As the holiday season gets closer, bookings on GigSalad start picking up! People love planning joyful celebrations for their friends, families, and co-workers. Updating your profile is important if you want to give yourself the best chance of landing more holiday gigs. We have some simple tips to get you started.
Refresh your media
Your photos and videos are the first things potential clients will see. Take a little time before the holiday season really gets going, and take some new festive photos!
🎸 Musicians, Singers, and Bands
You can’t throw an unforgettable party without great music. Whether solo or in a group, musicians should try uploading a video or two of well-known holiday tunes! Showing off your ability to provide a swinging soundtrack for a Christmas or New Year’s Eve party will help potential clients see that you’re perfect for their event.
At the very least, take a new profile photo for the season. It can be as simple as setting up a background with string lights and garland or even dressing in a red and green outfit. The point is to convey how much holiday cheer you can bring to your clients’ events!
🎥 You might also like: 5 (Almost) Free Ways to Improve Your Media
💃 Unique Entertainers, Magicians, and Dancers
Showstopping acts like circus performers, dancers, and magicians are all about the “look.” The visual performance they put together is what keeps the audience engaged. People book these entertainers for the glitz, glam, and wow factor, so embrace that in your holiday photos. Break out your glittery costumes, top hats, and festive props. Hang a wreath on your aerial lollipop or juggle snowglobes. Get creative and have fun with it!
🥳 Children’s Party Entertainers
Holiday parties are often all about the kiddos! Parents love knowing what to expect when planning the perfect Christmas party, so children’s party entertainers shouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Face painters can find a willing family member to lend their cheek for some creative face paint, such as reindeer, snowflakes, Santa Claus beards, or sparkly abstract designs. Add 3-5 new photos to show off your skills!
Balloon artists could use this time to brush up on new twists! Snowmen, gingerbread men, poinsettias, and candy canes are all fun options for holiday balloon art. Spend a few hours putting these together and adding them to your profile’s photo gallery for the season.
Costumed character companies should put their most festive characters forward! This is the time to highlight your Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, The Grinch, elves, and Frozen characters. Show your potential clients you have everything they need to take their party to the next level.
💁 Other Event Services
There are all kinds of helpful services event planners will be looking to hire for their holiday celebrations. Even if your services don’t change much this time of year, you can still make your profile more appealing with a simple change to your profile photo. Take a new headshot with a Santa hat, or add some Christmas icons to your logo.
If your company specializes in decor or cakes, make sure your photo gallery showcases your various holiday offerings. For photographers and photo booth companies, include images of your festive backdrops and props. Your profile should allow potential clients to envision exactly what their party would look like if they hired your services.
📷 Pro tip: Once you’ve uploaded your new pictures, change your profile photo and rearrange your gallery so the holiday-themed snaps show up first!
Update your service descriptions
After your media, clients tend to zero in on your overview and bio when deciding who’s best to book. You can edit your overview any time, so brush it up with all your holiday offerings! Talk about what you can bring to the party and why you’d be a great fit. Don’t be afraid to talk about your extensive holiday setlist or your years of experience entertaining at corporate events. Here’s an example to get you started:
Check your lead preferences
You may want to tweak your lead preferences to capture as many holiday gigs as possible. Log in and check your settings to ensure they’re optimized for the season.
Categories
If you’re a Pro or Featured member, you may have some unused category slots you can capitalize on. In addition to your regular categories, consider including “Holiday Entertainment.” This small change to your categories can help nab a few extra leads from people who aren’t sure what they want but know they want something festive!
Members with free profiles can have up to two categories, so be sure that you’ve chosen the most relevant categories for your profile. If you only have one “great” fit category, feel free to swap the other one for “Holiday Entertainment” for the season and see if it helps land more bookings.
Travel Distance
Clients booking for Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties often spend more than for “regular” events, especially in larger cities. If you’re willing to travel a little further to holiday jobs, you may get bigger payouts!
Consider editing your travel distance for the season or updating your location altogether. This isn’t a bad idea year-round, but it is even more likely to generate more leads during the holidays. You can set custom travel distances for different categories, so you aren’t getting something like Singing Telegram gigs that are 100 miles away.
📍 Pro tip: Set your location in a competitive city where you want gigs from, not necessarily where you live.
Advanced Lead Notice
Holiday party planners often procrastinate, so you may get some last-minute holiday gig opportunities! If you don’t want to miss out on these potential moneymakers, check on your Advance Lead Notice setting and make sure it isn’t too restrictive.
Don’t miss any holiday leads this season! Set up text notifications so you’re notified right away. And hey, you may be able to capture some day-of gigs from desperate clients whose providers canceled.
Calendar
Make sure your availability for holiday gigs is all set! Maybe you have extra days off from your full-time job, or you’ve already booked a few Christmas parties. Check your GigSalad calendar and update the times you’re available (or not) for gigs.
📅 Learn more about managing your calendar all year long!
Use your tools
This time of year is all about checking off lists and keeping up with the holiday rush. Responding to frantic holiday shoppers doesn’t have to be so stressful if you take advantage of some handy tools in your Dashboard! Set aside an hour or so and create a few Saved Messages and Saved Quotes.
Chances are you already know what your holiday packages and prices look like, so go ahead and enter them before the seasonal jobs pick up. When your leads start coming in fast and furious, you can respond with just a quick click.
Remember, your saved quotes should describe the services to be provided at the event and aren’t a place to share your packages, choices, or questions. Send a saved message first to gather all the information you need, and then send a quote only when the client is ready to book.
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With just a little bit of time and effort, you can optimize your GigSalad profile and truly stand out from the competition. Get into the spirit and start landing more holiday gigs this season! 🧑🎄
Megan is the Director of Customer Experience at GigSalad and has gained 9+ years of insight on what makes a great event on both sides of the booking process. Her favorite things include books, true crime podcasts, coffee, hiking, puns, and making people laugh.