How to Maintain Growth As a DJ
I generally spend a lot of my time guiding DJs behind the scenes. Helping them find what works for them on the road to success.
It’s one of the main reasons I started this blog, I felt like a lot of what I was saying would be useful in some way or another to most people in the industry.
Somewhere along the way I actually forgot that and I’ve been writing a lot of these from just topics I felt like talking about at the time.
So in saying that…. what is about to follow is some tactics I sent off to an artist about 6 months back.
These may or may not be things you get done each week. But they are definitely a sure fire way to see consistent growth in gigs and social media over a 6 month period.
I’ve separated everything into 3 lists.
Tasks to complete weekly / monthly / notes. Enjoy.
WEEKLY
At the start of every week write down what you want to achieve in your DJ career that week. This can be as simple as nail a routine you saw your friend / colleague perform or not get so wasted you forget your set Saturday.
At the start of every week write down what you are grateful for around your DJ career. This can be things like my mate that comes see me play every set or the ability to afford USBs to load your music onto. These little reminders help us steer away from the negative space that we create sometimes looking over the fence at others in the industry.
Minimum 1 video a week of you DJing can be literally mixing 2 songs together. But better if its a routine or your own mashups or a trick you've been learning. (Internet video traffic accounts for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic.)
4-5 times a week spend minimum 1hr on one or all of your social channels commenting on other artists and venues profiles. Ideally artists and venues you want to work with, but always good to share the love.
3 solid images / videos for separate posts so you can use to promote upcoming gigs. You have a smart phone, turn the camera on and use it. When promoting talk about what you love about that particular venue or djs that play there. Its annoying but longer captions work well on social and engage people more. TREAT IT LIKE WORK.
MONTHLY
Photoshoot can be bi-monthly - Don’t have the money? Take advantage of in house photographers and grab them and get them to take shots of you playing. On a Monday go through all the venues photos ya play at and download the images of you into a folder so you have a big pile of shots you can always fall back on. (I guarantee none of you are doing this.)
Mixtapes……………. I cant stress this enough. At worst get something to record your sets when you play venues (music digitizer is $30 and so small you can take it anywhere). So simple! No DJ takes advantage of this in the current digital age we live in this is literally the easiest thing to do as you’re doing it while you work.
Release an edit , mashup, remix or original tune. Get art done or do art up yourself and promote it a week out throughout that week building to your release. All social channels have heaps of dope things like premiere functions that allow people to hop in and experience something all at the same time. These kind of things majorly increase your credibility as a valuable DJ. If you don’t have the skills yet to do any of the above. LEARN!
Interactive content like going live whilst DJing at home and allowing people to ask questions. Combining this with a friend or colleague that plays at similar venues can always be a good way to break the seal. As not everyone is comfortable parking themselves in front of a camera.
GENERAL NOTES
When posting posters have them as the second image on instagram with a shot of you as the first image. That way you’re still seen as promoting the gig but honestly we all know posting gig posters goes shithouse on your socials.
Get some Merch - something with your name on it that you can take to each gig to promote yourself. Simple as a sticker. 1000 stickers are super cheap even cheaper if you order from china.
Anytime you’re practising that is more content make sure to record. Try out new and different angles each time you do. You don’t have to stylise the videos sometimes raw dog is the best dog.
Not everything is about your social media although it does add a lot of perceived value. Doing things like building up an email list can also be critical. This can be coupled with when you release an edit, mashup or original. Take advantage of GATEs like hypeddit, where you have to follow or supply an email for the download. Imagine going to a venue one day I have a 5000 strong email list of fans in this area that I promote my gigs too. They will take notice not only for your skills but the added value you're bringing them with your reach. **Side note mobile numbers are the new thing. Imagine every time you pop out a release or have a really big gig you could text 1000 people with the link.
Branding, Branding, Branding! Quick idea - when you can actually have fun in venues again, try throwing a party for yourself 3-4 times a year. e.g. #### & Friends. These are great branding opportunities. Great ways to grow your network and even better push that release you have coming out. So many venues have “quiet” nights that they are willing to pass over to promoters. Use these nights to put something special together for your fans and friends. You’re not actually a promoter so don’t have to profit a million bucks. You can just look to make back your costs and throw the rest on the bar. Imagine the stories that would be told every year about your parties if your just grabbing door money and chucking it on the bar for everyone.
CONCLUSION
The biggest tip of all. Track your success. At the end of every month go back over your goals and see where you are at. This check in is a constant reminder of how far you’ve come and where you can see room for improvement.
Remember there is no work like hard work.