Resurrecting The Pitch Book
What is a Pitch Book?
A Pitch Book or Pitchbook is a book sold by performers in order to generate additional revenue, tell their story,
grow their legend and advertise their products and services.
Performers have a long history of working for nothing or close to nothing. From fairgrounds to street corners and pubs, magicians have a long history of setting up shop and earning a living even if their performances were unpaid. From medieval fairs to modern day Christmas markets, exhibitors pay for space to perform and exhibit their wares. Magicians would often exhibit in these spaces both performing in ticketed shows as well as performing for free in order to sell tickets and merchandise. Often performers would even lose money for the privilege of performing, if it meant they had the foot traffic, with their accompanying purses, stopping by them. Although this may sound shocking and unbelievable to those outside of the entertainment industry, those in the know are aware that it is quite ordinary. Well-known celebrities to this day will often produce, invest and even pay for projects that will gain them exposure and build their name and reputation, even at a financial loss. It is seen as nothing more than a business expense in order to maintain and grow their business long term. More actors are producing and investing in films they are starring in and it has even been disclosed to me that many judges on the leading competition television programs pay to be judges on the show. The reasoning being that millions of people will see them regularly, turning them into a household name.
The rules of the game have always been the same:
eyes on you are an opportunity to sell.
Why else would companies pay advertisers so much money to produce ads and commercials for them? They do so for the same reason magicians work for free and even lose money to perform; to make money. They don’t do so haphazardly but by using established systems that stand the test of time that follow the rules of human nature. We all have the same wants, needs and insecurities. That is why the pitch is so successful. It presents itself as a solution to your problems and a path to your desired destination. “The Pitch” encompasses a wide and varied scope of products, services and solutions for every single person walking through every season of life but being outside of the scope of these writings I will turn your attention to writings known as Pitch Books.
A pitch book is a small, cheaply produced book, more often booklet that is sold to the audience during and after a performance. Almost all of these booklets are autobiographical in nature and would be sold after the shows are souvenirs. Almost all of these works are self-published and printed in mass with updated versions, variants and translated copies appearing throughout a performer’s career. Some of these would be self-titled, meaning named after the performer while other pitch books would be presented as titled works such as The Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist by Harry Houdini. Personally, I had been aware of and read a digital copy of Houdini’s pitch book my understanding of the true power of the pitch book only dawned on me when a copy of Houdini’s booklet was gifted to me a few years ago by a dear friend.
The first thing I noticed was how well the booklet aged, the paper yellowing to perfection. Of course, my copy is a century old so this is natural but the paper was finely waxed in just the right way that the pages felt new as I carefully turned them over. The booklet is extremely thin as well and you can tell that these were packed tight and travelled with Houdini as he travelled with his show. They are starkingly small as well, measuring at 5.5" x 8.5", which tells us exactly how they were printed, on 8.5" x 11" letter paper. Each sheet is printed on and folded over to make four pages and when the booklet is fully printed it is stapled together. Absolutely no color is used in this printing process and everything printed are shades of black ink. The booklet’s exquisite beauty is directly caused by the economical design choices. By the time I beheld this wonderful pitch book I was already sold, which, after all, isn’t the point of the pitch book in the first place.
Though Houdini would create a variety of pitch books in which he exposed criminal’s methods, fraudulent psychic techniques as well as taught circus feats and magic tricks, this specific book sold his greatest product; Houdini. The book itself starts with high praise for this versatile artist and lauds his artistic accomplishments. Then Houdini takes you through his life of performing from his earliest days to the greatest highlights of his career as described in various newspaper articles and testimonials. It is the perfect souvenir item to take home to share with one’s friends and family and I suspect Houdini made a fortune on these booklets. He claims that over six millions copies are in circulation at the time of printing and I believe him.
Although it is hard to estimate the exact price of these booklets with inflation, even if they were only sold for the equivalent of a few dollars a copy, Houdini would have made tens of millions of dollars off this one booklet alone. This is a stunning revelation when you run the numbers. It means that any performing magician or artist can multiply their earnings by selling pitch books. Depending on the size of your audience they can earn you more money than the event itself. Although I would like to take credit for realizing this, it would appear that the music industry understood this concept a long time ago. It is well known that bands are in the t-shirt business. Meaning that bands are willing to do concerts and shows at a financial loss in order to make their profit by selling merchandise at the event.
Seeing the extraordinary potential before me I set out to create my first pitch book, self-titled Mahdi The Magician. Technically it is untitled in it’s current variation but that is one of the features of the pitch book; it evolves and grows with you. Very much inspired by Houdini I set out to create the perfect souvenir booklet for people who come see me perform my magic show or hear me give an inspirational talk. The booklet takes you through my unbelievable life story from being born without hands or feet to my discovery of magic and features some of the most incredible moments of my life in magic.
THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE LIFE STORY
Mahdi, as he’s never been seen before!
Witness Mahdi’s incredible life story from his first miracle to growing up without hands or feet. Mahdi takes you through his childhood and his discovery of magic in this deeply personal memoir in which he shares some of the most important and transformative moments in his life in magic.
Houdini, being the most famous name in magic of all time was obviously a great self-promoter but soon turned my attention to another master of the pitch: Alexander. The Man Who Knows, The Crystal Seer, C.A., or simply Alexander were stage names and titles used by Claude Alexander Conlin, the highest paid entertainer in the early twentieth century. He was a mindreader who earnt so much money he was able to retire at quite a young age. He sold so many pitch books that he actually went into the publishing business, C. Alexander Publishing Co. Alexander himself was apparently an extremely prolific author writing:
NOTICE how the cover is stamped telling potential buyers to read certain pages carefully in an attempt to create urgency for them to want the information.
Personal Lessons, Codes, and Instructions for Members of the Crystal Silence League
Crystal Gazing: Lessons and Instructions in Silent Influence With the Crystal, Written Especially for and Dedicated to Members of The Crystal Silence League
Alexander's Book of Extensive Astrological Readings
Alexander's Book of Mystery
The Life And Mysteries Of The Celebrated Dr. Q
Alexander's Book of Mystery: Astrological Forecasts, Crystal Gazing, Practical and Advanced Psychology, Etc.
The Projective Branch of Crystal Gazing, Written Especially for and Dedicated to Members of The Crystal Silence League
The Inner Secrets of Psychology (FIVE VOLUMES)
+ Many more books in many variations and editions…
Although at that time of writing I am unsure if Alexander actually wrote his own books but we know he partnered with New Thought and occult authors like William Walker Atkinson and L. W. de Laurence who were prolific authors who created whole alternate personas and wrote books under foreign pseudonyms like Theron Q. Dumont, Yogi Ramacharaka, and Swami Panchadasi. The books themselves are designed very curiously, with just enough valuable information to fulfill their stated purpose but always hinting, teasing and pitching further. Virtually every page of every single chapter leads to a product that Alexander sells. These ranges from crystal balls, astrology readings, questions being answered to other books. I was very much inspired by this model as it allows you to build a world of your own imagination and share it with your audiences through products and experiences.
INSPIRED BY ALEXANDER
Having studied mentalism and mindreading with Luke Jermay in his amazing courses for performers for the last few years and studying his work I noticed he recommended having specific pitch books for various acts. Commiting to learn new branches of magic is a thrilling challenge and I clung tightly to this branch, wanting to water this tree so that it grows. I have been studying how to present various mysterious phenomenon that are connected to the world of mindreading such as Cartomancy, which is reading what is hidden in the leaves. Studying the history of cartomancy led me to develop my own thoughts and theories on the subject, some of which I share in a pitch book titled Cartomancy. The book is designed not only as a souvenir item but as an actual guide to learn the meanings of the cards and how to read them.
Originally I wrote it as part of a much larger book that was going to be printed as a small pocket sized book titled Hidden In The Leaves. However I found it much more of a larger project to find a printer that could produce the book the way I wanted to as well as a much larger financial investment to print them. My solution was to release the first half of the book as a small booklet and so I could begin selling it after my shows without delays. Hidden In The Leaves will eventually be produced but after some time as I revise and expand the booklets.
CARTOMANCY
THE ART & SCIENCE OF SEEING & READING, as passed down by the ancient & medieval people through the long line of the observant
Learn to read what is hidden in the leaves!
For the first time, Mahdi The Magician reveals some of the mysteries of his life and philosophy as he takes you behind the scenes so you can learn the meaning of the cards and how to read them as easily as you are reading these words.
You will be able to understand the messages Hidden in The Leaves waiting for you.
A few months after the release of Cartomancy I knew that I had to create another booklet with the material that remained unpublished from Hidden In The Leaves. You see, Hidden In The Leaves was written as an extension of Hidden Leaves, my personal brand of playing cards. In the book I detail the meaning of some of the art of Hidden Leaves and wrote an entire section on card magic, some of which you can only perform with Hidden Leaves playing cards. Keeping a general audience in mind all of the card techniques and card tricks are designed with absolute beginners in mind, although I have to admit that well-versed professionals will be blown away by some of the gems disclosed in this beginners book. I wrote it with the aim of teaching the strongest and best presentations for some of the greatest effects in card magic while also keeping the work as simple and easy as possible so that the reader could almost instantly perform all of the tricks. Some of my own most closely guarded secrets are contained within this booklet but it is up to the reader to connect some of the finer dots.
Finally I wanted it to have a clear and concise title so I named it Learn Card Tricks, although it can be read as Learn Powerful & Easy Card Trick That You Can Do! I can honestly say that it is might be one of the best introductions to card magic ever written in the history of magic.
LEARN CARD TRICKS
POWERFUL MAGIC MADE EASY
Learn fun card tricks that look like real magic!
Imagine if you could walk into any room filled with strangers and within minutes turn them into friends while blowing their minds with magic. This is your initiation into the world of card magic. Mahdi The Magician, one of the greatest magicians who ever lived, teaches you powerful & easy card tricks that you can do!
The most exciting part to me about pitch books are that they are alive in that they evolve with you throughout your career. I am incredibly proud to be able to offer new products to my audiences which allow them to connect with me on a deeper level. Very few magicians these days create pitch books, probably because of the effort involved, but I can honestly say that they are worth the effort. As I sit here typing this, I have sitting before me copies of my pitch books ready to go where I go. On my shelf overlooking this scene is my copy of Houdini’s pitch book. It is over 100 years old. I hope that in 100 years from now someone has copies of my pitchbook proudly displayed on their shelf.
You may not be in the line of work to create a pitch book but my advice to you is the same…
