{"id":18007,"date":"2017-06-06T03:26:34","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T08:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/?p=18007"},"modified":"2019-08-02T10:32:20","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T15:32:20","slug":"introducing-an-improved-gigsalad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gigsalad.com\/blog\/introducing-an-improved-gigsalad\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s here! Introducing an Improved GigSalad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated on August 2, 2019<\/p>

Since our beginning, we’ve worked hard to stay above the trends and create a seamless platform for easy booking. If you’ve been with us from the start, you know that we’ve done major updates and overhauls to GigSalad nearly every year since 2007 to make sure we’re providing an exceptional, affordable service for both performer and event planner. Today, we’re introducing a whole new set of features and improvements designed to make it easier than ever for you to get gigs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Modern design<\/h2>\n

When it comes to website design, businesses cannot have a lackluster attitude. It’s crucial for us to maintain a balance of design, functionality, and user experience in order to get potential clients excited about booking entertainment. That’s why we’ve redesigned our website with your success in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the new look, we’ve simplified our content to put the focus on member profiles. In the search results pages, you’ll notice that the square profile pictures are now larger and less cluttered with text and small spacing. When a user hovers over your profile, that’s when they’re presented with the most important options to View Profile, Add to Favorites, and Get a Free Quote.<\/p>\n

\"Introducing

New, cleaner search results pages with larger profile images<\/p><\/div>\n

When a user opens your profile, you’ll notice that your profile photo now shows as a smaller circular image at the top of the page. This is done to make room for your best and most useful media, giving clients exactly what they’re looking for right away. Make sure your photo fits just right in the circular version using the overlay in your<\/span> Edit Profile Photo settings<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Introducing

Crop your profile picture using the circular overlay to guide you.<\/p><\/div>\n

The slide feature that displays your media has also been updated to show all of your promotional material in one place. Clients can now view pictures and videos alongside a playlist of your audio files, and a preview of the next item gives a snapshot of everything your profile has to offer.<\/p>\n

Another feature we’ve added to your profile is the sticky bar for easy navigation. As a user scrolls down the page, your profile photo and links to your media, overview, reviews, and booking info remain at the top of the page so they can easily navigate to the section they need. And with large buttons to Add to Favorites and Request a Free Quote, potential clients can easily contact you for your rates and availability.<\/p>\n

\"Introducing

New sticky bar feature that keeps your important details in front of clients for easy navigation.<\/p><\/div>\n

Aside from the visual improvements we’ve made to the search results pages and profiles, our homepage has seen the most changes. With a simple, clean, and modern look, we’ve taken away the components that often distract users and emphasized the wide variety of talent that’s available to book.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guaranteed balance payments<\/h2>\n

For online businesses, the most critical and demanding process for the consumer is typically the collection of funds. Based on our own data, we discovered that booking entertainment is no different. That’s why we’ve simplified the process for clients, allowing them to pay both deposit and balance in one easy payment. And when booking is made easy, clients will book more often.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another benefit of accepting payments in full is that you’re guaranteed to get all the money that’s owed to you. No more hassling for payment after the event or waiting weeks for a check in the mail. <\/span>We take care of the financials for you, so you can concentrate on the gig and clients can sit back and enjoy their event (and tip you for the great performance!) Speaking of tips, we added a bonus feature to help our members acquire tips from satisfied clients. When a client reviews your service after their event with a 5-star rating, we encourage them to tip you via PayPal. This feature comes in handy when few at the event have cash or if clients simply aren\u2019t aware that it\u2019s a customary practice. If you\u2019d like to take advantage of this feature, make sure you\u2019ve set your payout method to PayPal in your PromoKit.<\/span><\/p>\n

When will I receive my client’s payment?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Within each quote you send, there is a cancellation policy option for you to choose. Your chosen policy determines whether your deposit is refundable or non-refundable. It also states whether you will be owed some or all of the remaining balance if a client cancels the agreement. Once a client books your services, we send the deposit to you depending on the timeframe of the cancellation policy you’ve chosen. For example, if you’ve set your deposit as non-refundable, we’ll send the deposit payment to you right away. If your deposit is refundable until 7 days before the event, we will send the deposit payment to you once it’s no longer refundable (6 days before the event). All balance payments will be sent 1 business day after the gig is successfully completed.<\/span> Read more about collecting gig payments<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what if I need to pay other members of my act before the event?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

We understand that some of our members require payment in full prior to the event and for those members, getting balance payments 1 business day after the event makes things difficult. However, sending full payments before a gig is successfully completed means that we can’t offer our Worry-Free Guarantee to clients, a benefit that helps you get more bookings. If you’re concerned about paying other members of your act, we recommend setting your deposit amount to cover any expenses that arise before the event. If there are other issues or expenses that deposits will not cover, feel free to contact us so we can learn more about your situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cancellation protection<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest benefits of our updated platform\u00a0is the cancellation protection we offer to members. Every GigSalad booking now covers you in the event of a client cancellation, and each policy is backed by us.<\/span> Send quotes with our recommended policy option (selected by default) or customize a cancellation policy that works just for you. With a <\/span>customized policy, you choose how much you get paid when a client cancels their event within your specified timeframe. Learn more about your cancellation policy options.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I want to reschedule a performance when a client cancels?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you offer clients additional \u201crain check\u201d options in specific situations, feel free to add those details to the Additional Terms section of your quote form. Just make sure those added stipulations don\u2019t conflict with the cancellation policy you\u2019ve chosen for that agreement. We can only enforce your cancellation policy, so refunds and payments will be determined by the policy you selected.<\/span><\/p>\n

New fee structure<\/h2>\n

Before we updated our platform, we noticed that event planners using GigSalad were often frustrated by a few key things: inconsistent fees, vendor cancellations, and our inability to facilitate both deposit <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> balance payments. Our new features and improvements\u2014including the new fee structure\u2014have been implemented to help solve these problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

With our old platform, clients could receive quotes from multiple members who chose to pay the service fee, split the service fee, or transfer the service fee to the client. When the client compared the quotes, they would oftentimes see an inconsistent list of costs. Some quotes applied a minimum $20 fee, some had a split fee of a much smaller percentage, and some included no fee at all. When each performer handles the fee differently, it makes things inconsistent and difficult to communicate, which complicates the booking process.<\/p>\n

So to achieve a healthy balance to our marketplace, <\/span>we\u2019ve removed minimum fees<\/b> and applied a smaller and more practical fee percentage to each side of the transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n