Marketing Your DJ Business - Part Two
Apart from 'word of mouth' the most valuable
tool available to market your DJ business in 2009 is a good website.
Purchasing domain names and web hosting is inexpensive
although, as domain names need to be renewed regularly, keep the number to a
reasonable level. You don't need to cover every possible TLD (.com, .info, .mobi
etc) or connotation either as there are laws on cyber-squatting and passing-off
(to be covered in a later newsletter)
Search Engines
Today people (our clients) use search engines
and web sites as a faster, more up-to-date and accurate alternative to paper
directories such as the phone book.
Getting your website onto the 1st page of
search engines is a time consuming task but it needs to be there if you are to
receive sufficient visitors and enquiries.
If you don't have the time to spend analysing keywords and watching for shifting trends to
improve your site's search engine position then there are viable alternatives available to you.
Disco Directories were covered in the last
issue. There may also be local directories covering your area (for all services
- not just discos). If they appear on page one during searches then they are
working hard on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and an entry should be
considered.
You could also employ the services of an expert
at SEO - charges vary, as do results, so choose wisely and carefully. As with
all marketing though don't just throw money at something without firstly
checking it out thoroughly and then monitoring its success.
Web Updates
Even if you don't have the time or inclination
to optimise your own site for the search engines, it is still important to make
sure you keep your site updated regularly for your visitors - for example ...
If a potential client comes to your site and
the last testimonial or mention of a function is from two years ago then it
sends a message to your visitor that just may cause them to look
elsewhere.
Look upon your website as being a valuable,
interactive and constantly changing medium. Spending even a few minutes every
week to make updates will pay dividends. If someone else looks after your site
for you then try to negotiate a deal to have some of your content updated at
least once per month.
I believe that having a prominent web presence
should be a high priority to market your business. This is such an important
area that we'll look at other aspects of it in future newsletters.
One last point for this one though - as with
email replies, spelling and grammar are important and worth checking. I'm
currently compiling a list of the more common errors I've seen and these will be
published soon. Here's one that appears on several DJ sites - 'piece of mind'
which should of course be 'peace of mind' - they sound the same but have
entirely different meanings!
Until next time - Good Luck
Paul |
