quality close up magicians…

1. Photographs - The most important factor that should decide whether you continue finding out more about a particular close up magician is whether they have good photos of them in action performing at a variety of events on their website. The photos should show good reactions from the guests the magician is entertaining – ask yourself: are they smiling, laughing, looking astounded or generally look like they are having a great time? If the answer is yes, then do continue… If the answer is no and the guests the close up magician is supposed to be entertaining look bored out of their skull or disinterested then would you really want them to ‘entertain’ at your event?
2. Videos - Does the magician have video clips of themselves performing for real audiences, not just clips sat in front of the camera doing a few tricks taken from one angle? Just like with the photos, you want to make sure the guests genuinely look like they’re having a good time – that’s a strong indicator of whether that particular magician will be able to amaze guests at your event.
   Although I am currently in the process of finalising a shiny new promotional video, I still have several videos on the main pages of my website, but you can view them all in a handy playlist here: Close up magician videos 
   Update: I have now finished producing my latest promo video, check it out by clicking the image below:
   
3. Testimonials - Feedback from previous clients is important, genuine testimonials are a big deciding factor as they let you know whether people who have hired that magician in the past were happy with the service provided and also whether they would recommend them to others. Simple written testimonials can however be easily made up, so check that the magician can provide references to back up their testimonials if necessary.
   In all of my years of performing close up magic I have never had a single unsatisfied client! I am proud to say that I have 100% positive feedback so I must be doing my job well Some of my previous client feedback is still over on my Yorkshire magician website under the Magicians Feedback page, please have a read through for yourself: close up magician testimonials
   Update: I have now added a new client feedback page to my website for my clients to submit their testimonials directly, please have a read through to see what my most recent clients are saying about my service.
4. Video testimonials - these are even better than written testimonials as you can see the client’s faces and tell through their body language as well as what they are actually saying whether they are genuinely happy with the entertainment and overall service provided.
   You can find my previous client testimonial videos on each of the main close up magician pages on this website. When I remember, I like to capture video testimonials (even if just using the camcorder on my phone) after a performance so you can really see how genuinely thrilled all my existing clients are with my service!
5. Professional - Technically the term ‘professional’ can mean anybody who charges money for what they do – which is sometimes used by amateur magicians and people who just do a little bit of magic on the side, so the term can be very misleading… Look for a genuine full-time professional or at least semi-professional if you want to ensure the close up magician you hire offers a quality service that is well practiced and perfected – a full time professional close up magician has to rely on his skills and ability to entertain in order to make a living, so they must be good enough to continue getting bookings!
   You can rest assured that I am a self employed full time professional entertainer, my income depends solely on how much fun and amazement I can provide for other people, which is quite a cool position to be in – good job I love making people happy!
   As you may have read over on the About the Interactive Magician page I am also a drum circle facilitator, and breakdancer/bboy – these are two things I absolutely love doing and have been hired for by many well known corporations to provide a professional corporate entertainment service. Yet being a close up magician is my main job passion and has been since my age hit double figures!

Hi Oliver,

We just wanted to say thank you again for helping to make our big day extra special.

Our guests were still talking about your performance long after you had gone and we had to endure the kids trying to recreate your tricks all day on Sunday.

The fact that you stayed beyond your allocated time to show us both some magic after our guests had gone inside was very much appreciated.

Take care and kindest regards,

Stewart & Kerry

I love receiving testimonials from my clients, especially when I haven’t asked for one – it’s always reassuring that I’m doing my job right

Although I did receive a rather dashing bouquet of flowers after performing at one event a while back…the award for Best Testimonial Presentation so far still has to be a custom printed greetings card with a photo on the front of the groom holding his chosen playing card mid magic trick and a lovely hand written message of thanks inside! I was pleasantly surprised when I received it and it’s been on my desk ever since, I even take it with me and display it at wedding fairs! If I get chance I’ll scan in the card and add another blog post at some point.

I was hired for a few different weddings towards the end of this Summer in Scarborough – luckily all were on really sunny beautiful days, even the one in the middle of September!

Although I’m based in Leeds, I do enjoy the opportunity to travel with my work… particularly when I’m not rushed with other bookings in the same day. I like making a day out of it and also treating my girlfriend if she’s not working!

After one performance at the Ambassador Hotel as a surprise wedding drinks reception magician for 30 minutes, which went down a storm, my girlfriend and I had a great afternoon walking along Scarborough’s North Bay. After I had changed out of my formal magic attire, I even managed to get in an obligatory b-boy photo of me doing a handstand in front of the coast and castle. (Breakdancing is another passion of mine, after magic of course!)

Anyway, my point was… I think I had a point about this post… I love travelling and performing at all sorts of different events and venues, just as much as I like performing at all the usual events in ye olde Leeds!

So if anybody is organising an event in Cuba, I’d quite like to go there and would be happy perform close up magic at a Cuban party… Anybody organising an event in Cuba…anybody? No? Ok, worth a shot!

Please visit my Yorkshire Magician’s website for more testimonials