Hi, I just wanted to comment on the DJ/and or musician pay issue mentioned above. I charge $500 for the first 4 hours ($100 hourly overtime) and I'm at or below most of my competitors. I'm usually booked every Sat during the wedding season. Nightclub bookings pay $125 to $150. Most of my wedding/private party bookings come from the Yellow pages. I stongly urge everyone who is either underbooked or underpaid to look into this avenue if you aren't already there. Also, consider getting an 800 number that is routed to the phone number you are most frequently at. That way, if you move, your older ads and business cards aren't obsolete. I get my 800 service from Costco (a U.S. based warehouse discounter chain) and its something like 5 1/2 cents per minute with no monthly fee. (866) 24-PARTY rings at my house. If you letter your van or trailer, you may have more success with a vanity number like mine that is easy to remember at a 55 miles per hour glance! I'm in a small town so yellow pages ads are affordable. If you are in a big city, it might be prohibitively expensive to get an ad big enough to stand out.
Yellow page callers are very price selective and often the first person to answer the phone, answer the questions correctly, and quickly send a professional package with a nice cover letter, references, contract, and a wedding event questionnaire gets the gig. If you are also the cheapest or not too much higher than the other guys!
If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to post my wedding questionnaire.
I have often considered lettering my 14 foot trailer but I have always worried that it would be an advertisement to thieves. Does anyone have experience on how lettering your van or trailer has boosted your inquiry calls?