Advertising Tips Anyone Can Follow
by Susanna Strandberg
Every new webmaster asks the question, "how do you successfully market adult Web sites?"
I will be sharing some tips to get you well on your way to building your adult empire. One of the best things you can do to educate yourself is become a member of some of the adult webmaster boards, and seek friends willing to share what works for them.
MAKE A PLAN
Draw up your marketing plan before you start building, and review the plan regularly to see how closely you are following it- or if it needs revision. Your marketing plan will include some of the following decisions; what niche to market, what pay sites in that niche to market, and what tools you will need. Each of these decisions has an effect on your bottom line, so study, network and get a lot of information, before you make these choices.
CHOOSE YOUR NICHE WISELY
Investigate the competition before choosing a niche. Become aware of the content available for the niche, and its price. Also be sure of the traffic sources you can tap into. There is a lot of competition in adult marketing, so much competition that marketing "blind midgets" can be as profitable as marketing "amateurs." Micro-niches have much smaller audiences, but you have less competition for their spending dollar. Popular niches have large audiences, but with some savvy marketing you can compete well. Be aware that content for the more popular niches can become over-used on sites because there are more webmasters purchasing it. You can ask your content provider how many copies they will sell of the content you are buying.
UNDERSTAND YOUR NICHE
Marketing a niche requires an understanding of the niche itself, and ultimately of the surfer to whom you are marketing. This is what is called "understanding your market." Be very sure to whom you are marketing. What is it that they like about the niche? For example, you cannot market domination and provide pictures with the dominant model sporting a submissive collar. You must have a rudimentary understanding of the niche you are marketing. It is often said that you should market to yourself- thereby making your niche choice obvious.
UNDERSTAND YOUR TRAFFIC SOURCES
Traffic sources for your niche are important considerations. The best source is not necessarily the easiest and fastest source. Each traffic source has its good and bad points, and you should understand them before venturing into building for those sources. Investigation of the niche will tell you where you can find your best surfers. Test the traffic sources, determining if the surfer is looking for soft core or hardcore pictures, if your content works for them, and if your sales pitches convert.
CONSIDER SOFT CORE SITES
More and more webmasters are realizing that they can make more sales with sites that show fully clothed models! A key here is to make the advertising more enticing then the content. Consider fast food advertising; you are never given a savory burger to eat, but you are shown one in all its fat-dripping glory! If you can get surfers to your site, not really give them what they are craving but show them the way to get it, you will convert. Remember, you must still show them content for the niche they are surfing for, just don't give them hardcore. Some webmasters are reserving hardcore content for the last pictures in their galleries, only after you've paid. And make sure you deliver what you advertise in your tour, or you'll be shut down before you start, either by your processor or your competitors.
CHOOSE SPONSORS WISELY
Investigate affiliate programs and become aware of which company works with each niche. If you are working in micro-niches you had better be sure you have sponsor sites to sell memberships to. If you are working in popular niches, you will want to find sponsors with freshly updated banners, sponsors who allow you to use their graphics from inside their mailers or off their tour. Look for new sites or sites with brand new tours. Also, make sure you personally inspect the sponsor's sites - don't put up any sponsor's banners until you do - you are liable for misrepresentations made by your sponsors, so make sure they deliver what they promise, too. Your goal is happy surfer members.
Usually webmasters check out the sponsor by starting at the affiliate program, checking the payout, the quality and quantity of banners, and other advertising tools. I suggest starting at the tours themselves and sitting back and staring. Do you really see the niche depicted in their tour images? Does it work for you- are you aroused by the tour? I have seen pay sites that do not do well on their tours. An example was an anal sex tour that had more breast pictures on their first page then they had bare bottom pictures. It's my advice to skip marketing sponsors who cannot market themselves on their tours.
This process of looking at the tour and getting a feel for what the sponsor is really selling on the tour is invaluable all through the marketing process. Even when you are building your site and writing your text links or advertising, you need to sell the tour. Remember you are selling the surfer a product, and even though you send them to the site fully preparing them for a pay site and a niche, you must be sure that the pay site tour is selling the same nuance of the niche that you are. In the example of an anal site that has more breasts then butts, I personally would not market them but the next person could come up with a breast and butt sales pitch that will convert like mad!
MAKE LONG TERM PLANS
A good marketing plan will not place its faith in one source of traffic and revenue. Plan to work many different traffic sources, from thumbnail galleries to free feeder sites. A good plan can use your resources, such as domains and content, in many different ways, capturing different sources of traffic. Each time you move into a new traffic area, research the niche and pay sites again. When you switch traffic sources you must rethink your processes and review your marketing plan.
USE YOUR RESOURCES FULLY
Domains, content and even scripts all have a shelf life, and all can be used over and over in many different traffic sources. Some can also be used across niches. When purchasing them be very aware of your plan. If you work in the foot niche, make it a long-term goal to work the legs niche or nylons. The pictures can also be used for straight "babe" sites. Each traffic source will have its rules regarding picture optimization and ratios of pictures to advertising. This is where working your plan will be most useful. Example: If your plan includes making adult-verification-sites that require 300 pictures, use the same set of pictures to market the AVS site, and in a few other ways as well. Your plan therefore helps you when buying content, as you know how much you need.
REMEMBER TO SELL
Think of yourself as the man at the door selling tickets to the theatre. You are not one of the actors giving a performance. Remember to sell, you are not entertaining the surfer you are selling them a ticket to the show. Give the bare minimum of content on your sites and focus on your advertising. Study the rules of the traffic sources and then test and study the results. If you have found something that works, make a lot more of it.
WHISPER TO THE SURFER
Believe it or not, this strategy works for me. When writing text links I whisper in my thoughts. I write things that you might normally whisper to a friend. It puts a personal touch on the links. I do not say, "You must be horny, click this link to get off." Instead, I say, "Heh sweetheart, I am really horny, please cum lick me silly." Become the text link; become the model speaking to the surfer. Sales are made when you get inside a surfers head. Do unusual things on your pages, and you will catch the surfers' attention.
Ultimately you have to be unique, and think "outside of the box." Make sure your marketing plan includes time to develop and try wild new things. Maybe it's a traffic source, or a different kind of site. Remember that everything you see on the Web was dreamt up by some webmaster. Why not let the next great money making idea be your idea?
If you are a horny surfer you can market adult sites. What makes you pull out your credit card to purchase products? Look around, and think about your own motivation in making purchases. Apply your knowledge to your online marketing. Plan your work and work your plan. Ultimately, you have to make your own decisions.
Our Klixxx Innovator, Susanna, hails from Canada and operates Thunder Entertainment Network. She and her staff are involved in many projects on the Web, and she is the founder of Adult-Temp-Staff.com and Couples-Sex.com. Susanna searches for the unusual opportunities in the adult entertainment arena, and always takes the unique approach.
|
Printer
Friendly Version