Along with networking opportunities for webmasters and more porn models than one can shake a stick (or dick) at, the Internext convention in Las Vegas offers several business-related seminars for webmasters to attend. Yesterday’s line-up included a smattering of fascinating topics and debates that touched on some of the most pressing issues facing adult webmasters today.
The kickoff seminar, to the apparent delight of the attendees who packed the seminar space, saw a panel of indisputable experts addressing everyone’s favorite topic: How to make even more money in the adult Net space.
Panelists “YNOT Bob” Rice (YNOT Payments), Scott Rabinowitz (Traffic Dude), Layne Thrasher (DHD Media), Anh Tran (Wanted List), Mike B. (CECash) and Reena Patel (Naked Sword) joined moderator Colin Rowntree to dive into the topic with gusto during the “Maximizing Online Profits” seminar. All agreed that server statistics, when evaluated regularly and in detail, provide a veritable gold mine of information webmasters can use to fine tune the way their sites look, perform and collect revenue. Create a business plan and follow it, seek out new payment providers and methodologies, provide excellent customer service, make sure all company assets are exploited to their full potential and treat both customers and affiliates with respect, they urged.
Geotargetting and emerging technologies were recurring themes. Mike B. insisted that mobile content delivery will offer a significant source of revenue within the next two years. In addition, technologies exist now that enable webmasters to buy and trade extremely targeted traffic – but webmasters must ask their traffic partners for breakdowns by geographical region, language and other criteria. The more targeted the traffic, the greater the chance it will convert, Rabinowitz noted.
Partners, too, should be targeted, the panelists agreed. The days of accepting just any old affiliate are over, according to Rice. Each should be evaluated on a number of scales, including the quality and variety of their traffic. “Limit the number of partners you have and increase their quality,” Rabinowitz urged. After all, “It’s easier to work on traffic than on keeping affiliates and customers happy,” Mike B. revealed. Tran added, “Seek out the perfect partners; don’t wait for them to come to you. Ten power affiliates beat 5,000 mediocre ones.”
Other seminars touched on more basic issues such as traffic and what’s converting. During the “Playing in Traffic” discussion, panelists Charles Hentrich (WildLine!), Jason Quinlan (OCCash), Lindsay Probin (aka CuriousToyBoy, of CuriousCash), Mark Jenkins (Link-O-Rama), Q’on (OnProbation.com) and Rick Mueyong (TheBestPorn.com) and moderator Mike Hawk (SmashBucks) noted that the mature niche continues to grow in popularity while ethnic niches are beginning to play out (although there still may be room for smart operators to capitalize on them), and the gay area comprises a market, not a niche.
Search engine marketing continues to be a worthwhile activity, but paid inclusion in search results allows webmasters to match surfers to their content and target traffic most efficiently. Once surfers are acquired, however, webmasters must not allow them to be disappointed with what they find within a website, so search engine descriptions and other marketing materials should be tweaked until they represent a perfect match between that which surfers seek and what sites offer. “Information breeds traffic,” Meunyong revealed, so mine server logs for geographical information, website pathways and the like.
Content owners and affiliate program operators remain frustrated with webmasters who offer too much explicit content in the preview areas of their sites. They concede selling explicit content without explicit previews is a problem the adult industry has created for itself, though. “The competition is so intense that people are giving away more and more” in order to generate the traffic they need to create revenue, according to Q’on. Still, he urged adult webmasters to “put the good stuff inside” their membership areas.
Later, a lively discussion with good audience participation facilitated the open exchange of ideas and stories during the “Parents in Adult” seminar. The panel featured PIA founders Chris and Tracey Potoski, psychologist John C. Pappas, attorney Brad Bannon, Lori Z., mother and owner of the Adult Broker and Blake Tsai of PIA.
Much of the discussion focused on how parents tell their children they work in the adult industry and how to balance career and children.
“Once they realize the shame factor is gone, your children are going to understand what you’re doing,” Pappas said. “You’re trying to support your family. Have integrity in what you’re doing.”
Chris Potoski urged other parents to stand up and be counted. “The more outspoken we’ve been about everything – what we do for a living, that we’re good parents, that we do work in the community – yes, we’ve lost some friends, but we’ve gained a lot of friends. It’s been good for us all around.”
“Educate people that this is a business and we are professionals,” Lori Z. said.
Later in the day, AVN Online technology editor Kathee Brewer moderated a lively forum on “Podcasting, Blogging and Beyond” that gave panel participants Jack Mardack (founder of NOOBSBoard.com) and John D’Addario (author of the popular Fleshbot.com blog) a chance to engage in some rather heated rhetoric involving the importance and purpose of blogs.
Mardack, who copped to using blogs for the purpose of spider-linking content such as photos to some of his other 30-odd blogs, ruffled a few feathers when he expressed the importance of using the medium for non-traditional reasons. “The essence of blogging is not necessarily just text,” he asserted. “It doesn’t have to be an article or a story or a journal entry. It just has to be something interesting.”
Mardack also noted that blogs could be used to post previously published content from other sources, providing that credit is given to the originators. “Blogs present a new perspective for old content,” he said. “You want to come up with innovative combinations of content that’s already published.”
D’Addario, however, argued that, “Nothing is a substitute for original, compelling content,” adding that more traditional text postings are still the most popular form of blog content. “It’s already a problem getting people to come to your sites to begin with. When you avoid traditional blogging, you run the risk of being ignored.”
D’Addario’s statement was echoed by Wired columnist Regina Lynn, who was quick to point out the relevance of an individual voice in the success of the medium. “It doesn’t always work to take the content you already have and deliver it in a new way,” she offered. “Blogging is very interactive. It’s about personality.
“The thing about blogs is that fans have an inside look at the personalities involved in the business,” she continued. “On the Internet, every blogger is a star. Pretty soon you can’t not have a blog with text and photos.”
On the topic of podcasting, the panel seemed to be unanimous in their opinion that it is a medium that has yet to emerge as a vital one.
“Blogging is great because anyone can do it,” said Sugarbank.com founder Sam Sugar. “However, it’s an enormous burden to do well with podcasting.
“The problem with podcasting is that people will compare everything you do to what they see on video and TV,” he added. “Podcasting is really just cable access on an enormous scale, and most of it is rubbish. It’s not for everyone.”
Meanwhile, D’Addario offered his own rather practical opinion on why podcasting may be having a difficult time truly taking off. “It’s not the easiest thing in the world to masturbate with an iPod.”
Still, the panelists didn’t necessarily dismiss podcasting. “If you have a lot of content, you can develop a very compelling offering,” said GUBA’s vice president of operations Bart Myers.
All panelists agreed that podcasting and blogging present the opportunity to supplement one’s content in creative and visionary ways, and stressed the importance of getting exciting content from webmasters.
Perhaps the most anticipated (and least compelling) seminar of the day, however, was the one addressing the theme of this year’s convention: “Convergence, Crossover and Diversification.” Homegrown Video President Farrell Timlake presided over a panel that included HotMovies.com founder Richard Cohen, New Sensations Vice President Sean Holland, MeatCash president Arthur Chang, and Matrix Content’s Norman Bentley, addressing such topics as the importance of content exclusivity, the differences in pricing structures and sale techniques between webmasters and offline pornographers, and how the rise of iPod porn might affect both camps.
On the latter topic, Cohen was the most opinionated, declaring, “We think it’s a fad. It’s a conscious decision to make that purchase, and most people are impulse buyers. Plus, where are you going to watch it? Are you going to take it into the bathroom with you at work so you can get off?” Citing the rise of iTunes, Cohen added that IPTV is the wave of the future for the distribution of adult content for both webmasters and brick and mortar players. “Nobody wants to buy CDs and DVDs anymore,” he said.
Meanwhile, Timlake offered his take on the issue of Digital Rights Management not covering copyright for iPod content. “Right now, people are looking at it more as advertising – as a way of getting their names out there,” he commented.
Sadly, the “Convergence” seminar was poorly attended, and offered little in the way of new information.
