Fetish customers are notoriously loyal. Give someone what they want, do so with expertise, and you’ll retain a customer for life. At a time when we’ve seen the online adult market go from interesting (“Wow! you can put that there?”) to extreme (“Whoa! “That can go there!”), fetish sites have remained consistent and strong in customer loyalty.
The mother of invention
For some, an interest in fetish spawned a business that spawned an empire. One such person is Peter Acworth, president and founder of Kink.com. Acworth formed Kink, originally called CyberNet Entertainment, in 1997, and now the company is a leader in the production of original, online fetish entertainment and creator of the renowned FuckingMachines.com.
“People who have a fetish will often tell you that they’ve had their fetish since they were a child,” explains Acworth. “I understand this because I am the same way: I would get an erection [at the age of 7] watching cowboy movies that incorporated bondage, long before I ever looked twice at a pair of breasts. From our perspective, fetish customers are still as loyal today as they have ever been, [but] I think that one has to understand the fetish customer to understand his or her loyalty.”
Miss Brittany Andrews agrees. The beautiful, blond fetish model and adult actress’ personal sexual preferences are what led to her various sites that exist for fetish fans today. Andrews is often referred to as the “Queen of the Strap-on,” but her loyal base of fans is what keeps her busy. According to her, fetish lovers get a taste for it at a young age—and they keep the same tastes, which brings them back for more every time. The fetish customer never loses his or her taste for a niche that began way back when, or last year.
“Fetish customers are loyal, but there are a lot of websites owned by people who have no idea what they are doing,” says Andrews, who has graced the covers of more than 30 adult magazines and appeared in more than 300 magazine pictorials. “A vital part of running a successful fetish site is keeping your content honest.”
Andrews cites recent increases in the commerciality of some fetish sites and a general hopping on the fetish bandwagon as reasons for the slow success of some sites.
“Before, there were maybe a hundred trampling sites; now there’s a thousand,” says Andrews. “What webmasters have to realize is that, if you’re new to this market, you have to understand that there is still a certain amount of shame and guilt attached to certain fetishes. It’s important to give fetish customers a community where what they are interested in is considered normal and it’s accepted.
“One of the reasons my sites succeed, and continue to do so, is that I’m not an anonymous person behind a site; I’m a hot bitch that really enjoys what I do and I get off on it,” she continues. “That’s what keeps my customers loyal.” Andrews owns and operates her own adult studio, Britco Pictures, as well as the affiliate program BitchPayz, which supports her host of fetish sites.
Gynecologist William Masters and psychologist Virginia Johnson estimated that 10 percent of the American population practice some sort of BDSM play, and, according to the Kinsey Institute, between 5 and 10 percent of Americans will engage in sadomasochism—at least occasionally—throughout their lives. At any given time, almost anyone can and will use anything to stimulate themselves erotically. There are certainly some bizarre practices that occur, and it’s redundant to say that you can find just about anything online.
A book called the Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, by Brenda Love, offers 150 different chapters, each devoted to a different fetish practice—everything ranging from the more common types of BDSM to the obscure ones, like anaclitism.
According to the Encyclopedia, anaclitism is “the act of achieving adult sexual arousal by activities or objects one was exposed to as an infant.” These may include breast sucking, enemas, toilet training (urophilia anaclitism and coprophilia), soiled clothing (mysophilia), bondage (womb confinement), spankings, humiliation, biting, nudity or exhibitionism, circumcision, submission, being bathed, nurtured, throwing temper tantrums, wearing infant apparel, having the penis slapped for masturbation, or playing with dolls.
Finding an audience (that’s willing to admit it)
Still, despite the average person’s appetite for kinky-naughty sex, those experienced in the lifestyle, either by personal desire or profession, say the market is still a relatively tame one.
“I don’t necessarily see a trend toward the more extreme or more bizarre,” says Acworth. “I started Hogtied.com back in 1997 with essentially the same theme as it has today. The production value has increased enormously, but the premise of women securely bound has stayed the same. Hogtied.com remains Kink’s most successful site to this day.”
From 2000 to 2002, Kink.com attempted to launch a number of niche fetish sites, such as FuckingMachines.com (robotic sex), WhippedAss.com (a domination site), and WiredPussy.com (electro-play). Those sites performed well for Kink, and—fueled by their success—Acworth and his team tried other products, which were, “to the casual observer, more bizarre,” as Acworth puts it.
“What we found is that more bizarre doesn’t equal more interest, and these products didn’t perform nearly as well, despite input from some of our most talented directors,” Acworth says. “My gut feeling is that if a theme is just too far out there, it will not interest the bulk of people who buy fetish material. We have also found that really hardcore BDSM (the type that leaves marks) has a limited appeal. Many of our offerings have become tamer over the years as a result. In essence, there are a very few people who are into extreme and bizarre material, and a lot more people in the mainstream who are kink-curious. Extreme or very bizarre content attracts a small crowd at the cost of losing a much larger piece of the pie.”
Theresa “Darklady” Reed agrees.
Darklady is a sex writer and reviewer of adult videos and toys. She writes lifestyle columns and feature articles for publications and websites, and her erotica appears in a number of anthologies, including Best S/M Erotica and Best Bisexual Erotica 2.
“I believe true fetishists are finding it easier and easier to connect with one another and with their fetish desires. The fear, of course, is that the feds will decide that facilitating such community building is not morally acceptable, especially in areas where the average person would experience emotional discomfort,” Reed says. “For instance, scat (fecal play), enema, piss play, menstrual blood, and other body-fluid aficionados still need to be cautious about what they see as fans and what they create as artists. Kinky consumers are increasingly getting online, is what I think. I remember the old BBS days, and they were filled with mega-hardcore content, conversation, and meet-ups. I think what’s happening is that the techno perverts have been online for over a decade, and now the suburban strip-mall perverts are getting online, too.”
Andrews sees certain trends in fetish that are mainly focused in the details.
“Even mainstream porn has increased its attention to detail. Before, you had facials, and now it’s snowballing and cream pies, etc,” Andrews says. “It’s the same with fetish: Each one gets finer and more specific and more niche every time. Take the ‘smoking’ fetish: Before, it was plain smoking, then the microniches developed. Now, there are sites dedicated to smoking before sex, smoking after sex, and smoking during sex. It’s all in the details.”
Keeping it real
Still, everyone is in agreement on one thing when it comes to fetish: You can’t fake it.
According to Acworth, fetish customers have a few common denominators within themselves: He or she will analyze fetish material down to the last detail and can tell if the material wasn’t directed by someone kinky ( i.e. they can spot “fake” fetish material a mile away), he or she has grown up feeling marginalized and often will seek a sense of community and acceptance, and he or she is specific about a particular fetish (i.e. someone into bondage might not be into S/M and probably doesn’t have a foot fetish).
Acworth would know. He’s created an empire from his own desires, and although Acworth’s company is privately held, he reveals some astounding financial figures: The company made $16 million in 2005 and expects to see a 30 percent increase this year.
Similarly, when Andrews recently shut down all her fetish sites and canceled all subscriptions to start over, every single member came back—and then some, she says.
“I’ve tried to do tons of websites, but for me, what’s worked is to focus on one thing,” she offers. “It’s important for webmasters to really know whatever fetish it is that they are selling. Understand the community you’re marketing to, find a friend who is into it, and really educate yourself on it.”
“I think that the best way to retain customer loyalty is to remain loyal to your customer,” Reed says. “Know what they want, and if you don’t know, find out. Stand behind your words. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Don’t cut corners, don’t lie, don’t fake it, and don’t cheat. Solicit customer opinion and do what you can to make them feel like your site is a home away from home for them, a place where their opinions and their desires are respected. Provide good customer service, stay aware of what’s happening in the various BDSM/leather/fetish communities, and maybe even get involved with some of the local events and contests.
“If you’re not into the genre you’re promoting, hire someone who is to check the pulse of the industry and the consumers,” Reed continues. “If visitors just think you want their money, they’ll graze and leave. Fetish consumers can smell a rat and will know when you’re full of shit. If they think you give a damn about the content you provide and the people paying to view it, they’re more likely to stick with you because they feel you ‘know’ and ‘understand’ them.”
In other words, care about your community and reap the rewards.
