Is It Me, Or Has It Just Gone Quiet?

[Tommo55 0]

Evening all

 

Now I was talking with my other half and we are aware of the distinct lack of enquiries coming our way from potential clients, the norm I would say is at least one a week...but recently zippo

 

We have the usual website, yellow pages, talking to hotels etc but nothing, (I don't use an agent) not even private enquiries for ANY type of event or function.

 

We are fully booked for every Thursday/Friday/Saturday in December + 24th, 26th and NYE but as they say.........always room for one more!

 

So I was just wondering with the present climate and everything; blah blah....was it something I said or is it a similar story for everyone?

 

Now I know about publicity and I am doing a couple of big charity gigs in the near future (mentioned in earlier posts requesting help) to try and boost my profile so we shall see what comes of these!

 

I am based in the west midlands so could it be a regional thing?

 

Over to you.....................

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

Evening all

 

Now I was talking with my other half and we are aware of the distinct lack of enquiries coming our way from potential clients, the norm I would say is at least one a week...but recently zippo

 

We have the usual website, yellow pages, talking to hotels etc but nothing, (I don't use an agent) not even private enquiries for ANY type of event or function.

 

We are fully booked for every Thursday/Friday/Saturday in December + 24th, 26th and NYE but as they say.........always room for one more!

 

So I was just wondering with the present climate and everything; blah blah....was it something I said or is it a similar story for everyone?

 

Now I know about publicity and I am doing a couple of big charity gigs in the near future (mentioned in earlier posts requesting help) to try and boost my profile so we shall see what comes of these!

 

I am based in the west midlands so could it be a regional thing?

 

Over to you.....................

 

I have been quoting for more functions have won some but bookings are down on a year ago but are up for next year.

 

For me the christmas period is fully booked (Friday and Saturdays)

[Dan allanthemsdisco 0]

Hi guys,

sorry to hear its gone quiet - for me probably 2 or 3 enquiries a week, sadly they too often all want the same dates though

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/style_images/1/f...icons/icon5.gif

I have 3 or 4 bookings accross october which is nice as i wasnt really expecting a lot, however nov is pretty dead and i only have 2 for dec - Thought after 2 years i would have loads of christmas gigs but for me i know i need to do more direct marketing but moving house and doing a youth work job which seems to be eating up a lot of hours probably doesnt help, but thats my bread n butter!

I think for a lot of us things have not really picked up since 2008 as thats when the economic crisis kicked in.

[Dukesy 0]

2010 for me has been one of the quietest for some time, in fact,, i'd probably say its been the quietest since my first year in business when I was first getting established. Although i'm mainly Wedding based these days, and reading various publications throughout the year, it seems the Wedding Industry is still pretty much in decline at the moment.

 

I'm travelling between Derbyshire to Kent and Essex more and more these days covering one or two old residencies and the private work which comes from them. Doing anything between 400 and 1200 miles a week in order to set a balance between quality time with the family and earning a crust is a bit of a pain in the long term though, but it does seem that the work is more buoyant and profitable in these areas, compared to the Midlands and NW England, in my own experience at least.

 

Enquiries are picking up a little bit at the moment, although it does tend to be the type of clients shopping on price.

 

I'm also getting a record number of dry hire based enquiries, which is surprising since I moved out of this niche' a while or so ago, but its very good news for a colleague to whom I pass all of this work on too though. Lots of dry hire enquiries for around Xmas time at the moment, indicating that a lot of clients in my area seem to be seeking small DIY parties at home, rather than spending cash over a bar somewhere.

 

Another indicator of quiet periods of the year, is the drop in the gig related chat and similar discussions, something which i've observed for a while, namely the difference in the number of posts and replies in the 'how was it for you' area, and the posting of pictures taken at gigs etc. Of course if DJ's aren't working then there isn't a lot to talk about in relation to preperation for the weekends' work or something which happened at a gig or reporting back on how it all went, so its all variable.

[Tommo55 0]

On the bright side I suppose there's always David Milliband's leaving do!!!!

 

(No political preference stated!)

Edited September 29, 2010 by Tommo55

[DJMickeyk 0]

Wedding enquiries and bookings are way back on a few years ago for me, mainly because over here most weddings have a band and then a DJ afterwards. Many bands have now started doing the disco too by simply plugging a laptop and mixer into their PA, and charging a bit extra. I'm probably doing about 60-70% fewer weddings per year than say five years ago. Other types of work is as busy as ever though, birthdays etc, and I have taken on a residency to make up for the decline in wedding bookings so no complaints here.

[Gary (GDK) 0]

Im ok for October - just waiting for the schools to pick up the phone and get in touch.

 

November has one kids party in Cramlington.

 

December is looking ok for kids parties, but still a lot of room for parties.

 

Just waiting back from a community project to secure another 4 kids parties for xmas to.

 

Getting a few leads from my website recently, however vistaprint have mucked up and its down at the moment.

 

Ive tried ringing them and their offices are closed because of the bad weather. Wonder if they will open around 2?

[deejaymitch 0]

Things are definitely slowing down. Normally by this time of the year December is looking pretty busy but, other than my residency, I have a grand total of ZERO bookings for December, and that includes NYE!!! October is healthy enough but the next few months are looking bleak!

[goldensounds 0]

Things are definitely slowing down. Normally by this time of the year December is looking pretty busy but, other than my residency, I have a grand total of ZERO bookings for December, and that includes NYE!!! October is healthy enough but the next few months are looking bleak!

 

Same with me apart from 1x wedding in Dec and nye nil booked,diff from last yr and pre-. Still get the "how much" calls not as often! I am with a few agents I give them a call ever so often to see If theres anything and they are no differant. One hotel I worked for last Dec all the Fridays has stopped doing xmas parties this year as they are not getting any enquiries..wait for the last minute rush

 

Pat

[Welsh Audio Man 21 0]

Relatively quiet for me also! I know I have only recently stepped back into the business, but I did pretty well last month..

[gadget 0]

Things are definitely slowing down. Normally by this time of the year December is looking pretty busy but, other than my residency, I have a grand total of ZERO bookings for December, and that includes NYE!!! October is healthy enough but the next few months are looking bleak!

 

I'm finding that enquiries are coming in now - but again they're more price focussed. When someone calls you up asking for "your best price" - even my "best" price was too expensive for them... :wall:

 

Enquiries for bookings are usually about a month away to the date in question.

 

October has seen enquiries - usually for dates I'm already booked on. Unusually, the w/e of the 29th/30th is still empty.. I had an enquiry for it but the client in question only booked me for the one party for this Saturday for the moment (don't think they knew what they were actually going to do event-wise on the 30th!)...

 

November has 3 confirmed at present, with two awaiting a callback with a y/n answer. One of the awaiting ones a "repeat" (from a relative at the same party I did back in August).

 

December I have 3 bookings so far, two kids xmas discos (4 actually, but both are split into two halves for different age groups), and one Staff Xmas Do on the first Wednesday... (which I'm looking forward to cos the playlist is awesome)..

 

There a couple of bookings next year - again these are kids-type parties though...

 

Cheers,

 

David

[vokf 0]

For me, October is my busiest ever. However, this is due to lots of kids parties. :fright:

I actually don't mind these, and have 2 gigs this Saturday - easy work and total income is about the same as an adults party, with less grief.

Downside is 2 set-ups/pack-ups, but this is becoming less of an issue.

 

I have a 60th and an Engagement in Oct.

 

Many factors come into play here, as I've recently re-vamped my website and the Search engines take a while to re-index the new content.

It difficult to say if my October is due to this, or simply regional efforts?

 

I also provide online planning tools, and do sell this as a benefit when quoting.

 

 

A few weeks ago, I only a had 3 pub bookings (once pub gig has been done) and a kids party until the year end - so things were looking grim..

 

November is quiet (but we have a week off), and December is difficult this year (so not many spare dates)

However, enquiries are down - but conversions are up.

 

All I can say is to make the most of every enquiry- don't just reply via email (unless they actually ask for this), a friendly chat focussing on their party (not your gear/pa!) works well.

 

 

Otherwise, networking helps. I owe a nice drink to a forum member for a few recent referrals.

I also get enquiries for gigs I can't cover.

I try to post them in here, or otherwise forward to other forum members in the area.

 

 

Jason

[wizard 0]

So far this has been my busiest year ever and shows no sign of slowing down, getting 5 to 6 enquiries a week, which is rather odd as I have done nothing different from a marketing perspective, extremely busy october, November not bad and booked every night in december up to 22nd. Still nothing NYE but to be honest I will enjoy the rest if I dont get a booking

[DJF 0]

up north west around merseyside, gone very very quiet, alot of pubs and clubs closing, getting enquiries off pubs asking for disco karaoke, wanting to pay bloody stupid money and i laughed

[Marble 0]

I'm getting a lot of e-mails and not getting any response at all (not even a thankyou but no) from my lengthy replies. I suspect it's because the people sending them, are looking for the cheapest mainly because every email tends to read like this.... "Hi, Just wondering are you free for a kids party/disco/karaoke on (enter date here) and how much do you charge?"

 

My phone calls are down, and most potential clients reject my prices due to them being too high.

 

On the plus side, the number of people who would recommend me are rapidly increasing and a lot who knew me, wanted me and decided I was too expensive have come back with the comment that although their DJ was cheaper s/he wasn't very good.

 

Just to give you an idea of my very high prices: For a local evening saturday function of four hours with an afternoon set up offering disco and/ or karaoke with lights, I'd charge £150.

 

I'm lucky I have four regular gigs a week in local pubs, so I'm not too worried. I'm hoping that as time goes on the lower priced DJ's who aren't very good, will eventually run out of clients who in time learn that sometimes you get what you pay for and those that are good and can work on lower rate than myself, will either raise their prices or be unable to take any more work on.

[Robster 0]

I'm getting a lot of e-mails and not getting any response at all (not even a thankyou but no) from my lengthy replies. I suspect it's because the people sending them, are looking for the cheapest mainly because every email tends to read like this.... "Hi, Just wondering are you free for a kids party/disco/karaoke on (enter date here) and how much do you charge?"

 

My phone calls are down, and most potential clients reject my prices due to them being too high.

 

On the plus side, the number of people who would recommend me are rapidly increasing and a lot who knew me, wanted me and decided I was too expensive have come back with the comment that although their DJ was cheaper s/he wasn't very good.

 

Just to give you an idea of my very high prices: For a local evening saturday function of four hours with an afternoon set up offering disco and/ or karaoke with lights, I'd charge £150.

 

I'm lucky I have four regular gigs a week in local pubs, so I'm not too worried. I'm hoping that as time goes on the lower priced DJ's who aren't very good, will eventually run out of clients who in time learn that sometimes you get what you pay for and those that are good and can work on lower rate than myself, will either raise their prices or be unable to take any more work on.

 

very similar story here i am pleased that my reputation is keeping me in work too ..recommendations are up and i believe this is due to me getting better at what i do (always willing to try to improve). I have heard a few stories one of a undercutting dj (he would go into a pub and say how much you paying the dj then say i'll do it for X while you were actually doing the night!) whose own dj he hired (another undercutter mate)for his wedding let him down .. he called me to see if i was available which i wasn't... oh i do enjoy karma.

 

Pub land has been kind to me and funny enough i have been approached by pubs offering me more money on nights i already do as they found the cheap options dont always bring in crowds or build up a night.

 

I currently am struggling on a friday night at a venue its just not getting busy but the same venue on a sunday afternoon i have really built up i know some are not going out fridays and saving up for the sunday but i wont give up just yet, I have a few more tools in my locker to try and build it up on fridays

 

[gadget 0]

Have been having enquiries, but not many sticking it seems.... Not sure if its price or what.. but enquiries seem to be more price focussed...

 

 

[DJMickeyk 0]

@Marble For the wedding enquiries I get I always write a pretty lenghty email back as well explaining in detail what I do and often get no response which is always disappointing, people are price comparing more often than not, and some will always pick the cheapest, I'd say I convert about 50% of enquiries into bookings. It is much higher however for 21st parties and other similar work, probably 90%, in fact I can't recall an enquiry for this type of event that I haven't converted in the past year and haven't had a sat night off except by my own choice since march or thereabouts, and have increased my prices a little for this type of work in the past few weeks, like yourself this work is often referral or repeat work so reputation counts for alot. I'm looking for a Friday night residency somewhere however, as most of my enquiries are for saturdays, I often get 2 or even three calls for sat night and nothing for Fri, it would be great if the work was a little more spaced out, can't be in two places at once unfortunately. So a Fri night res in a pub or nightclub would really suit me (I already have a wed night res which I enjoy doing for the most part). Problem of course is that many pubs are really struggling to get punters through the doors and will be for the forseeable future so the fees will undoubtedly be small, thats if I can even get the work.

Edited October 18, 2010 by DJMickeyk

[Dukesy 0]

Its the Wedding market which has been hit the hardest for me also. I imagine this is down to cash strapped couples, trying to save for their first home. Only the other day there was an article in the paper saying that the cost of the average house was around eight times the average annual Salary (with an average salary being based on £23,000 a year!). Another article went on to report the shortage of affordable homes, and that both parties need reasonably high paid jobs to even qualify for a mortgage.

 

I can understand why the 21st and the General Party market is more buoyant, after all this is a younger age group often still living with Mum and Dad and therefore with more disposable income for parties and socialising. The same applies to older age group functions also, often these are booked by people with Mortgages already paid or mostly paid and with steady / secure employment and savings, therefore in the more enviable position to be able to be more generous with budgets for social events.

[gadget 0]

As soon as I posted about it being quiet and not hearing back from telephone enquiries, I get an email confirming an enquiry from about 2-3 weeks ago...

 

I'm really quite pleased as my youngest (3yo) decided to butt into the conversation quite a bit along the way, forcing me to abandon the phone call and call the client back later. It was a good talking point though anyway! :)

 

Cheers,

 

David

[Robster 0]

Just got a wedding and a christening for next year today from...recommendations best advertising there is

[Paul The Party DJ 0]

It's not as busy as I'd like - never is really.

 

October has been terrible, thank goodness BPM gave me lots to think about.

 

November has been fairly well booked for a few months now, still space for one or two more.

 

December one Wedding and 6 party nights at my local Devere - not too bad but I was hoping for more. Still no NYE booking - I wanted £500, or close to it, at a venue I wanted to do - I took £400 at a pub last year and it was the biggest anti-climax of a night I'd done in years.

 

2011 ... May looks good, everything else is work in progress!

 

Cheers, Paul ;o)

Edited October 19, 2010 by Paul The Party DJ