NEW ADVERTISING/MARKETING STRATEGIES 4 escorts

[Michael Wayne]

I was actually working on this before the ILLEGAL seizure of Rentboy but I think now is a great time to post it. To my fellow RENTMEN: what other alternatives are u using or contemplating using post RB????? I have used the apps such as Scruff but since RB, Scruff has cracked down on escorts and their ,"wink wink slap you on the wrist," policy is now morphed into "u r banned forever as we HATE escorts." They are now on the same page as silverdaddys.com which is also an anti-escort site. Print seems to be an option here in DC but there are only 3 escort ads in the DC BLADE. Does anyone still hire from print???? The Washingtonian Magazine here in DC has a huge readership and does allow m4m pro massage/companionship ads. Personally I avoid backpage.com like the plague because it is the lair of the undercover detective. Which leaves good ol Craigslist.com. That is where the clients are but you have to weed through 20 to get one good one so it is very time consuming and frustrating.... so any new ideas?? @ www.rentmen.com/mikeyusatop ps...... to clients: where are you finding your new Rentmen these days???

[+ Keith30309]

In decreasing order of reliability:

 

1) Those I already know, personally or thru privately-shared recommendations

2) This forum & daddysreviews

3) RM

4) M4RN

5) HOURBOY

6) boyscort/backpage - a scam-alert mechanism more than anything

[cokimstr61]

I hear about escorts advertising on Craigslist but how do you find them. I've seen some ads under the M4M personals for massage but never for escort.

Any advice on search words to find them?

[BaronArtz]

Couldn't escorts just became 'masseurs'? Massage is not illegal. Massage sites are not illegal. You would have to word your ad with enough innuendo for prospective clients to know what the 'deal' is, but it could be done ...

[devonhunter]

I was just about to post this same question. I think it will be RM and M4RN.

[jawjateck]

I've noticed a lot of clever little massage-isms emerge in the last 2 weeks.

[wklucas]

Couldn't escorts just became 'masseurs'? Massage is not illegal. Massage sites are not illegal. You would have to word your ad with enough innuendo for prospective clients to know what the 'deal' is, but it could be done ...

 

 

Exactly.....lots of guys on massage4men & masseurfinder have ads with lots of clues, hints, innuendo that "more" might be (is likely) available.....if approached / contacted, any doubts of what a guy might be offering can be answered.....some ads are even pretty blatant & leave little to the imagination....by no means, not all.....but certainly some ads / some guys.......(sometimes - 1 easy clue - rates "starting at" or "from" (there can be of course any number of reasons for a sliding upward scale of rates though)......if approached the right way, no guy should be offended if the inquiry from the client is not what is being offered.....if he is "offended", he's kind of thin-skinned, in my opinion.....any massage guy can decline the request with a polite "no" and go about his way, errrr day....no harm / no foul......(& then sometimes I really just want a massage without any, errrr many extras - they are both good sites for just that too)

[devonhunter]

I'm not interested in going the massage-ism route: My experience consistently is that masseurs charge half what escorts do, but then clients end up expecting escorting services for massage prices. I don't offer massage, so I'd end up constantly having to redirect and clarify.

[TruHart1]

Sorry to be a bit off topic but I noticed for the last week or so that M4RN no longer provides a link to an escort's fees. The tab now says "Contact for Fees" and when you click on it, it opens an email form (through the M4RN system) which you are required to fill out and send.

 

TruHart1

[jawjateck]

I noticed one ad recently where the guy used the terms "professional massage" and "massage", without using words like sensual, erotic, etc. He indicated that he is licensed (who knows?), and so the "professional massage" is a rub on a table where he remains clothed. During a "massage", he gets nekkid and various naughty things may happen.

 

These attempts to play around with words are futile.

[down_to_business]

Its just not worth the hassle right now. I have suspended all hiring for the time being with any potential new hires. Men4rentnow is a total piece of crap. Rentmen isn't bad but doesn't have a big enough selection in the markets I am usually looking to hire from plus I have personal concerns about the retention policy of emails and what may or may not be subject to any future subpoena in any federal fishing expedition or grand jury investigation. Forget about craigslist and backpage. Too many local law enforcement agencies want to jump on the bandwagon. Proceed with caution.

[corndog]

I think that the "massage-ism" route is problematic. If you're depending on innuendo to get the services you want, you have no legitimate room to complain if the masseur doesn't provide the services you're hoping for. Contacting the masseur and asking directly is also likely to cause the masseur to think you're law enforcement trying to entrap them, or to be offended, or to feign being offended. Further, if this becomes the new normal, it'll be very difficult to find a real masseur when that's actually what we're looking for. I'm sure that Devon Hunter, for example, would be a great hire, but if he were adverting as a masseur, it would be a recipe for disappointment.

 

I wholeheartedly and emphatically agree that m4rn is a piece of crap that I wish would biodegrade into fertilizer, be plowed under and then used to grow bio-corn.

 

I think that Rentmen.com is our best hope. It's imperfect, I agree, but I believe that the current situation may help fix its problems. It's first problem is lack of advertisers, especially in secondary markets. The current situation is pushing many former RentBoy advertisers over to RentMen, and so I think that problem will go away on its own. The reliability problems (which RentBoy certainly experienced, too) may be resolved by the influx of revenue due to the migration from RB. Let's hope. It think it will also help if people continue to politely air their RentMen grievances here; I'm sure they're very busy right now, but they have a history of participating here, and being responsive to our concerns.

[seattlebottom]

This might usher in a whole new era of hustler bars.

[BaronArtz]

I'm not interested in going the massage-ism route: My experience consistently is that masseurs charge half what escorts do, but then clients end up expecting escorting services for massage prices. I don't offer massage, so I'd end up constantly having to redirect and clarify.

 

That is not necessarily true. You need to think outside the box. If someone lists their massage rates at $250 or $300 per hour for instance, knowledgeable clients will know what the 'deal' is.

 

You are not a masseur. But you could be an escort advertising as a masseur to circumvent certain 'legalities'.

[+ TheKnobGobbler]

Heya, Mikey. A couple of other sites I've found, but have not really found to be helpful - at least not here in New Orleans - are:

 

http://www.squirt.org/

http://www.GPScort.com

http://www.BoyToy.com

http://www.Adam4Adam.com has a "Pros" section that consists of Escorts and strictly Masseur-types.

http://www.cruisingforescorts.com/

 

This website is mostly Las Vegas centered, but does have other city listings: http://www.gayescortweb.com/ (They also maintain a little bit of presence on Google+ pages.

And lastly, this one, which looks only a tiny bit less seedy than Backpage.com: http://guys4rent.com/

 

If you ever do business in Central or South America, I've used www.escupido.com when I travel to Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina for work. The other is very backpage-ish,

http://mx.mileroticos.com/escorts-gay/

 

 

I had actually thought about getting into the game myself before this all went down with RB, (the hosting; not the escorting - talk about niche market! LOL) when I bought a couple of domains just to test the water with. They're both dead in the water atm, but I bought Gay4PaySex.Work, GentlemensXcourt.Club, and GentlemensXcourt.Reviews

 

Lastly, there's an article on hook-online.com from back in January that talks about Marketing Escort Services Safely, Strategically, and Successfully. Here's the direct link:

hook-online.com/rentu-class-marketing-dc-2015-03

 

Best of luck! If you happen to come across any others that seem to be buzzing, let me know! I'm always on the lookout.

 

xoxo,

The New Orleans Knob Gobbler

Phlip Phlop O'Bottomus

[+ Charlie]

Back in the days of print ads in the Advocate and local gay magazines, most escorts advertised in a section called "Models."

[+ Lance_Navarro]

I decided to take my advertising dollars that I was spending on RB and move it to a massagem4m ad, I may also take out an ad on M4RN, where I used to advertise but stopped because I didn't like their site or customer service. I've been advertising on Rentmen for quite a while, they have a good site and though I don't get a lot of business from there, it's pretty cheap so I can justify it. I am a trained masseur so I do advertise my therapeutic rate on massagem4m and just direct people to my website for my other therapy options (though they will no longer let me list my website in the ad). Having a website, for me, is one of the most important things that an escort can do now days. It's quick, affordable and indicates a level of professionalism.

[rocksinurhead]

i don't love the current options in nyc. rentmen has way too many tops or vers/tops advertising.

at least half the guys listed in nyc on hourboy don't actually live here. they just sporadically visit at unspecified times.

i would love, as someone else already mentioned, the return of the pre-internet hustler bar!! townhouse? maybe i'll have to check it out. i'm also surprised that, at least for nyc, there has not been a significant migration to rentmen yet.

[evanskyy]

I don't think craigslist or backpage are great options. The users on the escort and client side seem to have very different expectations and motives than users or rentboy or daddy's review. I also wouldn't personally use massage sites, because like others have said, I don't offer massage as my primary services. I think its extremely important to be able to communicate clearly with clients and not use secret lingo and such to ensure the escort knows how to give the client a great experience.

 

I am also in DC, have always had great success on RB, and am feeling very discouraged because I don't get very much business from rentmen or m4rn. I have been getting a lot more regular clients clients contacting me more often who I would usually only hear from every few months which I am thinking is because they are nervous to seek out services from other escorts.

 

I'd love to hear what clients are doing. Are many of you guys who used to use rentboy a lot browsing other sites? Or are a lot of you taking a break from hiring new guys for the moment?

[TruHart1]

I don't think craigslist or backpage are great options...

...I'd love to hear what clients are doing. Are many of you guys who used to use rentboy a lot browsing other sites? Or are a lot of you taking a break from hiring new guys for the moment?

Welcome to the forum Lance Navarro, and to you, Evan!

 

I am actually trying to hire some of my regular guys a bit more often to show my solidarity and to hopefully help financially a little during what must surely be a slow business period for many of them.

 

TruHart1

[+ Lance_Navarro]

Welcome to the forum Lance Navarro, and to you, Evan!

 

I am actually trying to hire some of my regular guys a bit more often to show my solidarity and to hopefully help financially a little during what must surely be a slow business period for many of them.

 

TruHart1

 

Thanks so much! And thanks for supporting your regulars. I'm blessed to have a great clientelle so the RB thing isn't hurting me as bad as it is others who depend heavily on new clients.

[mike carey]

Sorry for being so slow to chime in, but welcome to the forum Lance!

[+ TheKnobGobbler]

I've noticed many long time escorts have started steering their advertising away from M4RN, and also that it seems to be stronger in some cities than in others. Most of what remains of the New Orleans companions, for instance, are spread out between Hourboy, Rentmen, and Backpage without as much of the multi-ad coverage they used to spread across the sites pretty uniformly. What's left on M4RN is a handful of stale, unmonitored accounts, some of whom don't even live or visit here anymore. I've heard that the management of the site is horrendous and that it can be a real hassle to do business with them. That's kind of what got me thinking about standing up a couple of my own sites that didn't go after the micro-revenue from all those annoying pop ups, flash banners, or bait & switch cam sites to make a buck, instead, letting my adoration and respect for men who work in the sex industry be the source of a committed, functional, well attended site that helps its working fellas and its paying fellas connect and interact as much or as little as they want. But then the RB crapisode. <sigh>

[Michael Wayne]

Guys, thanks for so many responses to my new thread and so many great new ideas! Knob Gobbler has got me nostalgic for the good ol days in NOLA. I still miss that town! I have always used massage as a foundation for my biz so I appreciate the emphasis on massage in these responses. That is how I get new, inexperienced, very scared married, deeply closeted clients. it breaks the ice and you go slow and progress.....much like therapy. This is where Craigslist works............. Again (and I know this is unpopular here) but Men4rentnow is a site that is trying very hard to be more customer friendly. Post RB I believe they are trying even harder. I still get GREAT clients in DC from there. About massagemen4men.com: their basic cheapest ad is well over $100 dollars a month which is prohibitive to many masseurs. I have used them before and I found 99 percent of clients there wanted to pay $80 bucks or lower for 90 minutes. I find Hourboy and Adam4 Adam to be useless. I am sorry for being so blunt. Here is one new idea no one has mentioned: I am developing relationships with about 30 hotel concierges in DC right now and offering them $50 for every appointment they book.......... This is a very OLD SCHOOL approach I used in New Orleans to great success.

[Michael Wayne]

Also I like what Evansky said about regulars! I have always put LOCAL REGULARS first in all of my home markets over the years. what that means is this: while I love tourists/visitors and convention guests; I always take the local repeat over the visitor 100 times out of 100!!! I can say that here in DC since the ILLEGAL seizure of Rentboy that my biz has actually increased because of my loyalty to my regulars and their loyalty to me. Thank you regulars! One thing I always tell a new client is this: keep my number or email safely and discreetly somewhere in case something like the ILLEGAL seizure of rentboy occurs. Then you don't have to search the ads everytime you are trying to find me. Not everyone did that but the ones who did are glad they did. @ www.rentmen.com/mikeyusatop