We can’t believe 2019 is already coming to an end. Oh, how the time flies! It’s been an incredible year for GigSalad and we hope the same is true for you. We can’t wait to bring you an even better product in 2020, and hopefully a lot more work. In the meantime, here’s a quick update on what we have going on as we close out the year.
In this product update:
- Prioritizing and addressing user feedback
- Add GigSalad bookings to external calendars
- Add new calendar events to multiple dates at once
- Educating event planners on average costs
First things first…
Say hello to our newest team member! Josh has joined our East Coast office as a full-time engineer. This is really exciting because as our engineering team grows, the more features and improvements we’re able to roll out for our users.
We hear you!
User feedback has always been important to us. Each email you send and every call you make to report a bug or request a feature is passed on to our product and development teams. However, as the suggestions pile up, sometimes they fall through the cracks. That just won’t do!
Our product team is putting a new process in place to track suggestions. This process will allow us to better evaluate your feedback, determine the most valuable projects, and turn ideas into actionable items for our development team.
So keep those suggestions coming!
More calendar features? You got it!
As you know, we’ve been slowly rolling out a lot of exciting improvements to the GigSalad calendar over the last few months, and we aren’t done yet. Here’s the latest:
Add GigSalad bookings to external calendars
You can now integrate your GigSalad calendar with external calendars so that your GigSalad bookings will be automatically added to any other calendar apps you use.
All you have to do is go into your control panel and turn on your calendar feed to get the URL. Add that URL to any external calendars on which you want to include your GigSalad bookings. Learn more.
Add events to multiple days at once
This is soooo close to launching. Like, very close. So sit tight! Once launched, when you add new events or unavailability, there will be a new “add to multiple” button that will allow you to select additional dates on which the event should appear.
After this, we’ll begin expanding the feature to include the ability to add events to recurring weekdays, in addition to specific dates.
Educating event planners
We mentioned last month that we’d soon be testing an additional step in the quote request form. Well, that test is now live!
When an event planner is submitting a general quote request, we ask them where they’re at in the booking process. In this test, if they choose a wishy-washy answer like “looking for pricing” or “just researching” we insert some average cost information for the category and location they’re interested in.
The goal behind this test is to provide additional information to help set and manage expectations. Only those who feel the price is doable will hopefully continue with their request. Thus, cutting out the price shoppers that are uninterested and less likely to book.
We haven’t reached statistically significant numbers so we won’t share the results just yet. But, we’ll be sure to include them in a future product update after the test is complete. So keep your eye out!
Ok Google, show me GigSalad
In addition to all of these development features, we’re also fine-tuning our digital advertising strategy. We’ve been slowly pushing more sponsored ads to the top of search results for our biggest categories and cities. Now we’re taking what we learned from that and increasing our reach, as well as making improvements to the ads themselves. All this with the same goal as any other feature we spend time on: getting you more leads.
As the holidays approach, we’ll be winding down a little bit so our team can rest and enjoy some much-deserved time off with family and friends. But then we’ll be back and ready to make 2020 the biggest year yet for getting you booked!
Heather is the Content Manager and a GigSalad veteran of 15+ years. She loves helping event planners create unforgettable celebrations and talent make a living doing what they love. When not at work, she enjoys reading romance and fantasy books, bingeing TV shows, playing board games, and spending time with friends.
All this looks good….esp. the event planner price comparison bit. Hopefully. you’ll have that custom tailored to each major market. Pricing between LA and St. Louis probably won’t be the same so you have to keep that in mind. I have a GS gig later today – looking forward to it and the other upcoming gigs I’ve booked here.
Keep up the good work!
Zenon
Hi Zenon, yes, the prices are based on location and the data we have from those bookings. Thanks for your comment!
That tip about educating event planners is great. We have a bagpiper. Bagpipers get top wages in the music world. And you don’t undercut your competition because they are your friends. Good live bands cost real money because we’ve researched our genre and rehearsed. We’re flexible and able to do music for any taste. We can do requests.
This is great, thank you!
I would make the investment in Gig Salad but I have never received a gig offer that was doable. All I get is offers for house parties and groups of like 50 people. My show Mind Games is a show that books for 1200.00 min and 1500.00 if I have over 100 miles to travel. O am NOT psychic reader or a table hopper that will read Tarot Cards. I do a full 90 minute show with music and prized for my volunteers. I give away over $ 500.00 worth of prizes in a show and I donate 10% of my performance fees to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. I am also an artist, a painter. I give away 4 of my $100.00 originals and if there can be after show sales I have pieces that sell for $30.00 with 100 % of the sales going to St. Jude. That brings in another couple hundred for the children. I don’t know how to get through to your buyers.
Still a GigSalad member — although now just a “free” one — for about two years now, and haven’t booked a single date. I typically respond within 2-3 hours. I’ve declined lots of gigs for various reasons, but have also sent quotes on dozens of them, and never a bite. I’m pretty convinced that it’s just a low-bid environment — and there’s nothing wrong with that, from the buyer’s standpoint. It just is what it is. Fortunately I stay about as busy as I want through my own booking efforts. And I guess GS is working for someone, because you’re still around and apparently growing… Just sharing thoughts; good luck and thanks. I’m sure I’ll land one someday.
– Sean
As I have mentioned on many comments to you folks, I am a jazz accordion player. I do not play polkas, ethnic music or stereotypical accordion music. I am constantly turning down requests for the aforementioned genres. I even have stated such in my profile but to no avail. I do not receive quality leads!
Who gets to see the low, average, and high prices? Is that tool for the prospective client or for the talent or both? Certainly the talent would profit from that information to see where their quote lies.
Hi…I’ve been on Gig Salad for less than two weeks and have already received 3 leads which I’m happy about. My only problem is I don’t really have a subcategory where to be listed. I am an escape room that sets up at almost any venue. I listed in Murder Mystery as it is the closest category and all of my leads came from there. Any suggestions where I should be listed or are the plans to add “escape rooms”?
Thanks so much.
Thanks for writing this. I found it really informative and as a musician I do appreciate it. Thanks again.
Is that preliminary price you show to people specific to public, ticketed events & private /corporate events??
Those different things command vastly different pricing.
The industry norm is to basically charge double for corporate & private events. Their starting pricing is at the highest we all charge for public /ticketed events.
I LOVE the new features y’all are adding! I joined Gig Salad in August, and was slightly skeptical of the outcome. It has blown my expectations out of the water! Even led me to sign up for a-whole-nother year.
One question, with the “average booking cost” feature (which is GENIUS), will we, as performers, have access to that information? It should help temper expectations for potential hires, but there may be some gigs I might budge on if I knew what they saw before hand.
Thank you for all you’re doing to help musicians get music out!
Seth
Please don’t do this! I can’t help but feel that the average pricing feature will really hurt those of us who are at, or even beyond, the highest level. It’s tough enough as it is to sell VALUE. We want to educate them on real value… the best bang for their buck. Why do some groups or acts charge more? Why are some worth more? Unfortunately, some clients don’t find out until after the gig that they didn’t choose wisely.
Let’s say you have 20 Elvis impersonators… 5 of which are great, 5 of which are so-so and 10 who are horrendous. Your scale is going to send more clients towards the highest of horrible or lowest of so-so. If that’s what you want the reputation of gig salad to be…some of us will be squeezed out to the left!
There is a device in most recording studios called a ‘compressor/limiter’, and in the right hands can be useful. However, using too much can squeeze the life out of a track!
This is the compressor/limiter of gig salad and it’s a bad idea for those of us who are truly worth more.
I would love to know what a the average cost of booking piano players like myself so I can offer a competitive rate … help?
Thanks
Hi Selina, you can see the average for GigSalad vendors by going to GigSalad.com and typing “Pianist” in the search bar. Then on the results page, you’ll see a box on the right that says “Pianist Pricing.” Just click that to see your local averages. Hope this helps!
you all are doing a great job thanks
I need guidance on setting my prices for Singing Telegrams. Yes, the Musicians Union Scale has a 2-hour minimum charge, but does that make sense for a 15-minute performance? Yet, if I have to drive an hour to get there, drive another hour home, leave time for a traffic jam, and cancel students’ lessons ~ What’s a reasonable price?
Hi Hallie, you can see the average for GigSalad vendors by going to GigSalad.com and typing “Singing Telegram” in the search bar. Then on the results page, you’ll see a box on the right that says “Singing Telegram Pricing.” Just click that to see your local averages. You might use that as a start to adjust with travel expenses, etc. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the updates as we look forward to successful improved along with additional features! Can’t wait! Enjoy this special time of year as you wind down and take time to chill. Best wishes and Happy thoughts in 2020 to the Gigsalad Team!
En~
Brock and Toni Cline
Celtic Bagpipe Team
Boca Raton FL
🍃☘❤☘🍃
As a band I don’t like the event planner education with the pricing. It now locks into a Jax price of 1250.00. I say let them go through with the wishy washy. Before we book we normally call them if they leave a tel number. We find out what type of event it is, find out if they are selling tickets and for how much, their budget and then we negotiate a price from there. Normally we find if they don’t leave a phone number or the number is bogus 9 times out of ten they have their pole in the water fishing or another band trying to get competitive pricing. So maybe have a selection in the Band account for planner education or not. I have been in sales for 45 years, so I know how to handle fishermen.