Thread: anybody use partypop?

Does anybody use Partypop to list their business, and do you benefit from it (is it worth it??). It's $180 a year, which is a little more than $10 a month, which is less than what I spend on coffee at starbucks, so in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad.....but only if it actually results in phone calls...

Let me know if you've had any experience with it!!!

I used to get a LOT more business from it, but now it's got so many dancers on it, you have wade through pages and pages. The likelihood of getting called is slim to none. I don't know if I'm going to renew.

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

I used to get a LOT more business from it, but now it's got so many dancers on it, you have wade through pages and pages. The likelihood of getting called is slim to none. I don't know if I'm going to renew.

Mine's not quite that bad, but same story. Before other dancers went live, I had a lot more phone calls.

In my first 2 years with partypop I was very happy with the investment. I got most of my business through it. I am not sure if I am going to renew my listing in the end of the this year though, since I only had only two gigs this year that I booked through them. I don't think it's just a wider choice in dancers, I am starting to think it's bad economy. Of course it would depend on your area, median income, cost of living, and other data. I belive that in my area the amount of people that are willing to spent money on entertainment, espessially belly dancing is declining. Although I may be wrong.

I get more inquiries since signing up, but a higher proportion of them are duds. I think it's because people who find me through my web site see my rates and self-select (i.e., the ones who are hoping for a $50 show don't bother to call), while the people who call me directly from my partypop listing are much less likely to have a sense of how much a show costs, and much more likely to try to bargain.

That said, I have had enough business since I signed up (April? May?) to cover the cost of the listing.

I am very happy happy with them. I advertized for a year then I didn't renew it until 6 months later - I just kinda procastinated. I renewed in June and had a rush of phone calls.
If you think about it: just one party through them will already pay for the entire year's cost, so why not?
You can post you rates on your page if you want, and they can go to your site from there as well.
All my calls were high quality calls, and if I remember correctly, all or almost all of them hired me.

I didn't have such a good success with Gigmasters, paid for the 3 month, had a bunch of inquiries where I was up against other dancers and we had to bid on their gigs - sort of saying pick me, pick me!! None of them hired me and I never renewed. Also I never liked that whole booking fee idea.

I think it's great, if you're not in a really saturated market. I used to have just the free listing, and I got a bunch of gigs from just that, I think mostly because I was only one of four listings total in the entire state of Wisconsin.

I increased to a paid listing about a year later, since I didn't have a website at the time, but I wanted some pictures/copy about me online. It's so inexpensive, if I get 1 or 2 gigs from it all year long it's more than paid for itself. Now that I have a website, I can see that I get a pretty good amount of click-throughs from it too.

Just a note though, that if you sign up, specifically tell them that you do not want to be listed on any of their adult-oriented sites like 101ecoticdancers.com. There have been some Bhuzzers who have found that they've been listed there, to their horror.

I like it. I have had good results -though my first year was better than this last one, but I still renewed. They have good customer service and the ad pays by itself with only one gig!

Originally Posted by laura 2

Just a note though, that if you sign up, specifically tell them that you do not want to be listed on any of their adult-oriented sites like 101ecoticdancers.com. There have been some Bhuzzers who have found that they've been listed there, to their horror.

I didn't know they listed you on a exotic dancers site .w.: that would horrific!!! I'll check into that- Thanks.

Have had really good luck getting gigs from them. They are also really friendly and helpful with changes to your page.

I didn't get a single gig from them when I did it! SO I only did one year and stopped!

Well, I just registered our troupe, Veils of Isis, so let's see what happens, should be fun :)


Khalida

Hm. I'm wondering if those getting lots of gigs are from big cities? Speak up ladies--are you from New York, San Diego, or nowhere, USA? I don't live in a huge city, I'd say it's "medium size"...but I do love that party pop comes up first when you type in "bellydancer" and they were very friendly on the phone.

I do think if I even get ONE call it would be worth it.

I'm in Milwaukee, WI.

I'm in NY, NY. When I first signed up for a paid listing, there were only a handful of other paid listings on the site. Now there are two pages worth!

Fairfield County, CT. Sprawling metropolis, it is not.

I've only gotten 2 gigs from PartyPop that ever amounted to anything. A good handful of inquiries, but they're typically of the "go down the list and find the best bargain" nature. (Some have even outright asked why I'm so "expensive" compared to everyone else ,r:;). I believe that a website that lists all of your prices is the BEST way to weed out the Wal-Mart shoppers.

Again, it doesn't help that I'm launching my business during an economic recession or that I don't have a paid listing. But my better gigs have come from agencies, students or simple word of mouth.

When my financial situation improves in a few months, I will probably still invest in a paid listing because my area's not supersaturated with them (yet) and others have had good luck with 'em.

Definitely not chomping at the bit to do Gigmasters, anymore, after the feedback I've heard. These threads are very helpful.

Yes, I read the gigmasters thread, not likely to head that direction. I agree, we just got a troupe gig from a local word-of-mouth person and that's following a long dry spell. One problem around here--lots of people willing to dance for free or really cheap, so it's sucky for those of us who demand what we think we're worth. But, it's turning around, slowly...even seems like the PBD'ers are keeping quiet. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm going to hold off a bit until I dance again, then I'll decide if I want to spend that night's worth of $$ on the listing.

Originally Posted by Sonja2

One problem around here--lots of people willing to dance for free or really cheap, so it's sucky for those of us who demand what we think we're worth. But, it's turning around, slowly...even seems like the PBD'ers are keeping quiet. Hmm.

PBD's never stay quiet....they just lay low until they've hatched their next "brilliant" (I'm making little rabbit ears with my fingers here) scheme.

Definitely feeling your frustration, here. ****ty economy or not, there is never an excuse to dance for gas money, tips, or "exposure."

Let us know how the paid PartyPop listing goes, if you do decide to get one!