Sharky - The State of the Adult Affiliate Program

[Barefootsies]

We've got Michael "Sharky" Vifquain in the house again this week for a special "State of the (online adult affiliate) Industry" interview. We talk about the continued changes happening in the adult affiliate world and what his expectations are for the future. Where we are and where we are going. Its a good interview of someone who has been there and done that for many, many years. So listen up, or you just might be at the helm of the next program that shuts its doors...

-What is the status of the online adult industry today?
-What are your predictions for where the online adult industry is headed?
-Are Adult Dating and Webcam sites going to continue their rein of profitable superiority or are they quickly headed to obsolescence like the traditional pay site model? (and what about MyFreeCams.com?)
-How is affiliate fraud helping to push the evolution of the affiliate program into a private, closed "boys club"?
-What new business models could we see come out of this evolution?
-Is free content and illegal tube sites really the biggest problem online adult industry business owners face?
-How does GFE play into how things are changing?
-Is good customer service the "new" marketing?

Sharky is a hired gun right now working with some of the top firms to improve their business practices and internet marketing execution. If you wish to get in contact with him, do so at EMAIL: mike [at] vifquain.com or ICQ: 1242876

Sharkylicious.

[Amputate Your Head]

Sharky is good people.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

Sharky is good people.

Yes. I always liked Sharky. He is a nice guy.

[area51 - BANNED FOR LIFE]

Is he still jobless?

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by area51

Is he still jobless?

Dunno. Have not heard anything since that one thread.

[Sharky]

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed doing the Interview... Jason is a very knowledgable guy for sure!

As for the other question... I've signed on a few consulting clients and am working with them at the moment. I'm still entertaining offers with others, and have a couple meetings scheduled for the AVN Show later this week;-)

[tony286]

Originally Posted by Sharky

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed doing the Interview... Jason is a very knowledgable guy for sure!

As for the other question... I've signed on a few consulting clients and am working with them at the moment. I'm still entertaining offers with others, and have a couple meetings scheduled for the AVN Show later this week;-)

I wish you the best of luck.

[Sharky]

Originally Posted by tony299

I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks Tony!

[DK]

Good luck man! Good things headed your way i'm sure!

[Paul Markham]

Great info Sharky. Listening to it now and these are some of my observations.

Firstly great information.

1. You're spot on about meeting the customers needs. For so long the whole of the adult industry has worked in an environment of the customer having little choice. He now has an abundance of choice. From Free to paid, he's spoiled with choice and those who don't meet his needs will fail. This market is totally over exposed.

2. Regarding My Free Cams, how in your opinion would it work with paysites offering this type of service inside their sites for members only. Free online chat, real and nasty show with the girl getting off and relying on "gifts" to pay the girl?

The girls who meet customers needs with a GFE type show will get the most gifts.

All leads to a better quality "User Experience"

3. IMO I've never seen a LOT of money in niche. It might be all that's left, but the number of people who are into many niches is not enough to fund the adult industry as we know it. We have to appeal to the mainstream to get the big bucks.

And those who don't know a niche are not going to profit well from it.

4. Yes affiliate models will change if the industry does not return to the big profits of the past. Supporting and promoting to affiliates costs money, if the money isn't there. Then cuts are inevitable.

5. And the most important. Tubes are here to stay, legal or not they're not going anywhere.

Thanks again Sharky.

[Qbert]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

...if the industry does not return to the big profits of the past...

I'm pretty sure those days are long gone forever. But, the easy money days are part of the reason for a number of the recent program closures. When these programs started, making money was easy right out of the gate. They didn't have to be business savvy and lean & mean to get a foothold and survive the first year or two like most other kinds of business. That easy money led to bad habits, excesses and deficiencies never being properly corrected, or even worse, short cuts like pre-checked cross sales being used to prop up dwindling profits.

Live and learn... or maybe not...

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Qbert

I'm pretty sure those days are long gone forever. But, the easy money days are part of the reason for a number of the recent program closures. When these programs started, making money was easy right out of the gate. They didn't have to be business savvy and lean & mean to get a foothold and survive the first year or two like most other kinds of business. That easy money led to bad habits, excesses and deficiencies never being properly corrected, or even worse, short cuts like pre-checked cross sales being used to prop up dwindling profits.

Live and learn... or maybe not...

The big money of the 80s and 90s are gone. Long gone. There are no people on the Net who made the money the likes of Larry Flynt, Paul Raymond, etc made.

I meant the big money of the early 2000s and I think if we took on some of what Sharky says it could happen. The business needs to be customer driven. He's in charge and he puts money on the table.

No one else does. We invest to get a return. He spends.

[CIVMatt]

Looking forward to listening, always good info from him!

[Qbert]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

...I meant the big money of the early 2000s and I think if we took on some of what Sharky says it could happen...

Anything prior to the late 90's is pre-www and not really pertinent to this topic, and yes I was around then. I'm officially an old fart, I have an AARP card in my wallet to prove it.

I would include the early 2000's as part of the easy money days. Many of the programs that have closed over the last 6 months got started in the early 2000's.

Sure, there could be some programs hit upon the magic combination and make some huge money, but I think they will be the exception. There's still plenty of money to be made in this biz, simply by being smart, working hard, and putting out a quality product.

The affiliate model will continue to evolve just like it has been for more than a decade already. That's just smart business.

[Xrated J]

Originally Posted by Sharky

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed doing the Interview... Jason is a very knowledgable guy for sure!

As for the other question... I've signed on a few consulting clients and am working with them at the moment. I'm still entertaining offers with others, and have a couple meetings scheduled for the AVN Show later this week;-)

when do you get there?

[Wilsy]

Awesome Podcast Sharky is the man and really knows his stuff

[Agent 488]

why interview some unemployed dude?

[Due]

That is some good stuff

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Agent 488

why interview some unemployed dude?

Because he has some great things to say.

[Roald]

Originally Posted by Agent 488

why interview some unemployed dude?

State of the adult industry?

J/k

[RyuLion]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Because he has some great things to say.

Why do we answer rhetorical questions?

[Sharky]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Great info Sharky. Listening to it now and these are some of my observations.

Firstly great information.

1. You're spot on about meeting the customers needs. For so long the whole of the adult industry has worked in an environment of the customer having little choice. He now has an abundance of choice. From Free to paid, he's spoiled with choice and those who don't meet his needs will fail. This market is totally over exposed.

2. Regarding My Free Cams, how in your opinion would it work with paysites offering this type of service inside their sites for members only. Free online chat, real and nasty show with the girl getting off and relying on "gifts" to pay the girl?

The girls who meet customers needs with a GFE type show will get the most gifts.

All leads to a better quality "User Experience"

3. IMO I've never seen a LOT of money in niche. It might be all that's left, but the number of people who are into many niches is not enough to fund the adult industry as we know it. We have to appeal to the mainstream to get the big bucks.

And those who don't know a niche are not going to profit well from it.

4. Yes affiliate models will change if the industry does not return to the big profits of the past. Supporting and promoting to affiliates costs money, if the money isn't there. Then cuts are inevitable.

5. And the most important. Tubes are here to stay, legal or not they're not going anywhere.

Thanks again Sharky.

Thanks for the response Paul. To answer your question...

I do think the MyFreeCams model would work as a paysite, however it would need to be modified for obvious reasons. Tube sites have Membership levels now too. Simply put, users pay for "premium" or "priority" access to the models, discounted tip tokens, etc.

There is definitely money in Niche. Maybe not the HUGE money we've seen in other sectors, but Niche is still converting sales where general paysites might not be.

[Sharky]

Originally Posted by CIVMatt

Looking forward to listening, always good info from him!

Thanks Matt. Will I see you at the AVN Show?

Originally Posted by DK

Good luck man! Good things headed your way i'm sure!

Thanks buddy! I hope all is well with you!

Originally Posted by Xrated J

when do you get there?

I am driving in tomorrow. Call me, we need to have a few drinks for sure!

Originally Posted by andrew.r

Awesome Podcast Sharky is the man and really knows his stuff

Thanks Andy!

Originally Posted by Due

That is some good stuff

Thanks;-)

Originally Posted by Roald

State of the adult industry?

J/k

lol, It does say a lot about the State of the Industry. Fact is there isn't as much money to go around these days. Higher paid positions are tougher to come by.

[MaDalton]

Originally Posted by Roald

State of the adult industry?

J/k

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil!!!

good stuff, Sharky!

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Due

That is some good stuff

It is indeed sire.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Sharky

Thanks for the response Paul. To answer your question...

I do think the MyFreeCams model would work as a paysite, however it would need to be modified for obvious reasons. Tube sites have Membership levels now too. Simply put, users pay for "premium" or "priority" access to the models, discounted tip tokens, etc.

There is definitely money in Niche. Maybe not the HUGE money we've seen in other sectors, but Niche is still converting sales where general paysites might not be.

I did not mean My Free Cams as a stand alone paysite. Though it could work charging guys a monthly fee to access non stop live shows. With gifts to top up the costs if needed.

I meant it could go inside paysites to beef the members area. For instance as a feed inside FTV, Twistys, Sapphic Erotica, etc. Big sites could be looking at doing it independently if they wish, smaller sites sharing one feed.

There is money in micro niche, just not BIG money for the industry. There's money in Big Tits, MILF, Teens, Lesbian, Gay, Shemales, etc. All niches. Once you get into micro niches the money reduces. Over the years I've been asked to shoot lots of micro niches and the money they could pay reflected the value of the bmarket. In mags, videos and web.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

There is money in micro niche, just not BIG money for the industry. There's money in Big Tits, MILF, Teens, Lesbian, Gay, Shemales, etc. All niches. Once you get into micro niches the money reduces. Over the years I've been asked to shoot lots of micro niches and the money they could pay reflected the value of the bmarket. In mags, videos and web.

Among other things....

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Among other things....

There's no BIG money in leg or foot fetish either. You will tell us how you make big money but I'm talking about the industry ad a whole.

What Sharky barely touched on was the saturation of Internet porn sites and people in it. For the money the industry produces.

The magazine business was a license to print money for those in it, because there were few in it. If you could not get your mag onto a top shelf you were screwed. This kept up the earnings of all involved. Most mags sold 100,000 copies each month. If your mag did not sell, the distributors and shops did not want it.

The video/DVD business suffered because of the number of companies selling films and the number of titles each one produced. 15 years ago if you sold 10,000 copies you were in the top league. Real quality porn is tough to maintain if the producer is only getting $5 a copy wholesale.

On the Internet anyone who can throw up a site and point a camera could become a site owner or producer. Anyone who could submit a banner, gallery, etc. could become a webmaster. The result was too many people trying to make a living in a market that could not sustain them. So quality suffered in most cases. Turning more customers off buying, making producers squeeze production costs and the spiral continues.