Quote:
Originally Posted by harvey
Paul, like it or not, there are many models where you can give the content for free and still make shitloads of money. As a matter of fact, with the current state of business, it's easier for me to think about "FREEMIUM" models than any paid business model. Is that good? No. Is that the way it should be? I don't think so. Is the way things are? YES. You can fight against it, but you already lost the battle. So just better give up and start thinking out of the box or just become a victim of current business affairs. Yes, adapt or die and yadda yadda, but it was never more true than today.
See, I've said it almost 2 years ago, how business would develop, how sites would lose traffic and customers, how the affiliate model would end, what would be the reasons why things would happen and what would be the logical steps to follow, ending with the debacle of tube sites. Until now, everything I said happened to the A, just waiting for the tube debacle. Most tube sites that stay in their current form will die in a 2 years span. You can call me a wizard, you can say I'm full of shit, but until now, reality shown I'm 100% true. And based on that statistic alone, please believe me when I say that the tube debacle won't be the solution either, if anything, it will make things even worse (there are many reasons why).
So, with this future context, what are you and everybody else going to do? The freemium model is something to consider and it offers a lot of possibilities, and most of them will make money. At least more than what current sites are doing. And quite frankly, until business shows a turn of events, I don't see many choices out of freemium models (I see a few, though, but even those would highly benefit with the addition of a parallel freemium model)
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I agree with the exception of the affiliate model going away. That's just not possible and really, it's quite humorous to even think that would be the case. Affiliates are like retail stores; they offer different outlets and reach different customer bases you, yourself, can't reach without tremendous effort.
Not supporting the affiliate model would be like a company ONLY selling direct. Sure, you can do it but you aren't going to grow nearly as fast or reach nearly as many people. However, a small, profitable program or two may be your ideal situation if you don't aspire to achieve a higher level of success. You may be happier with less management and a higher margin. Don't come crying when the big dogs push you into the ground though ;)
If you place the adult industry into the retail analogy you'll see exactly where the industry currently sits. If sponsors are the manufacturers / brands and affiliates are the retail stores... Some brands will try and run their own retail store and carry their own stuff only... some will succeed and stay around for a while until the brand dies, many will fail. Some will also carry other brands in addition to their own; some will succeed, many will fail.
Out of the mess a few Walmarts and Targets will rise... currently Freeones probably fits in that category. These big "affiliate" players will make more money than any individual manufacturer because they push so much traffic. They may even launch their own brands to sell along side everything they carry for everyone else. It's the wise decision.
There will also be many niche stores which carry specifics that will do very well in their own regard and become a more recognized brand than any one of the individual brands they promote.
This is the way of things, this has been the way of business since the dawn of time. Nothing has changed, only the environment has changed. The online industry went through this during the .com boom and bust... The adult industry has been sheltered from being a true market because of the stigma attached to adult related stuff (keeps big businesses out). However this is changing RIGHT NOW and in addition we're getting the full brunt of the digital piracy.
Let's not kid ourselves... even if there weren't so many FHGs and free videos, all your content would still be available out there somewhere illegally...