The DJ Cheat Sheet for Promoting Parties
I have seen DJs fail time and time again, and it always makes me sad. Some of my favorite DJs that are much more talented than I will ever be, and promising young upstarts, fade away unheard because their parties flop. It doesn’t matter how many hours you practiced or how great your song selection is if no one ever finds out about your show. For some DJs, there seems to be a stigma attached to promoting events. I’ve heard excuses from, “The club should hire a promotor like they used to back in the day,” to “The music should speak for itself.” Those DJs are probably sitting at home on a Friday night playing Xbox. In my last article I gave my Practical Advice for Becoming a DJ, and now I’m going to tell you how I get people to my parties. It may seem pretty straight forward, but a lot of you need to hear this.
- Find an easily accessible venue. In my experience, venues people have never been to, are isolated, far away, or likely to get noise complaints are a no go. High traffic areas provide walk in patrons and a more sustainable event. Your friends aren’t going to come every weekend if it is a weekly party. The flips side of this is when you have a truly unique space. If you have the opportunity to throw your dance party in a 100 year old mansion, rollerskating rink, etc, do it!
- Build your online fanbase. I have an Instagram account for my DJ work, one of my parties, general events going on in the city, corresponding Facebook fan pages, a personal Facebook Page, and an Email list. I regularly add people who I would want to attend my parties, use hashtags and locations to find new patrons, and pull emails from the app I use for ticket sales. If you want to find out more about the mechanics of all this, shoot me a DM on instagram at DJBlakeW.
- Attend other people’s parties. You will meet more people who want to go to other parties if you actually go out, and have a credible real life presence in the world. Plus, having friends and being social is fun. Other DJs will appreciate your support and might reciprocate as well if they like you. There are really no down sides to being social unless you’re prone to drama or making bad life choices, but that’s on you.
- Book other DJs with a following at your party. Working with other DJs that other people like to see is a no brainer really. Just make sure they are doing their part.
- Vibe is important. If the crowd sucks, do something about it. For instance, if a bunch of creepy dudes show up at my party, I will play something girls love to dance to, but that offends their toxic masculinity. I will stop a house set and play Shania Twain’s Man, I feel like a Woman just to get those dudes off the floor.
- Have someone else make your flier, change it often. Unless you’re a graphic designer, find someone with great taste to make your flier. Stay away from stereotypical club fliers since you’re trying to stand out. If the flier is bad, it reflects poorly on you.
- Hire a photographer. Every party looks better in photos than it actually was. Great photos will give people major fomo, and you will see them at the next outing. Also, people will repost the photos, or you can tag them to increase your reach.
- Video Content is great. Facebook and Instagram prioritize video content, and it’s still a bit of a novelty. Great video is your best friend when promoting.
- Translate your party for the masses. Unless you have a dedicated crowd, niche parties are difficult. I throw a Mad Men party every year, because I like to play late 50s to Early 70s music every once in a while. It would be tough to get my demographic to come out simply for the music, but it sells out because Mad Men is accessible.
- Personal connections are crucial, but don’t get too personal. Having a dedicated fan base is great, but remember that many of those people wouldn’t miss you if you stopped throwing parties. Don’t take it personally. Don’t sleep with or hit on everyone that comes to your parties, or you’ll soon lose half your fan base. The guy that comes out 6 nights a week probably has some problems. Be wary. You will make some great friends throwing parties, but there are plenty of snakes you have to watch out for.
- If you are passionate about something, it shows. If you really love something, whether it’s your theme or music, people will know. There is no replacement for passion. If you have good taste and passion, many times you can be bad at everything else I listed, if you care so much that you become a gem people seek out.
- Protect Your People. People wont stick around if the environment feels unsafe, theyre getting groped on the dance floor, or there is excessive violence. Hire well trained security, and keep an eye out for creeps. If you see something, say something!
- If you need some inspo, here are some of my favorite party people: House of Plates, DJ Sober, A Club Called Rhonda, House of Yes, Fight ClubNY
Throwing a great party is an up and down process, and an emotional one if you care about the music you play. I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to send me a DM on instagram if you have questions. Hopefully my tips help you get people in front of your speakers, and the rest is up to you.
Blake Ward is a long time DJ out of Dallas, producer of the Disco, TX party series among others, a for fun photographer, a record collector, and too busy for your bullshit.