Thread: Directories for Performers?

OK, so I'm in the process of getting my website link-ified. There's Shira and Bhuz. I'll be buying premier accounts on Gigmasters and PartyPop shortly. The rest seem to be geared toward teachers and I strictly perform ,f::

Are there any other listings for performers only that I might be forgetting?

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

OK, so I'm in the process of getting my website link-ified. There's Shira and Bhuz. I'll be buying premier accounts on Gigmasters and PartyPop shortly. The rest seem to be geared toward teachers and I strictly perform ,f::

Are there any other listings for performers only that I might be forgetting?

Gatheringguide.com
Mypartyplanner.com
Decidio.com
eventective.com
Yahoo Local
Google Small Business
Microsoft Live Search (bing)
Zevents.com (performers)
Eventful.com (performers)

Also check your local papers and TV stations for listing opportunties. Most of them have to be updated on a regular basis, but so many "old media" now have social networking type options or free classified listings.

There are also wedding planner listings, probably several. Do a search in your area and see what comes up.

What's a premiere account with Gigmasters/party pop? How is that different from the regular account?

Andalee - thanks for all the ideas. I've got my work cut out for me now!

Lauren - Wow, it looks like I was making up terminology again. I was referring to the paid PartyPop listing, which is nothing that you probably didn't already know about

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Andalee - thanks for all the ideas. I've got my work cut out for me now!

Lauren - Wow, it looks like I was making up terminology again. I was referring to the paid PartyPop listing, which is nothing that you probably didn't already know about

Oh, whew. If there's a free way to get on there, I'd like to know about it. Partypop did NOTHING for me, and now I'm trying gigmasters and so far.. nada.

I just registered with several of the places on Andalee's list, at least they were free!

I think the problem is that in a suburban area, you have to *create* demand. As far as I can tell, no one has parties around here unless they're trying to sell makeup or handbags. So they're not really online looking for party vendors. *sigh*

Lauren, I think you've hit the nail on the head about creating a demand. I'd love to figure out exactly how to plant the seed in my target's head. Again, if only that book of answers could fall from the sky...

My one gripe with a few of those websites is that in order to get the reciprocal link, you have to copy and paste their code onto your website, leaving you with a conspicuous button with the company's logo on it. I just spent a LOT of money on my site. I don't love the idea of compromising the aesthetics of my site just to get a link. Even if it's something as silly as a little logo! Shira does it better, IMO, where you can put the link wherever you want, in plain text.

I've heard such mixed things about Party Pop and Gigmasters. My only reasoning for joining those sites is 1. to give it a try, and 2. to give my search ranking a little boost. I wonder if either of those sites does a whole lot from an SEO standpoint, anyway....maybe I should ask my web guy.

I just registered with Decidio, Gathering Guide, and mypartyplanner. None of them required a reciprocal link. I did see where one of them offered a link trade option, but I didn't have to do it to get my listing.

I think the wedding planner one I used to be on required it. Your site is gorgeous, Satin, I wouldn't clutter it up with that stuff either if I were you.

As far as creating demand... so far what's worked best for me are well-placed public appearances, marketing materials that plant the idea of having a bellydancer at your next meeting. I intend to go after the bachelorette party/bridal shower market as soon as I have time to breathe. I don't have a clue how to break into the corporate market in my area, not sure there's much demand for entertainers there, to tell the truth.

I tried running an ad for me as a performer in the same magazine that generates loads of calls for classes -- I got ONE response from a drunk guy in the middle of the night. Didn't call him back, not sure what he had in mind.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

My one gripe with a few of those websites is that in order to get the reciprocal link, you have to copy and paste their code onto your website, leaving you with a conspicuous button with the company's logo on it. I just spent a LOT of money on my site. I don't love the idea of compromising the aesthetics of my site just to get a link. Even if it's something as silly as a little logo! Shira does it better, IMO, where you can put the link wherever you want, in plain text.

You don't have to use their button. I know Decidio offers the text only option. Not sure about my party planner. I solved this by using my links page and adding "Party Planning Sites" as a category. Yeah, it kind of sucks, but I'd rather do that then have to pay for the premium service. Carrara, how do you plan on getting reciprocal links when you don't even have a links section on your Web site?

Andalee Belly Dance - Links

Seems like a lot of dancers I know are moving away from the usual links pages. My web guy and I decided against the classic "resources" page mostly for aesthetic purposes. I don't mind them on other dancers' sites, but it didn't have much of a practical purpose for my own. If I were a teacher, I'd say it's a great idea to steer your students toward one page with Bhuz, Shira, Dahlal and other great learning resources. As a performer, it just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the information on my site.

Not to mention, links can be worked in anywhere on a website, whether it's your bio (Shira and Bhuz are both on there), your FAQ (Shems' article on rates is in there), or even a blog (I link to anything and everything I love). My blog, alone, has been drawing in tons of repeat visitors - so one can even play Devil's Advocate and say that a link posted in a successful blog (or in my case, a new blog that's pretty darn good for a rookie - hehehe) can get more traction than a link posted in a static Resources page. So it solves my structural issue AND it's even more beneficial, IMO, for the dancers and vendors that are being linked to. Blogs draw captive audiences that keep coming back for more, while Resources pages usually don't.

When it comes to reciprocal links, my understanding is that quality trumps quantity. While a reciprocal link from a highly trafficed website like Shira's is great, tons of reciprocal links from smaller websites doesn't always have the same effect. They even say Google's robots are getting "smart" to website owners who use too many reciprocal links. Inbound links are typically thought to be more impactful than reciprocal, anyway - my verdict from reading tons of SEO blogs and talking with my web guy is that people stress too much about getting lots of reciprocal links.

Sorry if I sound a little heated on this! It was a little outside of my comfort zone at first to build a site without a Resources page, but the more I learned about strategic content and about the importance of inbound links, the better I felt about it.

And by the way, I'm not saying that using a Resources page is a Universally Bad Move. Just saying it's an OK move for some, but not always necessary for everyone

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Inbound links are typically thought to be more impactful than reciprocal, anyway - my verdict from reading tons of SEO blogs and talking with my web guy is that people stress too much about getting lots of reciprocal links.

Sounds good in principle, but the question is how to generate inbound links.

Peer dancers usually expect reciprocal links out of courtesy, and many directories require reciprocal links as a condition of joining. I think it's very difficult to generate exclusively inbound links as a performer without providing unique resources (e.g. articles) that benefit other dancers. Perhaps if one were to target complementary non-competitors... but even then I imagine courteous reciprocity would be expected.

I think it all depends on the functionality and structure of your website. If you don't update your site often, then a resources page is a good idea. If you have a blog or the capability to strategically insert links at will, then it's easier to forego a resources page.

I'd personally write a really nice blog entry with "Party Planning Resources," include everybody's links, and maybe write a couple of glowing blurbs about all of those vendors. Same goes for local teachers, which I plan on doing since I don't teach, but get tons of requests anyway. Or you can build the link into some other text on your site, as I put Shira's link in my bio. It's still friendly reciprocity, only in a different (and less common) structural form.

Inbound links are created through compelling content. If you write a good blog or produce useful articles, people will pass them around. This is a long, incremental process, and it requires a lot of elbow grease - but it's a great strategy if you're patient.

Think about Samira Shuruk's directory of rates, or Shems' article on pricing, or other dancer-generated content that you might have forwarded to all of your friends or linked to on MySpace, Facebook, or Bhuz. If you can generate something that's timely, relevant, useful and smart, people will link to it.

That's how to get inbound links, in a nutshell

Not read this properl, rushed thru it a bit so apologies if someone's already said this, but great thread, because backlinks are key to improving your page ranking. And it isn't just hthe number of backlinks, it's the quality of them. If they are in context, such as a link to a hair salon in an article about hair, they're better than if they are just a list of links on a page.

I wouldn't even worry too much if hte directories you are listed in don't bring you any work - directly - because the existence of a link on a large and widely used website would increase yoru page ranking anyway.

The links on our new website (which I'll unveil in 3 days hopefully) will all be contextual, within case studies and the like. Hopefully my associates will follow suit eventually.

Links on signatures in these posts show up in my analytics too, so use them. Just be careful what you write, as that then means people can find you and read what you are saying.

Yeah, I've been reading about this topic a lot today. They say even 3-4 links in one sentence confuses Google. 15 links seems to be the max that the experts recommend on one page. Google is getting smarter and smarter in sniffing out reciprocal links and using them against you if you have too many of 'em.

One article said it's better to have 5 great links than 15 mediocre ones. Definitely something to keep in mind...

gigsalad.com

no idea if it works... i just found it.

Gigsalad, nada. Party Pop - now that Google has gotten smart to them, why bother? Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth. Did I say word of mouth?

Hey, nothing wrong with building a fan base entirely word-of-mouth. It's the original guerilla marketing!

I'm really curious, Maura. How has Google gotten smart to PartyPop? They come up first when I search for BDers in my area, so I would've guessed that being linked to a high-traffic site would be beneficial!

Not anymore, not in this area. But we have some very long-established dancer websites here, which might make the difference.

FYI: I created a gig salad listing yesterday and it came up on my Google Web alerts this morning. It might not affect my page ranking (free account-no link) but at least we know Google is crawling it. ;-)

Andalee, you are officially the online marketing queen.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Andalee, you are officially the online marketing queen.

Thanks! That's why I get paid the big bucks! ..l;,