One week ago today (Monday, July 25, 2011) our blog, and website re-vamped in March of 2010, reached 500,000 visits.  This is an achievement that gives me great pride which I felt worthy of mention, but admittedly, I cannot take credit for it’s tremendous success.  There are many contributors – photographers, guest writers, illustrators and industry colleagues (as well as close friends and colleagues)  – who have been friends to our DJ blog and website. Some of you have contributed, some have edited and corrected, some have participated, and some have been helping to spread our articles and blog posts thorough every social media hub available. To all of you – a list that would be far too long to compile – I give my sincerest thanks.

In the week following July 25 of 2011, we have gained yet another 5,000+ views, a remarkable feat in itself for a DJ company limited in every possible way a company could be in gaining traffic.  For the most part, we are a regional DJ company, confined to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, we are stifled by copyright laws regarding music on our site (a huge obstacle for a DJ company… music, DJ, get it?) as well as copyright laws regarding photos and images.  Yet, we still prevail.

In the two and a half years since the initial launch of the blog (when we really had no idea how to use it), and the year since it’s infusion with our website, our DJ business increased exponentially, meaning, we have more booked dates than at any time in our twenty year history.  I credit this with ‘sharing the wealth’.  Our blog is not just about us and what we do (which would get boring very quickly), but about other event industry professionals and their work, their companies, and their ideas.  It is about music, and about parties, and, or course, about the Disc Jockey.

So, back to my staff, I commend them on their dedication to our blog.  Like everything else the staff of Cutting Edge Entertainment does, we put our all into it 110%, and the same can be said for this blog.  At the end of 2007, our Philadelphia DJ company was smacked down by the same omnipresent recession that many other companies and industries were crippled or destroyed by, yet we weathered the storm.  While print advertising became almost obsolete, the internet – and hence our blog – gave us a new platform to reach customers, show our work, share our principles while providing better customer service – via available information – then we ever dreamed possible.  Our blog became a living, breathing and evolving resource to help customers not only to find us, but to learn what we are all about.

The bonus, or unforeseen advantage that our blog gave us, which we could never have anticipated, was not limited to the information we were  able to share, but included information and knowledge we were able to gain.  By being ‘online’, our DJ staff were able to learn and grow as individuals.  We took in as much or more as we put out, learning new trends, new (and old) music, new ways of doing things and, most significantly, how to be a better DJ – while improving our service to our customer.

Read our DJ blog and decide for yourself.  It’s fairly simple to navigate, as you can simply click on ‘Blog’ on the navigation bar above, or reference the ‘CATEGORIES’ section along the right column to help find information more specific to exactly what it is you are looking for.

As for those companies still struggling simply to be found…  Start a blog.  Remember the voice in Kevin Costner’s head in the film ‘Field of Dreams’; “If you build it, they will come.” And for our little Philadelphia DJ company blog, with over three hundred individual blog posts and half a million hits to date, I think of the credo of a little space toy named Buzz Lightyear… “To infinity and Beyond!!”

Craig Sumsky
Director and DJ
Cutting Edge Entertainment

Illustration by Sean Gallo

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

I spend a great deal of time on the internet and throughout an average day I’d say I read up to seven or eight blog posts/online articles relating to the event industry in general. Over the course of several years, I’ve come across dozens of blogs authored by folks in the DJ industry from all across the United States, Canada, and even one in New Zealand. From reading their published posts, I’ve been able to evolve our own DJ blog into what I feel is an informative resource, representative of our DJ Company and the diverse types of events at which we perform, for clients who – by nature – are equally diverse. Thus far, it’s been quite successful, as our blog (and website) are not only the most trafficked of any Philadelphia DJ Company, but one of the most highly trafficked in the Philadelphia event industry – period.

Yet the question remained, how could our website be driving so many more visits than other Philadelphia DJ websites and blogs? Just knowing the analytics still left the unanswered question of why, so I figured the best way was to investigate. After some surfing around and looking at the other Philadelphia DJ websites, I found only two that seemed to actually blog on a semi-regular basis, one of which was very focused (certainly more than ours), and was very event-centric, meaning that they stuck to a formula of posting events where they had performed as the DJ. Although it didn’t particularly stimulate my mind, it was positive and upbeat, showing event after event (weddings, proms, bar mitzvahs and the like) and did an excellent job of showcasing their work.

The second blog… not so much. I see them huffing and puffing away, trying to generate traffic, but after reading through at least two dozen of their blog posts, I understood why they were merely spinning their wheels. It was instantly clear that this company was not only very one dimensional, but were sending out an overtly negative message, certainly not conducive to a customer service based business philosophy. They seemed more focused on what they wouldn’t do than what they would do, and – as a consumer myself – that was a huge turnoff.

Whether it be a DJ, or a florist, or a photographer, or a caterer, the service industry revolves around the wants of the client. Nothing else matters. “We will not do that” is not in our vocabulary, nor should it be in that of any business that wants to please their customers. If I were having a wedding, and while interviewing a potential florist I expressed I wanted white roses, I wouldn’t want to be told that they only do red roses, or a caterer who would only do chicken even if I wanted steak.

If the client wants the DJ to make announcements at their wedding, the answer is “yes we will”. If the client asks for the DJ to let their guests sing on the microphone, again, we answer with a resounding “Yes, we would be glad to”. If the client wants us to play a song, no matter what it is, we play it. Some clients want the DJ to play the Hokey Pokey, and some clients don’t. It’s your event, we are merely the facilitators, and this is what makes each event uniquely different.

The word ‘no’, or the phrase ‘we don’t do that’ should be a big red flag. Okay, so there are always exceptions to the rule… we won’t curse on the microphone or DJ in only our underpants, but otherwise, we’re pretty accommodating.

I believe I can easily draw a direct correlation between the words ‘yes we can’, and the traffic to our website. ‘Yes’ is a welcome word, and ‘no we cannot’ or worse yet ‘will not’ are the kinds of phases that a client or customer – myself included – just doesn’t have time for. If I say I want chocolate, and you hand me vanilla… you’re in the wrong business.

-Craig

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

About a month ago, Philadelphia wedding planner Karen Pecora asked me to do a presentation on blogging at the Society of Wedding Planners (SWP) meeting on November 2, 2010, at the Triumph Brewing Company in Old City Philadelphia.

I spoke before an audience of wedding planners, photographers, and other wedding professionals and colleagues in regard to all things blog, and although I would hardly consider myself an ‘expert’, my little DJ company has been able to achieve some of the best web traffic in the Philadelphia event industry, which I suppose makes me a semi-authority on the subject.

Having been a presenter before – particularly on a subject pertaining to websites, blogs, social media and search engine optimization – I was already familiar with the challenge of creating a program that would be of value to the more seasoned blogger. At the same time, I needed to be mindful of those who were either new to blogging, or who had not yet begun but were attending the seminar with a sincere interest in creating a blog for their website.

I figured a who, what, where, why and how approach would be best, trying to add valuable tidbits along the way. Looking back I think I successfully scratched the surface, and judging from the feedback of the attendees (I received over a dozen emails in the days following my presentation), I’m confident that I was able to convey the basics of blogging.

One point that I left out was focusing on my own blog. At the time I felt that would seem too self-serving, but looking back I feel that I should have added at least one fact that I think speaks volumes about the power of blogging and the internet in general, which is how it has benefited our company. Increasing the traffic to our website through our blog has also increased our sales. We are more visible and findable, and all at a fraction of the cost of advertising. This has allowed us to remain competitive in this uncertain economy by keeping costs down, while getting our name and our product/service out there in ways we had never imagined.

Enough about me though…

Like in anything, we find those professionals who inspire us and who we are able to learn from. Companies, businesses and individuals whose achievements marketing and networking online have set the bar for doing things right. Several of those are right here in Philadelphia, but the two I’d like to make mention of are my internet inspirations, and who by watching what they do, how they do it and reading what they write have helped me to evolve my internet presence.

The first is Saundra Hadley of  Planning Forever Events, a friend/colleague I met on twitter a while back, and whose blogging style, and social networking skills have awed me from the get-go.  Saundra is a wedding planner from Evansville Indiana, and has a strong social media presence while still keeping it real. I mentioned Saundra in my seminar, and how genius she is for incorporating her real self into her online and professional personae. Two words; Converse Chucks. Everyone who knows Saundra knows she loves the classic Converse Chuck Taylor sneaker, which uniquely humanizes her, helping a potential bride to feel familiar and at ease with not just her outstanding service as a coordinator, but with her as a person.

The second is Christine Dyer, founder of BridalTweet.com. Bridal Tweet is an international online network of wedding and event professionals (and brides), and serves as a really great place to network and share ideas and trends.  In addition, Christine is an outstanding blogger, and I find her posts to be informative while at the same time entertaining.  She writes ‘to’ her audience and not ‘at’ them as I see so many bloggers do.  Quite a bit of my presentation was taken from Christine’s blog titled “Your Wedding Blog: Getting People To See It, Read It, and Follow It”, which came to me only days before I had completed my outline for the seminar.

If you are in the event/wedding industry, or a bride planning her upcoming wedding, I suggest you check out both Saundra and Christine’s blogs, regardless of your locale.  They are top-notch, well written, informative, and will hopefully serve as as much of an inspiration to you as they have for me.

Thanks again to The Society of Wedding Planners for having me as your guest speaker. It was quite an honor.

-Craig

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Reeder – www.jeffreeder.com

The Triumph Brewing Company

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

When the folks at Culinary Concepts took over at The Independence Seaport Museum, they created Events at I.S.M., which is part of their new niche division called Event Venue Management. The aim of the new venture is to assist venues with their marketing and branding, while making the process of finding and choosing venues more seamless, streamlined and for the most part, a lot less overwhelming.

Cutting Edge Entertainment and Culinary Concepts had already worked together at a number of venues in the Philadelphia area, so when Events at I.S.M. was first launched, we got the call to be the preferred partner, providing DJ services whenever needed at the Seaport Museum’s event facility, along with a handful of other vendor partners handpicked by the Events at I.S.M. team, all in the spirit of making the process of planning an event easier for the client.

When, on October 6, 2009 Events at I.S.M. announced their “Love Of A Lifetime” wedding giveaway – where a lucky couple would win almost ninety thousand dollars worth of wedding services (basically a free wedding) – Cutting Edge was called upon to provide the DJ.  Initially we were provided a date, but aside from that we had to wait for the outcome of the contest to take the next step.

In February fifteenth of 2010, the winning couple (Matt and Faye) were announced on Fox 29′s “Good Day Philadelphia“, and the planning was underway.

Now, when you take a wedding reception and you pimp it out with a great caterer, an exciting venue, a fantastic wedding coordinator and an awesome band (yes, they’re having a band AND a DJ), the role of the DJ becomes somewhat marginalized, so at most the DJ will be playing dinner music and making a few announcements, and although we might do a dance set or two, the majority of the dance time will likely be left to the band.  Ultimately Leila – the wedding coordinator from Eclatante Event Design – will be pulling the whole thing together, and has been leading the charge in both working with Matt and Faye as well as blogging about each step in the process.

After a few nudges from Kelly-Ayn McKay at Events at I.S.M. I decided to reach out to Faye to arrange a meeting.  Don’t get me wrong, they were friendly nudges, as Kelly-Ayn reads our blog regularly, and hinted to me that Leila had already put up quite a few posts regarding the progress, while Matt and Faye have been diligently posting blogs on Philly.com as well.

So what’s left for a marginalized DJ to blog about? Well, what a DJ does best… something fun.

I phoned Kevin York – the “official”  Love of a Lifetime (LOL)  photographer (and a good friend) – and together we devised a plan.  I then called Faye back and together we made the arrangements.  We met for dinner, had some sushi and discussed some wedding plans, and then did something that both Kevin and I knew would make for a great blog post, while at the same time fulfilling a future brides dream.  “I’ve always fancied myself a rocking lead guitarist” is what Faye said, and with the help of Matt, Kevin and Rock Band, I was able to come as close as I could to making that dream come true.

If our meeting was any indication of what the wedding is going to be like, I’m certain it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.

As a final thought, I’d just like to give big props and thanks to photographer Kevin York.  Throughout this entire Love of a Lifetime wedding planning process, I’ve watched Kevin pulled this way and that, always on the ready with camera in hand for so many of the vendors involved, and always coming through with amazing photos.  Thanks Kev!

-Craig

Be sure to check out Kevin’s blog for more images!

Photos by Kevin York - www.kevinyorkphotography.com

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

Sean Gallo is an illustrator, and his contributions to the Cutting Edge Entertainment blog have been invaluable. Sean also happens to have been my friend since the second grade. Friends like Sean come in very handy when I’ve finished writing a blog post and don’t have a cool photo to put with it. Friends like Sean become especially invaluable when they can tolerate the frantic “I need an illustration of (insert whatever), and I need it in a hurry!”

And as things typically go, they aren’t the standard variety of illustrations, they’re always something random with a bit of a twist.

This one was the first I asked of him, and as expected he came through with flying colors. “I need an octopus holding drumsticks in its tentacles, and I need it by tomorrow” was my first request of him. I needed it for a blog entitled ‘Don’t Hate On The Octopus,’ and Sean’s illustration well exceeded my expectations. I call it ‘Ringo The Octopus.’

This next illustration was not only Sean’s creation, but his concept as well.  I had needed something that would encapsulate a DJ thinking, and Sean shot off the idea of a brain with headphones.  I loved it, and this time the deadline was a few hours, to which he chided me for my unreasonable demands while still delivering this great drawing before the end of the day.  He later came back to spruce it up a bit, and you can see the new and improved version on his blog.

I am excited (and grateful) to be able to incorporate his original and creative artwork into our blog, and look forward to featuring more of his illustrations in the future.  Check out Sean’s blog to see more of his amazing work.

Thanks Sean!

-Craig Sumsky

Sean Gallo Designs – http://seangallodesigns.wordpress.com/

I mainly photograph weddings but I am always in ‘photographer mode.’ When I walk around, I look for different locations that could be used at some point in the future with one of my brides (or models), I look how the light hits people around me (after all, photography is writing with light).

Case in point. The following picture was taken inside a garage. I once parked at this location and when I saw the lines and architecture I said to myself that one day, when I would have a bride around this area, I would stop by and use it.

Ansel Adams once said: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it”.  Sometimes that means that all I have to do is to capture the beautiful moment that unfolds in front of me:

… other times it means that I might need to give you some directions and put you in the best light:

All the while having fun with it.

A photographer friend of mine that I highly admire told me: “You don’t have to be the best; You just have to be better than last week”.

That is what I’ve been doing for the past six years.

Muchas gracias Sr. Craig (in an Antonio Banderas accent),

-Valentin




As far as photographers go, Valentin (or Mr. V as I call him) is top notch.  His stylized work and creative use of light brought a new flare to our blog in the latter part of 2009, and we look forward to Mr. V and his photography being a big part of the Cutting Edge Entertainment blog in the future. Thank you Mr. V, for all of your contributions.

-Craig Sumsky

Please be sure to check out Valentin’s work at his site and blog
www.jean-valentin.com

Become a fan of Jean Valentin Photography on facebook
www.facebook.com/JeanValentinPhotography

Follow Jean Valentin Photography on twitter
http://twitter.com/jeanvalentin

Ever since I wrote my blog ‘Untying The Knot’ my email inbox has been bombarded with people (brides and vendors alike) not only thanking me for bringing that situation to light, but with similar stories and dozens of links to what I will call ‘wedding injustices’ for lack of better term.  On Saturday morning I received one that I just couldn’t resist sharing as it was quite likely some of the worst wedding planning advice ever posted to the internet.

The blog, titled ‘The Big Wedding Money-Wasters’ was posted to Yahoo blogs in the Food section, and seemingly featured as well.  The authors were two women – Rita Mauceri and Elicia Rubin – who call themselves ‘Entertaining and Style Experts’ but judging from their blog, nothing could be further from the truth. Apparently they also author books, which after reading this blog I would suggest brides steer clear of wasting their money on because if their books are anything like their blog, they are likely filled with equally worthless advice.

Here is a link to their blog, which advocates planning a cross between a hillbilly hoedown and welfare-state wedding.

http://food.yahoo.com/blog/foxyfestivities/19773/the-big-wedding-money-wasters/#post

Now let me dissect the wealth of bad advice…

The Dress
By suggesting spending $300.00 on your wedding dress they are in fact suggesting that your wedding dress be reduced to what many girls spend on prom dresses.  I don’t even think a bride would consider this ‘advice’ in the first place, so no need to waste time on the foolish suggestion.  Brides, this is your magical day that you have dreamed of all your life…Nuff said.

Band (and DJ)
The prices they list for a band or a DJ are quite unrealistic on the low end (that is being kind) and they go on to suggest either having a friend DJ for you or using an iPod in combination with renting a sound system.
Please don’t believe for a second that a random friend or an automated IPod could replace a band or DJ with experience at reading a crowd, the iPod being the worse of both options.  So when people aren’t dancing because the auto-play iPod isn’t playing the correct sequence of songs are your guests expected to shuffle through songs making wild guesses?  Just go to YouTube and search ‘iPod DJ’ to see a plethora of horror stories regarding this option.

Cake
As they say, cupcakes can be nice… but remember, the ‘Etsy’ featured cupcakes were likely made by a bakery and the photo taken by a professional photographer hence making them look so good.  Do yourself a favor, don’t bake Betty Crocker cupcakes in your kitchen and bring them to your wedding.  By cutting the cost of a wedding cake or bakery presentation you aren’t cutting enough money to compromise the look of your wedding cake and reduce it to the look of something you bought at a bake sale.

Photographers
I was married once, and my former mother-in-law did just what this blog suggests… went with the lowest low-budget photographer available.  What we got was low-budget photographs.  Bad lighting, bad angles, bad pictures.  If the photographic memories of your wedding day are of little to no importance to you, just ask an art school student or better yet a guest with a camera to take those important photos and hope you get something worth framing.  A camera in the hands of someone with little to no experience is no different than you or I trying to paint a masterpiece on canvas with oil paints… trust me, you wouldn’t want to hang it on the wall.

Flowers & Food
I don’t suggest picking your own flowers or skimping on the food… It just sounds ‘ghetto’ to me.  A cocktail type party or a reception with stations can be nice, but to say that a professional caterer makes ‘rubbery chicken’ is just propaganda to scare you away from doing things the right way.  As for making your own flower arrangements, good luck with that… florists are called florists for a reason.

In a nutshell, these two women tout themselves as ‘professionals’ yet their advice would suggest that using professionals on your wedding day isn’t the best course of action.  Look up the word ‘hypocrite’ and you may just find a link to their blog. Remember that, before you consider buying their ‘professional’ book or seeking their ‘professional’ advice.

Or perhaps they are trying to start a new trend called ‘Ghetto Chic.’

Let’s face it… I’m not sure if it’s a certain social responsibility or just an unspoken expectation, but if you are going to have a reception at all and your plan is to serve store-bought cupcakes and play your favorite tunes on your IPod to entertain your invited guests, does that somehow absolve your invited guests from giving you gifts, or for that matter skimping by giving you the bare minimum from your bridal registry?  One spoon or one plate perhaps?  If you’re going to throw a reception, do it the right way… otherwise you might as well just elope.

I’m surprised they didn’t suggest a CZ over a diamond for the engagement ring.  Maybe that’s in in the book, or they’re saving it for a future blog.

-Craig

www.cuttingedgedjs.com