Content Across Borders
By Brandon Palmer
Whether you're buying, leasing, or creating your own,
it's all about content, right?
Well, that's only half right. As we all know, it's really about how
many people are looking at your content, and one way to increase those
eyeballs is to think globally. Sure, we'd all like a piece of that
international pie, but how do we get it? Expand your content to specifically
target overseas markets.
 However,
if you choose this approach, don't jump the gun. Lisa Turner, Marketing
and Advertising Administrator at Badpuppy, has some advice for the
overly eager. "Don't rush into it. I would say it would be best to
expand once a variety of content is available for the end user. Target
the many, and results will be compounded. We learned early on," Turner
explained, "that with the huge market we were putting ourselves in
front of, we would have to further expand our content to entice more
than just twink lovers. The niche likes and dislikes of particular
types of models is what made us wake up and smell the coffee."
Increasing your content variety is fine, as long as the user base
remains solid. If you already have a strong brand, you can continue
to experiment with additional content types without alienating your
existing clients. "We began expanding with the inclusion of older,
non-smooth, hairy bear, European, leather, Asian, jock and many other
types of models," Turner said, "in addition to the twink models that
made Badpuppy so popular in the beginning. We also began to categorize
our models based on model type. This made it easier for the end user
to quickly find the model type for whom they were searching."
That ease of use is key, since one of the top customer demands is
simple and intuitive site navigation, even though they will often
cry out for more variety at the same time. "Badpuppy currently features
multiple model categories," Turner explained, "allowing us to broaden
our appeal to our target market audience, which is basically anyone
with a computer and an Internet connection who has an interest in
gay adult entertainment. This holds true no matter where the end user
is geographically located."
On the other hand, it is crucial to stay focused on your content style,
presenting a consistent high quality product to the public. Adding
every fetish in the book to your site isn't the answer. If there is
too much clutter, you're going to confuse potential customers. You
may even drive away existing subscribers, who will choose not to renew.
Mr. Jake (of www.mrbaddaddy.com)
warns against this kind of content proliferation. "You need to find
what your niche is," he said, "and focus on that. I think spreading
yourself too thin, with too many different fetishes or departments
can cause you to lose your audience. You need to focus more on whatever
your specific thing is," he continued, "and really make a statement
with it. Having a little of everything and trying to please everybody
is likely to please nobody."
Mr. Jake (who also runs www.transexual-man.com and www.saigonlee.com)
added a caution against flooding visitors with sponsor advertising.
"Those pop-ups are very invasive and annoying," he said, "It pushes
people away and they won't return to your site. Don't do it," he insisted,
"If there is good product represented, it doesn't matter whether that
comes from affiliates, or you as a manufacturer."
Once you've decided it's finally time to go global, it's important
to carefully consider which markets to target. "The Japanese prefer
bondage and fetish content, as opposed to regular straight vanilla
porn," Mr. Jake said. "They are very into rope and other forms of
bondage, and enjoy some of the more extreme offerings. The Germans
and British like that kind of kink, too." Doing as much advance research
as possible is a good idea, and that includes getting advice from
other webmasters.
Turner elaborated on her own experience with international fare. "We
have found that the majority of the German market is most receptive
to the leather, bear, bondage type of content," she said, "where other
areas in Europe are interested in the all-American type model, whether
young twink, jock or hunk. Most of our Asian members," she explained,
"attest in their member surveys that they are into the American-type
model as well. But as with anything, nothing is etched in stone."
It's important to remember that markets can change and evolve constantly,
so don't fall asleep at the wheel.
"Key factors to consider," Turner continued, "are that by limiting
your audience, you are putting limitations on the potential growth
of your business. However, I can only speak from a commercial-member-site-stand
point," she said, "as this would not necessarily hold true for resource
or informational-type Web sites." In short, it's key to stay flexible
and keep an open mind. Over time, it will become clear what content
works for your site, and in which regions that content is most popular.
To ensure that international popularity, it's important to make your
payment methods flexible as well. After all, appealing content is
no good if your customers can't find their preferred payment method
on your site. "For payments," Mr. Jake said, "it is best to have as
many options as possible. Credit cards, Pay Pal, money orders; and
they like to use wire transfer, too." Remember, maximizing options
will increase potential subscriptions.
Turner agreed, but she doesn't stop there. "We also have added additional
means of subscribing to badpuppy.com, which our foreign friends find
helpful," she explained. "In our case we track a user by IP address
the minute they hit the front page. From there," she continued, "we
control what they see and what means of subscribing is presented to
them by default. If it's an IP for US/ Canada we present to them our
traditional merchant account and order process. If the user has a
foreign IP," Turner said, "we present to them our traditional options,
as well as alternative processors, offering choices which coincide
with their particular regions."
However, being familiar with overseas markets doesn't just involve
knowing what content will work in which region, while offering all
sorts of payment options. It's important to make sure your business
is covered legally before expanding into any unfamiliar territory.
Protecting your investment in time and money is crucial, and if you
feel the need to pay a reputable lawyer to provide additional counsel,
then do so. It will be well worth the investment in the long run.
So if you find success with overseas markets, is it a good idea to
build a site which focuses exclusively on those foreign regions? Turner
said she would shy away from that approach. "This holds true especially
if a site is of the commercial nature, and depends on memberships
or products to be purchased to support their presence on the Internet."
Mr. Jake has similar feelings, stating, "While it is called the World
Wide Web, Americans, for example, have a better grasp of what other
Americans prefer. It can be harder to determine what foreign tastes
are like."
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