DJAdvantage - The Ultimate Pro DJ Resource

Submitted by BeOnAir

Promoting yourself, or someone you know who is trying to break into disc jockeying, is an important step in getting your name out there and having patrons and club owners recognize your face.

Promotions can take the shape of a number of different options in terms of getting your name out to the public. Flyers and mix tapes are simple yet effective ways of letting the public in your city know of your presence.

Flyers can range from the extravagant to the simple depending on your personal style and budget. The only thing you need to remember is to be sure to put your name on the flyer along with upcoming show dates where you will be playing. Take the flyers and place them around the city to give yourself the best opportunity to reach the largest amount of potential audience members.

Mix tapes are a great way to get your distinct sound out into the public. All you need is the ability to record your sessions from your equipment to a computer that has the ability to burn them onto a CD. As long as you have the ability to do this, all you need then is to purchase a few hundred blank CD’s, then put your music on the CD and distribute them after your show or a similar show in the city.

Depending on the city you are in, different styles of music may be more popular than others. If you are a DJ trying to make a name for yourself, make sure that you take note of these popular styles and try to incorporate them into your shows. The more popular music you play, the larger the audience you will attract.

Another thing to remember when you are trying to promote yourself is to remember to dress for the style. What this means is that a DJ is not only about the music anymore, but it is about the total package he must present to his audience. Depending on the type of music you perform, you should model your clothing attire around that style to create a total package to sell to the audience. Wear clothes that the club goers will most likely be wearing. Not only does this draw attention to you as an artist, but it also helps you become accepted by the crowd to which you are playing.

The final piece of advice about promoting yourself and your skills is to create a memorable show for your audience. If you do this, your audience will do a vast majority of your promoting for you through word of mouth to their friends and co-workers. Creating a memorable show is all about incorporating different external sources and making them work seamlessly together. This includes the music, lights and ambiance of the club or bar.

By bringing all of these aspects together, you will be well on your way to creating a name for yourself in the local club circuit and have a better understanding of how to promote a DJ that you can use to help out a newcomer some day down the road.

Tim White is the director of admissions for the Ohio and Illinois Centers for Broadcasting and a manager of several national bands and artists. He has been FCC licensed since being a college radio DJ and knows the best radio broadcasting jobs are found at OICB.