I know someone is going to advise me to use the search function about this...and I have. But I would greatly appreciate some current information.

I know very little about services like Gigmasters and Gigsalad etc., since I have always marketed myself...or been sold through agencies. I see polarized views about whether or not these services actually result in sales or not. Here I ask for your advice in the following areas:

1) Which lead generating sites do you feel are best?
2) How much time do you spend promoting yourself on these sites, answering leads etc?
3) Do you feel this is a good investment of your time and money?
4) When booked through these sites, do they collect the money and pay you...or do you collect and pay them?
5) What percentage of your business comes to you through sites like these?

I'd be interested in all responses to any or all of these questions. I am a complete newbie at internet marketing.

David

1. I feel Gigmasters is best.
2. After creating my profile, copy, pics, video, etc. I don't spend any time promoting myself on this site. As for answering leads, It takes little time to bid if you've created a standard response to the types of events you work. You can save those templates in GM and reuse them....makes it quick to respond.
3. I paid for Gigmasters and yes it has paid for itself.
4. I collect from the client. I pay GM their fee only after I've received a deposit from the client.
5. Maybe 15% of my business comes via GM.

My average is that I book about 1 of every 15 or so that I bid on. Your success will vary according to how much demand for magic there is in your area AND how you price compared to your competition. If you are at the top of the scale then you won't win as many gigs compared to the lower priced performers. I'm priced about mid-range for my market.

Good luck David.

I too would have to say Gigmasters, but only if you truly understand, use and work the lead systems. If you are interested in just completing your profile, waiting for leads to come in, send your reply/bid, and wait for your pone to ring, you will more than likely be disappointed as many here have discovered. While it's possible to get bookings this way, it's highly unlikely. They are not an online agency working for you. They are a lead gen (as you mentioned) resource to identify potential leads of interested customers. It's what (how and when) you do from this point that will determine your success. I've also been with alltimefavorites.com (had major problems with them) and others, and the same approach applied here too.

My performances are rather high-end with regard to price. So while I may only book a few to a dozen gigs per year, I regularly get five figure results from GM, which for an investment of $225.00-$250.00 for me this is a no-brainer.

You will get people that say they tried GM and only received budget-concerned, bottom feeder gigs, or were underbid by bottom feeders in the market. While this does happen (similar to the yellow pages) it does not have to be this way if you work the system properly. Just my insights, but I hope it helps.

Thanks, guys! I'll look harder into Gigmasters.

David

Please see my lengthy post about Gigmasters in another thread
Yes you get paid after cleint makes a deposit but.... Gigmasters holds your money (the entire deposit) from the client for 4 days if they pay the deposit through Gigmasters

YOU PAID THE BOOKING FEE THAT DAY while Gigmasters holds your money (deposit) unless you make the cleint pay the 5% (min $20) booking fee

Hmmm
http://www.gigmasters.com/magician/Michael-Douglas-Magic/ <-- see bookings there
http://www.gigmasters.com/QuickQuote.asp?rowID=52140 <-- see show prices there

Looks like you've booked 3 shows with Gigmasters in the past 6 months and you getting almost all children birthday parties and are charging under $200 per hour for them, is that about right MichaelDouglas? It's all public knowledge and anyone can see it

If you would like to catch up for a coffee sometime Micheal I'll be in Richmond doing a very special show for the Richmond Children's Hospital (I don't do many children's show but I'm a sucker for shows like this) in June, it's a show I was booked for through Gigmasters


Sorry, a lot of people are making claims about what they are doing with this agency or that and I know a little about some of these bookings so I want to share the truth behind them and my experiences so performers can see all sides before the decide

You see, for about the past year I've been the top or the second highest ranked magician on Gigmasters
and really it's been a lot of hard work, luck, good marketing, being unique, being a professional professional and having a very good show ... and it's not that lucrative and it's not a good fit for most performers