Pro DJ UK - 8th May 2011
If
you're reading this, then you are probably a DJ!. If you've been receiving these
Infomails and you read each and every one, it means you're serious about your
DJ business and the service you offer to your clients....so please read on.....
We are lucky in the UK to have fantastic shows such as BPM that tempt us
with all the latest DJ equipment. Up till now, there has been very little that
concentrates solely on the DJ, the DJ's business and their performance. Where do
you go to get ideas on how to improve your website? Why do some DJs charge more
for their service and still have a packed diary? How do you take things to the
next level?
The details: When: Sunday 8th May 2011 10am to 4.30pm Where: The Olde
Barn Hotel, Marston, Grantham. NG32 2HT Tickets available on the door: £17.50
(£10.00 for members of AMPdj, NADJ and SEDA) - more
info at prodjuk.co.uk
An example of some of the
seminars being presented...
How
to be a Happier, Richer, Mobile DJ by Dave Reed
Did you know that not every DJ gets
paid as much as they would like – even when they know they are worth more? Did
you know that many DJs are great at DJing and filling the floor; but don’t think
they’ve got all the skills they need to really make their DJ business into the
goldmine it could be? You might be one of those DJs. Or you might be a DJ
who already has a really successful DJ business but always wants to find out if
things could be better still.... Dave Reed is considered by many to be merely
visiting the planet and possibly the maddest guy ever to suggest to DJs that
they can earn more. But there are DJs who have listened to him and then
foolishly applied this thinking to their businesses – only to find they are
making better money! He claims to be able to help any DJ who will listen to
make more money, get more bookings, build a better business, be happier and leap
tall buildings in a single bound. Come along to hear the most annoying person
writing for ProMobile magazine – or forever wonder what crazy ideas you might
have missed!
Mixing
for Mobile DJs by Barney Grossman
The art of beat matching or
“mixing” isn’t a new one; the concept of overlaying two tracks with one
another can be traced back to the Musique Concrete movement that began in
the late-1940's. Today beat matching and mixing has been taken to a new
levels driven by technology and creativity – you can take advantage of this
to develop your own skills to make your performance stand out from your
“typical DJ”
In a nutshell the point of beat-matching is to take two
tunes, and make them run at exactly the same tempo (BPM). Why? So you can
play the two tunes together and go from one to the other without there being
a change in the beat. Why? So that you can keep a good dance floor moving
without causing a pause in which some guests take the opportunity to leave
the dance floor area. So adding beat matching and mixing to your skills set
could see your dance floors filled up with more people and for a longer
time.
Whilst the art of beat matching and mixing can’t be taught in a
few hours let alone 25 minutes, this seminar will look to give you an incite
in to understanding the beat, music composition, music selection, matching
the tempo, and various types of mixes you can perform.
A DJ's Guide
to Basic DMX by Will Perkins
Not sure how to get the most from your
lighting rig? Not sure how it all goes together and actually works? Are you
stuck and not sure how to get your DMX lighting up and running? Then this is
for you…
Will Perkins will be talking about the basics of DMX from
the beginning. Learn how to get the most from your lighting rig without any
prior knowledge of DMX. He’ll be covering your entire system including how
to configure your lights, how to plug your setup together and get everything
working from the ground up.
This seminar is ideal for anyone who
wants to push their rig to the next level who currently has no or little
knowledge of DMX as well as those who want to confirm their knowledge and
fill in any gaps. There will be a short amount of time for questions and
Will is happy to take personal questions after the session.
Will
Perkins works full time as a lighting designer and engineer for the
professional theatre and entertainment industry as well as occasionally
doing a disco here and there. Having delivered many seminars on DMX and the
art of lighting, Will knows exactly how to get you off on the right foot.
Will also has a hand in the IT world and is the Development Manager for
SEDA.
The Benefits of Being a Specialist - Become an
Expert in Your
Area by Paul Smith
Specialists in any market are able to charge more
for their services than non-specialists and the DJ industry is no different.
Most mobile DJs can adapt to just about any event and this presentation will
examine ways to capitalise on your unique talents and ultimately increase
your bookings and raise your prices – whatever your chosen area of expertise
is.
Paul Smith did his first mobile disco 40 years ago (he was very
young!) and is now a full time professional wedding DJ. Founder of the
Wedding DJ Association (WdjA) in 2007 and later the Alliance of Mobile &
Party DJs (AMPdj), Paul uses his own unique skills to help DJs around the
country gain more enquiries.
In this 30 minute seminar Paul will
reveal the methods which saw his own enquiries treble in just months and
enable him to more than double his booking fee.
Recipe for Conversion
by Sandy Sounds
Sandy Sounds from AMPdj and WDJA will be looking at
and cooking up a comprehensive and detailed email response to help you to
turn those tentative enquiries into confirmed bookings. You will take away a
recipe for constructing an effective response by email, probably the hardest
type of enquiry to deal with.
She will also be analysing telephone
enquiries and passing on some tips for dealing with the conversation that
starts with ‘How much do you charge for a disco?’
Sandy Sounds has a
vast knowledge of marketing and sales. Her past life includes being a Deputy
Headteacher and the Managing Director of a Bulgarian property company.
Living and working in Northern Ireland, she is now a full time wedding DJ
and one half of AMPdj.
Exhibiting your wares - The Art of the Fayre
by Paul Arnett
Paul Arnett from NADJ will be presenting a short
overview of the do’s and don’ts of exhibiting at fayres, be they wedding
ones or the relatively new prom fayres. We’ve all done or wanted to do the
potentially lucrative wedding fayre but there’s a raft of pitfalls to avoid
but some great opportunities to be had as well.
Through this short
presentation Paul will talk through some of the great techniques to doing
fayres, from the design of your stand to what literature to offer and how to
do that all important follow up after the event. Hopefully most DJs wanting
to tap into these markets should find the tips and guidelines useful in
order to make your investment yield a return in your bookings.
Paul
Arnett has been DJing for over twenty years and was one of the driving
forces behind the popular “DJ Show North” events, he is currently keeping
the chairman’s chair warm at NADJ until this years AGM and maybe beyond?
The
Highs and Lows of being a Multi Operator by Damian Edge
Ever thought about
turning those extra enquiries into commission based income? Becoming a
multi-operator can appear to be an easy way to make some additional money
but is it as straight forward as that?
Damian Edge has been working
as a DJ for the past 12 years and, for a number of those years as a
multi-op. He will give first-hand experience of the rewards and problems
that come with changing from a solo-operator to a multi-operator.
The
seminar will cover: Can you offer a client the same level of service if it's
not you performing at their event? How do you find cover at the last minute
if you get let down? Will you be able to ensure that you are choosing the
right DJ for the right event? Plus much more.
The benefits can be
extremely rewarding however there are a lot more responsibilities and
situations to be aware of. Come and see the seminar and decide whether this
is the right direction for you.
Web Design -
Quick and Easy by Alex Taylor
For most, a website is the shop window to their business and first
impressions count. Have the wrong design and that 'wrong' impression
will last LONGER than a good one! But how do you create a design that sets
the right impression for your business and how do you design something which
not only looks good but works well too!
Alex O'Harrow Taylor will be
giving you a quick overview on some of the things you should and shouldn't
do with your website. He'll also be discussing the latest trends in web
design so you can stay one step ahead of the game and ensure your site not
only looks good but works well too! With examples of both good and bad
sites, Alex will show you how to use CMS's ( Content Management Systems ) to
easily manage and update your site in minutes! Ensuring your customers have
the right tools and information is essential so he'll explain what you
should be putting on your website and how you can make your site easier to
use for your customers!
And finally, Alex will let you into a few
secrets of SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation ) which may help you increase
your ranking on Google!
Are
You a Pro ... or Just Busking it? by Mark Walsh
There are plenty of ways a DJ can add value to their service and ultimately
earn more money; add equipment, up-sells, be better at customer service
......... Improve your performance?
In a follow up to his recent
ProMobile article respected DJ and host Mark Walsh delves in to the
audiences expectations of a modern DJ?
It will be a fast paced and
fun seminar highlighting the dos and do-not's of presentation and the
importance of stage managing your events. Good presentation opens new
doors for DJs, no longer are you the one behind the decks you are the one
in front.
The afternoon will conclude with the three Pauls' from the
three organisations taking to the stage for a discussion about moving from
being part time to full time DJing.
More information can be found at
the dedicated website www.prodjuk.co.uk or, alternatively, give us a call on
0333 577 2247. If you're able to make it on the 8th, do come and say hello
to Paul and myself.
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The 4th in the series of "The Trials &
Tribulations of a Mobile DJ" - a light hearted look at
the mobile DJ in the 21st century is now released,
complete with out-takes!
Follow the adventures of DJ Hank as he battles with
function manager Debra - you want me to go where?
You can view them on the
MobileDJUK channel.
DJ AMP Meetups
Further local meet-ups are currently being planned - details will be
announced soon.
ProDJUK - Seminar Day
We certainly couldn't fit all the answers into one
Infomail, or even one day, but we have got something to announce that all DJs,
from veterans to newbies, will find interesting!
Three of the prominent
mobile DJ organisations in the UK, Alliance of Mobile & Party DJs (AMPdj), South
Eastern Discotheque Association (SEDA) and the National Association of Disc
Jockeys(NADJ) have joined forces for the benefit of all DJs, not just members,
to present a full day of seminars called Pro DJ UK.
With a tightening of
belts throughout the whole country during this recession, it is essential that
to survive the current climate, we strive to improve our business and service.
PROdjUK is a unique opportunity to attend seminars for self improvement,
gathering of ideas and some worthwhile networking with like minded people.
The
day will be packed with seminars to help you take your DJ business to the next
level. During the day, there will be two seminars running simultaneously, giving
you the opportunity to select those that are appropriate to you and your
business and build your own agenda. Our aim is that each person leaves at the
end of the day with at least five useful things that they can implement.
For more information, visit
www.prodjuk.co.uk
Updated! WdjA® has been refreshed with
new client sites and a dedicated DJ member info & login site.
The WdjA is for
those mobile DJs who have chosen to specialise in weddings.
AMPdj members who
meet this criteria can also benefit from a 40% discount off the normal price of
£25 for annual WdjA membership.
Find us on
Facebook
AMPdj Benefits ...
- Extra Client Enquiries
+Tried & Proven System
+Open to all Mobile DJs**
+5 sites bring in enquiries
+Over 32,000 enquiry emails already sent to members*
+Complete information sent with every enquiry
+Includes full contact details - there's nothing more to pay!
- £10 Million DJ PLI
+ Product Liability
+ Dry Hire Cover
+ Legal Defence Costs
+ PLI Certificate
+ PLI On-line Validator
+ Cover available immediately
+ Underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Exclusive for Mobile DJs
- Additional Benefits
+ New! Free Web Hosting on Linux server - 2Gb space
+ Discounted Equipment Insurance
+ Discounts for other DJ related services/products
+ Use of AMPdj® logo on promotional material
+ Marketing advice tips for your Disco Business
+ Risk Assessment & Booking Forms
+ Easy to register & login
+ AMPdj Membership Card + We're available to assist you by email and phone
- This Complete Package
All inclusive for only £49.99!
*Period from 21st Aug 2009 **Full terms can be found
here.
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Thought for April
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts" attributed to
Harry S Truman
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