Are websites still a necessity?

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Yes, for a client who booking a wedding or party that won’t manner. But with corporate, universities & state agencies, it’s a different animal with different requirements. And those are the ones who book multi events per year sometimes for decades. Take community college near me I’m going into my 40th year there. Now, I do use my personal too sometimes once we have a established relationship. But initial contact and paperwork use the business info.
 
Websites are not what create business for me... they're what qualify a client as to what my pricing is, as well as showcase my work to help increase my average package size. Before they even reach out formally, they know in their head they're gonna be around $4000 when booking me.
 
i dont use facebook. i never used it for making myself as a DJ and all round creative type known, i got stalked and bullied a lot on facebook by a woman who clearly isnt well so it put me off using the format alltogether,the police came recently after years of putting up with it as its a crime against a vunerable adult,but they said its unlikely theyd catch her as shes in london.
im not against social networking if its monitored well, it is a great way at connecting with your fans or audience or any possible future bookings but im so wary of the format now,which to me is strangely funny in itself in a way,to be afraid of a website style/format.

when i DJed back in the earlier 2000s, i built my own DJ forum using a free host at first,i realised it was a massive mistake so i bought shared hosting with a ridiculously overpriced UK host (they all are overpriced, in the UK) and i transferd my phpBB portal and forum to it,we atracted all kinds of DJs from beginners,vinyl only DJs, vinyl and CDJ users, etc from bedroom DJ to profesional club DJs. that was what got my work noticed, myself and a few other lads from all over the world were also producers and woud collab on tunes- we woud send each other the files after we had added our touch to it, and then end up with the finished result, i noticed though a lot of my work was being stolen.
my mates woud all send me there profesional mixes on CD from the US and UK.
although not DJ related,at the same time i had also built a social network designed for adults with llearning (intelectual) disability,i was supported by a lot of LD profesionals,but unfortunatly many who tried joining didnt understand the definition of 'learning disability' -this doesnt include aspergers or classic autism ,dysslexia,dysgraphia etc-theyre all classified as learning difficulties. due to very long term acute cyber bullying (and my laack of comunication to tell my suport staff) i was then sectioned (locked up for over 4 months) in a hospital for adults with complex learning (intelectual) disability, and when i came out my entire site had died so i just stopped the subscription.

i got hold of a very good US webhost,called shock hosting, i pay something like £36 a year which gets me unlimited everything, roundcube email under my own TLD and a extra few quid per year for my TLD.
ive had no downtime in the time ive been with them which is 2 years now.i used it to advertise my own productions,photography and art at one point and also made it into a site where people with LD or families/profesionals etc can get information on it.
i installed OSSN (a open source social network) in an atempt to make a new social network for adults with LD,but ive not had one person offer to moderate with me,to make sure that bully or other people who shoudnt be there dont turn up. because i use a lot of databases i have the fastest going portable SSD drive with all my steam software and a server program on it called arachni-i use it to penetration test my sites to make sure theres no holes or weakneses,i recomend arachni to anyone with a server or website,its free but you need to not be scared of using the command line lol.

i use soundcloud for hosting my mixes and productions now,ive got a sub with them but ive not got any friends who can help spread interest,ive no where to post mine,so perhaps a balance is needed, a mixture of funky website and jazzy social networking.
 
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I say it depends on what the website is for and the intent. For us in this business some have a need for a website and others don't. I will say Taso needs a website because of average amount he gets paid and what he has to offer. He has his website with prices. He loves to get people to go to his website and that way he gets rid of tire kickers so they don't waste each other's time.

Now in certain businesses a website is critical. It let's people know what is being offered and how much it cost in some cases. That way it let's you know what they have and if you want to be bothered. As it has been stated a website needs really good content or it does no good to have the website. It has have content that will catch people's attention right away so they will want to examine further..

Now for some people a website is mandatory. If they don't see there's a website, they will move on.
 
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Let me ask this question. How many on here have a website for their business? I had 2 made and neither one of them did us any good. I didn't know what content it should have had and where to advertise it.
 
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happy New year Mixxy!! Get out your wallet!!
Search engine - rankings - Google ads - smart phone web friendly - social media - gig builder - wedding wire / the knot
All of the above cost money . Been sometime that I paid a search engine specialist to monetize my web page.
Several members will be chiming in on your question with some great advise . If you don't use their advice and expertise , shame on you.
 
Search engine - rankings - Google ads - smart phone web friendly - social media - gig builder - wedding wire / the knot
All of the above cost money . Been sometime that I paid a search engine specialist to monetize my web page.

Seriously. I spent close to $15k on my website, marketing and advertising last year. Not my favorite thing to spend money on, but all relevant to the business.
If I was in an industry with repeat customers, I could probably get away with spending much less.
 
For the hobbiest, Facebook would be a great providing the photos and content where not fuzzy.
 
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I don't have a plan to get another website built. Just FB and that's it.
already know this Mixxy.
You need to get a buisness FB page
Along with you personal FB page.
Won't cost you anything other than a little of your time. What happened to the web site that people took the time to build for you at no cost?
 
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Seriously. I spent close to $15k on my website, marketing and advertising last year. Not my favorite thing to spend money on, but all relevant to the business.
If I was in an industry with repeat customers, I could probably get away with spending much less.

If you don't mind me asking, what percentage of gross revenue is that $15k? I'm still wrestling with how much and where to spend marketing monies for my venue.
 
If you don't mind me asking, what percentage of gross revenue is that $15k? I'm still wrestling with how much and where to spend marketing monies for my venue.

Just about 10%, but a good portion of that $15k was spent on building a new website and doing quite a bit of SEO work. In other years, my marketing budget has been closer to $9-10k.
 
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Seriously. I spent close to $15k on my website, marketing and advertising last year. Not my favorite thing to spend money on, but all relevant to the business.
If I was in an industry with repeat customers, I could probably get away with spending much less.

Do you do exclusively weddings Brendan? I do 75% or higher weddings and almost all my business is referral
 
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Just about 10%, but a good portion of that $15k was spent on building a new website and doing quite a bit of SEO work. In other years, my marketing budget has been closer to $9-10k.

Doggone, you're getting it done. I never generated more than probably $75k in gross revs from my DJ biz.
 
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Do you do exclusively weddings Brendan? I do 75% or higher weddings and almost all my business is referral

Almost exclusively, because wedding clients book further out and that's where the money is. There are probably 10 venues that recommend me on a regular basis and those referrals generate a good portion of my business, but I still need a solid online presence to back up all of the good things those sales managers and coordinators say about me. This area is very competitive; there are hundreds of DJs to pick from and at least a couple dozen who spend the money to be seen online.
 
already know this Mixxy.
You need to get a buisness FB page
Along with you personal FB page.
Won't cost you anything other than a little of your time. What happened to the web site that people took the time to build for you at no cost?
I have a FB business page.
 
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When did you post to it most recently, and what did you post?

Let's not stray too off-topic for the purpose of stirring the Mix pot. You can get the answer to that question yourself right here.