Is it starting to bite?

[NKR]

Sat here wondering what to do and the only conclusion is that 2012 is the economic pinch point I expected it to be.

Web site enquiries - nil. Nothing at all coming through there.

Agent enquiries, limited. Very limited and he has a vast number of hotels now on preferred supplier.

We all know of Charlie's well publicised difficulties, but has anyone else seen it dry up completely.

It looked like a really solid platform for us at the start of the year, but once we hit March it really is patchy at best until a good June and then rubbish to December, which is fully booked.

We have lost our G Casino contract that filled 9 Saturdays a year as they have taken on a national agency who are price focused, so that's us out. Cash is king and price rules in 2012 by the looks of it.

[Jonathan Ford]

Yes, very much. Limited enquiries, for mostly low-cost events.

*Goes off to start a thread I've been thinking about for a week or so*

[NKR]

Yes, very much. Limited enquiries, for mostly low-cost events.

*Goes off to start a thread I've been thinking about for a week or so*

Well it does say you are a thoughtful mobile disco :D

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I wouldn't agree with you at all on this, sorry.

[Excalibur]

I wouldn't agree with you at all on this, sorry.

I would, though it pains me to do so. :(

[NKR]

I wouldn't agree with you at all on this, sorry.

Well do you want to spill then as it could be helpful to other forum members.

The questions below are not designed to catch anyone out or anything like that but it would be interesting to see where someone who is not feeling a downturn is getting it right. It would be good to benchmark against.

How many bookings have you got confirmed this year?

How many enquiries is your website picking up.
Are they direct links back from web address placement elsewhere, from flyers you have put out, paid links or have you managed to gain good organic placement.

What percentage of your work is from recommendations, repeat business, new business or through third party contracts such as hotels.

This sort of information would be solid gold for those having a few issues.

It doesn't ask you to sell any trade secrets, but gives some ideas on trends.

[Excalibur]

This sort of information would be solid gold for those having a few issues.

From what I can see, due to the conversion rate I'm experiencing at the moment, my most powerful marketing weapon would be to cut my prices by something in the order of 60%. :( :(

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Well do you want to spill then as it could be helpful to other forum members.

The questions below are not designed to catch anyone out or anything like that but it would be interesting to see where someone who is not feeling a downturn is getting it right. It would be good to benchmark against.

How many bookings have you got confirmed this year?

How many enquiries is your website picking up.
Are they direct links back from web address placement elsewhere, from flyers you have put out, paid links or have you managed to gain good organic placement.

What percentage of your work is from recommendations, repeat business, new business or through third party contracts such as hotels.

This sort of information would be solid gold for those having a few issues.

It doesn't ask you to sell any trade secrets, but gives some ideas on trends.


Well first and foremost I have the mindset that there isn't a recession. I see so many Wedding suppliers (particularly photographers) who just blame the recession for their downturn in work however when you get speaking to them they just sit on their backsides and expect the work to just fall onto their lap. I mentioned social media in another thread which is a valuable tool, if you use it correctly.

Get yourself out there and get folks talking about you. I must go on average to 2/3 networking events a week. In fact I run one with two other suppliers which had over 50 people attending at the last one.

Wedding fayres, can't believe some folks say they aren't worth it. Not only do you get to meet B&G's and actually speak to them at length but you get to know the venue, the staff and other suppliers.

Last tip as well is make the most of your time, reduce the noise so to speak. I use to send out so many quotes per day from various third party sources and getting nowhere, which over time makes you question your own worth. Focus purely on your target market.

Thats me off my soap box, but my one tip above all else is maintain a positive mental attitude!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

From what I can see, due to the conversion rate I'm experiencing at the moment, my most powerful marketing weapon would be to cut my prices by something in the order of 60%. :( :(

You're not the only one. My website is performing better than ever and I am getting more enquiries than ever, but very few are converting.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Thats me off my soap box, but my one tip above all else is maintain a positive mental attitude!

Which is good Neil, but you have to be realistic also and not look at things through rose tinted glasses all the time.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Which is good Neil, but you have to be realistic also and not look at things through rose tinted glasses all the time.

I wouldn't say they are rose tinted at all Darren. As I said I've seen other businesses not doing so well and its naturally "oh its the recession affecting us" when in fact chances are there are other reasons why.

I also firmly believe being positive rubs on you, how you interact with clients and other folks which can only be a good thing.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I wouldn't say they are rose tinted at all Darren. As I said I've seen other businesses not doing so well and its naturally "oh its the recession affecting us" when in fact chances are there are other reasons why.

I also firmly believe being positive rubs on you, how you interact with clients and other folks which can only be a good thing.

Alright then Neil. Quantify exactly what you are getting out of all this networking and meetings. How many K's worth of business are we talking? Is it giving you short term work or is it a longer term thing?

I don';t think it has anything to do with people in our industry saying about the recession, it's the people buying the services that are doing that. Completely different.

I must admit, I am getting slightly peeved with you posting about how great networking and Twitter is, but not actually posting anything of any substance when people ask you about it.

Come on then, what sort of work are you getting through this medium and how?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Alright then Neil. Quantify exactly what you are getting out of all this networking and meetings. How many K's worth of business are we talking? Is it giving you short term work or is it a longer term thing?

I don';t think it has anything to do with people in our industry saying about the recession, it's the people buying the services that are doing that. Completely different.

I must admit, I am getting slightly peeved with you posting about how great networking and Twitter is, but not actually posting anything of any substance when people ask you about it.

Come on then, what sort of work are you getting through this medium and how?

Firstly it isn't my intention at all to rub people up the wrong way about my postings of networking and twitter (which to my knowledge I don't think I've been banging on loads about but if I have then I apologise).

Last year social media as a whole (mainly twitter but often I do point people to the facebook page) I gained just shy of 5k which is a huge figure to me in what was my first calendar year of trading and I only started social media really a year ago.

My gig last night was a referral from someone I met through twitter, my gig tonight is from someone again I met through twitter who isn't even in our industry (printer by trade)

I have a civil partnership in a couple of weeks time which has come again through a contact I made purely through twitter. They are having several add ons and is easily my best paying gig (1k+)

I'm not a huge fan of posting figures and particularly as it may be seen as willy waving but hopefully I've posted enough to make you see that A) I'm not just talking rubbish) and B) The reason I go on about it is because it works for me. I'm not going to gain anything if people take it onboard about networking and twitter. Sure they aren't instantly successful methods of gaining work but they have gained me results. It does take time and thankfully its time that a single guy in his late 20's without a family can afford.

Again my intentions are only to help people so if folks have viewed my postings as anything other than that then I'm sorry.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

OK, so people read your ramblings on Twitter and then book you as their DJ - is that right?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

OK, so people read your ramblings on Twitter and then book you as their DJ - is that right?

No, not so much clients but other folks in the industry. As you know we are the last thing to be booked most times so if you know, interact and build relationships with photographers, cake makers, planners, and florists they will in turn recommend you to their clients (reason I mentioned these is because I've had these folks recommend me personally). While this might not bring in thousands of leads, ones with personal recommendations carry a lot of weight behind them and the conversation rate shoots up to around 80-90%.

I guess twitter is a good way to get your foot in the door with folks, you still need to either meet with them for coffee, call them or just keep in regular contact with them. I chat with folks about all sorts really, tv (usually shows involving our industry like MBFGW or the hotel that was on channel 4). I have read somewhere that only 1 in 7 tweets should be business related and its something I try and keep to.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I'll be honest with you Neil, I tried the whole Twitter thing purely going by what you were saying about it. Saying that, I didn't know anything about it really because you never fully explained why or how it works for you but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. I didn't like it and it didn't do anything for me but I thought it was better to have a presence than none at all. I may give it another go?

I think it's easy to say that some people sit on their backsides waiting for the work to come to them and yes, that may well be true with some people.
If stuff like Twitter works for you, great! You probably haven't realised it and I am not having a dig but you have mentioned it quite regularly....again, rightly so if it works for you.

I do find it strange though (just being honest here) that there may be some people out there that are moaning and not doing anything about it or trying to find out why it isn't as great as it is or was yet somehow (and it's pretty hard to explain)....it seems ok and to sit there updating Twitter?

What happened to the days of actually going out to see people at venues to source work, calling up and arranging meetings etc? I know Social Media is there to help (or it claims to?) but I think stuff like Twitter is really (and it's only my opinion), a way of keeping the concience clear and makes you think that you are actually doing something and you're not sat there doing nothing even though all you are doing in reality is typing comments (limited ones too) into a text box to people that follow you.

[Vectis]

What happened to the days of actually going out to see people at venues to source work, calling up and arranging meetings etc? I know Social Media is there to help (or it claims to?) but I think stuff like Twitter is really (and it's only my opinion), a way of keeping the concience clear and makes you think that you are actually doing something and you're not sat there doing nothing even though all you are doing in reality is typing comments (limited ones too) into a text box to people that follow you.

To make twitter start to work for you, you need to be proactive in establishing those relationships in the first place. Don't just post random rubbish hoping that someone will happen across it when running a search; actively seek out people you'd like to work with and follow them. Retweet the stuff they write which you think might be of interest to your other followers. Make them notice you, and they might just follow you back. Once you have a merry band of followers, then you can start to work on the business to business side of the 'relationship' rather than the personal. Don't be afraid to jump in and tell people how you can help them, and don't be afraid to 'unfollow' people who clog up your timeline with spammy useless content.

[Danno13]

It's hard for me to say as I've scaled down DJing so much that it now only accounts for 10% of my turnover now. Though, I'm not entirley sure if that's down to me being less proactive about getting the work, or it's down to people cutting back.

I have a reasonable amount of work booked in for the summer and enquiries are still coming in. If they weren't then I don't think the recession would be to blame, as people are still getting married and companies are still having events.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Ok I generally didn't know I was banging on about it so much so I'll make sure I keep it to a minimum in the future.

What I will say Gary is that I hated it the first two months or so of using it, I hardly had any followers and being so use to facebook it just didnt feel right. In fact it was Paul who got me into twitter so blame him :D

If your struggling (I'm talking to the forum here rather than just you) with twitter then make sure you follow people of interest to you, then use the "who to follow" feature to help build up your followers. Don't just follow anyone though.

[mattydinx]

has anyone else seen it dry up completely.

Can't say I have, It's been a year since I decided to start up DJing again and i'm pretty happy with the way things are going. Fair few bookings in the pipeline and plenty of enquiries coming in via my website and by phone.

Summer is looking quiet for me so far but there's time yet.

[funkymook]

Not DJ related - but through Twitter friends Linda (my other half) has gained several freelance writing jobs that bring in 1k + per month (for a few hours a week work). And through doing live tweets of author events and promoting things like National Book Week she now gets re-tweeted by people like Mark Gatiss - which in turn means she seen her followers increase.

It's an extremely powerful tool - but I think you have to have a certain natural flair for it. If you do it just because everybody else is I think it can easily fall very flat (like blogging).

Personally I find it difficult to tweet interesting, relevant things, so I tend not to bother.

[NKR]

Well first and foremost I have the mindset that there isn't a recession. I see so many Wedding suppliers (particularly photographers) who just blame the recession for their downturn in work however when you get speaking to them they just sit on their backsides and expect the work to just fall onto their lap. I mentioned social media in another thread which is a valuable tool, if you use it correctly.

Get yourself out there and get folks talking about you. I must go on average to 2/3 networking events a week. In fact I run one with two other suppliers which had over 50 people attending at the last one.

Wedding fayres, can't believe some folks say they aren't worth it. Not only do you get to meet B&G's and actually speak to them at length but you get to know the venue, the staff and other suppliers.

Last tip as well is make the most of your time, reduce the noise so to speak. I use to send out so many quotes per day from various third party sources and getting nowhere, which over time makes you question your own worth. Focus purely on your target market.

Thats me off my soap box, but my one tip above all else is maintain a positive mental attitude!

You have said a lot there without saying anything.

How many bookings have you got in for this year? How many came from networking, how many from wedding fayres, how many are organic web based?

That allows people to benchmark against someone who is being successful.

I am trying to see how we sit against those who are not seeing any downturn at all.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

You have said a lot there without saying anything.

How many bookings have you got in for this year? How many came from networking, how many from wedding fayres, how many are organic web based?

That allows people to benchmark against someone who is being successful.

I am trying to see how we sit against those who are not seeing any downturn at all.

Have tried to write to this for the past ten minutes but I'm not 100% happy about posting my stats out there for everyone to see however I can say that just over 50% are from the site alone and the rest is made up of recommendations, social media and networking. Looking back on this time last year there is a slow but steady growth (I had expected more but least I'm heading in the right direction). I can account for two events that have come from networking outside the industry which is the point I think most people are having an issue with here?

My sites are drawing in at least 2 enquires a day since the second week of January.

My point of posting in the thread wasn't really to defend my outlook as such on this but more to ask are you sat there just waiting for stuff to happen or are you trying to make it happen? I tried all sorts last year because I wanted to be busier which included

Linkedin, blogs, youtube, networking (BNI style groups), twitter, google+, facebook pages (and running ad campaigns) & creating a second website.

Not all of these worked, but least I tried them rather than not bothering at all which is what I'm trying to say here.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

As I also said earlier, I thought that it was better to have a presence than to not have one because anything can help.......can't it?

Not being funny but as you said Neil, you've tried them and at least given it a go. I think that maybe some have forgotten that as a business, you are still pretty new to it and fair play for at least trying these different ways of getting new business.

I am surprised though that you haven't had that much success from something that you mention regularly for others to try out. I was expecting more and better results from your reports.

I wrote my reply earlier regarding bookings for this year and where they have come from etc etc but then decided not to post them. I'm not one for sitting there doing nothing but I probably don't do as much as I should or could do to get more work.

Breaking it down, I'd say that 80% of my bookings come from my website. It's not the best website in the world but it gets lots of traffic and does well on Google. I pack it with so much information and one of the main things I do is keep it updated. I have made a concious effort to keep the facebook page up to date too.
The other 20% of my bookings come from either enquiries from elsewhere (other listings), recommendations or residencies.

I do my local twice a month and at christmas every year. I have a residency that gives me around 15 weddings a year as well as other bookings and around 10 - 14 gigs at Christmas each year too.

Taking all of those out of the equation, I currently have 29 bookings for the year which to be honest, is pretty normal for this time of the year for me. I look at my diary just like anyone else and notice the gaps and during my first couple of years in this business, I was worried about that but I am not now. I know the gaps will get filled.

I'm not a big operator and mainly run solo. I am happy working every single weekend of the year with more at Christmas etc and I try to earn as much as I can at those times. I had visions when I first started out but to be honest, I am pretty comfortable doing what I am doing this way without going over the top. Ok, I haven't posted stats as it were but there's an indication anyway.

I never talk prices on the forum because that's my choice but my local pub things twice a month are (as I understand it from others) above average price wise. The residency is less than I charge privately but I often get add-on's which boost the price up and the rest of the bookings have gone up and are a lot more than what I was charging a year or two ago.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I m in a similar boat....lots of enquiries but very few bookings. I done a wedding fayre last week....nearly all of this years B&Gs had ready sorted their entertainment with sub £150 operators.

[NKR]

Thanks lads that is helpful to benchmark against.

With 50% of Neils bookings from his web site and 80% from Gary's I will have a look at your sites and see what it is that differs from ours. We are about to rebuild the site and as it generate probably 6 maybe 7 jobs out of 60 last year there is some work to do. Keyword phrasing work will be much more pronounced in my text this time.

With 37 booked in for this year I don't feel like I am too far off the mark and its nice to benchmark against operators like Gary - your openness is much appreciated.

Website checking out to commence soon.

Cheers guys.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

No problem at all.
I've just had the perfect scenario which is great. Someone called up at just after 6.30pm saying that they had looked around my website and wanted to know my availability for a Wedding in May at a venue that is in the same group of companies that one of my residencies is at. I quoted them, sent them the email and the guy called back around 20 minutes later confirming that he wants to book.

I personally think that your website and the way you are on the phone or deal with enquiries is the most important thing. It works for me. My website (as you'll see) is not the best in the world but it does the trick for me. It's as simple as that really.

[Ryu]

To offer a little defence to the Twitter advocates...

Whilst the whole notion of using sites like Twitter etc may seem like a whole new fad to get your head round to get the best out of it, the principle is simple and the clue in the name....social networking.

One thing I've looked at recently is creating an affiliates network with other wedding/event suppliers, creating a co-operative of Caterers, Photographers, Cake Makers and offering to promote their business on the condition they do the same back, reciprocal linking on websites etc. Twitter and Facebook offer you the opportunity to do that fairly easily (liking and messaging others business for example). Taking things a step further, you could even look at adding promotional material to any booking confirmations or contracts when mailed out. It's fast to do, fairly straightforward and in a spare half hour, could generate business leads and leave you feeling all great and proactive.

[Excalibur]

From what I can see, due to the conversion rate I'm experiencing at the moment, my most powerful marketing weapon would be to cut my prices by something in the order of 60%. :( :(

Apologies for quoting myself, but guess what? I've just got one. I saw an enquiry come in from AmpDJ, specifying phone contact, so rang up, knocked £20 off, and got it. Looks like we can eat next week, now. :D :D

PS. It's an 80th birthday. I think my age swung it.;) :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[NKR]

Interesting. Searched Google for Mobile Disco Basingstoke. Shakermaker appears on google maps/places, whatever the heck it is as first one, organic google placement is page 5, way behind a lot of other operators. Are you getting maps/places leads or organics?

Our google maps/places position is also number for our locality, but then its not a big locality.

Not looked at Neil's yet.

[Excalibur]

Interesting. Searched Google for Mobile Disco Basingstoke. Shakermaker appears on google maps/places, whatever the heck it is as first one, organic google placement is page 5, way behind a lot of other operators. Are you getting maps/places leads or organics?

Our google maps/places position is also number for our locality, but then its not a big locality.

Not looked at Neil's yet.
I just searched for Mobile Disco, Goole. Guess who's the first result? :whistle: Don't ask me how, I don't know. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[sweetie]

Over here in Ireland things are similar. My first busy year was '10 with 50 ish gigs, 62 last year and this year only 27 booking so far but the trend is for later bookings and with my dayjob getting busier i would be happy with 40 which is acheivable I believe. I dont offer anything but djing and my full wedding (bands do a lot of wedding here) price is e500 basic and my after band price is e350 with reductions sometimes for day of the week and closeness to the date depending on how I feel about it. I dont have a website but am on the recommended list for maybe 5 venues, am the dj for a band and also network successfully with a number of djs and agencies for abut 25% of my gigs with 50% from the band and the other 25% from word of mouth.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Interesting. Searched Google for Mobile Disco Basingstoke. Shakermaker appears on google maps/places, whatever the heck it is as first one, organic google placement is page 5, way behind a lot of other operators. Are you getting maps/places leads or organics?

Really? I'm getting lots of enquiries?:confused: :confused:
Best get on that then this week.

[JAMdisco]

Apologies for quoting myself, but guess what? I've just got one. I saw an enquiry come in from AmpDJ, specifying phone contact, so rang up, knocked £20 off, and got it. Looks like we can eat next week, now. :D :D

PS. It's an 80th birthday. I think my age swung it.;) :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

You beat me to it, I rang them last night and they said they'd booked another DJ - grr. Was entirely my fault though as I was in York all day and my phone's battery had decided to die.

They even rang my home phone, my wife answered and called me. I got the message and rang her back. As she had just popped out she said she would text me their number when she got home. That's when my phone died so didn't get to call them back until about 8pm and got the news that another (peter) DJ had already been booked.

I did secure a 13th birthday party though for this Saturday although I too lowered my price a little as I need the money right now. :D

Edit - I didn't see the phone number on my phone when I saw the email??? It said, phone contact but just had an email address - puzzling!!!

[theoloyla]

As I said in another recent thread it is the quietest first quarter that I can remember in a long time but from April and throught the summer it is lookin OK and December and NYE are sold out. If you are desparate to work at this time o the year then you need to do something. Personally I am enjoying some weekends off.