I haven't used anything to get gigs over the years other than word-of-mouth, but I'm not trying to do this for a living. Anyway, my husband is an electrician and he used google ads years ago. It didn't get him much, but we get a couple of phone calls a day from google telling us that they want to discuss his "google business account", which he does not have nor never did. Also, I don't know about the plumbers where you are, but the ones I know, and the electricians and other folks I know, charge an hourly rate from the time they reach my house. In my husband's case, if he has to drive too far he doesn't take the job. But we're in a metro area where you can get most everywhere within 30 minutes. I don't charge for time related to my gigs, either - I just adjust my quote based on what I might have to put in my gas tank. Also, more for wedding and corporate gigs, less for non-profits or regular dances.

If you have a facebook page for your calling, you can "boost" your post based on various things - geography, age of constituents, etc. It's pretty cheap and folks say it's effective.

Nancy

On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 4:50 PM Paul Rosenberg paul@homespun.biz [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Hi Otto

How do you specifically avoid paying an annual fee?

Paul Rosenberg
Albany, NY
www.homespun.biz

On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 1:42 PM Otto Warteman owarteman@yahoo.com [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

I have been tied to GigSalad for years. I sent them a note telling them not to send me leads that required flying to a gig. So you know, I have not paid an annual fee for years. I answer and give a quote within four hours. I pay them a commission on only those I’m booked for.

A plumber charges from the time they leave their office. I do the same, charging for miles and time.

Otto Warteman

On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 10:41 PM, karendunnam@gmail.com [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

How did she end up finding you? I would add weight to that resource. Perhaps it's her level of google-fu.

On a forum for professional and semi-pro musicians, someone asked that same question last week. The consensus was that GS and GM are not worth it.

I took a look at each site tonight; your answers are right there in the listings. GM has exactly one "square dance caller" listed. If it were working, there would be more.

GS has 48 "square dance callers" listed. Most seem to have 0 - 6 "verified bookings," suggesting that this isn't working for them. They guy in San Francisco who says he's "led over 10,000 dances in the past 37 years" has no verified GS bookings.. This guy has 4. https://www.gigsalad.com/elvis_tribute_artist_napanee
Looks like they've dropped their freebie listings.

A friend who runs a fire performance troupe had a very bad experience with GS. A client wanted them to perform under an EZ-Up style canopy (I am not making this up). Show time was early evening in the summer, and he complained that the fire work didn't look as spectacular as he'd hoped. There was more. On GS, you can't edit or change or delete a review.. Several of us helped her compose a reply to help ease that.

I get referrals from dance communities, other callers, other onezie-dance party callers, and other performers. I also reach out to event venues and other entities that could benefit from have a dance event..

True confession: I snuck a peek at the source code on your website. Didn't see any metatags, but I did see some links that you might want to remove.

--Karen D.