The Three Elements of DJ Music Marketing

The game of marketing your DJing has changed compared to just ten years ago. The perception of a DJ is changing due to multiple celebrities getting into the industry, unlimited media from the web and the ease of access for people to promote themselves online.

It’s harder than ever to get yourself found but the good news is that you don’t truly need a massive audience these days in order to be successful.

The beginning of DJ music marketing really breaks down into three main areas:

A. Awareness

Awareness is your first real interaction with your fans; it’s the moment that people take notice in what you’re doing and what tells them whether they should be listening to you or not. The awareness element of DJ music marketing is the most difficult because you’re all on your own at this point in time. However, the more you stick with building your awareness – the more you’ll build which will lead you into the next important element of marketing your DJ skills.

Here are some of the ways you can begin building awareness to your DJing:

  • Uploading DJ mixes to websites like Mixcloud
  • Sending out promo CD’s to local event organizers
  • Participating in open deck nights at local clubs
  • Joining up or hanging out with a local DJ group
  • Playing multiple live events in your area
  • Handing out business cards for your DJ services
  • Putting up flyers around popular hang outs
  • Create a Youtube channel to show off your mixing
  • Doing live DJing on websites like Ustream

This is really just a general look at building awareness and truthfully, it all depends on what and where you want to go with your DJing. Obviously all of these won’t apply for every situation that you’re in but they are effective at getting the ball rolling.

B. Building Connections

Don’t be fooled, DJing has a heavy influence from business and marketing. Although you’re playing music for others, you’re still in a constant struggle of promoting yourself and building connections which will lead to better exposure which, in turn, will bring in new gigs and potential sales for your services.

The good news is that creating connections are easier than ever because of the web. Here are some of the ways I recommend building connections:

  • Create a Facebook Fan Page for your followers
  • Start a Twitter account and share gigs, music and discussions
  • Send out emails to local promoters and business owners for services
  • Advertise your business in the local papers
  • Post up flyers so people can get in touch with you
  • Hand out business cards with all of your content details
  • Create a phone number specific for your DJ business or services
  • Get active in a local organization of DJs
  • Participate on forums and get people to follow you online
  • Setup your own DJ website to share your mixes and information

Most of this about creating connections, you already know. Think about how you interact with people outside of DJing and build your connections that way. Get social with people and don’t be afraid to mention that you DJ because they could be looking for someone to fill in a gig or hire. Create some kind of rolodex or spreadsheet of your contacts so you can keep up with them.

C. Creating Sales

Finally, what you’re really doing as a whole is creating sales. Now, sales doesn’t necessarily mean selling your services – think of it as selling yourself – to land the gig. You’re really promoting yourself and the attitude/skills you bring rather than just filling in. Your sales is where you get people that are following or have come in contact to say “yeah, I want them on the decks at my party”.

  • Use clear contact details on your website or social networks
  • Have a section specifically for your services
  • Create an invoice system to process the work
  • Get active on Craigslist and share your work to pull in clients
  • Offer up something free for a local charity and mingle – could lead to a paid gig
  • Be a regular and make the move to ask a club owner or promoter if they’d hire you
  • Put out a mix CD and get you followers to buy it by tapping into your web presence

You don’t need to be sleazy when it comes to selling. I know you might feel awkward when trying to get people to pay you for what you do but remember that you do need to earn an income if you want to take this full time. No doubt, you need to treat aspects of your DJing as a business else you’re just throwing parties for free and need to hold down a regular job. Go for it all by building awareness, promoting yourself and then getting people to pay for your DJing – that’s how to take it full time!

 

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