In addition to being the creator and spokeswoman for Women Owned Adult Sites (WOAS; www.womenownedadultsites.com), Dianna Vesta is also one of the Website's many success stories. That's because the veteran of the online adult industry found her current daytime employment through a contact she made on... that's right, Women Owned Adult Sites. It's a kick-ass gig producing racy content down in South Florida, and a testament to the networking possibilities available to ladies with both modems and motivation.
Vesta's been online for over a decade, growing her own site, The Fetish Network, from an old school BBS into a worldwide mega-site of niche content. In a field dominated by dudes, Vesta has always stuck out like a life raft in a world of shark-infested waterways. And through the years, people who needed advice, encouragement, and answers have contacted her countless times.
With the number of chicks starting adult businesses taking off, Vesta "decided it would be best to have a forum where everyone could share. I wanted to help women, so they wouldn't have to go through everything I did coming into the industry."
About a year ago, she started a group on Yahoo! that catered specifically to women with adult Websites. "It took off so well that we decided to put together a Website."
The result was WOAS (pronounced "whoa-azz"), a slick-looking site with a mission to help women with virtually every aspect of owning and running an adult Website. With communication, networking, and marketing as its primary aims, WOAS contains a variety of options to help both members and guests find, contact, and help generate traffic to sites that are owned by women. "Women who wouldn't otherwise meet each other are networking," says Vesta.
WOAS members are talking to each other from all corners of the world, and they're not only talking about business. "It's become a support group as well as a marketing group," says Vesta. "Emotionally and spiritually, there's a lot that women go through trying to work in this industry."
Moderated discussion forums cover everything from personal sexuality to the pros and cons of various digital cameras. Recent postings included questions about search engine options, a plea from a man looking for an erotic pen pal, an animated discussion about female-owned strip clubs, and several announcements of new FemDom novels. Posts can be left by both members and guests, which opens up the discussions in sometimes unusual, but always interesting, directions.
Becoming involved with one another on more levels than just exchanging HTML codes has other advantages as well. The community of Website owners brought together by WOAS looks out for one another online. One recent post concerned the unauthorized use of a member's content on another site, a subject most Webmasters would be very interested in learning about.
Coming from a niche background, Vesta's initial members were on the alternative side of adult, but that is changing quickly. "More and more we're getting club owners, dancers, escort services, and erotic writers," said Vesta.
To become a member of WOAS, businesses must qualify (obviously) as a woman-owned adult site. Men who try to slip in undetected should be forewarned that the gals at WOAS cannot be tricked in this matter, and will deliver a well-aimed kick to the short and curlies of any misguided males who attempt deceit. Free domains are not allowed either, and sites must qualify as legitimate businesses.
Once accepted as a member of this tribe, sites are listed in the directory and must display a WOAS banner, which generates traffic. As WOAS runs itself as a collective and doesn't take in any money, member's banners are displayed on a rotating basis on the site's pages, which forwards the traffic on to member sites.
Additionally, members can submit notices and special offers to the monthly newsletter, which is emailed out to over 1,400 subscribers. The newsletter provides an update on what's been happening in the WOAS forums, articles, scripts, and other items of interest.
Folks who don't qualify for membership in this sorority are welcome to visit, browse, and support women-owned businesses by bringing their libidos over to sister sites. Guests can also take part in intelligent discussions in the forums and subscribe to the newsletter.
