Taking the plunge....Advice please!

[charlie]

Hi all,


Well after a massive shock of being made redundant from the company i used to work for (Stage Electrics some of you may have heard of them!)
I have been running a part time disco business for about 2 years know and have decided to go at it full time!
I would love any advice from people who have made the transition from part time to full time....
Im looking for things that did or didnt work with regards to marketing.
The best ways to spend your days, website, out talking to venues etc and which people have found most effective.
I have all the time in the world now so any pointers would be greatfully recieved.
Thank you all in advance :)

Charlie

[DeckstarDeluxe]

well done charlie i hope you have plenty of contacts you can "abuse" :D

Im only part time but Darren, Rob and VV would be the best people to seek advice from.

Good Luck

[charlie]

O yes i have indeed! Lets just say that my phone is going to be attached to my ear for the next couple of days!

[Tony Scott]

I've looked at your website....nice work! However you miss spelt 'entertaining'. I also thought the following statement seemed a bit limiting:
'We specailise in entertaing the younger generation but we also cater for....'

If you are looking to go full time it would make sense to appeal to as many people as possible to maximise your bookings...I'm not sure I would feel comfortable booking a DJ specialising in 'entertaing the younger generation' for a Wedding or older birthday etc. :)

[rob1963]

Hi all,


Well after a massive shock of being made redundant from the company i used to work for (Stage Electrics some of you may have heard of them!)
I have been running a part time disco business for about 2 years know and have decided to go at it full time!
I would love any advice from people who have made the transition from part time to full time....
Im looking for things that did or didnt work with regards to marketing.
The best ways to spend your days, website, out talking to venues etc and which people have found most effective.
I have all the time in the world now so any pointers would be greatfully recieved.
Thank you all in advance :)

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

On the subject of marketing, the first thing I did when I went full time was to get a website, but I understand you already have this.

Next was to find & advertise on as many online directories as possible. I'm on more than 40. Some are free and others are paid for, but these bring in the vast majority of my work.

If you're interested, let me know & I'll try & find the thread where I listed them all.

As for how best to spend your day, I spend several hours on this forum, and up to half an hour looking at my website & my paperwork (booking form, template letters etc) to see what I think can be improved on.

It might be worth getting a supply of flyers & business cards & taking them round some of the local venues.

Good luck, and if you'd like to have a chat about the move to full-time, don't hesitate to contact me.

[charlie]

hi guys thanks so much for the quick and helpful replies!

Thanks for the spelling spot tony! I understand what your saying about the "younger generation" thing. I find that marketing this at the younger audiences works very very well for me. but i do realise this cuts my potential customer base alot.
I was maybe thinking of having 2 separate sites. One for the "nightclub style disco" and then another for weddings etc. this is just a thought at the moment though.

Rob it would be great if you could find the list of directories for me that would be tomorrows work sorted! Are you on UK-disco? I currently have a free listing but am going to upgrade to silver as most of my bookings so far have come from that directory

Thanks again some great help here already:)

Charlie

[discomobiledj]

Here you go:

1) www.1venue.co.uk
2) www.4ukcountyweddings.co.uk
3) www.allthingswedding.co.uk
4) www.bigeventnetwork.co.uk
5) www.discoagency.co.uk
6) www.disco-directory.com
7) www.djchannel.co.uk
8) www.djformywedding.co.uk
9) www.easyweddingsearch.com
10) www.freeindex.co.uk
11) www.friendly-wedding-directory.co.uk
12) www.get-wed.co.uk
13) www.guidesforbrides.co.uk
14) www.herecomesthebride.co.uk
15) www.hitched.co.uk
16) www.link2weddings.com
17) www.makemywedding.co.uk
18) www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk
19) www.mobiledjdirectory.co.uk
20) www.net-weddings.co.uk
21) www.promobile.org.uk/links.php
22) www.the1.co.uk
23) www.thewedding-guide.net
24) www.uk-disco.co.uk
25) www.ukweddingbelles.com
26) www.uk-wedding-directory.co.uk
27) www.ukweddingdirectory.info
28) www.uk-wedding-pages.co.uk
29) www.ukweddingstore.co.uk
30) www.ultimatebridal.co.uk
31) www.weddingdaze.co.uk
32) www.wedding-directories.com
33) www.wedding-directory.net
34) www.weddingplanner.co.uk
35) www.weddingsclassified.co.uk
36) www.weddings-direct.co.uk
37) www.weddingserviceproviders.co.uk
38) www.weddingservices4u.co.uk
39) www.wedseek.co.uk
40) www.yourwedding.uk.com

[rob1963]

Rob it would be great if you could find the list of directories for me that would be tomorrows work sorted!

Charlie, it looks like discomobiledj beat me to it with that list!

However, you can add another one to the list. It's a new site which is offering free listings until January 2010. The address is www.idealweddingplan.co.uk


Are you on UK-disco? I currently have a free listing but am going to upgrade to silver as most of my bookings so far have come from that directory

I'm on UK disco, but I only have a free ad, and as far as I'm aware I've had nothing back from it. I think you're right to upgrade to silver though (I might consider doing the same), as a number of people on the forum say they've had good results from their listings on that site.

I forgot to mention monitoring your website stats so you know which sites you advertise on are bringing the most hits to your website. I created a word document which I update with this information once a month. That way, you can cancel any ads which aren't working and upgrade any which are doing well for you, so that hopefully they'll do even better in the future.

[charlie]

thanks very much for the list!

..........thats todays plan sorted!

Do you right different listings for each site or jus use the same one? I would imagine using different ones would be better?

charlie

[rob1963]

Do you right different listings for each site or jus use the same one? I would imagine using different ones would be better?


I have slightly different listings on each site.

This is partly because some sites allow you more space than others for your description, and partly because I can't remember how I've worded my previous listings & can't be bothered to check!

:D

[Spirits High]

Hi all,


Well after a massive shock of being made redundant from the company i used to work for (Stage Electrics some of you may have heard of them!)
I have been running a part time disco business for about 2 years know and have decided to go at it full time!
I would love any advice from people who have made the transition from part time to full time....
Im looking for things that did or didnt work with regards to marketing.
The best ways to spend your days, website, out talking to venues etc and which people have found most effective.
I have all the time in the world now so any pointers would be greatfully recieved.
Thank you all in advance :)

Charlie

Firstly sorry to hear about the redundancy but you beat me to a thread I was going to put up ;)

In the next couple of weeks I'll be "taking the plunge" aswell. I'm leaving the Army on April 17th after nearly 24 years :eek: and going fulltime with "Spirits High".

I've got listings on the sites Robs' mentioned due to his previous thread. It takes a while to list but well worth it.



However, you can add another one to the list. It's a new site which is offering free listings until January 2010. The address is www.idealweddingplan.co.uk



I'm on UK disco, but I only have a free ad, and as far as I'm aware I've had nothing back from it. I think you're right to upgrade to silver though (I might consider doing the same), as a number of people on the forum say they've had good results from their listings on that site.


Thanks for the extra one Rob, Ill get listing!

re UK Disco I have a Gold listing and the web stats are very good from that, worth thinking about.

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i've pm'd you, charlie