From Vegas 2000 to Adult Mega Cash: One Webmaster's Story of Success
Interview by Kath Blackwell
Meet John (JohnAMC) Denman - an entrepreneur with a dream - not unlike any other. He first read about the adult industry by reading a feature article in NEWSWEEK, about porn on the Internet and the revenue it was producing. He was really just looking for a "side business" that would bring in some extra cash - something that didn't require too much work. But after he attended the 2000 Internext in Las Vegas he was, in his own words, "totally blown away."
"I was so overwhelmed that I didn't learn a damn thing," he laughs, remembering his first exposure to the industry. "But I met some great people, and contacts I would eventually learn from, and could call on over the years."
Networking is one of the chief ingredients needed to build a successful business on the 'Net. Getting out to industry events, conferences, conventions and expos is the best way to make these essential contacts, but for those who can't afford the travel and expense of attending one of these events, making contact on message boards, in chat rooms and with local webmasters is also helpful.
So - how did it work out for John? Did he find that side-business income that he was looking for? Was he able to make "money for nothing" with little to no effort?
John agrees that this first assessment was incorrect as well - it's hard to judge a book, or an industry, at first glance. "The one thing I have learned is that this business is not easy. At the Vegas 2000 show I picked up a bunch of literature - and by the way, also the premier issue of Klixxx Magazine. In that issue they had an article on webmastering and I was hooked - but [I had] a lot of questions."
Many webmasters get started thinking of this as a good weekend job - a way to make "beer money" some say, but others have a drive, determination - a "vision" if you will - and take it a step further. Fortunately John was not daunted by his early experiences, and became motivated to push forward.
"My first experience with a Web site was the most humbling event," he grins. "Great site - five hits a day - and with a webmaster that was ripping me off. Wow - I thought to myself - was this the business I wanted to be in? I came to this business from a government job. A 'be innovative, do-the-research, get-the-job-done-but-don't-be-flashy' kind of job. But as with most jobs, I had a boss. Enough said." Becoming his own boss - and playing by his own rules - was just the inspiration that he needed to work harder, work smarter and reach for the stars.
Through hard-work, lots of self-education of industry ins and outs - and by drawing upon his own past experiences - John began working in Operations for Adult Mega Cash just two years ago. Adult Mega Cash (www.adultmegacash.com) is an affiliate program, that works hard to give their webmasters every possible tool and sales aid to help webmasters sell their top-notch line-up of adult sites. According to John, "If we don't have it and a webmaster request makes sense to us - we'll create it, program it and add it to our line-up in short order." Now that's good business! And John agrees: "That is one of the things I like best about being with Adult Mega Cash."
A good, solid, trustworthy company needs more than good tools and sites. They also need to give webmasters helpful statistics that show more than just daily sign-ups - and today's webmaster has come to expect even more from their affiliate partners. "Our stats are also accurate and incredibly detailed," explains John. "We count first page hits - not second page hits like most companies, so your 'traffic out stats' and 'traffic received stats' will match."
Variety, the ability to personalize an account, a link, or a tour is also important to many webmasters. "You can make your own tour and link direct to our join pages [at Adult Mega Cash]. We pay on all AMC exits and credit card, check and dialer sales. We have merchant accounts as well as accounts with most major third-party processors, which is where our cascading processing makes you much more money."
Cascading processing is one of the hot "buzz words" of the industry at the moment, especially as webmasters are still struggling to meet new Visa standards, requirements and regulations. Having alternative ways of processing - of ultimately getting that surfer sale - has become an important quest of today's Internet business owner.
So what is cascading processing? How does it work and how does it benefit both surfer and webmaster? John explains, "It's the process where a surfer is sent to a credit card company to join. If their card is declined, the cascading processing system automatically transfers the surfer to the second - and if necessary - third or even fourth back-up processor. In the event that they are denied on all those attempts, they are given an option to join via check, phone or dialer. In other words, Adult Mega Cash is doing all we can to convert the surfer, so he gets in and our webmasters make more money."
And when you consider that AMC has always made disclosure, and paid higher fees for their merchant accounts, John is hopeful that this is a positive move by Visa. He is also hoping that the new regulations will be a tracking mechanism designed to weed out "the few bad webmasters that are left that still slam cards and give this industry a bad name." But John also says "only time will tell" whether or not there is a more sinister reason for the new regulations as others in the industry have suggested.
Part 2: Learning More About Adult Mega Cash
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