What promotional products do you use?

[yourdj]

Hello,

As a DJ I have used the following over the years:

- logo design/corporate identity
- website design/SEO
- vinal banners for wedding fairs and gigs
- Flyers
- Posters
- Business cards
- Promotional letters & mail drop leaflets
- company letterheads & compslips (although i am paperless now)
- Request cards to hand out at gigs
- magazine/yellow pages adverts
- online banners and flash ads.

I think thats it?

Lets face it it all ads up and can eat in to out yearly budgets so being careful is important. :)

My question is:

"what have you paid out for and what has had the best reaction"?

[Vectis]

In order of success factor for me:

1 - website design/SEO

(by a very long chalk), then...

10 - online directory listings (not listed originally)

then...


90 - Request cards to hand out at gigs
91 - Business cards
92 - Local rag and events publications (not listed originally)
93 - online banners and flash ads.
94 - vinyl banners for wedding fairs and gigs
95 - company letterheads & compslips (although i am paperless now)
96 - logo design/corporate identity
97 - Flyers
98 - Posters
99 - magazine/yellow pages adverts
100 - Promotional letters & mail drop leaflets

[CRAZY K]

Hello,

As a DJ I have used the following over the years:

- logo design/corporate identity
- website design/SEO
- vinal banners for wedding fairs and gigs
- Flyers
- Posters
- Business cards
- Promotional letters & mail drop leaflets
- company letterheads & compslips (although i am paperless now)
- Request cards to hand out at gigs
- magazine/yellow pages adverts
- online banners and flash ads.

I think thats it?

Lets face it it all ads up and can eat in to out yearly budgets so being careful is important. :)

My question is:

"what have you paid out for and what has had the best reaction"?

4 websites £120 a year to service plus £20 with Marc for responders.

Excellent response:D

250 business cards free (ish) from Vista

No response:eek:

Thats it--the Internet is king here ;)

[yourdj]

In order of success factor for me:
90 - Request cards to hand out at gigs


That was key for me at the start.
Not only did it get my name out but it also gave me an idea of tracks i would have never choosen :)



250 business cards free (ish) from Vista


are vista that good? never used them having a print trade account.

Do they compare to a bespoke design and print service and are they actaully free :confused:

The ones I have seen have vista adverts on one side which are as professional for 60 quid sid only in my opinion. :p

I would not choose any business that has that to be honest as it shows complete unprofessionalism.

[rob1963]

I'm similar to Vectis.

1) Website
2) Online directory listings
3) Business cards

[soundtracker]

I'm similar to Vectis.

1) Website
2) Online directory listings
3) Business cards

I concur, but will also add in venue recommendation, getting the venue owners to tell their punters that you are the ideal entertainment for their wedding is almost priceless.

[rob1963]

I concur, but will also add in venue recommendation, getting the venue owners to tell their punters that you are the ideal entertainment for their wedding is almost priceless.

Good point.

There's a nice venue just 10 minutes up the road which has started recommending me in the last month or two, and it's already produced a handful of enquiries & a wedding booking for later in the year.

[Vectis]

I concur, but will also add in venue recommendation, getting the venue owners to tell their punters that you are the ideal entertainment for their wedding is almost priceless.

I absolutely agree that venue recommendation would be a contender for the #1 spot, certainly #2 but the OP asked:


My question is:
[/SIZE]
"what have you paid out for and what has had the best reaction"?

and to date, apart from the occasional cheap staff party which I've done on occasion, I've never paid for venue recommendations :)

[soundtracker]

I absolutely agree that venue recommendation would be a contender for the #1 spot, certainly #2 but the OP asked:



and to date, apart from the occasional cheap staff party which I've done on occasion, I've never paid for venue recommendations :)

I have, with sweat and hard work, and also the odd wedding fayre attendance and staff party. I've also done the odd discount to secure regular bookings.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Good point.

There's a nice venue just 10 minutes up the road which has started recommending me in the last month or two, and it's already produced a handful of enquiries & a wedding booking for later in the year.

You must have changed your view on this Rob. I'm sure you were against that as you didn't want to put all your eggs in one basket and liked working in different venues?

[rob1963]

There's a nice venue just 10 minutes up the road which has started recommending me in the last month or two, and it's already produced a handful of enquiries & a wedding booking for later in the year.


You must have changed your view on this Rob. I'm sure you were against that as you didn't want to put all your eggs in one basket and liked working in different venues?

With all due respect, I haven't changed my view on this at all, Darren.

I certainly DON'T want to put all my eggs in one basket. That's why I've previously stated that I would not want to have a residency at a venue, because if I got the sack I'd lose all my disco work in one go.

Also, I'd not want to have to rely on one venue to give me a fair proportion of my work for the same reason.

However, that's not the case here.

This venue recently contacted me & asked if I'd like them to recommend me, and I said yes. For all I know, they might also be recommending a number of other discos they know.

Either way, I've taken one booking in the last couple of months. If things continue at the same rate, I'll be doing six functions there every year...which hardly counts as having all my eggs in one basket!

I hope that clarifies the position.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Having said that, I wouldn't want to be the resident, recommended or preferred disco for ANY venue, because as I've said before, it's not good to have all your eggs in one (or two) basket(s)...especially in the current climate.

I also find it more enjoyable working in more different venues than I would doing lots of gigs in the same few all the time.

This is what I was basing it on Rob.

[rob1963]

This is what I was basing it on Rob.

When I said "I wouldn't want to be the resident, recommended or preferred disco for any venue" I should have added "if they were giving me a considerable proportion of all my work" on the end.....although I thought this would be understood due to the fact that I then said I wouldn't want all my eggs in one or two baskets.

Apologies for not making my original post as clear as I could have done.

I've changed my opinion on a number of things since joining the forum, but this certainly isn't one of them!

:D

[CRAZY K]

That was key for me at the start.
Not only did it get my name out but it also gave me an idea of tracks i would have never choosen :)



are vista that good? never used them having a print trade account.

Do they compare to a bespoke design and print service and are they actaully free :confused:

The ones I have seen have vista adverts on one side which are as professional for 60 quid sid only in my opinion. :p

I would not choose any business that has that to be honest as it shows complete unprofessionalism.

HMM--- your talking to one of the top Professionals in my particular specialist area.

IF EVERYONE BOUGHT SERVICES ON THE BASIS OF YOUR BUSINESS CARD I WOULD BE SURPRISED--

I only have cards to hand out at events im already playing at--so no need to impress anyone--they have just been impressed enough to ask for one--;)

If your touting your services in person to Hotels, Clubs and the Public who dont know who you are I agree you wouldnt use VISTA.

Their cards are acceptable quality for my purposes which of course may not be the same as others. I.E. how do I contact you.

An easy to use attractive, informative Website would be the No1 priority for me as I work totally off the net and dont have time or inclination to go touting for business.

Everyone to their own I guess:D

[yourdj]

An easy to use attractive, informative Website would be the No1 priority for me as I work totally off the net and dont have time or inclination to go touting for business.

So what situations do you think the average mobile DJ would require a professional graphic design and printing service. The cards i have are matt laminated and get a really good response. they are not very expensive and well worth it i think?

I would personally say:

- for start up's
- logo design & corporate identity
- wedding fairs (cards, flyers, banner, brochures)
- gigs (cards, flyers, banners perhaps)
- business meetings (cards possibly stationery)
- online ads & banners (design only)
- general correspondence

I could go into the relms of promotional items too :p

I had fridge magnets done once and they worked really well :)

[rob1963]

I had fridge magnets done once and they worked really well :)

You mean they stuck to the fridge?

[yourdj]

You mean they stuck to the fridge?

:p

No people kept them.

How many DJ's get promo stuff done that people will keep.

I often see photographers who give out chocolates with thier email address in and where to go to see the days photos and people always put them away and take them with you.

Something like this might work:

http://www.promotionalkeychains.biz/images/Budget/designer-bottle-opener-l.jpg

[CRAZY K]

So what situations do you think the average mobile DJ would require a professional graphic design and printing service. The cards i have are matt laminated and get a really good response. they are not very expensive and well worth it i think?

I would personally say:

- for start up's
- logo design & corporate identity
- wedding fairs (cards, flyers, banner, brochures)
- gigs (cards, flyers, banners perhaps)
- business meetings (cards possibly stationery)
- online ads & banners (design only)
- general correspondence

I could go into the relms of promotional items too :p

I had fridge magnets done once and they worked really well :)

As I said, if your touting for business fair enough get some quality.

Your list is logical for those wishing to go down that route.

In our case we just concentrate on the Web, we are now covering a fair bit of Corporate Work none of which needs a business card or anything else listed by you.

Effective web site, professional approach, efficient service and ability to confidently sell your services over the phone or by email, they would be my suggestions if you want to succeed in Corporate and Wedding markets which tend to be the most lucrative.:D

Oh forgot--vid clips of what we offer is fast becoming our most effective promotional publicity.

I used it this week to convert an enquiry with a budget of x into a sale of
almost 2 times x;)

Thats the power of seeing whats on offer, people are interested in what entertainment you can provide for them not the thickness of your business card.

Anyone can buy expensive business cards, top of the range Disco equipment etc.but can you entertain ?

I think im sounding like Darren---bye----------

:sofa: :sofa: :sofa: :sofa: :sofa: :sofa:

[yourdj]

Anyone can buy expensive business cards, top of the range Disco equipment etc.but can you entertain ?

All good points. the video thing definitely does it for me. :)