It's been a slow-booking winter...

DJ Forbes said:

Most of you know (I say it all the time), I'm still very new to this industry. Just started on my own last July (2022). Summer was full swing and people hit me up for all sorts of summertime pop-up events and I got a few weddings thrown in there to for friends of friends. Since November, things have really tapered off for me, with just 3 or 4 confirmed bookings for 2023 so far. No weddings. I try to keep up on Social Media posts and I'm continuing to look for wedding related Facebook groups outside of my local area, which I have gotten some hits from.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Does anyone else see a slow-down during this time of year?

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Are you not getting bookings or are you not getting leads. I’m down 15% in terms of amount of events booked in the first 45 days of the year compared to last. However, my leads have been on par w last year. I got annoyed with my bookings being lower, but then I looked deeper and saw I’m still getting the same attention, i just keep turning down events due to availability. I only need one more event to hit my goal of 60 events… I didn’t accomplish that last year till late spring. I’m way ahead of where I should be! So first and foremost, take a look at your lead generation and from there you can start to analyze.

Taso is spot on, you need to figure out if you aren't generating enough leads, or just not enough bookings from the leads you have.

Lots of people try passive advertising to generate leads. Social media, buy ad space on WeddingWire or The Knot... etc. These are slow ways to build a business. When was the last time you saw a Coke ad and then ran out to buy one because of it?

To the extent you have time, focus on any active marketing you can do:

- Go visit BNI Groups in your area as a guest. Create a great elevator pitch and let them know you're looking for engaged couples to work with.
- Reach out to any venues you have worked with in the past. Ask the contact person if they happen to be hosting an open house coming up that you could participate in.
- If you're willing to spend a few bucks, sign up for a wedding show and create a booth where you can chat with brides. I've typically broken even on that investment... but the referrals that come from those weddings is still powering my business today.

It's been a slow start of the year for me as well. Admittedly, I don't do a lot of advertising and lead generation as mentioned by Albatross and Taso. My business generally relies on referrals from other DJs and caterers. I'm a part timer with a full time job that doesn't allow me to purse a lot of DJ gigs especially during the week. I'm not worried though because Jan-Feb are traditionally slower times of year for me. I also had to realize that this month has been slower for me because I've stopped taking as many bar/restaurant gigs. Last year things didn't really get busy until mid March so I think I will still have a very good year. Last year I had 47 paid gigs which is a lot for me as a one man show. This year should be about the same.

I find the weather needs to be factored in. It's winter time and no telling what the weather is going to be like from day to day. One day it could be nothing and the next day it could be a snow storm or super cold weather.

By chance, did you raise your rates this year?

FWIW, I think it's important always be changing up your avenues of marketing and to always keep adjusting what it is that you're offering. When I first started, I used craigslist, then went to weddingwire, then TheKnot, along with constantly working on my website to keep it with fresh content. Now I use Eventective and Zorba for lead generation. In addition, I do Facebook ads. What you did last year will often not work this year or next year. You've got to constantly be changing and pushing and growing the places you look for clients.

DJ Forbes said:

It just hit all at once for no real discernable reason to me, lol.

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That will likely happen as long as you DJ. There are waves of business. But once you do it long enough, you should be getting more consistent in terms of where leads come from so that your business still gets a bit more predictable over the course of a year. But month-to-month or week-to-week will always be pretty variable (for most of us).

DJ Forbes said:

I did not. However, it's kind of funny... since I posted this, I think I've booked 5 events and have a few more leads. It just hit all at once for no real discernable reason to me, lol. Guess I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, and trust that the work will come. It's just a lot easier to keep the Mrs. happy when "all the money in equipment sitting downstairs" is actually bringing in a little money from time to time. LOL

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Lol it's funny you followed up with this... since my post on the 15th, I got 5 bookings as well... have completed my 2023 goal... and actually beat it... and have 4 or 5 events for 2024 that I'm expecting to have contracts go out in the next week after I have my consultations with them. Don't expect consistency lol... the only thing that you can kind of predict is how far out certain types of events tend to book.

Thanks all. I will say it again. At this time of year you never know what the weather will be like. Here we got a little bit of snow in March. Just enough to shovel a little. In California an area got 5 feet of snow I saw on the news.

The other thing that makes a big difference is how well do people know what you? If barely anyone knows about you and what you do then the bookings should be far between. I will admit I don't have a lot of recent content on social media to get out to people who we are and what we do. I need to get better with that.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

Thanks all. I will say it again. At this time of year you never know what the weather will be like. Here we got a little bit of snow in March. Just enough to shovel a little. In California an area got 5 feet of snow I saw on the news.

The other thing that makes a big difference is how well do people know what you? If barely anyone knows about you and what you do then the bookings should be far between. I will admit I don't have a lot of recent content on social media to get out to people who we are and what we do. I need to get better with that.

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depends on what you book... i book 80-90% weddings... as a result people calling now are primarily booking for spring and summer next year. All of my Sautrdays in May and June 2024 are pretty much gone. I just got an inquiry for May 2025. If you're booking small events with a 1-2 month lead time, then yes weather may affect you somewhat.

As far as social media goes... it doesn't matter if you post 1x a month or 10x a day... if you're not directing people to your online content, theyre not going to magically find it.

If you just started last July, I wouldn't expect miracles so soon.

Also, bookings usually slow down once the holidays get close.