Advertising in a city versus a neighborhood? RM’s map is off

[TallMuscl37]

If this has been addressed before, feel free to post a link. But I’m posting because idk if people, specifically clients have ever noticed: most cities often show a plethora of escorts advertising in whatever the main city is. Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, etc etc.

However, to actually get headlined in that area means our location has to be within a small defined area of town that Tom Tom designates. For example, here’s a RM map for Dallas area:

 

However, when I move the pointer to a popular boutique hotel in the gay area, I get: highland park.

 

Problem is: there’s hardly anybody advertising in highland park. All the guys show up as being in Dallas. But Dallas on RentMen, only covers a small area. Same as in other cities like Kansas City:

 

a popular neighborhood in Kansas City shows “Roeland Park” which is definitely not accurate because that area is in Kansas a few miles away. Once again, next to no providers have that neighborhood as their headline city. I’ve even seen first hand: a guy I met for duo had Kansas City in his ad, but he was actually staying in a suburb area of Kansas City under a whole different name.

I just bring it up because, I tend to like to map the area close to where I’m at. But having a neighboring town in the ad headline feels kinda tacky for some reason. And some of those neighborhoods, clients get picky about going to. For example Minneapolis mall of America area, is titled “Richfield” or Bloomington. And one client was like, I seen your staying in Richfield, why the hell would you stay there?? lol. But the mall of America area is a good place to be in town.

This is also an issue in Denver, where a popular upscale neighborhood of Cherry creek, falls under “Glendale”, which has a rep for being a “sketchy” part of town sometimes.

I prefer to just post the general area of town I’m in (for example Adam4Adam has been known to narrow city options down more to like: North Miami, South Miami, South Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton manors, Hollywood, etc) or the closest one to where I can host if I’m doing hotels. But, somehow most every rent guy shows as being in the main city: which would insinuate everybody is staying downtown.

Edited November 22, 2024 by Jarrod_Uncut

[Vin Marco]

3 hours ago, Jarrod_Uncut said:

However, when I move the pointer to a popular boutique hotel in the gay area, I get: highland park.

Highland Park is a very affluent neighborhood in Dallas. It's an excellent pond to put your pole in! People in Dallas would likely see your listing.... no different from when my location is set to Beverly Hills, I still get inquiries from all over Los Angeles. 

3 hours ago, Jarrod_Uncut said:

Problem is: there’s hardly anybody advertising in highland park.

I'm a bit confused by your statement above since it seems to me that  historically, one of your primary and chief complaints is competition and saturation.. the fact that few advertise in Highland Park I would think you'd find appealing and pleasing.  I can't recall listing myself in Highland Park too many times  since I primarily am set up in Uptown Dallas but I sure do see and have seen loads of friendly folks that live in Highland Park not just overnights in Highland Park. 
 

In places like Dallas and Houston where people are accustomed to relying on driving it really is not so important that you're pin pointed in the area you're seeing folks or advertising. Lots of people in Dallas will drive longer distances to meet people. Oftentimes I'll get folks driving from Fort Worth to see me in Dallas. When I'm visiting Houston people have driven from Austin, College Station and other places. The moral of the story is that different cities function differently... LA, Dallas, and Houston are "driving cities"  This is all my experience over the course of many years but I also don't futz too much with boosting my ad for "more visibility"  If you're proximal to a major metropolitan area, folks will see and find you. 

[+ keroscenefire]

I think something must have changed with maps because it seems like everybody is now just in the default location in Denver even though many used to have more specific locations on their maps. There's one guy that lives very close to me (I see him on Grindr all the time) and I remember his RM location used to show up very close. He is even the one that shows up closest to me in RM when I select Nearby Profiles. In fact, many guys show up in Denver as being 2 or 3 or 5 miles away in Nearby Profiles but they are all in the default location on the map.

So my guess is something changed with RM? I don't know how it looks on the escort side so just guessing but I definitely remember a lot more guys being in different parts of town before. Now everyone is one block south of the State Capitol. Haha

[TallMuscl37]

6 hours ago, Vin Marco said:

Highland Park is a very affluent neighborhood in Dallas. It's an excellent pond to put your pole in! People in Dallas would likely see your listing.... no different from when my location is set to Beverly Hills, I still get inquiries from all over Los Angeles. 

I'm a bit confused by your statement above since it seems to me that  historically, one of your primary and chief complaints is competition and saturation.. the fact that few advertise in Highland Park I would think you'd find appealing and pleasing.  I can't recall listing myself in Highland Park too many times  since I primarily am set up in Uptown Dallas but I sure do see and have seen loads of friendly folks that live in Highland Park not just overnights in Highland Park. 
 

In places like Dallas and Houston where people are accustomed to relying on driving it really is not so important that you're pin pointed in the area you're seeing folks or advertising. Lots of people in Dallas will drive longer distances to meet people. Oftentimes I'll get folks driving from Fort Worth to see me in Dallas. When I'm visiting Houston people have driven from Austin, College Station and other places. The moral of the story is that different cities function differently... LA, Dallas, and Houston are "driving cities"  This is all my experience over the course of many years but I also don't futz too much with boosting my ad for "more visibility"  If you're proximal to a major metropolitan area, folks will see and find you. 

Well the reason I bring it up is because, I’ve viewed the listings from a “client” perspective: that is, logging out of my account and seeing where my ad shows up. 

Showing a place like “highland park” or “Lincoln Park” in Chicago, is often drowned out by all the guys listing in Dallas, on the featured home page on Rentmen.eu. Occasionally however, I have noticed that posting a neighborhood near will actually show in the listings easier: because the main home page will only show so many gold/platinum ads, even if it’s 100 other ads that are Gold.

You’re right it does give a seemingly competitive edge being in specific neighborhood where nobody else is posting, but I haven’t really found it to be the case. There’s maybe only a couple/few times where I listed in a particular neighborhood, and actually got people reaching out from there at the time I was advertising.

Also, I’ve had cases where my ad didn’t show in the city listing at all: despite it showing in the location. In San Diego, I was emailing rent.men telling them, San Diego ads weren’t showing at all on the main page, unless it was a platinum ad. It kept just showing ads for Los Angeles area.

 

3 hours ago, keroscenefire said:

I think something must have changed with maps because it seems like everybody is now just in the default location in Denver even though many used to have more specific locations on their maps. There's one guy that lives very close to me (I see him on Grindr all the time) and I remember his RM location used to show up very close. He is even the one that shows up closest to me in RM when I select Nearby Profiles. In fact, many guys show up in Denver as being 2 or 3 or 5 miles away in Nearby Profiles but they are all in the default location on the map.

So my guess is something changed with RM? I don't know how it looks on the escort side so just guessing but I definitely remember a lot more guys being in different parts of town before. Now everyone is one block south of the State Capitol. Haha

yes, it’s like cherry creek in Denver: 

versus RMs cherry creek:

 

Big difference in location. And often times, clients may be clicking on the “near me” functionality.

I think what changed is: when Rent.Men became the main site. It also changed where the location names were. Again, that could be Tom/Toms glitch or something. 
 

And just so people know: changing a city location is easy as clicking a button. I often times advertise in cities outside of where I live, ahead of time before going. 

[jeezifonly]

Maybe somewhere in the text, mention a well-known store, landmark or intersection as reference. The map can place you in the City Center, but your TEXT clarifies to locals and visitors alike. 
In LA, for years, it appeared that  multiple providers were hosting on the lawn next to City Hall. 
Sorry, Justinbigone, I expect private indoor plumbing. 🤭

[TallMuscl37]

1 hour ago, jeezifonly said:

Maybe somewhere in the text, mention a well-known store, landmark or intersection as reference. The map can place you in the City Center, but your TEXT clarifies to locals and visitors alike. 
In LA, for years, it appeared that  multiple providers were hosting on the lawn next to City Hall. 
Sorry, Justinbigone, I expect private indoor plumbing. 🤭

Good idea…lol

[+ Charlie]

Since I live in Palm Springs, when I see an ad for a provider who claims to be located here, I often hit the "map me" function to see if he is near me, but almost invariably it shows the same spot on a street corner downtown, where I am sure no one is actually located. So I was surprised the other day to see a post in which someone asked about a list of Palm Springs providers, and when I clicked on each one,  every one of them showed a different location in the town, so it must be possible to show an actual spot if the provider wants to. However, since I also used to live in Center City Philadelphia, out of curiosity I also hit the "map me" function when I see a Philadelphia ad, but the map target almost always shows City Hall courtyard (which was an active place for street trade when I was young).

[Vin Marco]

2 minutes ago, Charlie said:

so it must be possible to show an actual spot if the provider wants to.

That's correct. 👍🏽 

[TallMuscl37]

22 minutes ago, Charlie said:

so it must be possible to show an actual spot if the provider wants to. However, since I also used to live in Center City Philadelphia, out of curiosity I also hit the "map me" function when I see a Philadelphia ad, but the map target almost always shows City Hall courtyard (which was an active place for street trade when I was young).

Also, a person can just choose a city and press “save” and it will default to wherever the city center Tom Tom says it is. We also have the option to disable map, which I’ll do sometimes because: sometimes the only way to get shown in the main city (say Seattle, versus: Renton) is to post like you’re in downtown. 
 

And you’d think it would be simple, but problem is: at some point someone always messages and says something assumptive like, “oh I thought you were downtown”. “Oh I thought you lived here”. “Oh it says you’re only 1 mile away from me, can you come NOW”. I don’t like when people make assumptions based on a ad lol. 

Edited November 22, 2024 by Jarrod_Uncut

[+ keroscenefire]

5 hours ago, Jarrod_Uncut said:

Well the reason I bring it up is because, I’ve viewed the listings from a “client” perspective: that is, logging out of my account and seeing where my ad shows up. 

Showing a place like “highland park” or “Lincoln Park” in Chicago, is often drowned out by all the guys listing in Dallas, on the featured home page on Rentmen.eu. Occasionally however, I have noticed that posting a neighborhood near will actually show in the listings easier: because the main home page will only show so many gold/platinum ads, even if it’s 100 other ads that are Gold.

You’re right it does give a seemingly competitive edge being in specific neighborhood where nobody else is posting, but I haven’t really found it to be the case. There’s maybe only a couple/few times where I listed in a particular neighborhood, and actually got people reaching out from there at the time I was advertising.

Also, I’ve had cases where my ad didn’t show in the city listing at all: despite it showing in the location. In San Diego, I was emailing rent.men telling them, San Diego ads weren’t showing at all on the main page, unless it was a platinum ad. It kept just showing ads for Los Angeles area.

 

yes, it’s like cherry creek in Denver: 

versus RMs cherry creek:

 

Big difference in location. And often times, clients may be clicking on the “near me” functionality.

I think what changed is: when Rent.Men became the main site. It also changed where the location names were. Again, that could be Tom/Toms glitch or something. 
 

And just so people know: changing a city location is easy as clicking a button. I often times advertise in cities outside of where I live, ahead of time before going. 

To me Cherry Creek IS closer to Glendale. It's where the mall and the expensive neighorhood is. Glendale is its own city but it actually is surrounded by Denver and part of it does border the Cherry Creek neighborhood. See map below:

But Cherry Creek is an actual creek so other places around town get named after it too. Where RM is saying Cherry Creek is actually near Cherry Creek Reservoir which is really in the suburbs and not in Denver itself at all. Most people in Denver would probably not think of "Cherry Creek" as being down there but yeah it is still "Cherry Creek."  Yeah basically RM's local geography is a little strange.

[TallMuscl37]

12 minutes ago, keroscenefire said:

To me Cherry Creek IS closer to Glendale. It's where the mall and the expensive neighorhood is. Glendale is its own city but it actually is surrounded by Denver and part of it does border the Cherry Creek neighborhood. See map below:

But Cherry Creek is an actual creek so other places around town get named after it too. Where RM is saying Cherry Creek is actually near Cherry Creek Reservoir which is really in the suburbs and not in Denver itself at all. Most people in Denver would probably not think of "Cherry Creek" as being down there but yeah it is still "Cherry Creek."  Yeah basically RM's local geography is a little strange.

I usually always just put cherry creek on my location if I’m in Denver (which sadly, I don’t expect to be anytime again soon after being “scammed” for the 2nd time in a row since last August) and want to appear a little more high end. But when you actually look at “Glendale” version of cherry creek, it’s not giving that impression lol.

[jackcali]

On 11/22/2024 at 3:31 PM, jeezifonly said:

Maybe somewhere in the text, mention a well-known store, landmark or intersection as reference. The map can place you in the City Center, but your TEXT clarifies to locals and visitors alike.

This is a great idea, especially for providers who host.  Here in NYC, everyone shows as being at City Hall.  Naming the neighborhood where the provider hosts is a big consideration for me, because it may be a ten-minute walk or a one-hour subway ride to the location.   

[TallMuscl37]

12 hours ago, jackcali said:

This is a great idea, especially for providers who host.  Here in NYC, everyone shows as being at City Hall.  Naming the neighborhood where the provider hosts is a big consideration for me, because it may be a ten-minute walk or a one-hour subway ride to the location.   

That is a good idea, and I’ve even tried to add that myself in my profile. But I have been showing my map more readily.

However, the only caveat to that is: I don’t always host in the same area. Especially when traveling. And Lord knows, it takes the RentMen crew awhile it seems, to update ad writing. Sometimes they update within 30 minutes, other times I’m waiting half a day to get profile updated. And I don’t like to update it too often (well, I try to update my ad words atleast 2-3 times a week).

The other thing too: I like to try and headline my ad in multiple cities. Some towns can be too slow to advertise in solely. The thing I dislike the most with RentMen, you don’t show up on the “featured pornstars” in a city, even with gold: unless you move your entire ad to that city. You’ll show in the search, but not the main front page. And the main front page is what seems the first initial attention clients get.
 

So if I’m saying something like, “near XXX intersection”, it may be unfamiliar when I move my ad to the next city. And sometimes I change my headline city throughout the week. Seems the best way to get visibility in other areas. Sometimes I feel it’s a better use of my monthly membership to only post in more than 1 area, especially ahead of traveling to a particular city.

 

Edited November 25, 2024 by TallMuscl37

[manforme]

I am very reluctant to go in to Philadelphia, so I look for a provider who is not there, but the map almost always shows city hall.