I didn't want to drive Amy crazy by taking another thread further off topic, but last night someone (Cheesypeas?) remarked on my comment that I got more calls from Backpage and Vivastreet than from AW. She said something to the effect of hoping that AW was on it's way out. I'm not 100% sure what she meant by that, but I sort of agree that I'd like to see more viable alternatives to AW.
I resent how AW seems to have a monopoly on sexwork in the UK. I know that if I were unable to advertise there I would struggle. However, I do think that it's not really the only game in town. The thing is that it's probably the number one spot for the entire UK - each city has their own particular quirks, but AW is pretty consistent everywhere.
If AW is no longer the leader - or if it's starting to slip - I think that may be because relatively few new guys are finding it. I'm not sure how they do find it, but I think it has gotten some media coverage here and there - even the ladies on mumsnet know about it. But if you do a Google search for an escort where you are, AW is not even on the first few pages.
It *seems* as if AW is the primary site because all of the guys on the punting forums seem to rely on it for finding independents. And that makes sense as I don't think there are very many girls not on AW. But those men are not truly representative of all men who pay for sex. They are representative of the punters who like to post to forums (and nothing wrong with that! It's just that they're not actually typical.)
I think the guys who are more "seasoned punters" are perhaps sometimes a bit more jaded and want a lot of variety/fresh meat so it can be that, other than the ones who become regulars or like to know they can count on your when they can't find someone new, you may eventually start to exhaust your local market. That's why touring can be so lucrative. And I think advertising on the sites that come up high on Google can also be lucrative.
I don't know if anyone else saw them, but there were those mobile billboards in my city centre recently - the sort pulled around behind a truck - saying, basically, "find a hot girl on Vivastreet." There was a photo of some scantily clad young women and - without saying it's about escorting - telling guys that such women can be found on Vivastreet. Their profile is getting much higher and they're perhaps bringing in new punters.
One problem with both Vivastreet and Backpage is that you get less experienced punters and they often need things spelled out to them. Quite a few of them have unrealistic ideas about what services should cost. At least Vivastreet lets us put prices on, now. However, they only let us use acronyms like CIM, OWO, etc and so those need explaining, too. But I have noticed that Vivastreet is getting a bit better in terms of the clientele there bringing and I'm accepting more bookings from it.
While AW has made it almost too easy for us, we've gotten complacent and we may have to be more enterprising in our marketing. But I do think it's worth doing once you get used to it.
