A few weeks after launching the co-hosted version over TAWRadio.com, Fresh Talk co-hosts ColletteX and Hammer say the show can't help but stay fresh as it goes along, primarily because of the Internet radio show's focus: adult amateurs and newbie professional adult Webmasters looking to make the most out of their online activities and work.
"It started out more toward amateurs and also newbies," said Hammer to AVN.com, "but it's sort of evolved into more of a newbie show with amateurs as well. Collette was involved with the amateur business, she used to have her own amateur site, and since that was her area of expertise it would be geared around talking to amateurs."
Then, Hammer was invited to do the original show about a month ago. "And I have a lot of background with Website design and traffic," he said, "and I'm a moderator on the YNOT newbie board, so I think that's how it evolved more toward a newbie show."
"I started the show for newbies and amateurs," ColletteX said, "and I had Hammer on one day, and he knew a lot about what the newbies were doing that I didn't know about."
Among the features of Fresh Talk, which airs every Tuesday at 12 noon PDT, is what Hammer calls a newbie challenge: picking a new adult Webmaster and getting him to get his free site rocking to profitability within five weeks.
"We did the idea to show somebody how they could take a free site and make money with it," Hammer said. "We just finished a challenge for (a guy named ) Steve. We gave him a turnkey site, designed out of the box as a free site with sponsors and all content provided by sponsor programs. Someone built a hook site with fifty galleries.
"During the five weeks, we took him through taking those galleries and submitting to TGPs, and getting them listed on the top lists, to generate to his hub and to the turnkey site. And he did everything we asked him to do, he didn't just sit there and hope it was going to work without some effort. And now, he has a Website that's generating some signups. We were successful with this challenge, and we showed some people that you could take a free site with little cost involved and make it, within a month, turn into a profitmaking venture."
Which isn't to say that everything is that simple, for either the newbie Webmaster or the amateur Net player, which both co-hosts agree is anything but simple. But that's why they're doing the show in the first place.
According to Collette, the biggest problem for the amateur adult Net sitemaker is not branching out more to meet other people in the industry.
"What I did when I was an amateur, I only looked at other amateurs to see what was going on, instead of realizing there was a whole big (Internet) world," she said. "And I think that, really, amateurs need to see there's a lot more to it than what they see amateurs doing.
"We have a girl now who has her own Website, and she's a really good designer, and she's making an affiliate program now, and instead of making one for just other amateurs, we're going to help her get it onto the resource boards and help her get a really good program," Collette continued. "So she's going to be more successful, And there's no reason why she couldn't do that. The only problem is time. And if she makes enough money she could help that by hiring someone. She's been doing it for three years."
According to Hammer, the biggest problem facing the newbie professional is a problem Collette also says the amateur should pay more attention to solving: traffic.
"That's the first thing everybody asks," he said. "Getting a Website is pretty easy. Pretty much anybody can read a little bit, and get some HTML together, and put together a rudimentary Website. Or, they can pay someone to design a Website. Getting the site is the easy part. Making money is the hard part. The whole challenge is getting people in the door. That's why it all comes down to traffic."
"We had YNOT Bob on the show, and he said the biggest thing the single-girl site has to do is network," Collette said. "They have the resources, they have good equipment, they know how to design things, but they don't network enough. And that's a good way to get traffic."
The twosome plan to discuss and examine further all that and more in coming installments of Fresh Talk. "It'll be everything form building a Website to promoting the Website,and probably with a big focus on generating traffic to a Website so they can make money," Hammer said.
"I see it hopefully having a lot more people," Collette said. "Hopefully, having a lot more listeners and viewers and knowing a little bit more. We just love to inform people and get them to talk. Like for next week. We're going to have somebody who has a big group of sponsors. We're going to talk about graphics and making good graphics, banners, galleries for your affiliates, what makes a good sponsor program, things that really go along with the theme."
Hammer said the show in concept and actuality has a load of promise. "There's a lot of newbies out there who go to the board and ask questions, and they can read articles," he said, "but I tent to kind of learn better by listening to people who know what they're talking about, who can explain the process. You can be in your office or your home, and doing something else, and listening at the same time. Spend an hour every Tuesday listening. And pick up a lot of good tips."
The Fresh Talk show is Webcast every Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. PDT on TAWRadio.com, a service of YNOTMasters.
