How to Make Money As a Magician: 9 Ways to Get Paid As an Illusionist

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Are you an aspiring professional magician? Are you looking to make money doing tricks? If yes, then this article on how to make money as a magician is for you.

Performing magic isn’t just a hobby, but a great way to make money too. If you like performing magic and think it would be cool to get paid for doing it, then here are ways to achieve that.

1. Perform Magic at Parties

Magic tricks are not limited to the stage. Tons of magicians perform magic for friends, family, and at birthday parties.

If you are looking for an easy way to make money as a magician, consider performing the art of magic at parties or other social gatherings.

To do this, you need an easy-to-use magic trick that you can learn in a day or two–and perform in less time. Also, you need to get your hands on professionally produced magic accessories that will make it easy for you to perform your trick–but that won’t look cheap.

Magicians’ jobs involve making people laugh and keeping them entertained. To make the most money, you need to create an act that you can present as part of a larger show or as a separate magic number at parties and events.

You will want to create an act that will engage an audience for 10 minutes, half an hour, or an hour. People will pay more for your performance if it is entertaining and riveting.

Some of the occasions you can perform at include:

  • Children parties
  • Graduation ceremonies
  • Wedding parties
  • Bar/bat mitzvahs
  • Conventions
  • Restaurants
  • Coorperate events

2. Host and Perform Street Magics

Street magic is an old art that has become extremely popular again. Whether done on the streets of tourist towns, college campuses, or at indoor malls, you can earn money for your appearance and performance.

For magicians who are searching for ways to make money, this is an excellent way to do it. You can choose any magic to impress people on the street. It also doesn’t cost much to be a magician for this purpose.

The key to performing well in this area is to constantly try out new material, learn the best techniques that are already popular, and constantly work on your delivery skills to make sure you present your tricks in the best way possible.    

Remember, the success of your street magic depends on the number of people who’re able to see it. Therefore, work more on getting known by more people in your area and even beyond.

3. Become a YouTube Magician

YouTube is no longer a video hosting platform. It’s now one of the biggest companies generating thousands of dollars for people across the world every day. So, if you’re looking for how to make money as a magician, you may want to become a YouTuber.

When the popular Canadian magician, Chris Ramsay was asked what are his sources of income, here’s what he had to say:

“Aside from performing, YouTube has offered me many streams of income which I’m grateful for. From brand deals, ad sense, merchandise, and Sellfy among others.”

This is to show you how profitable it could be if you start a YouTube channel as an online magician performing magic tricks. It’s much easier and cheaper for people to sit on their couch and watch amazing magic tricks without paying for a ticket.

If you’re good at it, it’s a matter of time before you start getting a lot of subscribers, likes, and views. Once this happens, then you’re in money already like Chris Ramsay.

Some of the ways to monetize your YouTube channel include:

  • Ad sense
  • Selling merchandise
  • Becoming a YouTube Partner
  • Sell channel memberships
  • Create sponsored content

SEE: How To Make Money On YouTube

4. Blog About Magic

Blogging about magic is just like any other blog. It’s your job to show people something new, to engage their brains and their senses, and to experience the unknown.

Whether you’re a card magician, a mentalist, a coin magician, or a stage magic hobbyist, there’s always more to learn and share.

With your blog, be sure to show real value (though free if you need to) and people will gladly support your work and services by giving you the attention and potential customers.

You can choose one of the best blogging platforms for your blog. Don’t worry when you first start. Low traffic is ok at first. It only takes a few good posts to build momentum. And once you have that, your talent will get a great deal of visibility and you can monetize your blog to make more money.

Some of the ways which you can begin making money from your blog once you have good traffic includes:

  • Promoting other services that are related to magic
  • Affiliate marketting
  • Google Adsense
  • Sponsored content
  • Selling ad space to advertising agencies

SEE: Ways To Monetize Your Blog

5. Teach Magic In An Online Course

Are you a magician and want to earn money? How about teaching magic in an online course? There is a growing niche of people looking for magic teachers. You can leverage that and create an online course.

Online courses are very popular right now with teachers, trainers, and even celebrities. But most of the courses available are simply not practical for people interested in using them. That’s why it is important to make sure your lessons can be practicalized.

Creating an online course is an easy strategy to make money online with magic. Courses are usually between 5-15 hours of content. Most people want to watch videos to learn, so usually have a mixture of video and written content.

Even in addition to online courses, there are corporate events to teach magic – both as a speaker and as a performer. And there are at-home workshops – giving people magic lessons for a fee where you can offer to teach.

SEE: How to Create an Online Course Like a Professional

6. Work With a Circus As a Magician

There are many places where you can work as a magician, specifically with a circus. A circus does several performances each week and it needs magicians to provide entertainment to its audience.

As a magician, you can find professional opportunities in all circus arenas – from stand-up comedy and clowning to acrobatics and balancing acts. If you’re considered, you will be participating in shows for audiences, depending on what roles you’ve been hired to play.

Working with a circus can mean different things. You may be asked to work behind the scenes assembling illusions or to perform in an act with another magician. Whatever your role, make sure you are ready for this exciting challenge.

Magician jobs require preparation, so no matter how much experience you have you’ll still need to find ways to improve it if you’re going to be working with circuses.

7. Create and Sell Magic Tricks and Effects

Imagine tapping into a source of income that doesn’t rely on your ability to generate revenue from stage performances. Build a second source of income that will sustain you for years to come by designing and selling novel magic effects.

There are endless opportunities to sell tricks, especially with the continuing popularity of online magic shops. Creating magic effects for other magicians is one of the best ways to build your performing skill, expand your repertoire, and make some cash.

This is probably the best form of passive income to earn as a magician because you don’t have to record any new information to make additional money.

Online magic shops where you can sell your magic tricks and effects include:

Magic supplies are big business; there is no end to the number of products that people will spend money on. If you enjoy creating tricks, why not start creating and selling your own? It’s easier than you think.

SEE: How to Sell Online

8. Promote Products for Magic Shops

As a magician, you already know how powerful the art of magic can be in creating unforgettable events and memories for your friends and relatives. Now you can use this knowledge and skill to benefit yourself and others by launching a second career as an affiliate marketer.

This is one of the places to start making money as a magician. Many of these magic shops feature hundreds of top-selling magic tricks and illusions from the top names in the magic industry.

People are always looking to enhance their abilities as magicians. Whether they are interested in performing magic tricks at parties with friends, performing at the very top level, or just trying out magic for the first time, there is no shortage of products that you can promote to help them to do that.

Below are some of the magic shops with the best affiliate programs and the percentage of the commission they pay:

  • Pro Magic Live: 50% commision
  • MJM Magic: 10% commission
  • Master Mentalism: 72% commission
  • Wonder Wizards: 10-20% commission
  • Malloy Modern Magic: 10% commission
  • Magic World: 10% commission
  • ClownAntics.com: 10% commission

SEE: How to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing

9. Write An E-Book Related To Magic

Magicians can make money in a variety of ways. Writing an e-book is one of the most popular options. E-books are becoming more popular as technology advances.

By writing an e-book on magic tricks, you will be able to attract more people to your tricks. This will help you grow your audience. Also, by giving it away for a little money, you are able to advertise your magic tricks and make more money with your business.

eBooks can be written and ready for sale within a matter of minutes and then you can publish them to the major marketplaces and start making money straight away. You can sell your eBook on sites like Amazon Kindle, Blurb, Lulu, and Payhip among others.

In order to make this as profitable as possible, it is important to be creative and have a wide net of knowledge about the world of magic.

Furthermore, if you have a website where you host or talk about magic, this can be a way to promote your eBook for more people to see and buy.

SEE: How to Make Money Selling Information Products

FAQs

How much can you make as a magician?

The salaries of professional magicians vary greatly depending on the type of show, the specialty, size of the audience, and more. However, you can make an average of $1,039 per week and $54,071 per year.

When is the best time to make money as a magician?

The best time is now. With today’s connections through the internet, people are most likely more interested in magic tricks than ever before.

Can you copyright magic tricks and effects?

There isn’t much you can do. There are, however, other ways you can go about it. For example, you can present them only under the auspices that they will remain a secret.

Conclusion

Magic isn’t just “making things appear” and disappearing them again. Magic is the ultimate brand of entertainment for crowds. The various aspects of magic that you perform can be made into a money-making activity, whatever level you may be at in the profession.

If your passion is magic, and you’re good at it, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be paid for doing it. All of the highlighted ways to make money as a magician in this post are reliable, however, some require more effort than others.

If you’re a beginner, I will advise you to start with street magic and add blogging about magic if you have flair for writing. However, if you’re experienced, the best way to go is performing at circuses, starting a YouTube channel, teaching magic in an e-course, or writing an e-book related to magic.

While any of these methods will earn you money, you can employ two or three of the methods to make more money. In fact, whichever method you choose, I will encourage you to add blogging to it. This will help you promote your skills and talent, and also make more money.

Since magicians are also categorized as entertainers, you may want to check out this post on how to make money as a comedian to increase your chances of making more money entertaining people.

I hope you found this post helpful. Thanks for reading