Promotion is a key element of making a name for yourself.
You can expect a sudden rush of fans, sold out venues, and signing to a label unless you have a bit of a following. Yes, you may be amazing at mixing and even do some production but you shouldn’t leave it to chance in order to make big things happen.
Self-promotion is one of those things that a lot of people start to feel slimy about.
There you have it: you’re a DJ that wants to play music, maybe make some coin, and to really bring a ruckus at the parties – you’re not some advertising agency ala Mad Men style – you’ve seen plenty of ads and it irks you to think of music as a business … but it is, and you have to deal with it.
Electronic music is BIG business these days.
Don’t worry, it’s not all that hard and you don’t have to sell your artistic soul when doing it, either.
#1: People won’t do it for you (in the beginning)
No matter how much you love your fans – you can’t expect them to take time out of their lives to help you get established. They may enjoy your music but there is always another DJ out there pulling at their attention so, to be blunt, you can’t expect your fans to promote for you.
Of course, over time, people will help you once you start making your moves but that beginning part of getting found will be placed almost entirely on your shoulders.
Perhaps the best way to think of this is to look at the early adopters of technology. There are the “nerds” that jump all over something and will talk day and night about how awesome it is; eventually, it starts to go big time and that’s when it makes a break.
So, what you should really do is cultivate a core fan base.
These are your most loyal followers – they’re not in it just for the hype – they’ll stick with you throughout thick and thin. What’s great about these people is that they’re the same type that will share your music all over the Web and the real-world. Treat them right and you’re ace for getting found.
What you should be doing is aim for about 100 or so real fans. It’ll take a while but that core group is more than enough to start building a lot of buzz around your mixes especially if they’re all sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites. You just need that initial push and these “early adopters” are the ones that will do it.
#2: It’s actually really easy (so there’s no reason not to)
Promotion is actually really, really easy, when you think about it.
Right now, you’re probably doing some form of promotion and not really realizing it.
Anytime you share something on Facebook, respond to someone’s comment on Twitter, post up a YouTube video response, suggest a track to a friend – you’re promoting for the content creators.
All you really need to do is turn that time and energy inward.
Once you have something of value, your mixes and tracks (if you produce), you have something solid to share.
From that point, it’s a matter of getting your stuff found by doing the same sort of routine you’re already doing on most social networks and when you’re chatting with people. You want to share your ‘brand’ rather than others. You need to explain why giving your mix a listen is worth it over some of the bigger names. You need to carve out a little niche of your own to build that fan base and get people excited for your work.
If you really want an easy way to get started, consider trying this:
- Make a Facebook page for your DJ presence
- Shoot a video of your mixing and put it on YouTube
- Rip the audio and upload that to Soundcloud
- Jump back to FB and Twitter to share your stuff
- Run a blog or website which further shares your stuff
Pretty simple, right?
#3: It puts you on the edge (so you keep up on exploring the genres)
Promotion is also one of those things that really get you active in the scene.
Just think about when something big came to your school when you were attending – let’s say something like Pokemon, as a decent example – all of a sudden, everyone wanted in on it. But, being part of the earlier crowd made you go looking for other stuff because the sudden, mainstream rush put you off.
Because everyone was getting into what you already liked – you wanted to go deeper – almost in a hipsterish way but you wanted to explore.
As a DJ, the more you promote the more pressure you place, on yourself, to continually go deeper into your craft. You gain an edge. You want to find obscure artists that no-one else is playing. You want to try new techniques. You want to be unique.
Even if you don’t plan to go big time, doing some promotion forces you to continually improve because you’ve now gained an audience. They don’t want to hear the same old shit.
#4: You gain feedback (since your name is out there)
Feedback is super important for a DJ.
Yes, you should take everything with a grain of salt but you’ll generally build up an ego because you think you’re the shit. Your fans will tell you otherwise. What you think is a banger track turns out to be complete garbage to the fans. Since you need to fill the dance floor – you need to listen.
Likewise, you have something to share within DJ communities (like forums and other online sites). You can gain valuable feedback from your fellow DJ’s which will expand your skills. People will mention where you messed up, what you did well, and comment on your overall style. Take a bit of this and you can definitely go far.
The more you promote – the more you gain listeners – the more listeners means more feedback.
#5: Showmanship starts to form (which goes a long way for DJing)
Don’t go around building up some fake-ass ego like so many big named DJ’s.
Stay humble. You’re playing tracks for people to party to, after all.
But, one that that will come about is your overall showmanship.
Showmanship seems to be one of those things that have been dying out. No, it’s not about just some pretty lights and lasers – I’m talking about actual engagement with the audience.
Yes, you do need to focus on your mixing and you can’t afford to mess up but you gotta get the crowd hyped up and into it. Just playing music, a lot of the time, isn’t enough these days especially with limited attention span and phones polluting the dance floor. You gotta keep ‘em hooked.
Take on a personality if you have to. Try on masks. Write a manifesto. Do something that allows you to be creatively liberated.
People remember great tracks but they remember the experience far more readily. Give it to them. Make it mind blowing. Make them talk. Keep up with your craft, mix your best, but bring a show.
A very important thing to remember
Promotion doesn’t have to be a sleezy thing.
Yeah, there’s a lot of people that are just assholes and slimy when it comes to promoting because it seems like they publish their mix on any and all status updates (and any chance they can). These people are whatever – you have to appreciate their commitment but good music will bring in the people.
You gotta pay your dues.
Stick with it. Keep mixing. Get your name out there. Build fans. Natural fans. Don’t spam people. Don’t feel bad that you’re trying to get found because everyone has to do it. It’s the nature of the biz. It’s not sleezy or slimy.
Promote yourself.
