thesugarman 272 Report post Posted August 13, 2012 Hi, I'm a newbie here and just introduced to this board. My first experience last week was meeting an MP through this board and she told me all of her business comes from this board which I thought quite amazing. So, my question. What % of your business comes from this board? Thanks, Kanan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest S****r Report post Posted August 16, 2012 ...comes from cerb. Thinking of going elsewhere though because of the high number of agencies on here. (I am independent.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley Ann 75247 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 90% of my clients are from cerb, the other 10% would be clients whom I have already established on going relationships with prior to me coming here and those were from newspaper classifieds, which BTW-I will not return to anytime soon, as the ad rates are ridiculous and the clients, well they are not like the men from CERB at all, I love it here :boobies: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
April Dawn 12207 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 I would say about 50 percent comes from cerb and 50 percent comes from referals. It always seems kind of surprising when a client of mine asks if he can pass my name along to one of his friends. Takes a lot of courage to talk about this life style with your friends. Posted via Mobile Device Oops didn't see this was Ottawa discussion, I'm from Sask. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VedaSloan 119179 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe half? Most of my business is repeat clients that I've built up over the years. As of right now, I wouldn't say I get more than 10% from CERB. Most new clients find me through BP. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cowboy kenny 50799 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 ...comes from cerb. Thinking of going elsewhere though because of the high number of agencies on here. (I am independent.) Hi, I don't want to sound argumentative, but I don't understand your statement, or what the logic would be behind your decision to go elsewhere. You get 95 percent of your business from this board where you can advertise for FREE, the reason you can advertise for FREE is because CERB is subsidized in part by Agencies who MUST pay to advertise, you have all the same options that an agency does and it doesn't cost you a dime, save for your time spent posting and responding to messages and participating in discussions, still if that little time results in a 95% return on a 0 $ investment is fantastic! Why would you walk away from the source of 95 percent of your business to go somewhere else where you will likely have to pay and compete with even more agencies and independents ? From a business perspective it just doesn't make sense. Sure advertise else where and saturate the market with your brand, but if you think CERB is crowded with too many agencies I think you'll find the company in other venues is much more competitive and you have to pay to partake. I'm just curious to know what the reasoning would be, thanks :) 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EmilyRushton 253372 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 I would say that I get 40-50% of my business from CERB. I get allot from http://www.Escorts-Canada.com and ER as well as BP BUT in the smaller cities 90% of my business comes from the paper. Business from CERB will really depend on which city you are in, as in the smaller cities there may only be 5 people that actually log on to the board, they are more accustomed to looking in a paper. While CERB is free for Independants, I suggest you buy a banner or 2 and invest in some things other than only free advertising. Some of the good advertising sites cost money but you have to invest in yourself if you expect clients to invest in you. Like any business you need to spend money to make money. It really drives me nuts to hear ladies complain when they invest nothing in themselves and then bitch about a free board Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest S**a*Q Report post Posted August 16, 2012 I only advertise here, (unless I am touring somewhere), but when I'm in Ottawa 100% comes from Cerb. :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roamingguy 300292 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 (edited) From the gentlemen's side, well this gentleman, speaking for myself only. I have seen ladies who are non-CERB, and all my bad encounters were with non-CERB ladies I'm not saying all non-CERB ladies are bad I'm not saying every CERB lady will provide a good or great encounter But, CERB, being a board which is welcoming to both the ladies and gentlemen alike allows for interaction, so guys can get an idea of the lady they are going to meet, and likewise, the ladies can get an idea who the guy is that wants to meet them. And they can determine this through the recommendations, posts, pm's to other members (recently I have been pm'd about one lady I've seen, and was very happy to tell the gentleman that the lady provides a great encounter. If he decides to see her he will have a wonderful escape and the lady might have a client, one who she sees once, or becomes a regular...but I digress) In short, my take on it, CERB is a mutually beneficial community. And for the ladies reading, for what it's worth, I now only see ladies from CERB. The last time I strayed off the reserve LOL so to speak, and saw a non-CERB lady, (back in Sept 2011) the lady I saw ripped me off. I won't go to other sites, maybe I've got blinders on, but the ladies of CERB haven't let me down In short, now, almost a year later, 100% of the ladies I see or will see are the ladies from CERB My morning rambling for whatever it's worth RG Edited August 16, 2012 by r__m__g_uy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craig101 3213 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 Zero percent of my business comes from cerb! In fact I have lost a lot of money being a member! lol Money well spent though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kyra.Graves 23779 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 Less than 5% but I am not Ottawa based and I am not in Toronto all that frequently either. If I were in Toronto full time that percentage would probably be a little higher and if I were in Ottawa that number would be a lot higher. I have found that for my target market I have a much higher conversion rate on Cerb than Escorts Canada and for Ottawa rather than Toronto. Still even if it isn't ones main sales tool it can be a great board for the ladies and gents that participate on it. Though I don't generate much of an income from it there are other benefits from being a (relatively) active member such as but not limited to the shared information about the changing Canadian legislation, the regional sections being all on one board (a huge help for those that travel) and of course a provider section. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meg O'Ryan 266444 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 The majority comes from Cerb and Escorts Canada (money very well spent) with about 20% from other sources. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fortunateone 156618 Report post Posted August 17, 2012 I would say 0% but I don't mind that. In fact, it took me quite a while to even post an ad, and that's more of a way to let people know who they are talking to if they take the time to search for it. I don't mind, I understand the site is not directly targeting the Vancouver area, and that's fine. I've never really considered forums for advertising for myself, only a way to communicate and meet people and have interesting conversations. I have really come to enjoy the people on this site, and I really do not care that it isn't a source of business for me. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest S****r Report post Posted August 17, 2012 The reason 95% of my business comes from cerb is because it is the ONLY place I advertise at this point. The reference to the agencies is because when an independent girl places an ad, and then the agencies advertise 15 girls after her, all of a sudden our ads drop off the page out of sight, and then we can't post again for another 12 hours. That is the problem. We independent girls don't have the money to invest in advertising that the agencies do, so we can't compete with staying on the page. Not sure what the answer is. Perhaps a site for independent girls only, perhaps. I don't know. I am new in the business and am learning the business side of it all. Don't mean to offend anyone here. It is just the facts. Am trying to figure out how to do things here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ashley Ann 75247 Report post Posted August 18, 2012 The reason 95% of my business comes from cerb is because it is the ONLY place I advertise at this point. The reference to the agencies is because when an independent girl places an ad, and then the agencies advertise 15 girls after her, all of a sudden our ads drop off the page out of sight, and then we can't post again for another 12 hours. That is the problem. We independent girls don't have the money to invest in advertising that the agencies do, so we can't compete with staying on the page. Not sure what the answer is. Perhaps a site for independent girls only, perhaps. I don't know. I am new in the business and am learning the business side of it all. Don't mean to offend anyone here. It is just the facts. Am trying to figure out how to do things here. I honestly would not stress about agencies taking up space, and that your ad is no longer visible on the first page...This reason would not affect your business and I will tell you why :) I have been in this business for a long while, and I can tell you first hand, men will look through multiple pages, not just the first ;) ...and they usually start where they left of last (date wise in ad sections) Also, GOOD clients, the ones us ladies always look forward to having...they usually tend to do a little research first, they don`t just choose an sp based on first see, first serve...they look around to ensure they choose who they want. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cowboy kenny 50799 Report post Posted August 18, 2012 Summer, thanks for the follow up. I'm not sure I still understand the reason to walkaway from the source of 95 percent of your income or that agencies are the problem because there are actually more indy ads every 12 hours , the escort agencies don't actually post multiple ads here outside of the 2 per day, to the best of my knowledge there is only one Agency girl who has her own account, that is also a paid account merely because she works with an agent. Perhaps you might want to consider the day parts when you advertise as time frames maybe be more effective and targeted to your clientele. Participating in discussions and popping into the chat room and shoutbox periodically are also effective and free options for your consideration. The reality is right now things are slow in the capital, for everyone. With public service cuts in play and more looming, along with the usual summer slow down and the fact that economic confidence still has not bounced back has it's impact on all business, especially discretionary spending like entertainment. I'm not sure what the answer is but I certainly don't think not advertising on cerb is the answer. Hang in there ;) 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phaedrus 209521 Report post Posted August 18, 2012 The reference to the agencies is because when an independent girl places an ad, and then the agencies advertise 15 girls after her, all of a sudden our ads drop off the page out of sight, and then we can't post again for another 12 hours. That is the problem. That doesn't matter for everyone. As far as I'm concerned, your ads are actually the least important thing, and I frequently only look at ads to learn the details for someone I've already decided to see. I place far more weight on someone's general participation on the board and their recos than on ads. But that's just me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicolette Vaughn 294340 Report post Posted August 18, 2012 I would say 50% of my business comes from Cerb. The other 50% comes from other sources. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jhena Grey 25615 Report post Posted August 18, 2012 I would say 10% comes from CERB and the other 90% comes from elsewhere. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites