Let’s Talk Browsers
I was just reminded of something today – sometimes I just hate IE (that’s Internet Explorer, in case you didn’t know). Why? I’ll tell you. Because although Firefox and Chrome display pages we code one way, often IE decides to handle it differently, which means making something work in all 3 browsers often means extra work, frustration and annoyance. And that’s why most webmasters use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. No weirdness, no problems, everything does just what it’s supposed to. I like that in a browser 
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Security and Your Passwords
I’m always surprised when I talk to a webmaster who uses the same password for many of his/her sponsors or several different FTP accounts – or even one for absolutely everything. It’s definitely NOT a good idea to use the same logins for multiples of anything. I learned this in real-life, but I was lucky. We were using the same password for a large number of sponsors early in 1997 when we didn’t receive a check from one of them at the time it usually arrived. I logged into my account at that sponsor and discovered something – someone had changed all our info. There was a different name, but the address wasn’t even real – someone had gone through the trouble of changing it all just to make mischief. But more serious things can happen, too. Read the rest of this entry »
Updates – How Many is Enough?
Updates can make a big difference in how many returning surfers your site gets, whether it’s a blog, a TGP or a paysite. An interesting blog with a lot to offer that updates once a month isn’t going to have as many bookmarkers as one that updates daily, and a paysite that updates twice a month probably won’t have as many rebills as one that updates twice a week. That being said, there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to updates, too. And that’s where testing – or going with the flow – comes in. Read the rest of this entry »
PPS vs Revshare
How can one make more money – promoting pay per sale or revshare? I can’t even think of how often I’ve seen this subject on webmaster boards. Someone asks whether the other webmasters make more money promoting sites via PPS or revshare. The answer is sort of a mixed bag because the bottom line is that not all revshare sites recur very well, and others don’t charge enough so that even with an average of 3 month retention, you still wouldn’t make as much as with PPS. And as you might expect, there’s more to this than simply measuring rebills. Read the rest of this entry »
The “Choosing a Niche” Quiz
For those of us who work as affiliates in the adult webmaster world, choosing the right niche can be annoying, and choosing the wrong ones can not only mean you make less money – it can also be frustrating as hell as you keep trying to make it work. I’ve already written about this here, but sometimes a different approach can help. So let’s break it down to an easy-to-use quiz. Please note: this is not really for paysite owners or those with premium AVS sites, although you’re welcome to give it a shot. Ready? Let’s get started! Read the rest of this entry »
Understanding Your Niche
Something I’ve noticed for over a decade is that there are a lot of sites out there that don’t seem to really fit their own niche. I first noticed this at some older women sites years ago that referred to their performers as wrinkled, hags and things of this kind, as well as calling well put-together 35 year olds grannies. I’m not sure why people who obviously didn’t understand what their surfers were looking for or appreciate older women would create a mature site – I suspect someone told them “hey, older women sell!” and they went from there. I also see this a lot with twink sites, where the performers are jocks or are hairy or even on the far side of 30. Heck, once in a while, I see twinks who seem to be balding *LOL* Read the rest of this entry »
Webmaster Boards
Some webmasters I’ve talked to recently think webmaster boards are a waste of time unless you have a product to market. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that those webmasters often go to conventions – and tend to hook up deals and hosting that doesn’t match their needs. In reality they are some of the people who should be on webmaster boards. Why? That’s where the information is!
When it comes to getting feedback and suggestions on hosts, designers or programs, marketing affiliate programs, design and other webmaster services and just hanging out with a group of people who “get” what you do, you can’t beat adult webmaster boards. When you need a program to make thumbnail galleries or one to batch watermark your videos, you can get suggestions and useful info. Whether you’re a freelancer looking for jobs or a program owner hoping to hire a rep, boards are the easiest and best place to find what you’re looking for.
But wait – there’s more! Read the rest of this entry »
Accuracy Pays!
How much do you believe of what is said or shown on a paysite tour, or is indicated by the site name? A lot of sites claim DVD-quality or HD videos that surely doesn’t have them, but if you look at descriptions on websites, it seems that the webmasters believe. I’ve seen webmasters describing sites with a title that doesn’t match the content as if it did – for example, how many sites have you seen claiming their models are amateurs, when half of them are well-known pornstars?
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Why Not to Innovate for Innovation’s Sake
I was reading yet another post today about innovation. A webmaster said that innovation was risky but that it yields the biggest returns. It’s an interesting thought, and one I’ve read many times before. The thing is that while sometimes something new can lead to amazing success, many webmasters I know don’t innovate because they have a great idea that would work great for a site or for THEIR site – they innovate as mental masturbation.
Take tour design, for example. Read the rest of this entry »
Testing a New Paysite Tour
Pretty much everyone you talk to will agree that you should test a paysite tour before you launch it for your affiliates. The funny thing is how few actually do that. Some don’t test because they don’t actually generate any of their own traffic, but many want to use their affiliates’ traffic to test the tour. And in fact, many I’ve talked to are lazy and hope the tour will be so great that they won’t need to do any tweaking.
The thing is that in real life, tours almost always do need tweaking. No matter how purty, how long they were considered, how expensive the designer who made your tour, chances are your tour WILL need some changes to make it sell the best it can. Read the rest of this entry »