Turn on the television these days, and you’ll find a plethora of reality programming on nearly every channel. Since the phenomenal success of NBC’s Survivor in 2000 (though, to be accurate, the reality boom really got started nearly 10 years earlier with the successful launch of MTV’s still-strong The Real World in 1992), television executives have figured out that when it comes to great entertainment, real-life drama sells. From The Bachelor series and its gender-switched spin-off The Bachelorette to makeover shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and The Swan to Amazing Race and even (God help us) The Simple Life, the ol’ boob tube has become a bastion of reality-skewed entertainment. It’s a trend that has also taken the adult industry by storm, and TopBucks (www.topbucks.com) is at the forefront of the movement.
“There’s definitely the reality thing going on as a major trend right now in online adult content, and we feel that we provide a quality version of that,” says Alison Vivas, vice president of operations with TopBucks’ parent company Cyberheat (www.cyberheat.com). “A lot of the feedback we’ve gotten from Web surfers is that people just love the entertainment aspect of the content.” When asked to theorize as to why reality content has caught on so well, Vivas says she has it all figured out: “I think the surfer wants to relate to the girls and guys in [reality content]. They want to watch people in a situation that they could find themselves in.”
Which is just what TopBucks offers. From first-timer hetero sites like HerFirstLesbianSex.com and TeensForCash.com to their extensive offering of gay sites (a rarity for mainstream hetero programs) to their oldest and most recognizable site, MilfSeeker.com, TopBucks consistently provides quality content for people looking to “keep things real.” Says Vivas, “We keep it entertaining because we keep it realistic with the pickup, so that it’s more like something that could happen to anyone off the streets.”
It all began in 1996, when Kevin Ho – a computer programmer for IBM—started surfing through porn sites at work, and soon decided to create his own site – Cyberheat. He created the pay-per-click program TopCash as his “billing company” and watched as traffic began to pour in. As he recalls, “After a very short period of time, I realized that I was able to earn more money running the site than from working as a programmer.” Shortly thereafter, he gave his notice to IBM and dedicated his efforts to building Cyberheat. As other sites were created, so too was TopBucks, which made its debut in spring 2001 as the affiliate program to replace the increasingly archaic TopCash (though the latter was eventually relaunched in 2002 – to no avail – as a more powerful pay-per-click program). Today, Cyberheat boasts nearly 100 subscription websites, more than 70,000 subscribers, and more than 2 million unique visitors to its websites daily, while TopBucks consistently ranks among the highest-grossing adult entertainment operations on the Web. Of his decision to leave the corporate world for online porn, Ho says, “I am very happy that I chose this route.”
While many webmasters struggle to retain and convert traffic, TopBucks – like many other well-run programs – uses a system of tools written in-house to help them “break down the traffic performance of each webmaster or group of webmasters to analyze the big picture and set thresholds for traffic sources that might not be up to par,” says marketing director Lea Buscyk, who adds that it is TopBucks’ roster of loyal affiliates that helps to keep business booming. “We don’t really get traffic from unexpected sources,” she says. “We let our affiliates take the reins and bring us the traffic in ways that make them successful.”
The program is also successful because it refuses to discriminate. Says Vivas, “People will often say that TGP traffic or free traffic is shit. However, on a pay-site owner’s view of it, we just look at the traffic once they purchase it—and we look at the quality of the purchaser rather than the quality of the traffic. TGP owners often know they’re not going to be converting one in 10, but they are going to send sales. For a pay-site owner, those sales are just as valuable as those who did covert one in 10.”
Vivas adds that with current trends in traffic being what they are, it’s become crucial for the TopBucks staff to work harder to ensure that the program is not only up to par, but above par. “I think right now it’s difficult to grow your traffic as compared to previous years,” she posits, “and that has a lot to do with the amount of competition. There are a lot of people out there offering quality content. Surfers have multiple choices on who they can use, and they’ll eventually end up with the people who give them the best offer. But it’s getting more and more difficult, so in order to stay on top of that, we need to continue to offer something that is of quality—and maybe even something that extends above the quality that our competitors offer.
“We’re definitely feeling the pressure,” Vivas continues, “but we think that’s a good thing. We never came into this thinking, ‘Oh, you just put up a few reality sites and traffic just comes.’ We’re constantly working to improve things.” Not to mention offer new goodies as well. As Buscyk says, “We’ll be looking to launch more VoD hybrid sites, more reality sites, and a hybrid ‘free content’ product for pay-site owners.” In the meantime, they plan to keep both traffickers and webmasters happy with more exclusive, reality-based content and lucrative special offers. Of the latter, Busyck says that the staff’s understanding of traffic “helps us to better target our promotions. For example, we might do something special to attract TGP or MGP webmasters, and perhaps something different for pay-site owners.” Meanwhile, she adds, “On the back end, “[our understanding of traffic] helps us determine the overall value of our members and helps us analyze and deal with chargeback or retention issues.”
Busyck says that strong relationships with TopBucks’ affiliates are essential to the program’s survival. “We’re very close to our webmasters and chat with them daily,” she claims. “They are an intelligent and demanding bunch of folk[s], which is basically why most of them are so successful. Many of them can’t be conned—they’re on top of their business.” Which is crucial, according to Busyck. As she emphasizes, “No matter how wild and crazy this industry is, it still requires a level of professionalism. Growing a successful business in adult is no different than in mainstream. It takes careful planning, strategizing, and flawless execution.”
Vivas is in agreement, adding that it was Kevin Ho’s original small-scale vision that helped launch an empire. “I think the error that people often make when they start up new sites is that they don’t optimize the sites to make them profitable before getting the traffic there,” she offers. “Once you have a little bit of traffic, as long as it’s profitable, you’re making money that you can then turn into an investment to purchase additional traffic and develop a larger webmaster affiliate program. But definitely, the starting point is always making sure that the sites are profitable and measuring the risks you’re willing to take—whether you’re coming in with a $20,000 investment or a $200 investment.”
In other words, start slow. “When you’re running a pay site and purchasing traffic, people have to keep in mind that, often, your investment isn’t going to pay off immediately,” Vivas says. “Sometimes you purchase traffic and you don’t think it does well, but then you look back a few months later and you realize, ‘Wow, I made 20 percent off my investment, but it did take time for the recurring members to build up.’ Things don’t happen overnight with traffic.” In other words, the reality of the situation is that webmasters need to learn the value of patience.
Speaking of reality, Vivas says she is psyched to see how TopBucks’ newest sites are received. She points to the youth-oriented CollegeWildParties.com, machine-sex site WildFuckToys.com and an “all you can watch” site (MovieAccess.com) as three examples of the program’s ability to offer solid reality-themed content. “These are a few sites that we expect to bring things to the next level,” she proclaims.
If past efforts are any indication, it looks like TopBucks is one program whose name is entirely fitting.
