Tips and Tricks to Help You Get More Work
At the recent AMPdj meet up in Glasgow seasoned Scottish DJ, Andrew Wylie,
presented a workshop entitled, ‘Tips and Tricks to Help You Get More Work’.
It received rave reviews from fellow DJs at the meeting so a massive
thank-you to Andy for allowing us to share his notes.
Glasgow
Meet-up Workshop by Andrew Wylie
How many of you guys are full time DJs with
no other source of income?
How many have another source of income?
Another job or a wife/partner who brings in a wage?
This will affect
how you think about getting work and your mental attitude towards getting
gigs. If you have another source of income you can afford to pick and choose
what gigs you do and don’t do. You can also afford to hold out for higher
fees. If you have no other source of income, you have to consider how you
will pay your bills. If you don’t have any bookings you could end up
working for what you can get as opposed to what you think you should be
getting. This section isn’t advocating going out cheaply or undercutting
anybody, it’s just pointing out that you will have a slightly different
mental approach to taking on work.
How do we currently get work?
Word of mouth, paid advertising, website, Facebook, networking ,
business cards, flyers, newspaper advertising, phone book, Gumtree and
listing sites are all recognised marketing methods.
Word of mouth is
probably the best form of advertising. It’s FREE and your service is being
endorsed by people who know what you do thus giving potential clients more
confidence to book you. But if you’re not out working, then you won’t get
much word of mouth advertising.
Websites can be slightly restricting
unless you are able to do all your own content management as they need
constant up-dating to be effective.
Facebook is a faster and more
instant way to promote yourself although it doesn’t always target the right
people or your market sector. If you’re using Facebook, then look at using
other pages on Facebook as well as your own page and your business page.
Consider joining business pages such as Wedding Guide for Brides, Blushing
Brides, UK Wedding Suppliers, Weddings Scotland and local businesses. In the
search facility, type in wedding, or bride, or ‘your town’ businesses and
check out any groups or pages that you can contribute to. You may be limited
to posting once a week on some, but it’s FREE.
Take all forms of
FREE advertising regardless of the market that they are aimed at.
Other Ways to get work
Business Cards - Carry cards with you
everywhere. Carry a pocket diary with you too so that if people stop you in
the street and ask if you can do their party, you can instantly check your
availability and give them a card with your contact details right there and
then.
Put cards on tables when doing functions. When you are eating
out in a restaurant, leave a card with a tip when you pay the bill. Put a
card into Hotel Business draws. Venues keep the cards for their own
purposes. Ensure your card looks professional and the design reflects your
service. You could even use unusual shaped cards to make them stand out.
Mail-Outs - Do mail outs to venues, function managers and people who
have already booked your services. Use giveaways/freebies and special
offers in your mail outs. Always provide a way to respond and a call to
action.
Wedding Shows - If you are in the wedding market, then
consider attending Wedding Shows. Choosing the right ones is not always
easy. To begin with, attend as many local hotel run shows as possible. These
can quite often be FREE or a small charge compared to the larger ones. If
you only want to work within a certain area then it’s more advantageous to
do the local hotel shows as that’s where your customer base will be. Offer
to provide your services FREE on the day in return for a FREE exhibition
space. You could supply a small PA System for background music throughout
the day and for the commentary of the fashion Show. Offer to Compere the
show. This will allow you to demonstrate your mic capabilities and give you
a more prominent presence at the event. Have specific advertising material
produced for this. Remember to inform potential clients that you do other
types of functions as well as weddings.
Wedding Groups - Join a
Wedding group. These usually consist of other wedding suppliers who tend to
forget about discos. Some run wedding shows and produce their own
advertising materials, which in turn reduces your costs and widens your
advertising scope.
Wedding Suppliers - Link up with other wedding
suppliers to promote each other’s businesses and eventually you might even
form your own wedding group.
Make Friends With Function Managers &
Venue Staff - These people can put a lot of work your way. Find out who they
are and keep a note of their names. Keep them updated with new services that
you may have and special offers that you are running. Keep your name to the
forefront, but at the same time don’t be a pest.
When you arrive
at a venue, choose your time to speak to them carefully. Be respectful that
they have a role to play and a job to do. Don’t start asking them where
you’ve to set up whilst they are still serving the meal. Politely ask the
staff to clear your area first so you can get set up, and offer to help them
too. There are venues where we play regularly and the disco goes where the
top table was set so I always help clear the tables.
Preferred/Recommended Suppliers - Become a preferred or recommended supplier
to that venue. Offer to give them something in return. One option is to do
the staff party for FREE. If they have a one off event where they need a PA
System, offer to supply it FREE or at a reduced price in return for them
recommending you to customers.
Wedding Packages - How many of you
are in wedding packages? A lot of hotels are offering wedding packages these
days where they source everything all for one price. Try to get included in
these packages. Offer to reduce your price slightly in return for bulk work.
Inform the hotel what you normally charge to an individual client if they
came to you direct and then offer to Invoice the hotel for a slightly
discounted rate.
Member of a Gym or Club - Are you getting all the
functions held there? Why not? Go to your local club and find out if they
have a preferred supplier. If not, offer them a special rate in return for
all the bookings which are held in their club. Be prepared to negotiate as a
regular average priced booking is more lucrative than one occasional gig at
a high price.
Specialise in Certain Types of Events - Do you like
Heavy Rock? Is there a demand for it in your area? Why not run a monthly
Rock night. This will not only give you an extra booking once a month, but
will also bring you bookings from everyone who comes along for that specific
type of music. It could even be a 60s & 70s night; the options are endless.
If you are planning to run these nights regularly, devise a way to capture
their email address so that you can keep them informed of future events.
Youth Clubs/School Discos - How many of you do regular school or youth
club discos? It creates a good database for future gigs. We did a local
Youth club every Saturday night for 7 years. We then got every birthday
party, engagement, wedding from members for the next 20+ years.
Quiz
Nights - Why not run a quiz night during the week. Many places struggle to
get customers in mid-week so why not offer to do a Quiz. Persuade the venue
to do a run of 6 nights at least in order to give it time to take off. Offer
to do a reduced price or offer to do the first one free and then the rest at
a set price. Offer to help with the promotion of the event. Make up posters
and flyers for them and print off on your computer. Promote it on Facebook,
through your own pages and the venues Facebook page. You can make up your
own questions or you can buy them ready made. If you search the internet,
there are many ideas you could incorporate into the evening to retain
interest.
Store Promotions/Product Launches - Keep an eye on local
newspapers for news of a new store opening. Check out local building sites
or if you see a shop being gutted out ask if someone else is moving in and
when. Find out who it’s for and contact the company offering to help promote
the launch or opening.
Small PA Hires. You already have the equipment so
why not make it pay for itself. A lot of venues now have their own in-house
PA System, but sometimes they are not big enough for certain events (goes
back to making friends with venue managers). Whenever you are in a venue ask
about who they currently use for their disco supplies or PA supplies. Offer
them your services. Make a note of the venues that don’t have their own PA
or regular supplier and mail something out to them, or go and visit them a
few days after you’ve played there.
Housekeeping - Try to reduce your
set up and break down times so that you are not being disrespectful to
caretakers, hall keepers, key holders, night porters or staff waiting to set
up for the morning. I know of two discos and a band that have been barred
from certain venues in Fife because they take too long to set up or
dismantle. Be aware of other people’s bills. When loading into some venues
try not to leave doors open too long in cold or rainy weather. Caretakers,
hall keepers, key holders can prevent you from getting work, alternatively
they can persuade people to book you because you are considerate towards
them.
Effective marketing doesn’t have to be costly although it does
take a considerable amount of time and effort. The results can pay for
themselves.
Andrew Wylie
This is just one of
the many fantastic workshops or seminars that have taken place at our
Scottish meet ups. They are held at the Glencairn Venue so if you are within reach of Glasgow
do come along,
you will be sure of a warm welcome. Details of the next meeting will be
included in AMPdj updates and in these emails.
Until next time
Paul &
sandy
The contents of this Infomail are ©AMPdj/Andrew Wylie. It can be
reproduced in whole or in part elsewhere provided a clear link to the
original (i.e. this page) is included.