Not great at the moment. I have 9 on the books for next year. Most are photo-based with DJ added. Getting traction in photography has been tough. The photographers are miles ahead of us in terms of their marketing smarts. My google placement in DJ is usually around #4 and in photography I'm swinging hard as I can and still at #64.
I will say that I'm a bit more settled this year than past years. I'm coming to realize that November is always dead until after Thanksgiving so, the tendency is to freak out a bit until then. Just sit back, relax, and keep working your marketing chops. It will pay off.
It will cost a lot of money, but running Google Adwords could put you at the top instead of being #64. If photography market is real competitive there, your CPC price to get into the top 4 ads on the top of the page is probably going to be high. ...For a example, in my area, "Wedding Reception DJ" keyword just jumped to $6.31 per click to show on the first page. I am not paying that, so I cancelled the keyword. It also takes A LOT of time looking at search terms and adding negative keywords to minimize the amount of wasted clicks you get to your website. ...I have a negative keyword list VERY LONG at this point.
The Call for a Mitzvah in March came in off of google adwords yesterday. However, it has been only the 2nd call in November I have received, and I am sure I have spent more than $250 on clicks in the last 15 days. ...Real Expensive.
I will also say that I always cut Advertising around this time of the year. December is a DEAD month for booking future events...Everybody is concerned with Christmas/Holiday Season and wedding vendor booking is put on the back burner until after New Years Day.
I usually only book Maybe ONE future wedding in December...some years I book one...Other years I book nothing. So I cancel all advertising for December. I will revisit Advertising after NFL Playoffs are over in January. I usually start it up around January 20th.
In my opinion, best nmonths to advertise are January through May. Maybe do some advertising here and there over the summer to catch the Early Bird brides who are booking their weddings a year out. Advertising in the Fall is always a gamble. I haven't booked anything off of my recent advertising...Only received a few phone calls off of google, and 2 email inquiries that went no where. I have booked a few referrals, and agency events in the past few months, but nothing direct from advertising since the Summer time. IMO advertising between Thanksgiving and new Years Day is probably the biggest waste of money because booking vendors for an upcoming wedding or other event simply isn't on people's minds at that point in time.
There is only so much you can attract from referrals. If you want to grow, and do more events beyond a certain point, then advertising is a must.
It's a toss up...Spend money on online advertising, or spend the money on bridal shows to obtain more gigs? The alternatives are more lucrative in nature, and harder to establish. (Getting in with Venue Managers or Planners who will refer you work...Might need to pay referral fees to establish a good partnership)
Bridal magazine advertising (Expensive)....Sounds cool, and may feel good to have an ad in a fancy bridal magazine, but how many brides/grooms are even reading those magazines these days?
accuse me of bragging so I will just say that bookings look great.
