Saturday 28 August 2010

Male Waxing Therapist does his own marketing

Earlier this week I got yet another cold call from someone who had got my details from my listing on one of these free massage, beauty therapy or male waxing directories.

It was the usual gambit: So how is it going on that site, Daniel? Are you getting enough business from that listing, Daniel? Of course the answer which you are being pushed into here is "no". (Why do these people always use your name all the time?!)

And then of course the cold caller was well into her stride, how they "work in partnership with Google" and 90 per cent of all search enquiries are made on Google, how they can get my website onto page one. Blah Blah blah. I have heard it all a dozen times before. Normally I just hang up. But this day she caught me with a quiet five minutes and I indulged her.

All these people want to do is to manage your Google Adwords campaign, choose the correct words and key phrases to help your website get found and then charge you a fortune for it. I run a massage and male waxing business. How difficult can it be to work out which words someone looking for massage or male waxing would put into a search engine? How about "masssage" or "male waxing"?

In fact, if you use Google Trends you can work out for yourself which words to use. Which gets more hits: "swedish massage" or "sports masssage" Use Google Trends to find out.

Anyway, back to this nuisance cold caller. I told her that I do my own marketing, manage my own Google Adwords, do my own Search Engine Optimisation and I am listed at the top of page one on Google for "massage surrey". She didn't believe me and checked online there and then. That got rid of her pretty quickly as she agreed that there was nothing she could do for me.

And for once I didn't have to hang up on a cold caller.

Monday 23 August 2010

Why my male waxing and massage business is cash only

I am a trusting sort of guy. Sometimes I am too trusting for my own good.
Unfortunately it takes only one person to destroy that trust. And that person is being named and shamed today. He is Stephen Stickland of Odiham in Hampshire.
I used to happily accept cheques from clients who visit my male waxing and massage business in Woking. But no longer.
Not only did the named individual give me a cheque which bounced but he also gave me a cheque drawn on a closed account. How he managed to keep hold of his cheque book when he closed the account, I don't know. Why Surrey Police are not interested in pursuing this case of fraud against a self-employed massage therapist, I don't understand.
So sorry I don't take cheques now. Cash only.
I am a trusting sort of guy. Sometimes I am too trusting for my own good. But no longer.

Sunday 22 August 2010

A Male Waxing Client on the Telly

Having been running my massage business for a couple of years - and doing very well with it - I decided to offer waxing as well.

A colleague had suggested that it would complement the massage therapy business nicely. Afer a couple of waxing courses (body waxing and then intimate male waxing) and practising on my partner and several friends, it is going surprisingly well.

Some people come for a back and shoulders, others for the infamous BS&C and a few for full-body waxings (including a couple of young men who were off on a stag night; others just wanted to show off their bodies during the summer holidays.)

But the other day I had a call from a man who was being PAID to having a full body wax. He was a bit nervous, apprehensive and not wanting to be removed of all his hair at all! You see he was about to film a television commercial and is being well rewarded for it. Apparently he will have his body painted and will appear in an advert during the Christmas period.

I don't know if I will recognise him on the tellybox when he does appear and I doubt very much if he will be a repeat customer but it's rewarding to know that my handiwork will be seen my millions.

Saturday 14 August 2010

I also offer Male Waxing

Did you also know that - as well as offering Shiatsu massage, Swedish Massage, Indian head massage and Sports Massage (now that I am qualified) I offer the surprisingly popular service of hair removal by waxing.

There are two types of male waxing I can offer you. One is for your body parts (legs, back etc) and the other for, well, shall we say, the more -ahem - intimate areas of your body:

Warm waxing (strip waxing) is used for your legs, arms, bikini-line back and chest. Warm waxing is the most popular method as it removes hairs quickly and efficiently. It can be used on larger areas and is suitable for most hair types. I will put the warm wax on your skin in a very thin layer using a special new dispenser. Then I will use a fabric strip, pressed onto the waxed area and remove it as quickly as possible.


And then there is Hot Waxing (hard waxing) which is normally used for - down below - that is Brazilian and Hollywood waxes. I will put hot wax on your skin with a spatula. As the wax cools it hardens and it contracts around your hair. I will then pull it off your skin quickly and - this is the important thing -  the hair removed from the root.

And because the hair is removed from the root, rather than shaving which doesn't remove it - the lovely effect lasts for up to 6 weeks.

So does it hurt? I will use my special numbing cream before hand so probably not as much as you think it might. And if you come regularly for waxing treatments, the hair - when it does grow back - is much finer than before and is therefore less painful when it is pulled out. And each subsequent treatment becomes less and less painful. Easy eh?