Keith,

I have not logged in all my gigmasters gig. They usually contact me after they google my name. I have mention this before. The $300 bids were the charity fund raisers.... The gig I was referring to she found me two years ago and now she books me directly.

Plus gigmasters does not show all the bids, it randomly picks I think 8... Plus, the way Gigmasters work... They email you and you reply and you get all their contact info.. So you speak to the person. To go back and adjust all those things is so time consuming...
I use it as a lead generator... Hence why my score has dropped from 5 stars to 3.5


Plus what you typed is a bit misleading... WINK.. You don't get to see when people types in their event that is non profit or they only have x amount...

Also the guy bided 150 per hour while I bid my normal fee during xmas to the gig I was referring to in my prev. post.

Curtis is it the same type of googling as:


If you want to book 'him', just google "magic show"
and read every website that comes up. You'll probably come
across 'his' name and some info on 'him'.

?

Nope. If you google my first and last name my home page comes up first...

Clients from gigmasters google entertainers so they don't have to go through the email or pay the booking fee to gigmasters.com

I pay the booking fee for my clients.

BOY
You guys are really playing hard ball.

Al,
I use to pay the booking fee, but I just stopped logging them all in.... Besides I pay a monthly fee to gigmasters!

Curtis baby
You don't have to explain any of your actions to me my friend. I was commenting on the transparency of it all. A professional in this business is unable to do anything in secrecy. Last week I said that I am in the top ten of a google search in my area, and several guys PMed me with their results. Just for the record Curtis I will always take you on your word.

I will let you all know what has happened for me. I am on party pop as the free ad goes so I really do not care about that. Gigmasters sucks. I would get phone calls like crazy but never a show. The reason is they would call and price me and then the next guy would be cheaper then me. IT was really a waste of time for me.

Well Al,

I googled you too... You were number ten... But I know how google works you will bounce from page 1 to page two... It is natural... Number ten or 14 is the same to me! At least you are ranking in the top pages....
Now a non-processional would call you on it saying you were not telling the truth but I know things change and as a professional I know there are unique matters and not everything is the same for every booking!

I list in event services. I turned down and referred a friend for a wedding just the other day - he booked for $450 (I was booked already for that day). Good verbiage helps. If they call, I go into sales mode. Once they are convinced that they don't want to he like everyone else and book a band or DJ only, it becomes a matter of setting value in your services. After all, this is one of the most special days of their lives - at least theoretically. I ask if they are planning a "standard" wedding, or a special event. I hope this helps!

GREAT NEWS SCOTT... Keep it up....

Interesting.

I was under the impression that GIGmasters published your last 6 months of bids via their quick quote system, along with if the show was booked or not. I thought it was a feature to give clients a realistic snapshot of what kind of bids they would get... Why would it only display what YOU logged? That's weird if that's the case...

Isn't gigmasters kind of like an "internet" agent for lack of a better term? If it gets you the gig via due to lead generation, and you know it, why would you want to kind of screw them and circumvent the system? Or am I missing something?

I have heard of guys on there "booking" themselves, paying the agent fees to get high star ratings. I always thought that was kind of a dumb tactic. Whatever floats their boat I guess.

I was just asked to pay for it. In three months, I got about a dozen notices, however, none of them panned out to a paying gig. I was under bid every time except in one case I lowered my bid and they hired someone $50 above my bid. (He had a video onhis website and I did not.)

I am not paying for it. In stead, I will build my own magician for hire agency ( http://www.magicians.us.com ).

Dennis, looks very interesting. Tell us more.

Joe Libby
San Antonio, TX

Dennis
I'll join. Is it affordable?

Curtis
Yes google does change their rules for listing occasionally, but I'm on top of that too.

It's free but as you can tell I haven't completed the massive works.

I am in the process of making a fantastic website from a form.

Keith,
Funny when I log in and look at the Quick Quote the numbers are a bit different unless you miss typed... Also, usually we don't bid on the jobs we write please phone for more information and leave the dollar amount blank. Maybe that is why it is a bit off.....
Under quick qoute my last four bids/jobs (copied and pasted)
3/30/2008 Graduation Party $2400 for the time period requested
3/27/2008 Community Event $1600 for 2 hours
3/22/2008 Reunion $1200 for the time period requested
3/13/2008 Birthday Party $1600 for 45 minutes

Keith I notice you specialize in fairs and fest (from your website). I understand it might be hard for someone who focuses on that market realize there are jobs for $2000 and up a pop. I know before you say it... I do accept jobs at varies of levels. Just like you accept tips of a coin to 5 dollar bills as you busk the streets at the fest....


Al, Keep breaking the spell of google!

Dennis
You are far more hip to the internet that me, but without a good search engine placement sites like Party Pop, and GigMaster will still dominate. Perhaps you can get some ideas from http://www.magician-directory.com a free site from England that I have gotten bookings from.

Curtis -
Your statement is insulting to anyone working the fair/festival market. Keith merely pointed out your Gigmaster bids - available for everyone to see using the quick quote feature under each act's name - (How does he misspell that?) - didn't reflect your earlier claim.

You explained the discrepancy, but your reply seems to be a slam at Keith's focus market and rates.

First, don't assume fair & festival performers are street buskers working for tips. I've made a good living working that market as an act. $2,000+ corporate dates don't book you every day of the week - but fairs run 5 - 10 days all summer/fall long - and pro acts get paid good money.

Second, don't assume because an act works that market - they aren't suitable to work in the higher priced corporate arena. I've seen several videos/tv spots of you performing, and I have seen Keith's act live. Granted, its not the same, but based on the two - I'd recommend him to a corporate client in a heartbeat.

And now back to the topic -
For me, Gigmasters has more than paid for itself. I know other acts that have joined and done nothing. For the price, the service is a useful tool to get your act in front of buyers.

Ttacrowl,

I use to work the fairs and fest market when I was in my teens. That is why I stated the comment because I know it is way too much work for the amount they pay. Plus the conditions can be awful -heat- wind-staging-timing! I solute the entertainers who works this market. You get lots of ohhh we only pay xxx and you get the rest on tips or we want you there for four shows for $600... BLAHHHH not for me!

Tacrowl, I started to watch your video on your site but the hand up the ducks butt is a bit over worked ehehhee

But I do agree that gigmasters pays for itself! 1000 times over