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gigmasters, gigsalad, thumbtack

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A New Face
nikkili26
eviedejesus
Forest-Fairy
Joshi
Mellygee911
ninaschau
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gigmasters, gigsalad, thumbtack Empty gigmasters, gigsalad, thumbtack

Post by ninaschau Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:49 pm

Hello all,
which of the entertainer booking sites do you use, how well are they working for you/ thanks for sharing
ninaschau
ninaschau

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Post by Mellygee911 Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:14 am

In my experience, GigSalad has been a waste of time. I think it's because of the option "get 5 other quotes"... For entertainers who put time and effort into informative and accurate quotes, it's frustrating to have leads, but no serious bookings.

I honestly prefer linking my website to an ad on kijiji (canadian equivalent of craigslist) so that by the time people communicate with me, they know the price and what's included. I communicate with clients to book, not to convince them to book, so GigSalad has been useless for me.

This being said, it's annoying to have to re-list an ad constantly, or worry about your competitors putting their ad directly on top of yours every time you relist. I also miss having a feedback outlet where customers can leave ratings!
Mellygee911
Mellygee911

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Post by Joshi Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:01 am

I have booked gigs via Gig Salad. I have a paid account with them.
I am registered (free acct) on Thumbtack and Gig Masters too. Not booked anything yet from both.

Thumbtack charges to send quote to an inquiry...so that's the down side.

I think it varies from region to region what people prefer and what works. I would suggest to get the free registration on all and see what works for you!
Joshi
Joshi

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Post by Forest-Fairy Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:32 pm

I have GigSalad and GigMasters.

Got one lead though gigsalad, but another painter responded before me and he went with them. Other then that, nothing.

GigMasters has gotten me nothing but inbox spam asking me to upgrade to a paid account to get gigs.

:/

Craigslist works better.
Forest-Fairy
Forest-Fairy

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Post by ninaschau Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:41 pm

I have a profile on Gigsalad, I started with the free, since I was getting some gigs, I decided to upgrade, it went a little better, then I upgraded again, this last one isn't making any difference. I have a free profile on gig master, I have gotten two leads and one turned into a booking, waiting to see if I want to upgrade. I went on Thumbtack and bought some credits, bid on jobs and got nothing. Never buying any more credits there wasted 35 dollars.
Thats my experience, thanks for sharing yours. still haven't deeded if I should upgrade the gig master
ninaschau
ninaschau

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Post by Forest-Fairy Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:48 pm

Just got another lead on gigsalad. From a chairty.... wanting to hire (get this), a face painter, balloon twister, magician, bouncy castle, and puppet show for FOUR hours in the middle of the day, in the middle of JUNE with a budget of *drum roll*.... $100-$300. for everything.

gigmasters, gigsalad, thumbtack JiFfM

Needless to say I didn't jump at their generous opportunity.
Forest-Fairy
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Post by ninaschau Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:07 pm

When I get those I just respond with my rate as a face painter only for 4 hours, some book most don't
ninaschau
ninaschau

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Post by Forest-Fairy Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:29 pm

ninaschau wrote:When I get those I just respond with my rate as a face painter only for 4 hours, some book most don't

lol that's exactly what i responded with.
Forest-Fairy
Forest-Fairy

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Post by eviedejesus Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:45 am

I’ve done really well with Thumbtack. Paying to quote blows - but I just write them off anyway. What I hate is when the person doesn’t enter vital information like what time the party is. If I try to ask for the information before quoting, thumbtack rejects my question because it was already asked of them, and they chose not to fill it out. If I have ANYTHING booked on that day, I usually don’t pay to quote them because chances are their party is for the same time I have booked. I LOVE that my customers (even those I did not get through them) can review me on their site though. Sending them the link is easy and the process is simple. I have booked a few gigs through Gigsalad on my free acct., but not enough to pay for an upgrade.

I have gotten just a few gigs through craigslist, but mostly people that aren’t serious. Once I mention a deposit and signed contract......crickets.
eviedejesus
eviedejesus

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Post by nikkili26 Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:23 pm

I am on all 3...I don't bid on thumbtack even though I have credits because 90% of the people on thumbtack ALSO put in bids for me both on gigsalad AND gigmaster. which is ridiculous, why are you bidding on multiple website agencys for the SAME GIG.
ugh.
so when that happens, I usually only respond to their bid on gigmaster because that has the highest booking fee and I don't feel like it is fair to jerk a bunch of people around while you shop for the best rate.


I get most of my contacts from gig master though-lots of times the people on gigmaster do not book through the site because of the fee, but they will instead book to me directly and then at the gig, they tip me the booking fee instead of paying gigmaster. I don't complain.

gigsalad is great too, I make slightly less money on those gigs-they typically are for parties 3 hours and under.
on gigsalad, the gigs are typically 3-5 hours, so I make more money.


so basically:
gigmaster-fewer gigs, higher paying gigs/longer.
gigsalad-more gigs, lower paying gigs/shorter.
thumbtack-ripoff for both me and the client.
backpages-good but slow booking, maybe once every 3 months
craigslist-okay, maybe once every 2 months due to competition from people only charging slave wages and my ad's being flagged within hours of being put up
facebook-great for word-of-mouth referral gigs....it depends on how popular/well-loved the hostess is, but if the hostess is like the worlds greatest friend ever, all of their friends eventually book me through facebook so it is a win/win, since they get to see my work which gets them even more amped to hire me since my work keeps improving....I guess they get bragging rights.lol.I constantly get messages from them saying "wow, so excited for you to come to my son's party, you are so talented, I love watching your talent develop".



paypal is a doozy though, for me. I had a bounceback on gigsalad AND on gigmaster, which even though it was the websites fault, the client thinks it is also my fault, which is not fair. so now I am going to skip the deposit through the site, i'll get the deposit on my own AFTER they book the gig.less trouble for me...they may have to pay twice instead of one lump sum, but it's better than having to wait on a refund from an agency while thinking I'm the one who ripped them off.
nikkili26
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Post by eviedejesus Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:51 pm

I get why you might think thumbtack is a ripoff for YOU, but how is it a ripoff for the customer? Isn’t it free for them?
eviedejesus
eviedejesus

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Post by nikkili26 Fri Apr 11, 2014 7:45 pm

I suppose. yeah I misspoke, it is a rip off for me alone.
nikkili26
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Post by eviedejesus Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:41 pm

oh - ok - I thought maybe I was missing something, or that it worked differently in other states.
eviedejesus
eviedejesus

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Post by A New Face Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:27 am

I love thumbtack (free to list), I know the 3$ quotes can get a bit pricey, but I book around 2 gigs per month through them and I think they are easier for the general public to use ahem(cheap for the buyer). I am on Gig Salad (still free to list) and probably book about 1 every other month through them, most people complain that they don't like to navigate that specific site ahem (expensive 15$ booking fee I do not pay.) I am on gig masters as well( free version also), I just added this one and have not booked off of them yet, they do however keep the promo e-mails a flowing lol. All in all if it is free I will try it.
A New Face
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Post by london182 Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:46 am

I have GigMasters and GigSalad, both paid memberships. I get tons of leads from both. I book a lot, but I put in the work. On GigMasters you don't get the client's contact info until you bid. So I bid and then right after I get their phone number I give them a call; never mind that they probably haven't seen the quote yet. If you're first, you have the edge, so I make sure I'm first.

My first year on GigMasters I also offered to pay the booking fee ($20) for all my clients, as they can only leave reviews if they are confirmed bookings. That first year I accumulated over 40 5-star reviews (you also have to be good at your work, of course); that was far and away more than any other person on the site (in my area). Now I don't pay the booking fee because I already have all those ratings that people see and refer to. According to the ratings it looks like I'm the best, so they are more prone to hiring me. Smile

On GigSalad I don't pay the booking fee and I don't even quote through them since they provide the client's info up front. I simply call the client right away. The only thing with doing that is that I don't get any ratings that way. Sad

london182

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Post by Party Picassos Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:26 pm

I have been with Thumbtack and Gigmasters for several years.
GigMasters: I pay $179 annually and then tack on the $20 booking fee to my bid. I DO not take one hour gigs from them, it makes my look higher priced. I would rather charge the $20 fee for a two hour or more event. But I DO love that I only pay if I am hired. But this year in Chicago has been slooooow booking for me.

Thumbtack: For a while, I paid $10 a month for unlimited bid responses. That was GREAT and I booked a lot of jobs. This year, it's btwn $2 &$3 everytime I bid. It's getting ridiculous. It's April and I have spent $140 this year in credits. I have booked only 2 jobs for a total of $400? Hope that I haven't spent $1200 with Thumbtack by the end of the year!

I voiced my disappointment with Thumbtack. They did a "poll," results stating that the clients that book choose their artists did so based on great reviews and not the lowest price.

I am the second highest in reviews, so I am not buying that. Although, I would say the number of face painters in my area is growing quickly. I think many people are booking with the lowest bidder.

I know that I will have many more calls for the summer. But right now, it's been a bit frustrating.

Does anyone place ADS in different publications? How is your success rate?
Party Picassos
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Post by ninaschau Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:31 pm

I got the same response from Thumbtack each time i inquired about something. But, since I haven't gotten any gigs from them, how am I going to get reviews? ugh!
ninaschau
ninaschau

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Location : Lakewood Ca
Registration date : 2012-08-03

http://www.fantasyfacebyNina,com

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Post by eviedejesus Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:54 pm

Anyone can leave a review on your Thumbtack profile. Mine has a bunch from the same date because I posted on Facebook that I needed more reviews and attached a link http://tack.bz/7hIt

I told everyone - If I’ve painted your child at any time, please leave me a review. They could be a friend, guest at a party, someone you painted at the park, etc.
eviedejesus
eviedejesus

Number of posts : 662
Age : 54
Location : La Vergne, TN
Registration date : 2012-06-08

http://www.fantasyfacedesign.com

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Post by ninaschau Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:00 pm

oh, I didn't know that, thank you Smile
ninaschau
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Post by nikkili26 Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:47 am

WOW, SO THAT'S THE TRICK HUH!?!
lol, pay the booking fee FOR the client!
lol.

that is freaking fantastic!

i'll be raising my rate to include the booking fee.lol. you guys are awesome.
nikkili26
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Age : 39
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Post by Party Picassos Thu May 15, 2014 1:16 am

With all the fees I keep paying to Thumbtack and GigMasters, I keep wondering if I should invest my $$ in getting postcards and walking them door to door in the nearby neighborhoods. It would be nice to keep most of my clientele closer to home. With summer almost here, I keep waiting for gas prices to rise. I am also very tired of driving an hour each way to many gigs. I am getting old and cranky! Besides, I would rather spend more time with MY kids than driving long distances!
Party Picassos
Party Picassos

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Post by anniel Thu May 15, 2014 1:36 pm

Thank you gals for this thread. I was speaking with an agent/artist yesterday & she said her site had "disappeared" from google search. I was wondering if advertising on these sites brings you up higher on search engines, even if you don't book much through them? (My mainstay has always been my business card & referrals.)
anniel
anniel

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Post by Kasia Nowik Art Tue Nov 18, 2014 6:09 pm

the info on here is amazing, thanks to everyone
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