Just paid a deposit to get a new website professionally made

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Glad you got the booking, although im curious of 2 things...

1. why haven't you made any of the suggested changes to your site over the last month.
2. it's been a month since the completion of your site. What impact has it had on the number of leads you get, the quality of leads, and booking rate? I know the company you used were promising seo results and such... just curious what the results have been.

Many suggested changes have been made. They created a custom contact form for me which is WAY better than what was up there. Still trying to get premium photos from photographers to put up there. The ones I did this past Friday and Saturday are suppose to be sending me a link when the photos are completed. I plan to follow up next Friday if I don't hear anything from them. I'm also asking those clients for a link to the photos as well when they get that in.

I do remember your beef with the tag line. Been trying to figure out what would be good for having them change that to, but it hasn't been on the fore front of my mind lately.

They told me it takes 3 to 5 months to really start to see results. Right now I am placing #2 on google for Wedding DJ in Dundalk. They stress that I need google reviews, Been asking brides for google reviews recently. No one has taken the time to leave a review yet. I am sending over the link to the bride for now on along with their video link.

Also, let's keep in mind that booking season is slow right now. The real test in lead pick ups will be January through April.
 
@DJ Ricky B buy this address and have it forwarded to yours it will do more than any SEO magician will to jump you in the listings and it will cost you less than 10 bucks

djbaltimoredc.com

Or this one

mddcdj.com

Or even better both
.. or .. AltoGTDDJ.com
 
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They told me it takes 3 to 5 months to really start to see results. Right now I am placing #2 on google for Wedding DJ in Dundalk. They stress that I need google reviews, Been asking brides for google reviews recently. No one has taken the time to leave a review yet. I am sending over the link to the bride for now on along with their video link.

That's because you're searching from the same device when you check you're at number 8 organic here but you are the second non listing site

Wedding DJ in Dundalk - Google Search - (https://www.google.ca/search?q=Wedding+DJ+in+Dundalk&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA820CA820&oq=Wedding+DJ+in+Dundalk&aqs=chrome..69i57j0j69i64.1013j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
 
You probably need to hire a good photographer like Mix to come take some photos ..
Thanks for the compliment but he's paying this person to build him a new website leaving him with not the right money to pay me. LOL.
 
So Ricky, do you have an update on the results? Has it paid off?

Hard to tell. I wish I could say it was a complete success. This year is slower than previous years in terms of amount of bookings I have on my calendar at this point in the year. ....I believe 2019 is a cycle year in my area though. May is pretty bad compared to previous years. March and April were terrible.

With that said...I recently just got cancelled out on a upcoming wedding. Groom tells me they are broke and can't afford me, and went way over budget for their wedding. He owns a small business, and his business has been slower than ever. I had booked it at $1,350 for 5 hours. I even offered him $150 off the balance to help him out, and attempt to keep me working that day. No dice. He said they had to cut the open bar during cocktail hour, and will have his brother just play a play list on a home stereo system. That's another lost gig for this year. All in All this year is not terrible, but I'm glad I have a full time job during the week. I would be hurt financially right now if I did not have that. ...His wedding is at a upscale wedding venue as well that charges like $140+ per person.

Have website inquiries increased? Maybe SLIGHTLY more than in 2018 considering much of what I booked in 2018 were inquiries in 2017.

In 2017 and prior years, A good portion of my events came through via the Talent Agency...and I don't have that any more. Even though I am still listed on their DJ Roster on their website...they are not booking me at all. They have slowed down greatly as well. I hear they are only booking 3 DJs, and if those guys are booked, or it's a budget client, they try to book some real cheap DJs they use that will do gigs for them for like $400. Their roster shows near 40 DJs, but close to 30 of them do not get booked at all by the agency. Just a bunch of DJ profiles from years past to make them look big now.

So in terms of booking derect events...I am probably doing about the same as in previous years, BUT I am asking for more money, and getting it from time to time on weddings.

With all of this said...The booking season is pretty much over. I am going to be contacting the website company, and telling them I need a much better monthly price or I will have to cancel them out, and go back to the old web site soon. I have to go back into Money saving mode. I already cancelled Google Adword Advertising 2 weeks ago. Any new inquiries have been from organic searches or referral.
 
Hard to tell. I wish I could say it was a complete success. This year is slower than previous years in terms of amount of bookings I have on my calendar at this point in the year. ....I believe 2019 is a cycle year in my area though. May is pretty bad compared to previous years. March and April were terrible.

With that said...I recently just got cancelled out on a upcoming wedding. Groom tells me they are broke and can't afford me, and went way over budget for their wedding. He owns a small business, and his business has been slower than ever. I had booked it at $1,350 for 5 hours. I even offered him $150 off the balance to help him out, and attempt to keep me working that day. No dice. He said they had to cut the open bar during cocktail hour, and will have his brother just play a play list on a home stereo system. That's another lost gig for this year. All in All this year is not terrible, but I'm glad I have a full time job during the week. I would be hurt financially right now if I did not have that. ...His wedding is at a upscale wedding venue as well that charges like $140+ per person.

Have website inquiries increased? Maybe SLIGHTLY more than in 2018 considering much of what I booked in 2018 were inquiries in 2017.

In 2017 and prior years, A good portion of my events came through via the Talent Agency...and I don't have that any more. Even though I am still listed on their DJ Roster on their website...they are not booking me at all. They have slowed down greatly as well. I hear they are only booking 3 DJs, and if those guys are booked, or it's a budget client, they try to book some real cheap DJs they use that will do gigs for them for like $400. Their roster shows near 40 DJs, but close to 30 of them do not get booked at all by the agency. Just a bunch of DJ profiles from years past to make them look big now.

So in terms of booking derect events...I am probably doing about the same as in previous years, BUT I am asking for more money, and getting it from time to time on weddings.

With all of this said...The booking season is pretty much over. I am going to be contacting the website company, and telling them I need a much better monthly price or I will have to cancel them out, and go back to the old web site soon. I have to go back into Money saving mode. I already cancelled Google Adword Advertising 2 weeks ago. Any new inquiries have been from organic searches or referral.
I’m just curious, but if all the events you do, how many of them are direct referrals? 50%, 25%, 90%? I personally think that google searches are slowly fading and becoming the new yellow pages. Peoples are now using Facebook and Instagram to find what they want for something like this. Weddings are a very trend focused industry, so people are going to Instagram and Facebook to see what’s going on in the industry. They also ask friends and family for recommendations. This is why I asked what your referral rate is, because if you’re not standing out to people at the event itself or posting quality content on social media, people aren’t gonna mention you or see that you exist. Websites are only being visited AFTER they’ve been told to check them out. Many companies here have SIGNIFICANTLY cut back on google advertising... they haven’t cut back spending overall, just redirected funds to better options.
 
Peoples are now using Facebook and Instagram to find what they want for something like this.

Been that way for 10 years for me. I don't have exact numbers but a high percentage of my non referral business and a fair bit of my referral business comes through Facebook and I don't really do a spectacular job of it. Social Media has changed the way we do business some for good some not so much

Weddings are a very trend focused industry, so people are going to Instagram and Facebook to see what’s going on in the industry. They also ask friends and family for recommendations. This is why I asked what your referral rate is, because if you’re not standing out to people at the event itself or posting quality content on social media, people aren’t gonna mention you or see that you exist.

What Taso said is correct...I will add it doesn't mean you're not a good DJ you can be the best DJ in the world but if you're not leaving an impression somehow or other they aren't going to remember you

Think of the last time you bought something bland..Let's say the last time you had the brakes done in your car. If you shopped around and If they were done right but there was no particular reason to remember who did them you likely wont remember...It's the same for us. Maybe it's appearance or customer service or interaction if you aren't standing out you will be standing outside



Websites are only being visited AFTER they’ve been told to check them out. Many companies here have SIGNIFICANTLY cut back on google advertising... they haven’t cut back spending overall, just redirected funds to better options.

Websites are essentially online business cards now. Years ago we used to hang business cards on peg boards in gas stations and restaurants or whatever to get people to see and take them. Now when I pass you a card the deal is pretty much done it's just contact info. Websites aren't much different. They aren't accidentally coming across your site (Google search) and calling these days by the time they see your site 9/10 will know about you. That being said in competitive markets a website is essential but it's for image not inquiries
 
Think of the last time you bought something bland..Let's say the last time you had the brakes done in your car. If you shopped around and If they were done right but there was no particular reason to remember who did them you likely wont remember...It's the same for us. Maybe it's appearance or customer service or interaction if you aren't standing out you will be standing outside
THIS!! This is my favorite type of analogy! I always tell clients my business is primarily a word of mouth business and that I don't advertise, and in order to survive, I need to get people talking about me. I then tell them the only way people talk, is not for something that's average or just "good enough", but they talk about something really bad (to stay away from) or really amazing, and that they'll tell everyone to try/use/buy/hire, etc... and I wanna be on the amazing side of the conversation. To achieve that you have to do what few are doing performance wise. Polishing up your mixing skills, your energy level, appearance of your set up and keeping it nice and clean and modern. It's why I bought both my podium and tufted booth, so that even in sound only scenarios my setup is different than the norm.
 
i hasten to say that even if you just have a facebook page you are being left behind... the millenials left it about 3 years ago for instagram and snapchat... and they arent looking back... you really need a presence on multiple platforms..and they have to be active... i neglect my facebook account so bad... because instagram gets me all the best results... create a small fanbase of past clients... show their posts love as well... stay part of their world...and u will be the only name they think of for their own entertainment needs...and especially their "go to" for recommending to friends.... people dont want the hassle of sifting through a sea of websites and solving this big mystery .... they will take a referral any day and run with it... no matter the cost... its piece of mind...

the majority of people searching random websites are price hunters... and if thats your clientele...and u can win that battle for cheapest...by all means... choose that method of marketing

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i hasten to say that even if you just have a facebook page you are being left behind... the millenials left it about 3 years ago for instagram and snapchat... and they arent looking back... you really need a presence on multiple platforms..and they have to be active... i neglect my facebook account so bad... because instagram gets me all the best results... create a small fanbase of past clients... show their posts love as well... stay part of their world...and u will be the only name they think of for their own entertainment needs...and especially their "go to" for recommending to friends.... people dont want the hassle of sifting through a sea of websites and solving this big mystery .... they will take a referral any day and run with it... no matter the cost... its piece of mind...

the majority of people searching random websites are price hunters... and if thats your clientele...and u can win that battle for cheapest...by all means... choose that method of marketing

cc
Yes and no. 25 and under... instagram. 25+ facebook and instagram. I notice that older people are communicating more on facebook. I'm 32 and all my friends are on facebook and get their information there. Just kinda depends on your target market. Being that I do weddings and Sweet 16's both are equally important, as weddings are now consisting of couples that use both efficiently, and for sweet 16's kids are on insta, but their parents on facebook. But yes, give it another 2-3 years and facebook will be less focused on.
 
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Yes and no. 25 and under... instagram. 25+ facebook and instagram. I notice that older people are communicating more on facebook. I'm 32 and all my friends are on facebook and get their information there. Just kinda depends on your target market. Being that I do weddings and Sweet 16's both are equally important, as weddings are now consisting of couples that use both efficiently, and for sweet 16's kids are on insta, but their parents on facebook. But yes, give it another 2-3 years and facebook will be less focused on.

Just speaking on what i see from my own experience... even my 60+ year old family dropped Facebook... i kinda resent it because i enjoyed facebooks marketing plan a lot around 2010...promoting my puppet theater it was amazing... before all the algarhythms took over and they seemed more intent on hiding small businesses posts from their own fanbase. I still keep it alive...basically like a website...for (as you said) the parents... but instagram is so much more organic... it has a pulse...on a gig day...my base is there with me...experiencing it ...coveting it...

plus... i maintain 10 dm's on any given day discussing stuff with past and future clients...which is a nice one stop shop for communication

its sure to be replaced at some point with something new...but i hope it stays around a while... im comfy there

cc
 
Just speaking on what i see from my own experience... even my 60+ year old family dropped Facebook... i kinda resent it because i enjoyed facebooks marketing plan a lot around 2010...promoting my puppet theater it was amazing... before all the algarhythms took over and they seemed more intent on hiding small businesses posts from their own fanbase. I still keep it alive...basically like a website...for (as you said) the parents... but instagram is so much more organic... it has a pulse...on a gig day...my base is there with me...experiencing it ...coveting it...

plus... i maintain 10 dm's on any given day discussing stuff with past and future clients...which is a nice one stop shop for communication

its sure to be replaced at some point with something new...but i hope it stays around a while... im comfy there

cc
I think something that alot of dj's failed to do with facebook is make their personal page as much of a business page as possible, while still maintaining a business page. My personal page has just as much content as my business page, and has more people following it too. Plus it also shows some of your personal life in there as well making it easier for people to connect with you. I actually have more people following my personal page than my business page. With my personal page, everyone sees my info, with a business it's not a guarantee as you said.
 
I think something that alot of dj's failed to do with facebook is make their personal page as much of a business page as possible, while still maintaining a business page. My personal page has just as much content as my business page, and has more people following it too. Plus it also shows some of your personal life in there as well making it easier for people to connect with you. I actually have more people following my personal page than my business page. With my personal page, everyone sees my info, with a business it's not a guarantee as you said.

yeah....my personal page on both fb and ig are much larger and more active than my business pages... most of my closest referring friends contact me via the personal page... and i have them send the referrals to the business page...and usually always connect with them via both... the business page is a nice window into what we do without having to sift through the personal stuff... but between whisper and i we actively show our personal side and our dj adventures through both

When i had the puppet theater...we had a seperate personal page for our main character....and he acted as a business page in disguise... but he had thousands of friends on fb...it was really cool...and i spent a lot of my time responding to children who wrote the character letters ...lol... it was an odd profession...

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I think something that alot of dj's failed to do with facebook is make their personal page as much of a business page as possible, while still maintaining a business page. My personal page has just as much content as my business page, and has more people following it too. Plus it also shows some of your personal life in there as well making it easier for people to connect with you. I actually have more people following my personal page than my business page. With my personal page, everyone sees my info, with a business it's not a guarantee as you said.

I've also done that and from the start I post double the stuff about gigs on my personal page that I do on the business page
 
I've also done that and from the start I post double the stuff about gigs on my personal page that I do on the business page

Me too. I post pictures of probably 90% of the gigs I do and make a thread on there. There is that 1 in 10 gig that I don't because of being too busy. I usually get between 4 and 10 likes from family/friends. I have received inquiries, and recommendations from Facebook before from people looking to book a DJ, but none of them have panned out. My guess, is they are all looking for a very low price.

I did book TWO weddings where the initial inquiry came from Face book. I also booked a retirement party about 9 years ago from FB ...That si because they were recommended to me from family. So once in a blue moon I do get one.

About 6 weeks ago I quoted $1195 for a 6 hour wedding for 50 guests that was a 89 mile drive away on Maryland's Eastern Shore that came via Face book. Crickets from the bride after the quote. She was recommended, and watched one of my videos. I guess she was hopeful I would say "$500".
 
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