It's not even how great you are.
It IS "what makes you special?"
The key is getting club owners/managers/promoters (COMPs) to understand that your name will bring people in the door, that your skills will keep people in the building, and that their patrons' experience will get them to come back.
How to do that? Have easily identifiable attributes that resonate with the COMPs you are trying to reach. What are your unique selling points? What are the things about you that compels a COMP to say "I need to hire you?"
Idris Elba (picture 1) spun before he became famous, and he still spins now. Selling point. Sky Nellor (picture 2) is a female former model turned DJ. Selling point(s). ?uestlove (picture 3) spins when he is not drumming for the premier Hip-Hop band, The Roots. Selling point.
Now, 99.9% of DJs don't have those selling points, but there are plenty of DJs who have parlayed their unique selling points into gigs making thousands of dollars a night. Some of them are on the radio. Some are doing remixes. Some dominate their city to such a degree that their name travels on its own.
What are not selling points:
Playing the best music (you're SUPPOSED to play the best music!)
Being great at cutting and scratching (almost every Hip-Hop DJ can do that… it's only special if you are a turntablist), or at blending (that is rule #1 for House/Electro/Dance)
Rocking the mic (depends on the COMP, whether they value it or not)
What ARE selling points:
Other people consider you the best/most prominent/go-to DJ in that genre. Your name is the first that comes up. In Boston, Chubby Chub is that dude for Hip-Hop. DJ Bruno is that dude for Deep House. Junior Rodigan is that dude for Reggae. I'm that dude for Old School.
An affiliation bigger than yourself. I had never heard of DJ Spider, but he was a "Myspace DJ" (waaaay back in 2008 when that was a big deal). DJ Mark Da Spot is down with Monster Cables. There are a bunch of DJs that are signed with agencies such as Deckstar, Moodswing 360 and S.K.A.M. Artists that are the Ford, Elite and Wilhelmina's of the DJ world.
A tag line next to your name that is impressive. Or at least "sounds" impressive. I love DJ Dru Nyce's "The Most Requested DJ". Las Vegas' DJ G-Squared looks nice because we know only major DJs play in Las Vegas. NBA DJ Dallas Green makes you look twice. DJ Timbuck2, tour DJ for Lupe Fiasco… sweetness. I'm still wrestling with a tag line I can go everywhere with. Big Chicago Reggie Beas, the Upscale DJ, is cool, but that doesn't have that "umph" that tips the needle (and it makes it seem like I'm spinning in a tux).
Ultimately, it really comes down to your value. If a COMP spends $3,000 on you, will that translate into higher profits at the door and bar than spending $300 on DJ WTF? It doesn't even have to be true, the COMP just has to be convinced that your value is worth the extra expense. Your goal is to define yourself in such a way that COMPs see the value in flying you in, putting you up and letting you play.
*I put "celebrity" in quotes because anyone who is traveling worldwide as a DJ I consider a "celebrity" DJ, not just celebrities who decide to DJ.
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