In the age of online stores and shopping, even bellydancers have to increase their online presence. And with that comes an increase of online gig request responses. So we now not only have to sell ourselves on the phone but also in our responses and messages. You may only have a few short sentences to grab your clients attention and sell yourself in that gig request response! To that end, I have come up with a how to to help you create a template to use and also help ease some of the stress of responding.
The first thing I can tell you is make sure that you have a few templates for each type of package that you offer. You may get multiple requests from the same person over time and the last thing you want is for your response to seem or sound familiar. Make sense? There should be one for birthday parties, weddings, restaurants, etc.
Secondly, don’t make them too long or too short. A nice full 4 sentence paragraph is usually enough but if you’d like a word count, I’d say 250 or less.
Your response shouldn’t be about YOU, it should be about them. Make sure that you talk about what you can offer them and what you will/would do. Focus on what their reaction would be and your guests. For instance, “I will dazzle your guests with wings of lights… get the party started with getting your guests up to dance…” Let them know that their guests will be talking about your show and enjoy it! You can also mention social media if you like. Most people love hearing about how awesome their event was from their friends’ social media posts. If you get that engagement, make sure to highlight it or encourage them to go take a look!
If there is something that you do that no one else does, then mention it. Mention your “one of a kind” or “custom” and if you leave a gift for the guest of honor, make sure to mention that as well. What they want to read is amazing things that help them paint a picture of how special their event is going to be with YOU in it!
Do NOT spend that time talking about how long you have studied or how much your costumes are worth. The more you dazzle, the less they will have possible sticker shock over your pricing. They will realize that they are getting so much more than they expected or even bargained for. If you feel that you MUST mention something about your background, make it memorable. If you’ve been on TV, let them know that they are getting a TV star! If you’ve been in a music video or danced for an ambassador, sure throw that in!
Is there something that you have found has worked for you? Please feel free to share it in the comments section below. OR if one of my tips, helps you then I’d love to hear all about it. We can always use adjustments in how we sell ourselves in gig request responses.