The enquiry arrives the way it always arrives. Not with a fanfare. With a Tuesday.
"Hey man, love your stuff. We're doing a night in November, would you be keen?"
And here's where most DJs blow it. They reply in forty seconds: "Yes! Definitely! Where? When? How much?" Three questions, fired blind, and just like that the negotiation is over before it started. You've told the promoter you're available before knowing anything. And you've told them money is an afterthought — which, to a certain kind of promoter, is the same as saying it out loud: this one will work for peanuts.
The professional treats an enquiry like an airport security line, not a door. Everything gets screened.
The Five Questions That Matter
1. The date. Check the real diary — not the optimistic one in your head. If you're holding another date that weekend, say so and say it fast. A clean, honest diary is worth more than any single gig.
2. The venue and the event. Not the poster. The reality. Capacity, sound system, who else is playing, what time slot. A promoter who can't answer these isn't a promoter yet — they're a person with a Facebook event and a dream.
3. The budget. Not "how much?" — that's amateur hour. The professional version: "What's the budget for the night?" Asked warmly, without apology. You are a business asking another business.
4. The deal. Fee, plus what? Flights, hotel, ground transport, food? A fee that sounds generous becomes minimum wage after you've paid your own way to Munich.
5. The person. Google them. Ten minutes. Have they run events before? Did those events happen? You'd be amazed what surfaces.
When you use the DJLink.me enquiry form, all of this lands in your dashboard before you've typed a single reply. Structured enquiries. Not vague DMs.
The Three Kinds of Promoter
Every answer a promoter gives — fast, slow, detailed, vague — tells you which bucket they belong in:
The Professional. Answers everything. Sends a contract before you ask. Treasure them. They exist.
The Dreamer. Big vision, thin detail. Sometimes they pull it off. Get everything in writing, and get a deposit.
The Time Thief. Wants your fee before telling you the venue. Goes cold when you ask about money. Politely let them drift back to sea.
Your first reply sets the frame for the entire relationship. Answer fast. Qualify before you commit. Availability is not the same as agreement.
Get structured enquiries from day one. Free DJLink.me account.
