Changes to BP ads - clearing up some confusion

Recently BackPage made some changes to how their auto-renew feature works. These are changes that I have asked them repeatedly over the years to make, and I'm sure I haven't been alone in asking for the changes, so I am very delighted to see BP finally listen to the feedback they've been getting.

Previously, there were two options for posting ads. Providers could simply post ads by hand daily (or as frequently as they wished). Running ads one at a time though was more expensive, and if a provider wanted to post a new ad daily, she basically had to re-write her ad each day, or BP's system would kick the new ad out saying that an ad already existed. Plus, with each new ad, providers had to babysit their ad half the day because BP's censors were likely to delete text or pics for absolutely no reason at all. Fix the ad, watch it, fix it again, watch it, fix it AGAIN, and finally it would be left alone. Talk about a pain in the ass!

Option two was to write an ad and set it to auto-renew, meaning the ad re-posts at regular intervals. This option was cheaper and more convenient, but had one huge drawback. Ads always re-posted at or around midnight, leading to 2 am drunk dialers (highly annoying), and meaning that by the next day when a provider WANTS her ad to be visible, her ad is already buried behind 20 ads ahead of it.

This is actually why I advertised only sporadically on BP for a long time.

Finally, at long last, BP has changed the way auto-renew works. About a month ago, providers now have the option to auto-renew their ad daily, AND more importantly, we get to choose what time of day the ad renews. (Insert HALLELUIA here). So it is now much easier to keep ads current and running daily (which is why I now have an ad up every day instead of once or twice a month woo hoo).

However, with every change, there is always some confusion. In the past it was easy to assume that if a girl's ad just now popped up, she must be available. After all, any ad appearing during the day had to be written and posted at the time the ad appears. This is no longer true. Case in point, my current ad is set to run for about another week before it expires. Yesterday and today however, I've been a little under the weather and haven't been taking appointments. Needless to say, it looks a little confusing when I tell a gentleman that I am not taking appointments, and a short while later he sees a brand new ad pop up on BP for me.

So, I say all of this to let guys know that seeing an ad pop up on BP no longer automatically means the provider is in fact available at the time the ad goes up. She may be already booked for the day, she may not be taking appointments at all, but if her ad is set to auto-renew, a new ad still goes up regardless of her availability. As far as I know, there is no option to "pause" an ad so that it doesn't go up one day, but continues the next day. At BP's rate of response, it may take a few years before such an option becomes available.

In the meantime, a little information can help clear up confusion, so I hope gents find this post useful. Or at least, less confusing. Or something.

THanks and have a great snow day

So if I choose the time I want it to go up for the week, does it go up at EXACTLY that time? I was a little confused on the wording they were using on backpage.

Yes it goes up at around the time you select. I set my ad to renew at 10 am, and it seems to pop up sometime between about 10:00 and 10:15 each day. Makes it sooooo much easier and convenient to keep an ad running, but like you, it confused the hell out of me the first time I saw the new option show up.

Ok great! It will save SO much money! I was just worried it would randomly show up whenever it wanted to lol

This is great news! I stopped using auto renew because of all the middle of the night calls I was getting. They would call repeatedly and say"I know you are still up, you just placed an ad".
I'm so excited!

It's good to have a time around 10 or 11 because most people chose the auto and it will post around 12 am and they end up on the bottom of the list.. If you chose the early afternoon you will more likely be on the top of the list... first come first see kind of thing...

That's good advice, Sins. I know that I used the fact that an ad popped up as an indicator of availability.

Very insightful info, Stacy! Like others, I always assumed a new ad popping up indicated availability.

[As we speak, changing my ads to pop up at lunch time.]

Lol Wiggles, I will make something pop up

I know guys assume that when an ad shows up that means the girl is available. Its a pretty logical assumption to make. I didn't really think about the confusion the auto-renew would cause until this past week when my availability has been limited. After about the 4th email asking why I put up a new ad when I had just told someone I wasn't available, I decided that some clarification was in order LOL

I'd suggest putting text in your ad clarifying your availability, but that assumes guys read the text of an ad.

I just look at the Pic's when it's Sin

Ah, well that kind of sucks though. For those that are hard to book either due to limited availability or just young and scatterbrained, knowing they had just posted an ad was a very good indicator they were available. Why would you set up an automatic posting of an ad but then not be available? Can you not stop the automatic posting for that day if you know you aren't available? For someone that can't or just won't schedule out an appointment, real time availability is much more valuable.

Ah, well that kind of sucks though. For those that are hard to book either due to limited availability or just young and scatterbrained, knowing they had just posted an ad was a very good indicator they were available. Why would you set up an automatic posting of an ad but then not be available? Can you not stop the automatic posting for that day if you know you aren't available? For someone that can't or just won't schedule out an appointment, real time availability is much more valuable. Originally Posted by KCSmutMonkey

Your dilemma is precisely why I thought a post about BP's new options was a good idea. I know alot of guys use a freshly posted ad as a guide to determine who is available right now. Its why the auto-renew always posting at midnight produced so many 2 am drunk dialers! lol they see an ad posted at midnight and assume the girl must be available.

As far as I know, there is no option to "pause" an ad if a provider is either fully booked, or is not taking appointments on a particular day. Perhaps this is something BP can add eventually, but considering that over a period of several years, I have regularly sent them feedback asking for a change to the auto-renew option, I am not hopeful that such a change will be implemented anytime soon LOL

The reasons a provider might set an auto-renew up are several. First, its just easier. Write one ad, it runs for 2-3 weeks, so it requires less babysitting. Also, its cheaper. The cost of posting an ad for a month is half the cost of posting the same daily by hand. But if a provider sets up an auto-renew that runs for a full month, there will probably be some days when she isn't taking appointments. Illness, unexpected family visits, mother nature - all may conspire to make her unavailable for a few days out of the month her ad is posting.

So, for providers, the changes BP has made are a very welcome change. Unfortunately, it does change the way many guys do their shopping. Hence, this post to provide some helpful information and avoid confusion.

One other change you might see because of this is an increase in the number of women who advertise regularly on BP. For my part, I would sometimes go months between posting an ad on BP primarily because of this issue, and I know many women had the same frustration. So on a positive note, you may be seeing more women posting on BP who you haven't seen post there in the past.