Everybody's Going Gay
by Lee "European Lee" Windsor, www.gaywidewebmasters.com
 The past
few months in the online adult industry have seen some rather dramatic
changes happen. From Visa charging additional fees to accept their
credit cards online, Paypal no longer processing adult - and several
large companies going out of business. However, one thing that also
seems to be changing for the better is the amount of webmasters looking
at new niches to promote. Surprisingly, the one niche that many webmasters
are looking at is that of the gay niche.
WHERE THE MONEY'S AT...
For years, the adult webmaster community has been split amongst themselves,
those that are only focused on straight niches and, those that focus
on gay niches however. As of late, more and more of those webmasters
from the first group are looking to make additional income from the
gay niche. With this inevitable surge in gay adult sites coming online,
there are bound to be some knock-on effects, and those webmasters
just starting to look at the gay niche, will return to what they know.
However, for most, I think this is going to be a fruitful encounter
with one of the industry less socially accepted markets. Many of the
webmasters who have been concentrating solely on the straight market
for their income are going to realize just how much money they have
been losing out on for all these years. And with this realization,
comes its own set of problems for the industry as a whole.
THE GAY NICHE...
Whether you are a straight webmaster or a gay webmaster the one thing
that will become apparent is that your sites are going to reflect
you in both, how they look, the marketing techniques you use. More
importantly, the attitude you have towards your gay surfers will in
fact show through. Many of the straight webmasters whom perhaps are
not as tolerant towards this niche almost certainly fail before they
can really get going. Marketing gay adult sites is far different than
marketing straight adult sites. You have to know the surfer, understand
what they want and, more importantly, know the terminology in the
gay market. Many times a post can be seen on various message boards
belittling those webmasters who are openly gay - often accompanied
by terms such as 'fag', 'queer', 'homo', etc along with images being
posted that, quite frankly, would turn most people's stomach.
The gay niche is much more than just a single online market, it is
a whole lifestyle unto itself. While this lifestyle is affluent (having
an abundance of readily available money to spend) it will take a lot
of work and perseverance to ensure you get your share of this market.
STARTING POINTS...
As I mentioned above, the main thing many webmasters are going to
have to learn are the terms of the gay market, what is a twink? A
bear? A cub? What products work well on gay sites? Despite what most
people think, you can't just throw up some banners with naked men
on them and turn a profit. Match your content to a niche and then,
match your advertising to your content, what use is it having bears
on a site if, the paysite you are promoting features Teens 'n' Twinks?
Similarly, your text links, 'Click Here For Hot Gay Action' might
get you a few clicks but, by targeting your surfers even more, you
will see how some of the gay niches can really turn a profit. The
trick is this, get the surfer to your site and actually give them
something that you think will suit their desires. This may mean making
a 10% commission on a sex toy sale as oppose to a $35 commission on
a pay site membership. And so be it - those 10%'ers start to add up
after a few sales.
IN SUMMARY...
The gay niche will make you money however; to make money you will
need to invest something that perhaps isn't for everyone - a lot of
time and understanding. Marketing the gay niche isn't for everyone,
we have seen this too many times. However for those who are, spending
time adding a gay market portfolio to their straight one, with a little
time increase your overall income significantly.
Lee Windsor, representing www.gaywidewebmasters.com
in this article is a "Jack of All Trades" in the adult webmaster community
- and master of many! His work with various industry resources on
multiple levels, his articles that gear toward educating and informing
adult webmasters about the changes and current events that affect
our industry - these are just some of the contributions he has made
to the community over the years. You can find out more about Lee by
visiting GayWideWebmasters.com.
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