"available NOW." does it help your business???

[Michael Wayne]

I have always tried to keep logged in on rentboy.com and to stay logged in on m4rn.com . I also relgiously do it on rentmen.com but i am wondering if it really matters in attracting clients or not. It takes alot of time and effort to stay logged in . Just wondering how you guys feel about it. It seems on the surface that it would help but there are days when i am on top of it and no one contacts me then days when im not logged in and 5 people contact me at once. Are these features overated, overblown and overused or are they helpful to your biz? http://www.rentboy.com/magicmikey (available NOW!) LOL

[rickp]

Yes, absolutely! At least in New York City it does. If you're the only escort in any given locale it might not make much of a difference. But in New York it absolutely makes a huge difference

[Traveler North]

Hey Mikey, keep logging in on all three. They are effective. I know I use all three a lot.

[Daverwr]

I know you are not directing this question to clients, but as a client, I like to see the "green" indicator showing you're online. I think it facilitates a dialogue.

[tom1980]

I am more likely to contact an escort whose "available now" indicator is green if I'm trying to schedule on short notice. I also use it as a tie breaker if I'm trying to decide between two guys (thinking that the guy who is currently online is more likely to get back to me sooner). I think it is most valuable if there are more than 2-3 pages of escorts in a given area since the immediately available ones move to the front of the line on m4rn and rentmen (I don't think it has directly affects the order on rentboy unless you do an available now search, which I do when I'm in NYC).

[cooldemo03]

For me, I love the available now feature. I'm not one for setting up appts in advance. When.an.escort suggests he's free let's say day after tomorrow. Um, how do I know I'm going to be horny in two days? When I'm horny, I'm horny now.

[Irtwo]

For me, I love the available now feature. I'm not one for setting up appts in advance. When.an.escort suggests he's free let's say day after tomorrow. Um, how do I know I'm going to be horny in two days? When I'm horny, I'm horny now.

 

I was going to give the same response. But I think we are in the minority here.

[Michael Wayne]

I am the op. Thanks for the answers and for the one nice Pm i recieved on the subject. I am actualy beginning to rethink my long held position on ADVANCE APPOINTMENTS. I think what jridge said is true. Guys who book spur of the moment DON't CANCEL! I have posted on daddys several times about cancellations. They are at an epidemic level right now but almost every cancellation i get there is a spur of the moment guy to replace the lost biz. I am going to really try and log in all the time now..... when i have an advance booking i dont log in , then client cancels....and i am home alone. But here is the problem: if your advance guy does NOT cancel then someone messages you expecting an immediate response because u r , "available now," but in fact u r not! It is crazy.....

[Steven_Draker]

I think that "Available now" should read as "Online now" or at least "online in the last 4 hours".

 

My light may be green, but I may be at the gym, in the store, running errands, with friends or just chilling.

 

I think the best way to inquire about availability is to call.

[matureguy69]

I totally agree that always best to call, saves time and energy plus 2 things >>>1, I like to hear what the escort sounds like , 2.. get a vibe from the escort on speaking direct on phone.

 

For me I hate constant messages simple to call and find out if hes the guy for you.

 

I am new here based London and meet escorts occasionally

[MiamiLooker]

I was going to give the same response. But I think we are in the minority here.

 

I agree with jridge3. My idea of an advance appointment is one that's maybe 3 hours away.

[+ Gar1eth]

The problem I've come across is that multiple times over the years I've tried to contact guys who were reportedly 'online now' and have never gotten a response. Just as important as alerting potential clients that you are available is remembering to log out if you aren't. Never being able to contact a guy who you thought was available can get very frustrating.

 

Gman

[marylander1940]

The problem I've come across is that multiple times over the years I've tried to contact guys who were reportedly 'online now' and have never gotten a response. Just as important as alerting potential clients that you are available is remembering to log out if you aren't. Never being able to contact a guy who you thought was available can get very frustrating.

 

Gman

 

Define now? Is now today or within an hour?

 

Maybe the guy is busy and can't call you back at the moment of that day.

 

Some websites like RB require guys to click "available now" every 4 hours, maybe the escort click it and got call, forgetting to "click" again is understandable. On men4rentnow.com escorts have to click in order to go op on the page, some cities have a lot of ads and unless his ad is new it won't appear on the first page unless he clicks refresh over and over again.

 

I agree with you that is a good policy to reply saying "sorry, I was busy yesterday".

 

if someone doesn't reply to you on time, you can just move and call someone else.

[Sailor]

For me it's been split.

Clients call me when it's green, or when it's red. Or not or all at once, it's a draught or it's pouring. Save those loads!!!

So, I've never been able to figure out which works best.

However, my preference is pre-bookings of course. I know I'm working, I'm rested, ready, and raring to go.

 

 

Sailor in Las Vegas

Sailorboyny@gmail.com

http://www.rentboy.com/Listing.aspx?lu=sailornyc

[Michael Wayne]

Hey Steven and mature I totally agree with you both about CALLING! However it seems that calling is becoming a dying thing in this age of technology. My voice is one of my strong points so i really want a new client to hear me. But i would say less than 25% of my booking involve a call these days...........

[JoeyBryant]

Just wondering how you guys feel about it. It seems on the surface that it would help but there are days when i am on top of it and no one contacts me then days when im not logged in and 5 people contact me at once. Are these features overated, overblown and overused or are they helpful to your biz? http://www.rentboy.com/magicmikey (available NOW!) LOL

 

I've never really thought about whether they are helpful or overblown or not...but I have kind of wondered from time to time. I honestly don't think it's a big deal, unless you're using something like adam4adam...in which case you can be logged on and chat for hours with dozens of guys who don't ever end up booking anyway.

 

However, I will say...I have noticed some escorts in certain cities who have been around for a long time, and their green light is on 24/7. I think it can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, yes you're available. Great. But on the other hand, it could look 'too' available, almost desperate. I may be wrong by that, but I've personally not found being online to get me clients any faster than me being off-line and getting ready to go out with a group of friends, or just walking into my favorite store, or even at the gym with my phone in the locker and Uh Oh, phone finally decides to ring when I'm about to go out.

 

I find what helps get me more calls, is being offline, forgetting to take the phone off of silent, and then leaving it at home...and then finding something important I want to do. The calls will just start pouring in.

[Michael Wayne]

GOOD POINT joey...... HOPEFULLY OUR SCHEDULES ALIGN ONE OF THESE DAYS. LOVE TO MEET YOU and talk shop.

[JoeyBryant]

GOOD POINT joey...... HOPEFULLY OUR SCHEDULES ALIGN ONE OF THESE DAYS. LOVE TO MEET YOU and talk shop.

 

Another question I have is, does anyone find top placement on rentboy to make a difference or not?

 

I've talked to clients who said they look at all the ads regardless. But I notice, some guys seem to faithfully advertise the platinum listing on rentboy. I don't think I've ever upgraded to their platinum membership, but Gold seems to work well enough. But at the same time, do clients understand that each tier level costs 2-3 times more than the 1st tier level? And rather, it's not so much of the website's choice to place guys at the top.

 

To me, it just seems kind of crazy to pay $129 a month for RB's platinum membership in my area, when all a client has to do is scroll down a couple of ads, which I'm sure they do anyway. Maybe I'm wrong and it could just magically help get more clients. But I just don't like the idea of these sites trying to over-capitalize on us, making us pay to get above the next guy and the next guy. Thing about adam4adam and backpage, is there's no 'tier' levels. With men4rent, I do gold or platinum because it reaches out to more cities. But even with bronze or silver, I've still been able to find logging on gets you on the front page.

 

That's how it should work, in my opinion. You log on, you get placed at the top. Or, your tier level varies by the amount of visits you get to your site, or how long you've been with the site. Anything, other than paying extra. We already pay to be there on the first place...I know newspaper/magazine ads charge more or less by the type of ad you have...but to pay extra just to be above the next guy seems pointless to me. Unless, like I said..it's a very large market, or the client happens to think that a top placement ad is somehow 'better' or more popular than the rest.

[Irtwo]

But at the same time, do clients understand that each tier level costs 2-3 times more than the 1st tier level? And rather, it's not so much of the website's choice to place guys at the top.

 

I didn't know it until it came up as a topic on these message boards. I always had assumed the website tried to put the hottest guys in front to draw interest. Yes, I would scroll down to see others, but often not more than 3 pages. It would depend how many came up.