Advertising & Why PartyPop.Com Sucks **

OH GOOD GOD. Where to begin.

As a wedding photographer, one of the hardest things to do is attract new clients. I mean, I know I’m good, friendly and have good prices, but how in the world would anyone else know? Of course, there is a tried-and-true way to get the word out: advertising. This can take many forms: craigslist, word-of-mouth referrals, networking, and (not to be overlooked) paid ads.

The advantage of the free ads are, well, they’re free. When you’re starting out, pretty much all your equipment, products, samples, business cards, etc. are coming from savings or a loan... It seems weird to get too deeply into hock for a business that is, after all, supposed to make money. Unfortunately, there are problems as well.

Word-of-mouth referrals (as many, if not most photographers will tell you) is probably one of the best ways to build a business. You have satisfied customers singing your praises. People trust their friends to steer them right, and if you’ve gotten a reco, you’re pretty much golden. (I give a percentage discount for the referred couples, and a number of reprints to the referrer as a thank you. This, hopefully, will drive more referrals, but the program hasn’t been in place long enough for me to determine for sure. I’ll let you know how it goes.)

However, word-of-mouth referrals come pretty slowly, at least at first. Weddings are pretty unusual things in a lifetime, and the need for a particular person needing a wedding photographer a particular time is small. So, referrals may take, literally, years to roll in. You can’t survive as a nascent wedding photographer on six weddings a year.

So, I turned to craigslist. This is a free service, well known and well loved. However, it too has its problems. I’ve posted scores of times on the various websites for the areas I serve (LA, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara), and received exactly zero work. It seems like a waste of time. I was feeling a bit low, and a bit confused by this: is my work crap? Are my prices too high?

No. My work is friggin’ excellent (if I do say so myself), and my prices are more than fair...on the low side of the median. The problem is that people on craigslist are extreme bargain hunters. This is a nice way of putting it. The harsher (and more accurate) way would be this: cheap. This is not to say that everyone looking on craigslist is cheap... But when they’re looking for a photographer on that site, they’re looking for the CHEAPEST deal, not the BEST deal. This means that I’m going to be priced out by a rank amateur who is willing to shoot a wedding for the price of a meal and gas money.

Test this yourself: search “wedding photography” under “gigs.” More often than not, people are willing to pay, at max, $300 for a days worth of shooting. Such a price keeps everyone but the most inexperienced shooters from applying.. And, even then, I’m guessing the poster gets a dozen responses. So, craigslist is out.

The only thing, interestingly enough, that cragislist does is drive traffic to this blog.

So, then, the best way for a fledgling wedding photographer to make his mark in the world is to pay for it. There are dozens of different ways to do it, among them: Google AdWords, The Knot, Search Engine Optimization (SEOs), and, of course, PartyPop.com.

I started up with this organization about three months ago. I cancelled my account today, this morning in fact. Why? Rampant unprofessionalism, hard-sell techniques, misrepresentation and a confusing ad scheme. And, on top of that, I thought the website itself was confusing, ugly and cattle-call like. Not really the image I’m trying to promote as part of my business.

So, to back up these opinions, here’s my reasoning behind each of the above:

Rampant unprofessionalism: No one at this organization uses their last name. When they sign emails, it is always with their first. No direct phone number or even email address is ever given. When I asked for a last name, I was brushed off. Weird. Made me nervous. Additionally, there is no way to easily change ones ad, which took several weeks to become live... I had to wait the better part of a week for a small change to my ad, one that corrected a glaring grammatical error. For a long-time journalist and writer, this was nothing short of maddening.

Hard-sell techniques: This is not the first time I tried to cancel, the details of which will be in the following section. Each time I called in, even to complain, I felt that I was being bullied to purchase even more and more of PartyPop’s questionable product. Lame.

Misrepresentation: When I first signed up to use the service, I was told the total $1,380 annual fee could be broken up into monthly installments. I agreed to signup, in large part, because of this agreement. However, within a couple weeks, my account had been charged $460, or one-third of the total. When I called to complain, I was told I must have misunderstood the offer, as the monthly payment plan is simply something they do not do. Only when I offered to take them up on their cancellation policy did they relent. Frankly, I’m not even sure if they owe me money still, but I’m thinking it might be best for my blood pressure if I just let it go.

Confusing ad structure: It took the webmasters at PartyPop nearly three weeks to set up a very simple ad page, with a number of photographs drawn from this website. Not only did they not tell me this beforehand, I was not allowed to tell them which photos I wanted used. Additionally, my name would show up sometimes under Los Angeles Wedding Photographers, and sometimes under Mankato Wedding Photographers. (Mankato, I later discovered, is somewhere in Canada.... A bit farther than I’m usually willing to travel.)

And, as an apparent final f-u to me, I believe I have been shortchanged a month’s worth of service. I emailed Tuesday to cancel, received a response at approximately midnight that night to call to cancel... When I called the following day, I was told the one person who I needed to speak to was not available. She called back today, and, again, attempted to resell me a product I was desperately unhappy with. I however, told her that I did not want to be charged any additional fees by her company, and she agreed to cancel the listing.

But here’s the thing: I paid for four months of service, starting at the end of April. By my count, this is until the end of August. I did not know this until I looked at my records a bit closer. So, I figure I’m owed a refund of about $140. Man.

So, the hell with PartyPop. On to different techniques and advertisers.

**** Updated Friday, July 28 ****

So I spoke to PartyPop, yet again, about the missing month. I was told that my time began on April 6, the day I first signed up. I said that I wasn’t told that my ad was ready until April 30, and that I wasn’t billed until May 3. And, regardless, I my ad should have been posted until August 6 or, if done by month, July 31.

Take it from me: PartyPop is not to be trusted.

**** Updated July 31, 2006 ****

Well, I received a reply from the California Dept of Consumer Affairs. There is no division assigned with dealing with internet commerce, so my complaint has been dismissed. My only options, according to the Great White Father in Sacramento, is to file a complaint with the California Attorney General or with the Better Business Bureau. So, out of a sense of adventure, I filed a complaint with the BBB. More bulletins as events warrant.

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Thursday, July

Sky Room, Long Beach

THE FOLLOWING IS a totally biased review of a supposed five-star restaurant in Long Beach called the Sky Room. From what you may have already guessed from my o’ so subtle headline, I’m none too pleased with the service at this place.

Donna, Meredith (see the Wedding Dresssss entry) and I showed up to the Sky Room on Saturday. Donna had already spoken to the event manager about possibly having our wedding reception there, and the girl was all but sold. She did nothing but rave about how great the view was, how highly rated the food was (it’s listed in Zagat if you’re of a mind to look it up), etc. She was also quite drawn to the significant discount the Sky Room offered if one would deign to have the wedding on a Sunday, instead of the usual Saturday.

And, of course, it’s nice that she wanted my opinion. I was tempted to just let her make the choice and be done with it, but damn, I’m glad it worked out differently.

Saturday rolls around, and the three of us amble down the 710 to Long Beach. I happen to love Long Beach, probably one of the last affordable beach communities in Southern California. Of course, this being Southern California, “affordable” is a somewhat ridiculous term, but I digress. The Sky Room sits just below Pine Avenue, and next to the Performing Arts Center. Weirdly, it is on top of a senior living facility.

The entrance is a small doorway on a side street. Valet is not required, but almost seems necessary. Guests are escorted to a dedicated elevator by doormen in top hats and tuxedos. I suppose it’s supposed to be a nice touch, but the top hats seem really strange. The guy who showed us to the elevator was a tall, thin African American... An African American dressed in a top hat and tails makes me feel like I’ve uncomfortably stepped into 1840s Mississippi.

Anyhow, I believe I’ve gone on too long as regards this silly adventure, so I’ll just get to the point: the service was stuffy, rude and uncompromising. Donna wanted to order an appetizer and a salad, as did Meredith. The waiter, after checking with the general manager, refused. Apparently this policy is in place to keep people from ordering a bread and water... But the fact that they had just ordered an $78 bottle of champagne should have clued the staff into realizing we weren’t a bunch of cheapos.

But the kicker came about halfway into the meal. At that point, the waiter came up and uttered the following: “I have to be politically correct and offer you a soufflé.” I really believed he meant he wanted to make up for the earlier problems. (Moments earlier Donna had complained, in a fit of semi-Bridezilla-ness, that the bread and butter were too cold.)

It showed up on the bill. Bastard.

So, we are now again searching for a venue for our wedding. The current finalist is The Madison, which is a very cool steakhouse at the corner of Pine and Ocean in Long Beach. It’s also the site of Donna and my third date.

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Thursday

The Free iPod Social Experiment *

IN THE NAME OF PUBLIC SERVICE, and, frankly, because I wanted to see what happened if I tried this, I have signed up for one of those “Free iPod!” scams that float about the top of Google searches and the junk mail folder.

The company that sponsors the giveaway that I used is called Product Test Panel. Based in South Carolina, this company purports to ship products to everyday consumers to try out and test for a specific period of time. At the end of the trial period, the selected testers are asked to fill out a survey. And, as a show of thanks, the testers are allowed to keep the products they have tested.

Perhaps to fill up the ranks of people who want to be one of these testers (heh. sure.), the good people at Product Test Panel have put out the following Google Ad:

Free iPod Giveaway
Enter your zip code and
Get a Free Apple iPod.
ProductTestPanel.com

Nice. Seems reasonable, no? All you have to do is put in a zip code, and you get an iPod! Wow!

Anyone with a pulse, however, is probably going to guess one has to do something more than key five digits. Additionally, one might guess that a company that is supposedly in place to give people free stuff to test is unlikely to be short of volunteers. What few are probably expecting, however, is the number of steps, how difficult it will be to achieve, and how expensive this “free iPod!’ really is.

Though, as promised, the first thing one does is put in your zip code. I live in Burbank and fortunately (whew!) the Product Test Panel gods have decided there is need for an additional test applicant. However, at this point, one is told that you need to sign up for two of their “Top” advertiser offers to get any further. I chose a Spanish language course and a coffee club. (Both claim to have special offers that turn into rather expensive propositions if you don’t cancel nearly immediately.)

I also signed up for a “bonus” offer, giving me the right to get a laptop if I signed up for Netflix. I signed up for the trial offer, and immediately canceled. (Donna and I had Netflix for awhile, but never watched the damn things. Good selection, though.)

At this point, I was taken to the actual member homepage, where I was shown a bevy of products that I might try to test. Any attempt to click on these product, though, give the following message (this was one for some web cameras):

Thank you for applying to test from our Electronics Premium Test Panel. Unfortunately you were not selected as a product tester for the Electronics Premium Test Panel today. Please come back to Product Test Panel frequently and reapply to test the items you are interested in.

Odd, eh? It’s not entirely clear how one, exactly, gets chosen to be on the Premium Test Panel. I suspect that few, if any, people actually EVER get these test products, and that the site exists solely to drive traffic for coffee clubs, Spanish language class tape makers and Netflix.

Now, the PTP people do state that all members will be given at least three products to test within 90 days. And, true to their word, there are five products available to test in the “General Testing Program” area. All of these products, however, are plug in programs for third-tier search engines, two-year old popup defenders, and the like.

Frankly, the programs are sketchy enough to give a person with an average amount of skepticism a bit of the willies. Download “Privacy Butler 1.0” to my desktop. Oh, hell no. Since I use a Mac, most of these things wouldn’t work on my computer anyhow… Bullet dodged. I guess.

BUT ANYHOW, one of the most interesting aspects of this is that testing products is not what will get you your free iPod. To get it, you have to fulfill the following chores:

Complete two offers from the Top Advertiser category
Complete two offers from the Prime Advertiser category
Complete two offers from the Premium Advertiser category

All of these offers have to be completed within 90 days of signing up. However, I’m guessing the timeframe is more like 30 days, as the site rather prominently states that it takes between 30 and 60 days for the advertisers to notify the PTP peeps that a member (i.e. me) has completed the hoops.

Somewhat more amusing (and potentially flowing into bait-and-switch land) is what these offers require one to do. The offers in the Top and Prime categories often require signing up for a club (from which you can cancel) or a small purchase, usually between $25 and $50. No big deal, really. Heck, if you’re getting an iPod out of it, why not?

However, the Premium category requires members to make purchases that range between $499 and $2000, minimum, to receive credit for completing the offer. And, mind you, these are very specific offers: European rail travel, children’s bedroom sets, strange (and very expensive) carved wood boxes.

Aha! The catch. I’m going to guess that PTP gives away very few iPods. Maybe they never have. Of course, for the privilege of signing up, I had to give them an email address and a shipping address. Hello SPAM!

Of course, since I have a .Mac account, I can create and delete email aliases at a few clicks of a button… The email address used is an alias, one that will be destroyed if my inbox gets too ugly.

In any event, I have decided, that, for the heck of it, I’m going to send this to the Federal Trade Commission and the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Might be worth checking into. I am a government employee, after all… Maybe I should have some trust in the man.

**** Update July 31, 2006 ****

Alas, my faith in The Man has again been shaken. The FTC makes it pretty clear in their complaint form that they only refer complaints -- and then, only if a particular law enforcement agency requests it. Now, I work in a law enforcement agency myself (well, quasi law enforcement), and I know damn well no one in government service requests more work. The best a law-abiding taxpayer can hope for is that the agency in question doesn’t duck the work.

I ran into a similar roadblock with the Calf. Dept of Consumer Affairs. Because it is not a California company, they have no ability to help me. As I discovered from my complaint with Party Pop, even if it was based in California, there is no agency tasked with overseeing Internet commerce. So, I can file with the Calif. Attorney General, or the Better Business Bureau. Sigh.

Internet Scamming

MANY, IF NOT ALL, HAVE DEALT WITH SOME VARIATION OF THE NIGERIAN INTERNET SCAM. That is, someone you’ve never met offers to give you millions of dollars in exchange for a valid US bank account. Very few people are taken in by this, of course, because it simply does not make sense that a stranger would give you vast sums of money.

Unfortunately, it seems that the 419 scammers (named after the Nigerian law that purports to curtail this behavior) have moved on to different kinds of scams. Again, unfortunately, many have focused on small business owners, like myself. I have, of course, no definitive proof that the following tale was actually a scam, but it sure as hell looks like one.

Almost without variation, these sort of scams have the following characteristics: they use a Yahoo or Hotmail account, state they are from the UK, state they need wedding photography within a few days or weeks, and state that they are unable to speak to you directly, only by email.

Again, for the sake of experimentation, here is the exchange I have had, thus far, with a suspected 419 scammer. This person, I believe, got my email from either PartyPop (as this happened before the recent unpleasantness with the service) or from a craigslist ad.

Additionally, if anyone has any idea of how, in the world, this scam would actually work, please let me know. Perhaps “Andrew” plans on canceling the wedding at the last minute, and asking for a refund of a bogus check? Also, despite the fact that he repeatedly states the urgency of this matter, it is often the better part of a week before any response to my emails. Leave your thoughts below.

This scam works against some unwitting people, since the an international money order will appear to clear immediately. Due to delays with international transactions, it may take a couple weeks for a bogus check to bounce, time enough for the victim to wire good money “owed” to the scammer for a refund or overpayment.

Anyhow, the lesson is this: Do not take money from international customers who offer to pay by international money order, and/or state they are going to pay you far in excess of your asking price. It’s a scam.

Other things to look out for:
- Poor command of English
- Exhortations that you respond “immediately” to the request
- Refusal to provide a phone number or a local contact

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July 22, 2006
From: Andrew Jones
Subject: Photographer Needed

Hello,

I am Andrew Jones from the UK.I am having my wedding on the 9th of September at Burbank, CA .I want to know if you are available to cover my wedding event on that day. Please respond immediately with your packages and prices. I await your immediate response.

Regards,
Andrew.

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July 22, 2006
To: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Photographer Needed

Andrew,

Glad to hear from you. I've attached a copy of my price list. Please let me know if you are unable to read pdf formats.

Due to issues regarding international customers, however, I must require the following:
- A local contact to meet with at least two weeks beforehand, one who is authorized to sign a contract
- Funds must be paid in US funds, drawn on a US bank

Thanks for your understanding, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Dan

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July 28, 2006
From: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Photographer Needed

Hello,

I could not view the attachment you sent to me. Please list out the packages and brif (sic) description of them,their prices also,so i make a choice and proceed to payment arrangement.

Regards,
Andrew..

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July 28, 2006
To: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Photographer Needed

Hello Andrew,

I've attached a copy of my price list. Let me know if you have additional questions.

Daniel

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July 30, 2006
From: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Photographer Needed

Thanks for the response. Honestly,i am glad you are available for me because we started making the arrangements rather late and it has been difficult to get a free photographer. I am ok with your charge for the Basic Plus wedding package ($1399). I am also ready to make full payment to you ahead the wedding day,this is due to my present tight financial position. The wedding will hold in a friend's villa in Burbank.
The church ceremony,reception and after party will all hold in the same villa. We both can go view the location before the wedding when i arrive if you wish. I will also sign a contract when i arrive,i know it should be done before receiving funds,but sincerely speaking,i will be traveling most of the time before my wedding,and might not be in England to receive it sign and send it back,so i think its best i sign the contract when i arrive Burbank.
The church ceremony will begin at 10a.m to 12 noon, the reception follows at 12.00 noon to 2pm after taking first set of Family Portraits pictures. After the reception will be next round of Family and guest Portraits pictures,this will run to 4pm when you then call it a day. I believe you will make this a most memorable experience for me,my wife and guest whenever we go through the wedding book we decide to make.
Now to payment arrangement. I'll have my affiliate in the USA to send you your payment immediately,he has informed me that payment will be sent via Money Orders to you. He wants to know if this is ok with you? Actually happens to be owing me some money from our previous business transaction,so i instructed him to hold on to it as i knew i was drawing closer to this period when it will be urgently needed. I will now instruct him to send the Money Orders to you ASAP. The payment covers and exceeds your funds. The excess will be for any unforeseen expense i might incure (sic) before or after my arrival to Burbank. If no extra expense is incured (sic),then excess will be handed over to me after the wedding.
I hope your ok with my arrangements,it is the fastest i could come up with as the wedding fast approches (sic), i get nerve racked as the day approches (sic). I am trying to avoid anything that could possibly cause a delays. please send me your name and adress (sic) so the Money Orders are sent to you immediately. I will call you upon my arrival to make arrangements to meet and fix date to visit the venue if interested. I await your immediate response with information i request. Have a good day ahead and stay blessed.

Sincere Regards,
Andrew..

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July 30, 2006
To: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Photographer Needed

Hello Andrew,

Please have your friend in Burbank contact me at 562.331.5516. Again, due to issues with international transactions, I must insist on the following:

- Signed contract from a local contact
- Funds drawn on a US Bank, in US Dollars
- No international Money Orders
- Full payment two weeks beforehand
- Payment for the exact amount.

The full amount of $1,514.42 ($1,399 plus CA Sales Tax) would be due on Aug. 26, 2006 by 5 p.m.

Again, due to the compressed timeline, please have your friend be available with the funds and be authorized to sign the contract as soon as possible. As this person is in Burbank, it should be relatively easy.

Thanks again.

Daniel