Determine who your mixtape's audience is. Think about who is likely to be listening to it. If you are using the mixtape to try to find work as a DJ, the audience will be the owners or managers of a club or bar. Realize that people in the industry will not be impressed by somebody simply sticking together the biggest hits of the day. If you are making a mixtape for a party, think about the tone of the songs, ensuring you keep the mood upbeat.
Pick your tracks suitable for the tape's desired audience. Choose enough tracks for around an hour of music. If you are making a mixtape to find work as a DJ, anything between 45 and 70 minutes is suitable. If you are making a mixtape as a gift, you can have as many tracks as you like, even spanning two CDs, if you wish. Only choose songs that are suitable for the audience, and don't include tracks just to take up time.
Arrange your songs in the desired order. Think about how each song finishes and begins. Arrange tracks so they run neatly into each other. This is important regardless of the purpose of your mixtape, but is especially important if you are looking for work as a DJ. DJs need to prove that they can make songs flow seamlessly into one another.
Start your mixtape with an attention-grabbing introduction if you are a DJ. Introduce yourself briefly and then move straight into the songs. Choose your first track carefully. Don't put your best track first, but don't save it until the end either. Avoid putting too much of your personality into the mix. You may love Tom Waits, but he isn't a common feature on many party playlists.
Use a free audio editing program such as Audacity, Power Sound Editor or MP3 Direct Cut. Add your tracks into the main wave form display and use the program's features to control the changeover between tracks. You can gradually lower the volume on the ending track and place the new track so that the spikes on the wave form sync with the previous one. If you are making a party or gift playlist, you can just arrange the tracks on some CD burning software and set the desired time gap between tracks.
Use a "Line in" connection and some audio editing software if you are recording a DJ mix. You can connect your turntables to your computer through the "Line in" port and record it using some audio editing or recording software. Just set the program to record from "Line in" and then burn the file onto a CD when you are finished. You can also use the program to correct any errors you made.