Are You Content with Your Content?
By Susanna Strandberg
 The
adult world revolves around good content. Quality content is necessary
for retention of members. There are many quality providers and the
availability of good content is on the rise. The content market is
getting quite competitive. The providers must learn how to market
their content to the webmaster. Webmasters are looking for skilled
salesmen/women and are impressed by a content provider that makes
the purchase of content easy- and professional.
Content providers need to start watching the industry trends, and
they need to ask more questions of their customers. Right now there
is a trend towards not providing the freeloading surfer with hardcore.
This was always a smart marketing plan but seemed to have gotten lost
along the way. Now webmasters are looking for content that teases
and tempts, yet stays soft core. This is an example of the industry
changes that content providers must be aware of. The first provider
to offer smaller sets of soft core with an option to also purchase
the large set, including the hardcore pictures, is going to grab a
lot of sales.
A suggestion might be to shrink the size of all of the sets. Even
pay sites would rather put up five sets of 100, all of different models/couples,
than put up one set of 500 pictures. Miniscule movements of a hand
or penis are just not good enough to warrant inclusion in a set of
photos. The webmaster must go through the pictures one by one and
pick out every second or third picture. The first content provider
that figures out he can sell in short, or long sets, is going to make
bucks.
We are seeing an upsurge in pay site content management systems whereby
you put pictures in a central file and the system updates X number
of pay sites automatically. The idea behind this is that you could
actually never touch the pictures if you have a trusted content provider.
The provider could and should offer to instantly upload images to
their clients central file location and then e-mail the client that
the content is there. Then the content management system is run, and
instant updates occur on numerous pay sites. Nothing sounds easier
or more cost and time efficient to a pay site owner.
Do not sell content that is numbered out of sequence or you risk losing
many customers. It is very time consuming for webmasters to renumber
picture sets in order. As well, put up contact sheets and allow webmasters
to preview all the thumbs before purchase. There are quality content
providers that put up all thumbs and a few large samples. This is
enough to see the quality and the actual content of the scenes.
Give us more action. Surfers are looking for something on the unusual
side. This is the sticky content webmasters look for. I hand pick
my content based on its appeal to me. My favorite provider uses the
same models for a number of shoots but he mixes and matches them together,
and in addition, he changes the scenery and props. I think its actually
interesting to my members to see the same models in different sets.
These are not porn stars, just amateur models.
The kinds of scenes I want range from romance to bondage. I want solo,
lesbian, gay and couples pictures. Why are there only a very few providers
who seem to use one set of models for every possible mixture? It seems
easy to me to plan to use two girls and two guys, and to mix and match
them till you have every possible scene. Bisexual male sites are on
the rise, so now you have six different mixes and then the matches.
Sell me your wares! Don't make me come to you, offer to come to me.
I think most everyone that gets into adult business on the 'Net is
warned early on, about spamming. Remember opt-in spam. I may want
you to tell me what you have for sale. I am looking for content providers
that will ask me what I want, and to e-mail me when he has it. Be
aggressive and show me a sample. E-mails are perfect. Put one thumb
of each set in the mail, and a bit about the set. These e-mails get
my content dollars.
If you want to impress a webmaster, allow instant access to view the
pictures that are for sale, and download within 12 to 24 hours. Remember
the unusual content, such as picture stories, or scenes that are harder
to find, such as elevator sex or micro niches, etc. Allow webmasters
to use content in any way they wish, for graphics, on unlimited domains,
and even for free content for partners. How about offering individual
photos for sale? I know designers who will pay a bit more for a few
quality images, and appreciate not having to buy an entire set.
One very interesting idea is to leave my purchased content available,
online, for me to download as many times as I need it. Sometimes you
loose a set, or it is somehow ruined, and it is convenient to be able
to go download it again. Let me log into my account, see everything
I have already purchased, and then download as necessary. It also
keeps me from trying to purchase something I already own!
Keeping up with the industry also means keeping up with the hot products.
There is a shortage of quality videos available; therefore, they remain
expensive. I want to preview the videos, too. I have recently spent
a fair buck only to discover that the videos were taken during a photo
shoot. I could hear the photographer say things like "give us the
peace sign honey." Niche, Niche and Niche and remember that 4women
content is no longer a micro-niche. Now we see a huge demand for 4women
plug-ins and upsells, and there are not any to be found.
I think its important for the content providers to realize there is
a shift in preference to voyeuristic content. Surfers want to feel
that they are looking in on real action, and having amateur models
with real bodies is a great start. I think its time to realize that
porn stars and fake "basketball" titties are actually niches. It's
also time to stop having your female model look directly at the camera
for every single picture. Even when she is deep-throating she still
stares at the camera. I think its safe to say she could be looking
elsewhere instead, and 500 pictures of her looking with big eyes at
Joe Surfer is not any more sexy than Joe Surfer feeling like he is
peeking in on his neighbor and his wife!
Show passion, romance, foreplay and afterplay. This is probably the
hardest thing to do because it requires real actors or real couples.
I think that's why quality videos are not coming full force onto the
'Net. I am waiting for the adult video producers to come up with an
imaginative way to entertain my members, and sell them videos too.
I see an upsell there.
Content providers have come a long way. Some of their sites are state-of-the-art
and it is probably a bit daunting to a new content provider to see
these sites. In fact it is not the bells and whistles alone that will
make a sale, it is the entire sales pitch. Webmasters must also be
sold on your content- so they can sell the surfer. Tell me why I should
buy your pictures or videos, or why I need your content plug-in. Make
things easy for me, and become one of my long-term business partners.
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.
Write her with questions and commentary at: insider@klixxx.com.
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