So I’m minding my own business and the Eros guide gives me a ring. Odd because i don’t have an any current ads up with them and i haven’t for a while. I answer, the purpose it seems of their call is to find out why i haven’t advertised with them in a while. They are looking for feedback. So i give it to them.
I tell them that Eros in my home market is a waste of money for me. I tell them that I’m not thrilled with the new “self service” model if their site. I tell them I’m not happy with the rate increases, especially in light of the new model where they require their advertisers to build their own ads. I tell them that the new model makes their site look less consistent and in some cases makes it look well, “junky” and do i really wanna be advertising along side ladies who now can make their name anything including “Fat Ass-ed Ho” naw not really. I explain to them that as the economy decreased, they increased not only their rates but the time and effort it takes to advertise with them. That the ROI and cost benefit analysis makes Eros not a good choice for me at this time. Maybe they were surprised to hear an escort use the phrase “cost benefit analysis” cuz there was an a moment of silence. I told them that advertisers like City Vibe often offered special package rates and that in contrast when Eros offered any kind of discount or special offer it was always on an add on which inmost cases no one wanted or needed. I did tell them that i tend to you put up a touring ad when i was touring a market where Eros was prominent. Which i believe is dwindling.
They were interested in the feedback and were super polite. They did get a little defensive not much but a little and tried to stroll down the “we bring you better quality of clients path” which of course is bullshit. That’s an advertising/marketing line not a reality. Eros clients aren’t any more “quality” then City Vibe or any of the review sites. You cant judge the quality of a client because of the hooker ad he surfs. They might deliver web hits because they get a lot of traffic but even their traffic is way down. The conversions from web hit to client is so far in the red and the cost of an Eros ad is so high that it makes Eros a risky advertising choice. Plus that’s a lot of scratch to come up with on the front end. Some girls who get a VIP ad can pay as much as months rent for one ad. Who’s got an extra months rent laying around these days (no matter what business you’re in) to just throw away on a test ad that has a high risk of not paying off.
I explained all this to Eros when they asked for my feedback. I hope they listen. I hope they don’t brush me off. I really hope they make some adjustments so that long time advertisers like me will see the benefit of coming back into the Eros fold.. As I’ve written before they are a huge cash cow. They make millions off the backs of escorts and give little in return and in my opinion are no longer the gold standard of advertising they once were.
That’s the bottom line and that’s what i told them.
Jenny – it’s nice to know that you provide a much appreciated voice for the community. Kudos to you.
Well stated and very much needed! I hate to be cynical but I doubt your pertinent feedback will yield much sway,you said it best CASH COW…to them it’s not broken.However, to the quality independent providers it is obviously no longer a good marketing tool.
From a hobbyist point of view(D.C./Baltimore area),it is not the site from which to research and choose a potential date.Granted, there are still reputable women using the site but separating the wheat from the chaff is flat out a waste of time. I’ll peruse it once or twice a month for the hell of it but if the add has no website and the women has no reviews,I move on…quickly.
The REAL problem for hobbyists has been the fact they have no quality control,there are a ton of bait&switch,up-selling, and flat scam artists that have infiltrated the site.I and many hobbyists in the D.C. metro area have let Eros know about these women and there crews and Eros has done NOTHING to weed out or curb this growing trend. Money talks,I get it but the BS that they are allowing for the easy money has ruined Eros’s reputation in my area.
Hopefully, they will listen to the ladies because they sure as hell have ignored the hobbyists.
Thanks Jenny! 🙂
mdrider
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I absolutely love that you discussed return on investment with an erotic services message board. You really raise the bar on what it means to be a “professional,” you know that?
Fuckin’ A Jenny! Eros in the DC market has become a kind of inside joke to the TER crowd. We often had a “spot the bullshit ad” contests, until it got to the point of “spot the legitmate ad” contests. Remember the good ole days when Eros would actually verify a photo? These days I see endless ads of girls with no reviews posting pictures of pornstars. Add in the occasional pop up ad that will crash my web browser, and I’ve given up on them completely. I’m not the only one. A few weeks back we held an Eros “funeral” on the DC board. I haven’t looked at it since. Add in the fact that they’re raising rates on the providers in a down economy, and I consider them not just crappy, but evil.
I absolutely love that you discussed return on investment with an erotic services message board. You really raise the bar on what it means to be a “professional,” you know that?
Wonderful post. This explains Advertising completely. I use Eros as well even though they have some cities for Canada I might get 1 or 2 clients a month from them which is from a basic ad I have no intentions of giving them $400 a month for VIP. I did once think that if I had myself in more catergories I would get more business but I didn’t so I am on their basic ad for $47 a month.
Hi Riley,
Thanks for the post. Welcome to my blog!
I’ve recently been talking with Eros. I think they are going to address some of the concerns of their advertisers.
The indicated to me they know they have a a bit of a PR problem and are looking at ways to better address their advertisers needs.
It all remains to be seen of course. I’ll be writing more about this in the upcoming weeks as i continue my dealings
with them. Id love to know more about the issues specific to Canada and Eros. I wonder if its different up there.
Feel free to email me if you have any specific insights you think i could pass on to them. Since they are open to talking to me.
Jenny 🙂
Well Hun, maybe we could email each other or talk on instant messenger. From what I have experience with other girls and attending sex worker group meetings Eros for us is mostly to attract travelling clients and some local client use it.
but there is no grauntee that the quality of SPs or clients will improve if they are visiting eros or paying $200 more a month to have a listing on it.
Eros should have more Canadian cities since outcalls are legal for us. but even with canadian advertising it’s very limited.