Marketing wedding DJ services can be tough, with professional DJs often facing stiff competition to provide the best service possible.
Building a network of contacts in local venues and making sure you target the appropriate market are just two of the many factors wedding DJs need to consider.
Whether you’re an established wedding DJ looking for more business or a newcomer seeking clients, this step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know.
How To Market Your Wedding DJ Services (Step-By-Step)
There are many facets to consider when working as a professional DJ at weddings, from ensuring you have the right equipment to building a library of suitable music.
We’ve covered all aspects of marketing wedding DJ services so you can put together a range of competitive packages that will attract all types of clients.
Without further ado, here’s our guide to packaging and selling your wedding DJ services:
Step 1: Understand Your Target Market
One of the first steps to take for any new business, whether you’re starting a wedding DJ service or promoting your music online, is to research and understand your target market.
The typical target market is composed of people who are getting married in the near future and are often involved in planning a wedding themselves.
They’re looking for packages of DJ wedding services to keep their guests entertained on the dance floor, as well as adding to the event with announcements.
Once you’ve pinpointed your target market, you should break down the demographics such as age, gender, location, and income level to help tailor a marketing plan.
The average age of couples getting married has increased over the years, with the most common age group around the late 20s and early 30s.
In terms of gender, women make up the majority of those who plan a wedding, led by the bride with help from her family and friends.
You should also consider offering services for same-sex couples who want to get married, although this is overall a smaller audience.
Step 2: Create Package Options
With a clear understanding of the demographics and income level of your target audience determined, it’s time to work on creating package options.
These packages should be designed to meet various types of weddings and requirements to cater to different budgets and the resources you need to perform on the wedding day.
Your costs and other expenses such as petrol or other travel arrangements should be taken into consideration, as well as how long you’re expected to play for.
If you’re providing your own DJ equipment, this can also be included in the price as part of any rental costs for DJ controllers and a sound system if the venue can’t provide these.
Any money you spend on the music you intend to play, whether you’ve signed up for the ZIPDJ pool or are investing in physical media, should be factored into how much you charge.
Once you’ve priced up all your expenses and other additional costs you want to include in each package, you can move on to outlining each of these packages in more detail.
Step 3: Define Each Package
Successful wedding DJs are those who are able to clearly outline the various services and other features available for a range of pricing options to their clients.
This means establishing how many different packages you are offering and what the clients can anticipate when choosing a package that matches their wedding vision.
For example, basic wedding DJ services might include a small role in the event planning and the provision of a loudspeaker system, professional DJ, and equipment for the DJ booth.
Additional packages that bring more features to the event could include the following add-ons:
- Laser lighting, light bars, up-lights, and other disco lighting equipment
- Text requests to the DJ booth via a mobile application so guests can request their favorite songs
- Additional assistance with event planning and coordination
- Live singers and musicians to complement the wedding DJ’s set
- The inclusion of a photo booth and other photography services
- A selection of backdrops and other props to create a visually interesting set
- Video screens to show image slideshows and other footage
- Other video features, such as a GoPro live video feed of the ceremony and reception
Each package should be clear as to what these additional services cost individually, giving clients the option to mix and match to suit their wedding vision.
Step 4: Build A Website
Once you’ve determined your range of services and how they related to specific packages, it’s time to present them all on a beautiful website.
You can research many of the best DJ websites to see how other DJs showcase their music and style, as well as those of professional, established wedding DJs.
The website should include any photos and videos from your previous gigs, and if you’ve yet to pick up a client, you can use images from corporate events or other work as a mobile DJ.
These assets should be of the highest possible quality and accompanied by unique brandings for your business such as banners and logos.
In addition to the basic contact information on the website, you should also link to any social media business pages you have to further promote your services.
Consider setting up an account on Instagram, as this is a hugely popular platform for sharing colorful imagery that your target audience is likely to engage with.
As you pick up more wedding DJ gigs, make sure your website and social media pages are updated with any new photos, videos, and customer testimonials.
If you don’t have experience putting together a website, there are plenty of great online services that offer excellent templates to get you started.
You won’t need to fork over huge sums of money for a logo designer either; these online services include free logo and branding tools to do the hard work for you.
Step 5: Create A Marketing Plan
Creating a comprehensive marketing plan for your wedding DJ services is similar to how you might go about getting DJ gigs and is vital for gaining traction online.
Social media platforms such as Facebook allow you to pay for targeted advertising campaigns that can be tailored to fit the demographics and local area you’re working in.
They also allow you to engage with previous customers and potential new clients, answering their questions and helping them choose the right package.
You can also place ads directly on websites or through search engines, increasing your brand’s awareness and generating additional leads.
Since your target audience is likely to be nearby, traditional print advertising methods such as placing an ad in the local newspaper are also great for reaching out to new clients.
You can also print out high-quality brochures using photos that showcase how much fun your previous clients had on their wedding day.
Finally, you should consider networking at local events and with venue managers who work with the bride and groom to put on their special day.
In-person marketing is often overlooked in the age of the internet, but it’s perhaps the best method for building personal relationships and solid leads for more business.
Step 6: Get Customer Referrals
Once you’ve mastered how to DJ a wedding and hosted a few events, you can use your success to gather customer referrals to help drum up additional business.
Referrals from past clients help to generate word-of-mouth marketing, which is often worth considerably more than placing ads online or in local newspapers.
Happy clients are often willing to allow you to use their photos from packed dance floors or of their first dance to help wedding DJs reach new customers.
When asking for a referral, make sure you do so in a polite and professional manner, whether you’re doing so in person, over the phone, or via email.
You can also consider including a referral program in your wedding DJ packages, offering a discount if they agree to allow you to use their testimonial in your ads.
The quality of the entertainment you provide, your level of involvement in preparing for the special day, and the overall standard of customer service all increase your chances of a referral.
Get all of these elements sorted and over time your reputation as the right DJ for the job will grow and create a steady stream of bookings based on word of mouth alone.
Wedding Package Prices To Consider
Now that we’ve covered the important steps you need to follow to market your wedding DJ business, here’s an overview of what you can include in each of your packages.
While the exact prices you charge and the services included will vary depending on your business model and the rates in your area, this information will help you to set the best prices.
You can also research how much a wedding DJ costs in your local area to make sure your prices and packages are competitive, including your hourly rate if relevant.
Basic Wedding Packages
A basic wedding package should cover all of the essential elements needed to perform at the wedding but at an affordable price suitable for couples on a budget.
This package should be oriented towards smaller venues, with the maximum number of attending guests kept to 100 or fewer.
In addition to the DJ services, a basic package can include the provision of equipment such as DJ controllers and mixer, as well as a basic PA and speaker system,
Including basic lighting in this package, such as an LED laser effect light bar or disco lights, is also something some basic wedding packages throw into the deal.
While the average price for a basic wedding package varies depending on whether it’s taking place in a major city or urban area, expect to charge between $500 and $1000.
Mid-Tier Wedding Packages
The next category of wedding packages takes all the features included in the basic package and adds additional features.
This includes being available for gigs at mid-sized venues, where the number of attending guests might go up to around 250 people.
It may also include performing for a longer period of time and providing additional entertainment outside the standard reception held at night.
A mid-tier package often includes a bigger selection of lighting, including more professional equipment, such as laser lights to illuminate the dance floor.
Photo booths, access to text request apps for the guests, and more involvement in the planning stages all help push these packages to between $1000 and $1,500.
Full-Service Wedding Packages
For a premium wedding DJ service that includes all the available services, the selection of features on offer needs to be exemplary.
Everything included in the previous tiers is available in a full-service package, plus plenty of high-quality extras to make it worth the high price.
The sound system provided should be of the best possible quality, with a comprehensive selection of music to cater to every taste and request.
A full lighting rig should be provided in this tier, with LED and laser effect light bars complemented with a full-room rig of up-lights and standing light sticks.
Additional visual elements, such as video slideshows projected onto a large screen, and GoPro video feeds broadcasting the event online, can also be offered in this package.
The inclusion of ceremony services and additional musicians and entertainers can push full-service wedding packages upwards of $2,000
Summary
We hope you’ve found this guide to marketing your DJ services useful, and it will help you fine-tune and grow your business in the future.
As your work evolves and you pick up more clients, make sure you continue to refine your marketing plan and update it with the latest photos and videos.
Becoming an established wedding DJ is certainly a challenge, but follow the steps we’ve discussed in this article, and success will come your way.
Help your clients enjoy more magical moments by signing up for the ZIPDJ pool and accessing a huge library of fully licensed music.