Things are picking up steam as we head into fall. Not only is our development team churning out work, but our members are also getting more of it. We’re seeing new event numbers growing every day as people continue finding ways to celebrate during this pandemic.
In this update:
- Set travel distance per category
- Testing a new payment method
- Messaging test results
- Fixed lead blocking on recurring events
- Get more verified reviews
- Get to know our lead engineer
Adjust your travel distance for each service
If the distance you are willing to travel for a gig varies for some of the services you offer, you can now adjust your travel radius per category.
All of your categories will have the same radius as your current default, but you can easily log in and adjust them. Just go to the Travel Distance page (under Edit PromoKit) and use the drop-down below each category to change the travel distance for that service. Make sure you scroll down and click Save when you’re finished!
Testing PayPal Credit for bookings
We mentioned last month that we were preparing to test a new payment option for clients to use when booking through GigSalad. Well, we officially launched that test a few weeks ago.
Half of our U.S. event planners will now see PayPal Credit as one of their payment methods. This option allows them to apply for a credit line through PayPal to cover the total cost of their booking.
This new payment method does not change anything on the vendor’s end. They’ll appear and function the same as any credit card booking payment would. But because it’s not a traditional credit card, it can make higher-dollar bookings a lot more affordable to some users.
Messaging tests – how they did
Back in June, we started running a couple of tests related to messaging and user engagement. Both tests were wrapped up in August and called in favor of the new variation of each.
Message statuses: We found that changing the inbox status for sent messages did not have a statistically significant effect on behavior, but it showed encouraging trends toward more bookings. We believe it also improves the user experience. You will now always see “Message sent” when you reply to a lead with a message, and that status will change to “Message seen” when the client opens it.
Message email notifications: After months of watching the results of this test, we found it was going to take far too long to reach statistically significant results. We didn’t see much indication that removing messages from the notification emails changed behavior, but it showed the potential of possibly increasing bookings. We may do further tests on this in the future.
Blocking leads on recurring events – fixed!
At the end of July, we launched a new calendar feature that lets you add events that repeat on specific days of the week to your calendar. But one feature that was missing from that launch was the ability to block leads for those recurring events. The option was in place, but we didn’t have it properly working with our lead-sending system. It is now! If you added a recurring event and chose to block the leads, we will not send you leads that conflict with those dates and times.
A new way to get verified reviews
Verified reviews are incredibly valuable and make your profile more appealing to prospective clients. The easiest way to collect verified reviews is to book through the site, because then we follow up with the client for you in a series of review-request emails.
But what about when you book off the site? Now, when you get an unverified review from a client you got from GigSalad but booked directly, we’ll send you an email to let you know that the review qualifies for being verified. All you’ll have to do is mark the lead as booked and voila – a verified review!
Quirky questions with our head nerd 🤓
Locke Bircher has been with GigSalad from the beginning and was the first developer on staff. Now he pretty much runs the place as both our lead engineer and a partner in the company. He’s a quirky guy so we asked him some quirky questions so you all can get to know him better.
What is the best thing since sliced bread?
It’s a tough call, but I have to say frozen bananas.
If you could be a member of any TV family or friend group, which would it be?
I enjoy that one sitcom where the family has all that drama and the kids get into trouble at times but it always works out in the end. That’s probably the one I’d want to be a member of. Either that or Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
What is an app you hate but use anyway?
Hate is a strong word, but I dislike using Facebook. It’s difficult to avoid it but I try to minimize it.
What’s your favorite idiom?
I like throwing caution to the wind. Since they are a dime a dozen I’ll bite off more than I can chew and sweep a few more idioms under the carpet by beating a dead horse: down the rabbit hole.
What product would you stockpile if you found out they weren’t going to sell it anymore?
Emoji.
What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?
Some sharks will shed over 30,000 teeth in their lifetime!
What’s your favorite sandwich and why?
Peanut butter and jelly. Specifically, raw peanut butter and chilled orange marmalade on pumpernickel bread. It’s my favorite because I like it the most.
What is something you learned in the last month?
How to set up a construction scaffold!
Is cereal soup? Are you sure?
It’s like the old adage goes: all cereal is soup, but not all soup is cereal.
If you had a catchphrase, what would it be?
I’ve perfected a few catchphrases over the years but my latest is “gimme ‘dat spaghetti!” It’s a phrase used when answering questions affirmatively but in situations where you need something special which goes beyond the simple “yeah, that’s good” or “yes, for sure.” You may be correct in thinking that it makes little sense.
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.
Gig Salad,
You guys do a great job.
We get many events.
Thank You,
Marsh at Marsh Productions Entertainment Agency Minneapolis, Mn.
Happy to see that you are continuing to improve your product with us in mind.
My biggest pet peeve is submitting a quote (sent) but not bothered to be opened (seen). Why does someone ask for a quote and not bother to look at it? Is the price displayed in the subject line? I don’t think so.
This is really annoying!
Hi Fabiana, thank you for reaching out! I’m sure that’s very frustrating, and we don’t have an exact answer for you. The simplest explanation is: human nature. Think of it as if you had a brick-and-mortar store. Customers would come in, look around, ask how much something is, and maybe leave without buying anything. It happens on the internet, too. Some folks are just looking for pricing, some are just exploring ideas they had for a party, and some are ready to book. But you can’t tell ahead of time who’s who, so it’s important to respond to them all. We suggest using the Saved Quotes and Saved Messages tools so you can respond without wasting a lot of time in case someone is a “tire-kicker.” But no, the subject line doesn’t show the pricing, it simply tells them they have a new quote. I hope this helps and let us know if we can address any other concerns for you!
Can you adjust virtual events to worldwide with no radius limit and just hours of operations? Thanks!
-Dan
https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-favorite-magician-pivoting-to-zoom-2020-5
Hi Dan, we appreciate your idea! But while that seems like a simple fix, it would actually require an overhaul of our entire platform. We are doing our best to modify our process to accommodate virtual events, but since things are changing rapidly regarding virtual performances, we don’t have any immediate plans to implement that change. We’ll keep an eye on the situation and if the change becomes warranted, we’ll certainly revisit this suggestion. Thank you for reaching out!
Gimme dat Spaghetti
Is the eCheck the same or different from DD/direct deposit that we have now for payouts?
PayPal is struggling w/ mega stores & warehousing creating their own payment knockoffs. Though some of their policies are just driven by avatars, not nice to resolve simple issues at all. My theory is that they hold onto little monies from gig workers so they monetize it for interest.
I’ve been a LOYAL USER & TOP PERFORMER ALWAYS seeking new & innovative ways to use my GigSalad pages as well as push for GigSalad to offer VIRTUAL OFFICE GIGS & VA, Promotion; as well as have your Event Agents LIST related work they are seeking & how we can also help fellow gig members.
Please HELP OFFER SOLUTIONS for Gig Workers! This platform ordinarily rocks, tho I falling behind needs to become more Agile to balance event declines & the need for Remote/Gig workers that need flex… It wouldn’t be that difficult to add a few new categories!
SSgj
Hi Seashell Santa, the eCheck is an option for your client to use to pay for the booking – it’s not something that you’re paid with. Rather than using a debit or credit card, the client can enter information from their check instead. Direct deposit is still an option for your payouts, so rest assured that isn’t changing! I hope this clears up any concerns. Thanks for the feedback and have a great day!
The one issue I see with having a wide travel option, is that sometimes I get requests from people several hours away, that appear to me, not to have a budget or desire, to even want to get bids from out-of-town bands. I will usually send them a message asking if they are even considering bands outside their local area, which almost always they’re not. Which makes me wonder how those kinds of requests are chosen, since I only get them once in a while, and the ones I do get almost always are not valid, in that the client isn’t even considering looking for non-local talent. Sometimes it’s because it’s a very short gig, like an hour or hour & a half, other times, it’s apparent it is not a high-budget event.
I’d like to know how & why these tend to be the only ones I see.