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Is There Really a Summer Slowdown?
By Kath Blackwell
A lot of webmasters swear that when the temperatures go up, the hits go down. Some say that's a webmaster myth, an urban legend, if you will. Like anything else in the adult Internet industry, these experiences are different for each and every webmaster out there. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with some industry veterans who have weathered summers and holiday seasons in the past, and ask them what they thought about the notorious "summer slump." I was surprised at some of the answers, but was able to gain some valuable insight into how these great gurus think.
TAKING A POSITIVE APPROACH
Some webmasters think positively during this time of the year. If they do experience slow downs, they take the free time to concentrate their efforts on new projects for the fall season, or to fine tune their programs and test out new ideas. A few webmasters actually welcome the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere, because they can concentrate their efforts on the countries that are experiencing a cooler climate at that time, and can expand their opportunities and horizons. Think globally. There are lots of things to do during a slower season. Just sitting around and complaining about it won't get you anywhere.
Of course one of the most popular traffic gurus of all time is the Great Green Dude - otherwise known as The Greenguy, of Link-o-Rama.com. I asked him what he thought about summer slowdowns, and if he'd ever experienced any major traffic dips during the hot months.
"To be honest," explained Greenguy, "I have never experienced a summer slow down, a Christmas slow down, or any other kinds of slow downs." Even though he has not really seen any traffic decreases himself, he actually encourages his surfers to get offline & go outside to enjoy the sun. His good-natured attitude and friendliness toward his surfers has paid off over the years, earning him one of the highest daily traffic counts in the industry.
TAKE LEMONS & MAKE LEMONADE!
Another approach at slower seasons is to have fun with the time of year and make a theme of it. Rowdy, Advisor and chief newbie guru over at Adult NetSurprise's Newbie Care Center (www.adultnetsurprise.com) takes this approach to heart, and capitalizes on it in lots of new ways.
"One line of thinking is to relate your sites to what your surfer might be more interested in during this time." Rowdy explains, "One example is a swimsuit theme site. Considering that the surfers are more likely to be seeing this during the summer months, it follows that they might be looking for the same thing in adult entertainment when they start surfing." With the new concerns over hardcore vs. soft-core issues, under debate as of late, a nice soft-core swimsuit site might be just what you need to add a little diversity to your site portfolio.
Rowdy is just full of summer themed ideas. He says, "The same reasoning applies to a mini-shorts type site, and so on. Attempting to mix in a bit of reality, with surfers' fantasies - keeping in mind the season - can sometimes produce some very nice results."
Some other ideas to try out, are short skirts, beach themes, poolside themes, outdoors-ish settings, wet t-shirts, car washing content, picnic settings and other summery ideas. Don't forget the summer holidays, like the 4th of July! Get out some shots of models wearing red, white and blue - or maybe even something holiday-specific with an American flag, fireworks or other holiday items. Get creative! This is an awesome opportunity to try out some new ideas and see what works. If your surfers are surfing for something new and exciting, your site could just be the one that catches their attention and gets them into a buying mood!
THINGS CAN GET TOUGH ALL OVER
Script guru TDavid (www.tdscripts.com), mentions that summer slumps and other seasonal dips happen in many different genres on the Net. His mainstream insurance business experienced a slowdown both online and in his local office. "I don't normally notice any significant downtrend on a monthly basis, but boy I noticed it this past April, 2001."
TDavid feels that webmasters should speak out about their trends and try to prepare to avoid slow downs in the future, with the knowledge they gain from previous experiences. "I think more businesses are being quiet about this phenomenon than may want to admit it, but it sucked for us and I don't have a problem saying so. I've heard from some other folks in the industry that this year in general has not started out with the bang they'd hoped it would. The trickle down effect has already started, although it might be more subtle than some want to admit ... or have yet to fully realize."
This is the scenario that gets us all to that "sink or swim" point in our online careers. We need to decide if we're going to stay strong, work harder and persevere - or if we're just going to lie down and let this slump thing take over us. "When things get really bad," explains Tdavid, "It's time to turn on the after burners and work a whole lot harder. I think we all have gears to shift."
PART TWO: Finding Replacement Traffic
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