Free Advertising at The Jerx
/A couple years ago I wrote:
“I get a lot of people offering to send me stuff in exchange for me writing about it here. I understand the inclination. There is probably no more captive audience in magic than the people who read this site. But if I just started doing posts on the stuff that was sent to me, then that's all this site would become. And as nice as it is to receive a free ebook or get something in the mail, that would ultimately devalue this site to the readership if that's what I focused on.”
This paragraph was buried in a post so a lot of people who are new to the site missed it. So I still frequently get people offering to send me stuff. And when I say, “Sure, that would be great. But just know that I’m probably not going to end up writing about it,” they’re usually like…
Well, I now have a couple of ways you can advertise your product/service to my readers for free.
Advertising for Supporters
If you are a paid supporter of this site, you can advertise for free in the monthly newsletters. That’s not as big an audience as the audience that reads this site. But these people are pre-selected as people who are willing to spend money on magic, and many would be curious to see what other people who like this site are creating. And hey, it’s free. Even if you just sell a few copies of whatever you have to offer, that could conceivably get you back your whole support payment so you would essentially be getting the 2020 rewards package for free.
Here’s how it works. You just email me the ad you want to put in the newsletter and I’ll add it onto the end of the issue. It doesn’t have to be anything that looks that great. We’re all friends here. Think of the ads in the back of Genii in the 80s (which looked like the ads in the back of a normal magazine from the 30s). But you do have to make it yourself, I’m not writing your goddamn ad. And I would suggest doing something original for it. You could just copy and paste an ad you’re using elsewhere. But you’ll probably have better luck if you write something up from yourself as a person rather than just an advertising entity.
And the free ad is once per year. If you have more to sell we can work something out. But I’m not going to put the same thing in month after month. If you want to do something like have a special discount code for readers or provide an excerpt (if you’re offering a book) we can do that too. Or, hell, if you want to write a vicious anti-Irish screed about how they’re infesting our country and taking all our trench-digging, rail-line-laying, and textile-mill-operating jobs… that’s fine too. Your support payment entitles you to some real estate in one of the monthly newsletters. You can do with it whatever you want.
Advertising for Everybody
Advertise a Product or Single Trick Download
And here is a free way for anybody to get the word out about their new product on the site itself. Not with some banner ad on the side, but in a way people will actually read about your product because I will be the one writing about it. This isn’t like the Magic Cafe where people are blindly scrolling past your ad or deleting it from their PM box without reading it. No… anyone who comes to this site is doing so because they want to read what I’m writing about. And what I’ll be writing about is your product. And yes, it’s 100% free other than the cost of sending me a copy of what you’re selling.
What’s the catch?
Why does there have to be a catch? Why can’t I just offer this kind service to people?
Okay, I guess there’s a catch. This new review feature will be one where I tell everyone the worst aspects of the thing you’re selling.
Here’s the deal. I’ve spent five years creating a relationship with the people who read this site where I try to be as open and honest about things as possible. While I have no problem badmouthing shitty products (and do so in the review newsletter from time to time), I would have that problem if someone had sent me something for free. If someone sent me something—especially if was a particularly expensive book or piece of magic— and I didn’t really care for it, that would be a big bummer for me. I’d take no joy in entertainingly trashing something that I was given for free, but I’d take less joy in trying to find something positive to say about something I wasn’t really into and lying to the people who read this site to spare the feelings of one person.
So this removes all of that from the equation. You would be sending me your product for the purpose of me finding its flaws and weaknesses.
Why would I send you my product just so you can trash it?
Well, there are a few reasons why.
First, if your product is very good, then the worst thing I have to say about it may not be very consequential. I might say, “The worst thing about this levitation is that it can’t be performed outside under bright sunlight.” And people reading that will say, “Shit… is that all? I never perform outside. Maybe I should pick this up.”
Second, my critique may bring up issues you hadn’t thought of. Perhaps something you can address and therefore improve the product.
Third, you’ll get the word out about your product.
Fourth, I may have plenty of good things to say about what you’re selling as well. I won’t hold those back when writing about your offering. So I may identify a couple flaws but also note a few things I like about it. And for some people the flaws may not be dealbreakers. So even a write-up designed to look at something with an incredibly critical eye could end up as a positive review for some people.
My goal is not to shit on what people are selling. I’m not going to make up flaws or find faults where they don’t exist. So if you have faith in your product, i don’t think you have much to lose. If you already know it’s kind of a turd, then it’s probably a bad idea.
Advertise a Book/E-book/Multi-trick DVD or Download
Updated from the September 6th, 2022 Post
Since I put out the offer for people to advertise their magic products for free on this site, I’ve received some interest from people who want to advertise their book or ebook. Unfortunately, to do that in the manner described in this post (where I tell everyone the worst thing about your product), I would have to read an entire book and carefully consider everything in it. That’s not a fun blog post. That’s homework. And I have no interest in that.
So here’s how the advertising will work for books and ebooks and multi-trick videos if you want to advertise them here.
You send me the chapter or trick that you consider to be the most average thing in your book. That will be posted here and any comments I have will be based on that excerpt.
This will give people an idea for what you have to offer with this release and it suggests that you think half the material is better than what you’re offering.
If you’re interested on taking me up on any of these advertising opportunities (or you just want to send me your product for the hell of it), send me an email at thejerx@gmail.com. Put “Ad” in the subject somewhere to help keep things organized in my email box.
Also, you can just tell me about something you have for sale and—if it’s something that interests me—I’m more than happy to pay for it (and while not likely, it’s possible I’ll write about it). While I certainly appreciate when people send me the things they’ve created, I don’t need free stuff and this is not a request for free stuff. The purpose of this post is solely to let people know how they can get their product in front of the readers/supporters of this site in a way that will hopefully be a win-win situation. A win for them because they get more eyes on what they’re offering and a win for the readers because it will hopefully lead to some interesting content. (I don’t need a win for myself. I’ve got enough wins.)