Ever Wonder How You Can Impress A Promoter With Only 200 Facebook Fans?
Are you just starting out as a DJ?
That’s awesome, welcome to this highly competitive field we call the music industry.
Well, actually that’s not the awesome part. Especially when you are looking to get paid for your DJ gigs. It’s natural to think, “How the hell can I compete with this other DJ who has over 1,000 likes on his Facebook fanpage?”
An instant google search “how to get more fanpage likes” return shady practices of buying those easy likes. But you’re not a shady DJ, in fact, you aren’t a shady person at all.
But, don’t just go throwing in the towel just yet. There’s good news for you, in this highly competitive field the nice guy doesn’t always finish last. Sometimes the nice guys are full of confidence and ingenuity, talent and ambition that they indeed bring to the table from the very start of their career.
So, how you can impress a promoter or club manager with only 200 Facebook fans?
It’s all in building relationships and connections, both online and offline. You can make a simple connection and cultivate it to become something meaningful.
If you are unable to physically meet the promoter or club manager, you’ll have to make a better impression than just a simple email. Email is for the weak, show some balls and use that thing that we used to talk to people with far far away but has now evolved into a device that we use our thumbs to interact with each other on. Yes, make a phone call and introduce yourself before you send over that email with your EPK, social media links and music. That way he or she will be expecting your email and more likely to open it over an unsolicited email.
As a promoter or club manager takes a look at your posts on your Facebook fan page, will they see thoughtful postings that engage people? This meaning that your posts get many shares, likes or comments. This is a great indicator of how involved people are, how willing they are to head to your events and how many potential loyal fans you have. A promoter’s view on someone who has a tight group of passionate and loyal followers is much more favorable than someone who has many fans with no one talking about them.
Will they see you supporting their nights and club? Sharing is caring and it doesn’t mean you will always have to post about yourself, your music and your nights to get people to share. The reality is, people don’t fall love someone who is selfish and egotistical (unless you’re struggling with Daddy issues.) A good rule of thumb for posting on social media is posting 80% for others and 20% for promotion.
Now, let’s bring this offline. Say you are interested in playing in a certain club in your area. A great way to start working towards this goal is to frequent this club and make nice with all the employees, not just the manager or promoter. This means the bartenders, wait staff, bouncers and janitorial staff can all be an inside source of information and tips. Try in any way to make their jobs easier by helping the club promote their nights, bringing your friends and offering any other ways you could give change for the better.
With time, you will learn the people that frequent the clubs and understand the focus that the club is trying to achieve. Take this combination of circumstances and create a vivid demo mix to reflect what you know about the club, the people and what it takes to be a great warm-up DJ. Share it with the promoter or manager and offer to help build up a night that is typically slower. This way you are showing a high value and providing yourself as a useful resource instead of coming across as someone just asking for a gig.
