How to get gigs

[marcy d]

HI all.
Iv been dj for two years. I was in a band i played bass. I geve it all up du to fall out with band members. When in the band i found it hard to get gigs.
When i started to do disco i went frou a agent they got ma some gigs.
But now i want to go on my owne.
I just want to know what need to do and whats the best advice :) .
than you.:D :D :D :D :D :Hi there:

[Sam]

firstly learn to spell by the looks of it... if you correct your post i'm sure people would be more willing to actually read it.
To ge gigs I would say the most important thing is your reputation... followed by whether people can actually find your disco details anywhere to actually book you.

A lot of my bookings all come through my website.. so it shows that they are very much worth having.

Try advertising on the net and in local shops etc.

I suppose also the amount of bookings you get will depend on how good you are.... if your rubbish you will not get people re-booking... :-)

[Andy Westcott]

Advertise:
Make a website - it doesn't have to be elaborate, and your ISP will probably host it for free.

Register on places like this.

Offer to do some free (or almost free) gigs locally, especially for schools and youth clubs.

It's all about getting your name known in your area. It'll take a bit of time but eventually you'll start to get the enquiries. What you do to sell the service after that is up to you.

[A1DL]

HI all.
Iv been dj for two years. I was in a band i played bass. I geve it all up du to fall out with band members. When in the band i found it hard to get gigs.
When i started to do disco i went frou a agent they got ma some gigs.
But now i want to go on my owne.
I just want to know what need to do and whats the best advice :) .
than you.:D :D :D :D :D :Hi there:

Welcome..... some good advice to start with would be to use The Queen's English and a spell checker :D :D You'll get taken a lot more seriously if you do this.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Guys

To be fair Marcy has already said that his spelling is not good, so no more pops please!

Marcy

Can I suggest installing Google tool bar - it has a spell checker for form filling which is very useful for you and it will also mean that we can understand your posts better.

[ross@rds]

Get yourself a Website , online directorys , free ad in yellow pages , get a load of cards made and hand them out , word of mouth let all your friends know so if they need a disco or someone they know needs one they can recommend you.

[Penfold42]

Howdoo Marc.....

Done any networking with other DJ's yet?? Get's you face about.
As someone already said 'website'.......

I would also make some flyer's and start to vist places.....in your town and further afield.........leave some flyers and cards.....and when you do this see the organ grinder and not the monkey......if you know what i mean.......

Hope this helps....:)

[PropellerHeadCase]

firstly learn to spell by the looks of it...
To ge gigs I would say the most important thing is your reputation.

:D I agree ;)

[rob1963]

Get a website, and spend some money advertising on 30 or 40 websites.

That's how I get the vast majority of my work.

:)

[Sam]

:D I agree ;)

shhhhhhh!
Being fair his post was full of them :-)

[PropellerHeadCase]

I know, but I'm annoying :D

[Sam]

i know :D haha

[PropellerHeadCase]

:eek: :o :p

[Sam]

love you really ;) haha

back to topic...

[Corabar Steve]

:D I agree ;)

Curses! Foiled again!

I was going to say something along those lines http://planetsmilies.net/vicious-smiley-1766.gif (http://planetsmilies.net)


To answer the original post. Perseverance & advertise however & wherever you can. Once you're established you can up your prices & go for better quality gigs. (waits for hail of abuse)

[Vectis]

Once you're established you can up your prices & go for better quality gigs.

I agree :)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Me too.

[Andy Westcott]

I don't!

What's wrong with all the crappy stuff in damp, run-down village halls??

Actually, I think I know. :(

[rob1963]

What's wrong with all the crappy stuff in damp, run-down village halls??

It's crappy!

:(

[JAMdisco]

I don't!

What's wrong with all the crappy stuff in damp, run-down village halls??

Actually, I think I know. :(

And damp! Plays havok with your speakers!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I don't!

What's wrong with all the crappy stuff in damp, run-down village halls??

Actually, I think I know. :(

To be fair, I did village hall gigs for years and there was nothing much wrong with them. But to progress and get better money I had to market my services towards a certain area.

[JAMdisco]

To be fair, I did village hall gigs for years and there was nothing much wrong with them. But to progress and get better money I had to market my services towards a certain area.

What area would that be? Could you please elaborate on how you "marketed" your services. After all - that's what the original thread was about wasn't it?

[Have a disco]

I must agree with the comment made by JaydeeDrinker that it has been avoided long enough so lets finally ELABORATE on how one should 'market a mobile disco business' as some of us aint good at this. As a Mobile DJ I found it way easier to market myself but as a Mobile I have tried endless ways of marketing my business some with success others failed miserably?

Things on the short term or negative are as below

Local newspapers
News agents windows
Telegraph poles
Local rival businesses (under cutting or bad mouthing you to protect their own)yes it happens
Websit listing companies that want you to pay to be listed with them for more than £30 a year exception being Yellow pages or yell.com

On the long term or positive side

A really good website
Word of mouth
Business cards / flyers

[DJWilson]

callem kindly made some flyers/business cards for me, there really good! im going to put a ad in the local free-ads.

[marcy d]

Thanks for the input wil take it onbord:)

Also, thanks for the smart arses who comentd on the spelling, way to make a new one fel welcome! :(

[Corabar Steve]

Also, thanks for the smart arses who comentd on the spelling, way to make a new one fel welcome! :(
Just as there was no need for the comments on the spelling, there was no need for that either. & as nobody has said anything about your spelling since this
To be fair Marcy has already said that his spelling is not good, so no more pops please!was posted, your comment is a touch uncalled for.

[mb3]

What's wrong with all the crappy stuff in damp, run-down village halls??

Our village hall isn't damp, run-down or crappy... it's terrific!

Recently rebuilt on a combination of Lottery and local business money, it's a brand new brick building with a snooker room and bar on one side, and a function suite to shame most hotels on the other side. Patio doors all across one end look out on the bowling greens at the back, and there's a massive, well lit car park. Air conditioning, deep carpets, internet booths......

It's in use almost every day and every evening... everything from Bingo & Tea Dances to Brownies, Cubs, Mother & Toddler groups, Youth Club, all sorts of things.

There's even a loading door straight to the stage area, and this area can be secured overnight so you don't need to drag all the kit home after the gig.

Staff on site from lunchtime onwards, so there's always plenty of time for setting up, friendly bar staff, it's a real centre of the community.

[Have a disco]

Must admit nothing wrong in putting Flyers up on any village Hall notice board people never forget in villages to rebook you ? And I must admit I have been to some very nice halls over the last few years

[Excalibur]

And I know there is no way to factor this in, though someone will call it "networking", but you can't beat being in the right place at the right time.

1) Local golf club changed management, long story, bumped into new boss in pub-" How do you fancy being resident DJ, Peter? We know we can rely on you. "
2) Local social Club. ( Post private gig)" How do you fancy being resident DJ, Peter? The old one ( who took lots of work off me by being on three committees which gave out DJ work!!! ) is giving up"

Yes it's luck if you like but with a lot of " If you were crap, we wouldn't offer "
So the moral is " If you get a good reputation, eventually, it will create work for you" The two above are now my two best customers.:D :D :D

[Dragonfly]

Right place at right time is a great one that sadly evades me .....i'm not a big advocate of village halls .....

but ...

there is a very nice village in Derbyshire that i seem to find myself in 6-7 times a year which is really nice and I always look forward to going there.

[rob1963]

Things on the short term or negative are as below

Local newspapers
News agents windows
Telegraph poles
Local rival businesses (under cutting or bad mouthing you to protect their own)yes it happens
Website listing companies that want you to pay to be listed with them for more than £30 a year exception being Yellow pages or yell.com

I don't see why you think this this is a negative.

For me, it's the exact opposite.

One of my adverts on an online listings site costs over £100 a year, and quite a few are more than £30.

The fact is they get hits to my website, many of which lead to enquiries and bookings, so in my case, advertising on these sites pays for itself many times over.