JOINED a talent agent

[Party Picassos Facepainting]

Last week, I received a 20% off coupon for Gigmasters. A friend of mine (caricature artist) told me that it was worth the $$. With the "coupon" it came to $135 for a year. So it's not much per month. I signed up.

I have had a chance to bid on 7 or 8 jobs so far. Not bad for one week. But I live in Chicago, where there are seven artists listed with them  and ME. So far, no jobs. I did check out the competition. With an very honest evaluation, I would say that my talent ranks third amongst the artists. The other artists were $90 - $100 or $125, so I listed at $100 - $150 (depending on location). This also gives me some jiggle room, if I want to give a better price. Also with Gigmasters, there is a "finders" fee of sorts, that the customer pays (10%). On every bid form that I fill out, it asks if you would like to pay the finders fee. I was told that most entertainers take on the fee. I guess that's why we raise our rates!

So now, I am guessing that I am not getting the jobs, because I'm a LITTLE bit more. I keep thinking...look at the photos. Don't you see a difference in talent? So I am contemplating lowering my rates to get more gigs, at least at first. Then I can get some reviews on my page.

I do still get emails from my website. It seems that way I do make more than with GigMasters. But it's a write-off and my website might be getting more hits!

What is YOUR story? Let me know.

[Sherry]

I tried Gigmasters around 2008 I believe, and I did get one job from it, but they ended up canceling.  I was living in a very small town at that time and there may not have been as much business available in that area.

I also get emails from Eventective and have paid their fee a few times, but never had a job come from it.  I notice Gigmasters in the Google rankings at the top a lot, so I think it's a good one.

[Psalmbook]

Gig Master is a waste. I go with the free sites & do just fine. Also, don't sell yourself short. I've seen your work & you rank right up equal with the other face painters in your area. It just takes some time to break into the market. I was going strong as a clown in 2005-2007 & then my dad got sick & I had to drop everything. He passed in 2008 & I really didn't start getting back into it till the end of 2009. I restructured my business & went full fledged face painting(I had no clue people only face painted when I did this:-). It's taken me till 2011 to really feel like I'm doing well.