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Read our FAQ First
Spa
Index Media operates SpaFlyer.Com, an RSS syndicated
news feed / blog.
Our daily posts, specials, and coupons,
are fed directly to thousands of subscribers
who view these posts directly on their own "MyMSN" and "MyYahoo"
and other home pages.
Visit
SpaFlyer.Com,
now (new window will open)
Authorized
special vouchers in a print-ready form will be posted on SpaFlyer's blog under
"Exclusive Spa Coupons", for up to one
year, and, in most cases, on the immensely popular
"Spa
Specials" page at SpaIndex.Com.
If you would
like to participate, YOU select the terms of your offer
(following our minimum guidelines),
and we
prepare and post your special offer.
See a Sample
Coupon (new window will open).
We have
selected several common offers for you to choose from, or, you
are welcome to create your own.
If you are
joining the Spa Index Media network with a paid member listing,
you do NOT
need to complete this coupon application.
You will have the opportunity to select an offer on
your member
application.
Want to ask us a question,
first?
CONTACT
US
FAQ
Is there a fee to place my voucher?
Spa Index Network members (spas
with a full member listing on our directory at SpaIndex.com) never pay a fee
for a SpaFlyer voucher.
SpaFlyer members, who choose to
have a voucher on SpaFlyer.com, only, and NOT a listing on SpaIndex.com DO pay
either $79 or $179 to have a voucher
listed.
What happened to the free
voucher offer? I'm positive I didn't pay a fee last year.
The "free voucher for six months
promotion" ran from May 31, 2005 to December 31, 2005. We're
positive. :)
What happens when my voucher
expires?
We will automatically renew the
offer
and contact you to discuss whether you have new terms. Be sure to cancel
if you don't wish to honor it for the new period.
Why should I have to link back to
you? Or put your information on a "specials" page. It doesn't fit in the design of my site.
It isn't required, but it's for
your own benefit. Inbound links are valuable in
achieving search engine rankings, which in turn, result in readers finding our
coupons and visiting your spa. The more inbound links we receive from our link
partners, the better our search engine rankings will be. The better our
search engine rankings, the more readers will see the vouchers we are promoting.
The more readers see the vouchers we are offering, the better chance you have of
one of these readers presenting a voucher to your facility.
Can't you just link to my
already-created PDF coupon?
No. We host the voucher on our
site in order to increase our link popularity and search engine popularity.
Further, your coupons may not carry our text, branding marks, or logos,
disclaimers or terms. Finally, and most importantly, if
your own branded coupon is printed from our blog, and presented to you, you
will not know that the guest was referred by our websites because the coupon is
indistinguishable from your own. Thus, you will not be in a position to
evaluate if our services were profitable for you, when it comes time to renew
next year.
How much traffic does your
blog get?
We aggressively market the blog to search engines.
We receive between 750 and 1000 unique visitors each day, and have 22,000+
subscribers who receive the posts via email or on their own home pages via an
RSS feed. The blog was formally launched in April
2005. It will take time for it become as popular as our primary site
which was launched in 1998. Still, a great many members have reported new
clients in the first week. Testimonials are printed on the "spa owners"
section of SpaIndex.Com. You can see that several members are really
happy with the vouchers.
In addition, your coupon's
popularity is greatly affected by the metro area in which your spa is located.
One spa member in an upscale area in Arizona reported significant results in a
matter of days. Another spa member in a remote area of Nova Scotia is not going
to see the same results. That being said, we will devote our efforts equally to
both members.
SpaIndex.Com is the second most
popular spa directory on the internet (Alexa reports, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), and, we are very
frequently the #1 search result for day spas in many states in the USA -- with
good reason. We actually provide content, rather than just names
and addresses of spas accepting gift certificates. Try us!
I am an independent
contractor. The Spa Owner doesn't want to honor the coupon in the spa, or be
listed in the directory, but says
I can pay for and accept the coupon if I wish, for my services, only. Can I do that?
Absolutely. Simply be
certain to add that discounted services are restricted to YOU, only, when
filling out the "restrictions" portion of the offer. For
example: $15.00 off any facial performed by Esthetician Tammy Jones at
the Simply Splendid Day Spa.
Can various staff members from
our spa each have their own coupon?
Yes. See above.
However, we only link to the main spa or salon, and not to multiple URLs.
Do I have to pay for EACH
coupon if I have multiple offers?
No. You may pay $79 (day
spas) or $179 (stay spas) to list up to three (3) different offers, provided
they are for the same facility/location. You may vary the offer in each
coupon (skincare, massage, nail care, etc).
Can I list more than one
offer, so that readers can decide, or use them at different times (but not
together)?
Yes. You may pay $79 (day spas)
or $179 (stay spas) to list up to three (3) offers, provided they are for the
same facility/location. You may vary the offer in each voucher. Our
vouchers will always state that offers can't be combined, but by all means,
offer as many different specials as you wish. For instance, you could list
one offer restricted to new clients, and one offer for ANY client, including
returning clients.
Why does the SpaFlyer coupon
have to equal or better the coupon on my own site? I like to offer my own
clients higher discounts.
If we create, publish, and
market a coupon on your behalf, chances are, our readers are going to click
through to your site to tour it, and decide if they wish to visit your spa.
If a reader sees you are offering new clients a 20% discount, but SpaFlyer is
only offering your clients a 10% discount, the SpaFlyer coupon will have no
value. Worse, if a SpaFlyer readers visits your spa with a 10% offer, and
later finds the 20% offer, they may feel the higher offer was unfairly hidden /
not offered by you.
If I have ONE voucher
that meets your minimum standards ($15.00) and/or or matches my own offer, can I
add a SECOND coupon which is LESS than your minimum requirement?
Yes, provided it's reasonable and
worthwhile to carry and promote. A $1.00 off coupon, for instance, would not be
published. One member offered a "free gift with every spa treatment" and
our readers complained to us that the "free gift" turned out to be scratch and
sniff perfume samples. This isn't a valid offer -- it disappoints your
guests and our readers, so "lesser offers" still need to be worth our while to devote the staff time and
bandwidth.
Can I add my logo, graphics,
and a description of my spa to the coupon?
No. By doing so, we'd be
giving you a "custom
listing" beyond what we are already providing for your facility. Further,
we would be in a position of customizing each coupon, which would both slow
down the process of getting it published immediately, and, it would make for an uneven
playing field for spas without that extra bit of advertising. We'd make
an exception for a really fabulous offer that can't be found elsewhere.
I need to change my voucher.
Can I?
It depends.
We will
quickly change the name, address, and telephone number(s) for your facility,
whenever required.
We can also change the language
of the offer if your menu changes and you no longer offer a certain service, or
your spa's policies have changed.
You may not decrease the value, based on change of heart (e.g., the offer starts at 20%, then is changed
to 15%, and then back to 20% when you see a competitor is offering 20%).
You may not decrease the time
period unless extenuating circumstances exist.
You may add additional coupons
(up to three total, per facility) at any time.
You may enhance or add a restriction if
an unusual situation presents itself (which happens from time to time).
Use the "Contact Us" page to
submit a coupon change.
Do I need to send the
vouchers
back to you once they are presented to us?
No. The coupons are not gift
certificates. You may keep them for your own records, or discard them. While we
are always curious to know the success rate of the coupons, we have no desire to
burden you with administrative chores. You are running a salon or spa --
which is labor intensive enough as it is.
I've already had clients ask
me if we accept (competing) gift certificates, or, Spa Index Gift Certificates,
and they said they found me on SpaFlyer or SpaIndex. Do I have to take
(competing) or your gift certificates now?
Absolutely not. We do not
sell gift certificates, and, we are not affiliates for our competitors, who
sell Gift Certificates. Do you know why this happens so often, with Spa
Index and Spa Flyer listed spas? Because our directory is that
comprehensive. We find that people who have been given a gift
certificate from a competing spa directory or gift certificate "store" will
hunt and search for a spa they wish to patronize, but don't find a suitable spa
using the originating websites.
Our directory has numerous
options for spas -- in some cases many more than the "gift certificate store"
which sold it, and as a result, you will frequently be asked by holders of gift
certificates if you will accept them. This is entirely up to you as to whether
you wish to assist a new client in this matter. Simply understand that
while the new guest may indicate they were referred by or found you on our more
comprehensive site, you are in no way required to accept and process any gift
certificates, from any organization.
I'm not a member because I am
a new spa and can't afford it yet. How can I get my coupon featured in a
newsletter for a special event I'm hosting to introduce people to my services?
Write to us and let us know about
the event. If it's something special, we'll try to help. We love helping
new spas get off the ground. We can also host a promotion for you,
including your donating a gift certificate for an hour's service, for example.
We'll give it to one of our reviewers and send some press your way, and mention
your event on our blog, in our calendars, and in our newsletters, as space
permits.
I see some offers which are
permitted to offer LESS than what I'm asked to offer. Why is that?
We still have different
arrangements with a few long-time spa directory members, who are given more relaxed standards.
Further, we have many different relationships with companies which may not be
apparent to you. For instance, spas which have hosted guests at our request
(reviewers and VIPs), or spas which have participated in promotional campaigns
(contests and sweepstakes). In addition, older coupons which existed
prior to this calendar year have been "grandfathered" in, after we created minimum
standards for new coupons. Those offers will be upgraded to minimum
standards when renewed. For that reason, if terms appear to be different than those you
are requested to meet, please don't be offended if you are not permitted to
offer a similar, lesser valued coupon. In time, every one will be on the
"same page."
Can I copy the voucher and just
publish it on my website?
Of course, you can continue to
carry your own new client coupons, and they may even have identical amounts
(i.e., 20% off), as the offer you authorize us to carry. But, can you
cut, paste, and publish our coupon on your website? Only if you leave all
of our branding and links intact, please. We'll be happy to give you a
graphic for your use, if you like.
If its
been thirty (30) days and I have not received any clients using the coupon, can
I get a refund and cancel it?
Thirty (30) days is not even enough
time for search engine "spiders" to crawl our site and get the coupon into
search engine results. This can take 30, 60 or even 90 days. That's why the
voucher is valid for one year -- to get maximum exposure during that period.
Much like an advertisement in the
Yellow Pages doesn't guarantee your phone will ring, we make every effort
to present offers to as many potential customers as possible, but it is
ultimately the customer who will decide which spa they wish to visit. For that
reason, we don't issue refunds. Your option would be not to renew the
coupon, the following year.
There may be a few steps you can
take to help your coupon get noticed. We certainly will make the best effort to
market your coupon for you, but, have you placed a "Print a Coupon for Our
Facility" link on an obvious page of your website?
We ask for a reciprocal link and
the "coupon language" for two reasons. The more inbound links we receive,
the better our page rankings will be. The better our page rankings will be, the
better chance your coupon will appear in search results.
Further, if a reader visits your
website, and sees a link to our coupon, they are naturally going to be more apt
to print it and use your spa for the first time, then if they do NOT see it.
How many readers opt out of your services because there are no obvious specials
posted? You can't know. Therefore, use the reciprocal link to your
advantage, and give it a chance to work. You may always write to us and
request our assistance in developing specials or other events designed to drive
new customers to your door.
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