Demo Download Cards

Like we went over earlier, monthly demo mixes are a very important part of getting your name out there. To become a successful DJ, you first have to become popular. To become popular, you have to make sure everyone knows who you are. If you don't market yourself and your talents properly, this will never happen. It takes hard work to promote and market DJs. It's not something that just happens by itself. That's why professional DJs hire Public Relations people and marketing teams, to grow their fan base and increase their popularity. It can be a full time job. If you want any chance to turn DJing into a career, you must work hard to market yourself until the day you can hire someone else to do it for you.

 

One way to greatly increase your popularity is to get your promo/demo mixes into as many hands as possible. When I was first starting out, I did what most DJs do and hand out demo CDs to friends. But this isn't enough. You have to be more aggressive, and make it convenient to distribute these demos and easier for the recipient to listen to it. You also want to be able to track everything.

 

These days I see some DJs just handing out a business card with their website address on it. I can't tell you how many generic business cards I've received from other DJs over the years. If they happen to really stand out, I may take the time to check out their site and listen to a mix. Maybe. But I noticed a few DJs doing something a bit different one year at the Miami Winter Music Conference. They were handing out what I call DJ Download Cards. A unique type of card that was made just for downloading that month's demo mix. Instead of lugging CDs around or just handing out a generic business card with your MySpace address on it, these special cards were created with the sole purpose of sending someone to a particular MP3 download of the latest mix.

 

Whenever I got handed one of these special cards, I almost always took the time to actually listen to the DJ's demo mix.

 

You have to make things simple for people, and that's what this card does. It only has one website address on it, and it's the exact address to the mix in question. The card also includes the title of the mix, and maybe some of the same graphics used on the CD cover. It helps to "brand" the demo mix. Branding is an important part of marketing.

 

Carrying around 50 DJ Download Cards is much easier and more convenient than carrying around 50 CDs. They also stand out from a regular business card, and people are more interested in actually taking action to download your mix. For my own monthly demo mixes, I track how many downloads they each receive. This way I can see what new distribution techniques work best, and which don't.

 

I want to maximize the number of downloads, which in turn will help to maximize the number of people getting exposed to my music. The more people who know who I am and like my music, the more fans I'll have and the more I can charge clubs for a gig. Remember, you can't make a fan out of someone who doesn't know who you are. You need to get your mixes in the hands of everyone.

 

So using my tracking system, I determined that handing out these DJ Download Cards increases the number of people who actually listen to the mixes by 40%. This is a HUGE number. The reason it works, is because the cards are simple, attractive, uncluttered, and right to the point.

 

I use two different versions of the cards. The more expensive route is having fancy clear-frosted plastic business cards made up. I include my logo, title of the mix, and one link that takes you directly to the download. That's it. These cards work the best, because they feel expensive and look unique. No one is going to throw out a card that feels and looks like a high-end credit card. Because it's different and unique, more people get curious and will download the mix. It makes you stand out from the crowd.

 

The cheaper way to do it, yet still very effective is...

 

To read the rest of this chapter, pick up your own copy of my complete guide below: