10 Things You Need to Know About: Message boards - by Derek "Dwreck" Smout of WebCamCash.com
This month, I wanted to give everyone from the newbie to the seasoned board poster 10 tips to maximize your time spent on forums.

Industry Insight: The Road Less Traveled - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
Have you ever wondered if the business road you are traveling is the right one and, if so, how fast do you walk on it? Or even run? Is it so fast that burn out might ensue much faster than if you walked another path?

Industry Insight: The Most Valuable Asset - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
In the industry we think the most valuable assets are content, or traffic or building more and more. Perhaps your most valuable asset is a great team behind you. Maybe even the money you make and can buy things with it is the most valuable. Even saving for the future or family is of course important.

Industry Insight: Where do you show up in life? - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
I thought I would show up and discuss a double edge sword topic: Industry Shows. For the years I have been in the online adult business, the amount of shows per year average was 5-6; perhaps 7-8 including the international shows. This does not include the offline adult shows, the mainstream affiliate shows or the retail adult shows.

Industry Insight: See You Soon - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
How good is your vision? Can you see from afar? Up close? Peripheral? Do you have eyes in the back of your head? If you answered yes to these questions, then you are in good shape when it comes to working in the industry. But alas, is what you see what really is? Or is it perception?

Industry Insight: The Real Politics in Porn - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
This is not about the year of Barack and Hillary. It's not about the legal issues swirling around adult which is a continuous battle. This is about the politics on the inside of our world. Inside the industry there is an undercurrent that has developed in this New Year. Being in the trenches, I catch the waves of cycle and which direction things are going in.

Industry Insight: The Art of Listening - by Lori Z., The Adult Broker
You would think that listening is a natural thing, something you do without thinking about it. But, how wrong we are. Many people will hear what is being said but will not be listening because they may be: Thinking about their response and formulating what they will be saying next, Tune out because they are bored or don't care, They might be better than you or They are dumb and don't see an opportunity in front of them...

Rick's Rants: A Contrarian's View on Markets
Here's a contrary viewpoint for you, drop the niche and go for the massive markets. We build sites in English. We make sure we can process credit cards. So why is it that we sometimes think of building the next great reality site that involves a pizza man, girls with bags over their heads, and three Asian midgets blowing balloons?...

Rick's Rants: Dollars.com is Live!
The task has taken much longer, and been much more difficult, than any of the people involved could have imagined at the time we set out to create a totally new, original concept in commission-based advertising. But, today, I'm thrilled to invite the entire adult webmaster community to join Dollars.com, and learn for themselves how RPM technology and unprecedented statistical analysis can help monetize your traffic...

Rick's Rants: Domain Names
Most people I know either don't care about domains, don't understand their value, or they are absolute evangelists and put never-ending faith in their long-term potential. There is little middle ground. I'd like to talk this month about domains, and I feel I'm qualified since I've bought and sold domains over the years and done millions of dollars in domain related transactions. How important is it really to have a good domain?...

Rick's Rants: Amateur Hour is Over
I certainly never intended on getting into the adult industry, and I doubt many of the Klixxx Magazine readers did either. The truth is that only 50,000 or so people would consider this industry at all. Most of the world's inhabitants avoid this business purely on moral grounds, while the rest of the hypocrites purchase our products but don't want anyone to know, because they don't want their neighbors thinking they are immoral. My rough-guess-estimate is that only 30,000 out of 6 billion people on Earth work in the "online adult industry" full-time, with another 100,000 or so part-timers...

Rick's Rants: Scammers, Cheaters and Criminals
One needs a high standard of ethics to succeed in the adult Internet industry, but you can check your morals at the door when you come in. Morals have no place in our industry. Morals won't help my site visitors whack off, laugh and watch things die on a site like Consumption Junction, so why bother with them? However, if I think you are a scammer, cheater or a criminal you won't be getting my business. Recently, I've become fed up with scumware promoters, so I decided to write my rant this month on this issue to raise awareness in the adult community...

Are You in the Circle?
Before I got into the adult business, I was already in the Internet business. Like many others, I had always been told that a handful of players controlled a majority of the market for selling adult products online, and that breaking into that group was an insurmountable task... I now know that is neither true nor necessary, but that doesn't mean there aren't manipulative groups, keeping each other in power and privileged to information, resources and deal-making opportunities...

Competitive Advantage
The adult Internet industry is a competitive market and you need an advantage to get ahead. There are many things that you can do to create an advantage, and it's more than possible that you may have some of these qualities already. Your only real goal should be to exploit those advantages. This month I'm going to sound a bit more "spammy" than normal because I have to use my own companies as case examples in order to get my points across. Let's take a look at some of the competitive advantages you can utilize to make an impact on your business plan...

Chargebacks
You don't have to be unethical to have chargeback problems. Sparse content and aggressive marketing methods are only two potential causes of chargebacks. The bottom line is that any program doing significant joins has to deal with the issue. There are a number of factors that can cause you to go above the 1% chargeback ratio allowed by Visa, including natural attrition, your members' area, webmaster fraud, support issues, cross sells and your price point to consumers. If you want to stay below the 1% mark, you'll need to deal with every one of these points...

That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger - by RAVEN
In reviewing the past year, I have seen webmasters and programs struggling to make sense of the Internet's new growth patterns. It seems we are being attacked from all sides. In truth, we are not. The industry as we knew it is changing. While growth is painful, it is necessary. In order to embrace the future, we have to reflect upon past events...

December 2004 Industry Update - by Traffic Dude
Happy holidays to all industry colleagues worldwide! No matter what overall industry and profit margins look like as 2004 comes to a close, this is a time to reflect on what is important outside of your balance sheet, to take stock of whom and what is going on around us and to feel good that we made it through another year...

Time Management - by TDavid
My initial response to the opportunity to write this guest editorial: What an honor, Thank you, but unfortunately I'm too busy at the moment. It quickly occurred to me that by rejecting this offer I'd be providing an example of poor time management. Really, a webmaster who loves writing, not making time to write an editorial for an industry magazine? The reality is that we can always find time to do something that is important...

Harvesting a Season of Profits - by Cyndalie
The trends of the marketplace are telltale signs of the state of the economy and the competition for attention this election season may be tough. We are on the cusp of change. Blogs are the rage and photoblogs are making obscene gestures at the traditional TGP. Search companies are getting fierce with Amazon's A9.com capitalizing on Google's successful technology amongst others, and numerous new PPC and meta engines cluttering and slicing up Search market share...

Business as Usual? - by JoeD
As a global online adult industry resource, Klixxx covers the entire continuum of e-commerce, written primarily for the webmaster, but including all those engaged in some enterprise with webmaster affiliates. As an educational resource, it is our monthly endeavor to anticipate industry needs and to present the most timely, relevant predictions, data, news, and recommendations to our online industry readers...

And We Dance... - by JoeD
As we hurl along inevitably toward the November election, the media will be overwhelming us with a barrage of conflicting stories, attitudes, rumor and innuendo. Not so different from our own industry boards, as the legal and financial threats to revenues are discussed in new threads around the clock. Predictions of where the DOJ will pounce first - the best odds now appear to be on TGPs, with new concerns arising on the 2257 front, as the Attorney General seems poised to make an end run around the obscenity laws...

The Future is Bright! - by Cyndalie Ashlock
Over the past six years I have watched the adult Internet industry flourish with exponential growth similar to the days of the Wild Wild West, where webmasters of all skill levels found opportunity and success, and money was ours for the making. I have also watched as our industry has consolidated, with profits harder to mine from the depths of the Web - again, for both industry veterans and newbies alike...

Seasons in the Sun - by Kath Blackwell
So much has changed within the adult online industry in the past few years - it's almost as if we switched into hyper-drive without realizing it. Some changes affect us in obvious ways, but some are so small and so subtle that only by reflecting on how far we've come are we able to notice that they even occurred at all. Old problems still resurface in cycles, but new concerns have been raised leaving veterans and newbies alike scrambling to make the changes in their business structures necessary to meet the evolving challenges...

Marketing for Success - by Amparo Alcarez, Epoch Systems
We all know that Marketing is usually the key to the success of any business. How you choose to market your website is essential. There are many free features offered by processors to aid in the success of marketing to your customers. Three years ago, Epoch developed several innovative, dynamic marketing tools for webmasters. These new features helped revolutionize the way e-business was done, increasing revenue, and inducing other processors to follow suit by offering their own, similar, tools...

Western Star - by Ron Cadwell, CCBill.com
Since we volunteered to manage the Phoenix Forum in 2001, attendance has grown exponentially. Created for webmasters, The Phoenix Forum has remained true to its original grass roots focus. It fulfills this goal by providing an annual gathering where everyone participates. The Forum has achieved success for those involved by providing valuable networking, accessibility, and information. Success has been spurred by keeping it free for webmasters, including those new to the industry...

Use Content - by Rick Latona, CJBucks.com
Use content to acquire and retain traffic on your site. It has been said that "Content is King." I agree - content is king, but traffic is GOD, and even the king must serve a higher authority. As an operator of an adult paysite, you can utilize your content in many ways to acquire new traffic, and more importantly, keep the users coming back. If you aren't using processing tricks to get people to join your site, it's important to actually sell them on what they'll get inside...

Risk Management? Huh? - by Daniel Hicks, EzyGo.com
I wonder in amazement at how our industry seems to be sitting idly by, as the world around us considers how to crush and destroy many aspects of our businesses. Numerous companies, the likes of WebSiteBilling, BabeNet and PSWBilling, shut down shop with little or no notice. Then we start to hear rumors that the chargeback ratios may be dropping even lower in 2004, whilst at the same time Web savvy consumers know they can charge back a paltry $2.95 credit card trial, and get a free fix of adult content any time they like...

2003 - As We Remember It - by Jim & Greenguy, GreenguyandJim.com
As 2003 comes to an end and 2004 begins, we all have a tendency to look back on what happened in our online lives over the past twelve months. Highlights of the year included the end of Free Trials for many processors, subsequently reinstated by some of the better programs. There are fewer free trials as we enter 2004, and we feel sooner or later they will all be gone - which is a shame, as they were a very easy way to sell a surfer on a membership to a paysite...

Maturation Brings Responsibility - by JoeD, Klixxx Magazine Editor
Some things are just too important to leave to anyone else. Your company image is in your hands. Everything you say and do professionally, contributes to the branding and image you create for yourself and your business. What do industry leaders think about you and your company, and how does it influence their business decisions?..

Sounding Boards: Embrace Self-Regulation - by Danny Collins
From Adult Webmaster Gold to YNOT Masters, the call to action is unmistakable... but who will heed the call? A feeling of change is in the air. It's subtle, but if you pay close enough attention, you can feel it. Webmasters are becoming far more concerned with their futures. Many of our industry's get-rich-quickers have moved on to new scams, and the under-dedicated have been weeded out. Part-timers still exist, but in smaller, less vocal numbers. Most of the dishonest and unethical webmasters have been outed and eliminated...

News from The Edge (Post 911 Commentary)
by Judson Rosebush, GoEdge.com
Happy New Year and the best from all of us at Edge. Needless to say the year just ended has been difficult for many. Before the attacks we had begun to see an up-tick in business, and subsequent to them business has continued to firm up. The dot-com fiasco wiped out a lot of hyped business--from Wall Street operations worth billions to domain-name speculation. These losses percolate into our retail base and have made the customers more discriminating...

United We Stand: It's Time to De-Segregate the Industry
by Kath Blackwell
The worst thing to ever happen to the adult Internet industry was the message board boom. Never before was it more apparent that we are existing in an industry rife with cliques and clubs - hip crowds and wannabees. But is that any way to do business? Sure, say some webmasters. The boards still have their value - you just need to dig through the chatter and clutter to get to the real substance...

Tap into the Community - by YNOTMasters.com
Discussing and debating what's "best" for the adult industry is a time-honored adult webmaster activity. Some people argue that the industry needs to "clean up" and "self regulate" to avoid unwanted government scrutiny. Others claim the industry needs to stop giving out so much free porn if it wants to improve sales. Some suggest all webmasters should put any uncensored hardcore content behind age screens of some kind...

Unwire! - by Titmowse, CozyFrog.com
What does it mean to be wireless? Wireless means to transmit or receive a signal without a line like a phone line or television cable. A wireless device will have a receiver or a transmitter or both. That device is capable of receiving data and/or transmitting it via electromagnetic waves. Thanks to advanced technology such as satellites, we can send signals and communicate wirelessly through networks...

Attending Trade Shows - by Marc Laffer, AdultChamber.com
Most adult websites begin with an idea and a dream. When the reality hit that it would require work to make the business grow, the cheap hosting companies got lots of sites that virtually get no traffic and few updates. Then, there are the successful sites that turn data into income. It's not magic to have a successful adult online business, but it is work...

How to Do Things With Words - by Webmaster Vault
This article is about words and, more specifically, the right time, place, and context to use certain words. This article is also about when not to use certain words within certain contexts and demographics. If you're a webmaster using any amount or degree of wording anywhere on your site-which includes everyone-then it's time to do your homework and figure out if you're targeting the right audience with the right words at the right time...

The Adult Webmaster Metamorphosis - by YNOTMasters
So why did you get involved with the adult entertainment business? Sure, there's money to be made, but you can make money selling dental floss too... The internet makes it possible for almost anyone to compete with Larry Flynt and Hugh Hefner - not that either man is likely to sweat your arrival. But in a few years, who knows? You could be bigger than Steven Tyler's lips. And it doesn't cost a small fortune to publish an adult website. The frugal new webmaster can get started for less than fifty bucks. Anyone can get in on the game...

Is Porn Becoming a Young Adult's Playground? - by Rated Hot
During the birth of the adult Internet industry the prime players developing programs were young, educated technical wizards. Although there were a few salty aged business gurus, the overwhelming majority appeared to have youth on their side. Ten years down the road those experienced pioneers are a decade older and millions richer, yet there seems to be a vast network of young entrepreneurs breaking into the adult sector daily...

An Open Letter to the Adult Internet Industry
Acacia's business model is to acquire patents and enforce them through any means - especially with expensive litigation - to generate license fees. Patent litigation is among the most expensive types of lawsuits that companies or individuals can enter into. Attorneys who specialize in patent law charge upwards of $400-$600 per hour. Over the past two years, some companies in our industry have settled with Acacia because they thought it was less expensive than litigating. Those settlements helped make Acacia more confident and strengthened their resolve...

Third Parties Span the Bridge: As Adult Adopts Mainstream Practices -
with Johnny V
Obviously the "wild west" days of the early 'Net are gone, but the era of "corporate smut" is not yet here either. Too many adult companies are struggling in that place between scrappy start-up and corporate professionalism. Some may have a receptionist and a nice lobby, but many industry entities are still just guys working from their basements and garages. And, even with a new office and a fresh coat of paint, it is difficult to get the rest of the business to where it needs to be to compete in today's marketplace. More and more companies are finding that they can't maximize their profits...

Equal Time - by Spike Goldberg
I have put my faith in the judicial process, and believe that ultimately, the court will agree with the position my company has taken. At the outset, I must draw some contrast between Berman's comments and my own. Unlike Berman, I am not an attorney. I am just a small business owner who has been sued by Acacia. Unlike Acacia, my business has a product and provides a service. Unlike Acacia, my company's business model is predicated on serving our customers, not threatening patent infringement lawsuits in the hope that the recipient of those threats will pay rather than fight...

Trade Show - Can You Afford NOT to Go?
Adult industry trade fairs seem to be proliferating lately. There are many available-each with its particular purpose, characteristics and advantages/disadvantages depending on what you mean to get out of it. As trade shows of all types and sizes are making there debuts or exits-each year there are still more and more. This makes selection harder than ever...

The Sixty-Four Arts - by Josielyn Chase
The Kama Sutra, the classical Indian treatise on the Art of Love, enumerates the Sixty-four Arts. The text advises these arts should be studied along with the Kama Sutra, under the guidance of a teacher. Got that? The Indian treatises on love suggest that both men and women should be well versed in as many of the Sixty-four Arts as possible. There are three reasons as to why these arts should be studied and they are outlined in the texts...

LightSpeedCash.com Weekend! - by Jason Tucker
The phone rings, "Hey its Lightspeed and I would like to personally invite you to our adventure weekend as a thank you." Awesome I thought, note to self, pack Tylenol and start sleeping now. The activity menu included all a child hiding in a grownup's body could ask for. In reality it was more, and included stunt plane flights, go-kart racing, arcade games, paintball wars, a miniature golf tournament, spa treatments and hanging out with the Lightspeed Girls...

Fiji's Heavenly Safe Havens - by Ed Rampell
In this age of high anxiety, vacationers seeking secure overseas destinations can visit Fiji's heavenly safe havens. A British colony until 1970, English is spoken in Fiji, a South Pacific nation across the International Dateline, 10-hours' flight from L.A., where dollars still go far. With 330 islands, Fiji is Oceania's most multi-ethnic country, with Melanesians, Polynesians, Hindu and Muslim Indians. I felt no anti-Americanism and protected at privately-patrolled isle enclaves. During Fiji's three coups since 1987, most events occurred on the southeastern coast of Viti Levu, the main island, in Suva, the capital. Tourists, I was reassured, were unmolested...