Below is something of a braindump of some notes I took at this year’s DJ Collective in Phoenix, 31 Apps/Sites + 10 tidbits in all.
MCing
There is a virtual toastmasters specifically for DJs!
Verbal Wedding Tools:
- Ladies & Gentlemen
- Distinguished guests
- Friends & family
- Welcome everyone
- We are going to…
Remind bridal party that their energy is contagious and they have to power to control the success of the party.
Marketing
Planoly – This baby is free and is officially endorsed by Instagram as a social media scheduler. This is the money tip right here.
PartySlate – An event platform you may not yet have heard of. With Wedding Wire, The Knot, and Gigmasters all owned by the same company perhaps it’s time to diversify your profiles.
BizBash – Another event platform.
Profnet – Further establish yourself as an authority in your field. The Press will reach out to your for commentary and reference in articles and newstories.
Pinterest – Don’t forget about one of the strongest social platforms that brides plan their weddings! Most DJs, being men, completely ignore it which means rampant opportunity with little competition!
Twitter – Addition by subtraction. Chances are your Twitter is collecting dust which isn’t a good look. Delete it if it’s useless, its only hurting your brand.
Lumen 5 – Quickly create videos for social media (text to video)
Magisto – Another online video editor (phone app)
Voices.com – Professional voiceovers
Tip: Ask five people in your network to poke around your website and get them to guess how much you charge. This is a great brand barometer to see if your prices are commensurate with the value that you’re projecting.
Meetings/Sales
Beautiful.ai – Automatically create good looking powerpoints
x.ai – Intelligent scheduling. CC their email address and watch them take over meeting logistics for you
VoiceA – Automated meeting minutes (what). They’ll automatically send out notes from your phone calls.
Zoom – Conference calls/online meetings
MixMax – Booking, Sales, Turbocharged Email
TextExpander – Instantly insert snippets of text
from a repository of emails, boilerplate and other
content, as you type – using a quick search or abbreviation
Grammarly – Writing that doesn’t suck
Contracts/Documents
Production
PhonicMind – Vocals remover
Audionamix Xtrax stems 2 – Audio source separation. Extract or remove Vocals, Harmonic Elements, or Percussion. Huge for making remixes, edits, and mashups.
Splice – $5/mo for samples.
Ozone – Master assistant exporting to CD is an 80/20 option for producers on a budget.
Tip: Use risers to offset drop in tempo
Tip: Sidechain new kick with fast attack
Tip: Use kicks that do not clash frequencies with existing kicks/low end
Music
Shazam.com has nifty charts showing the top searches by city. Honestly, you couldn’t find a better pulse on what’s hot in whatever city you’re in or traveling to for an event.
Photo Editing Apps
Acdsee – Image organizer