Before he decided to join the illustrious ranks of the adult entertainment business by starting the extreme-content affiliate program EuroRevenue, Joe Holm worked as an executive manager for an Internet service provider in his hometown of Graz, Austria. It wasn’t long, however, before Holm became frustrated with his line of work. "They were small and not very healthy from a financial standpoint," he said. "When it came to getting my own ideas off the ground, there was no support. I’ve always been a doer; I like to make things happen, instead of just talking forever about making things happen."
It was then that Holm made a promise to "never work for anyone but myself again," quit his job and struck out on his own as a freelance Web designer. When that failed to pay the bills, Holm began looking for other sources of income. "I knew the Internet had something more in store for me," he recalled. "I just hadn’t quite put my finger on it yet."
Having become familiar with adult content while designing sites, Holm decided to give it a shot himself. Using the models set forth by successful affiliate programs like MaxCash, CyberErotica, and Adult Revenue Service, Holm gave his own Yahoo-style directory a go using Gossamer Thread’s link directory software. The result Free XXX Sites, and as Holm said, "It was filled with nothing but sponsor links and only brought in a few hundred hits a day, but it was a start." It wasn’t until Holm came home drunk from a bar one night and—using a nearly maxed-out credit card—impulsively submitted his site for paid inclusion in the Yahoo directory that he hit pay dirt. "Traffic jumped from hundreds to thousands of uniques per day," he recalled. "Sales from that first weekend netted thousands of dollars in commissions." Today, Holm views his drunken purchase as a fortuitous bit of fate. "For me, that was the preface to everything."
Six years later, Holm is a happily successful affiliate program owner whose EuroRevenue stands as the only place on the Internet where people can find the legendary hardcore content of controversial producer and director John Thompson. Several producers from Germany and Austria also shoot exclusively for the program. Featuring sites like GermanGooGirls (and its gay cousin, GermanGooBoys), 666Bukkake, CumTrainer, and ExtremeBukkake, EuroRevenue is home to many things transgressive and extreme—in other words, stuff that sells. "Our sites are packed with extreme hardcore that pushes the limits—and keeps our members coming back month after month," Holm noted, adding that roughly 40 percent of the program’s aggregate customer base comes from the U.S.
The program was launched in 2001 under the name BukkakeCash, and like its title implied, it featured an array of bukkake and facial content. The program did well enough at first, though it wasn’t until Thompson signed on that Holm knew he was definitely onto something. "With the marriage of his content to our expertise, how could we miss?" he mused. A few years later, Holm realized the potential for revenue in branching out, and renamed the program EuroRevenue. Its first domain? A cum-heavy solo-girl site called CumTrainer.com.
According to EuroRevenue’s affiliate manager, Shane Ryale, the program gets the majority of its traffic from review sites. While it might not be a huge amount of traffic, he said, "the conversions are out of this world." Beyond that, search-engine traffic and hits originating from Google AdWords bring the program a decent amount of attention. "All of our sites convert much better than average," Ryale claimed, "and we honestly seem to do well with most traffic—which our webmasters like."
One thing that makes EuroRevenue stand out is its ability to reach out to international markets. All of the program’s sites are translated into multiple languages and billed in multiple currencies. "Even our sales and marketing tools are available in multilingual formats," Holm noted. "Our focus is truly a global focus. We reach out to surfers and webmasters around the world. Collectively, these features allow us to support a global consumer base and a worldwide network of affiliate partners."
The program’s global marketing push was the result of much brainstorming, which Holm said is a routine practice at EuroRevenue. "We spend a lot of time brainstorming. [We ask ourselves] ‘What will make our sites better? How can our marketing muscle be strengthened?’" Another reason for the program’s success is Holm’s insistence on taking what he does seriously. "As the industry continues to mature, I think there will be less and less room for people who don’t take the work seriously or treat it as a legitimate business," he stated. "I treat [EuroRevenue] like a real business, which disappoints some of my friends when they stop by and find real people working at the PCs instead of the [around-the-clock] sex orgy they were expecting. Those are great, of course, but not in the office, and certainly not during business hours."
That said, Holm conceded the adult business does come with its share of perks. "The industry welcomes people like no other," he said. "The conferences and gatherings are a great way to meet new colleagues and learn a lot about how business gets done. With the sheer number of affiliate programs rising and falling so quickly, it’s become increasingly important to build trust and recognition. Advertising our program to webmasters isn’t enough." A "principle cornerstone" of the company’s marketing strategy is the mentality that "We are here to stay," Holm said. "I strongly believe this is the only way to sustain a profitable business and walk around with your head up high. As long as I can make myself, my team, and the people around me believe in what we do, things will turn out just fine."
Interestingly, Holm claimed he doesn’t have much of a stomach for the content he hawks. "John Thompson invited me over [to his studio] a few times, but I am just not down with that kind of entertainment," he commented with an ironic chuckle. "I totally understand our niche and why it works, but knowing doesn’t come from doing—not in this case anyway."
When pressed for his thoughts about the continued popularity of extreme content, Holm had this to say: "Sex sells, and extreme sex sells extremely well… for a number of reasons. Every guy has dirty sexual fantasies, and many don’t even realize they’re there until they come across a [site like] GermanGooGirls.com. Suddenly, [those fantasies] are not just floating amorphously around in the brain; they’re presented in concrete terms. It all packs a powerful punch." Then again, he added, it could be that surfers are just bored: "There is also the natural progression of the sex-site surfer who just wanted something a little rougher on the edges, with a few more surprises."
As far as extreme content being controversial, Holm was characteristically business-savvy in stating his opinion about the matter. "The number of our U.S. customers has increased more rapidly since the U.S. government began working harder to crack down on what they call ‘extreme’ porn," he offered. "They’re doing us a huge favor, of course; the more they clamor about it in their ‘talking points,’ the more free advertising it gets us."
Though Holm said he considers himself to be more businessman than pornographer ("I never really made a choice to work in porn," he explained. "It was just something that I was good at, and something I enjoyed."), he did say he has no plans of uprooting his successful business for other pastures. "I have yet to find another industry that can match the [the adult industry’s] vitality and commitment to innovation—or one with the talent to reinvent itself over and over again."
Speaking of reinventions, might we expect one or two from EuroRevenue in the coming years? Perhaps, Holm hinted. "EuroRevenue had a tremendous 2006, and with the team that I have put together, the future looks very bright. We have new websites on the horizon that will [further] break us out of the bukkake niche, and new products and services that will strengthen our position as the preferred European affiliate program for webmasters around the globe. Our growth will also be keyed by the acquisition of other affiliate programs and a solid focus on U.S. webmasters."
Of course, a little bit of ingenuity and hard work doesn’t hurt either. "I think anybody with a good idea and the willingness to commit themselves to countless days, nights, and weekends of work can make it in this industry," Holm theorized. Citing a certain drunken purchase, he added, "I started my business with a $200 charge to a credit card and turned it into something I am very proud of. Today, EuroRevenue employs 18 staff members on three continents and produces some of the best-converting hardcore sites. I steer clear of drama and bullshit. In this industry, what counts are actions, not words."
