The only real reason I'm still running it is because I have enough of a slush fund to continue running it until the domain expires in the middle of next year, and seeing as the hosting is fairly cheap to maintain on a monthly basis, I figured I may as well keep it up until the domain expires and see what happens.

I do happen to have plenty of other mainstream projects, and would love to crack adult as a "full-time part-time" pursuit (if that makes any sense), but to be honest the money isn't really the most important thing to me at the moment; it's more about learning the ins and outs of the industry and generally making a dick of myself on GFY. :1orglaugh

Correct.

:pimp

the answer is "may be"

Some people have got weird sexual tastes getting turned on by looking at girls sucking feet and cartoons are they yours barefootsies?

Mmmm.... if I read this thread before going online - I'd run a mile :)

Forgetting "webmastering" - it's assumed that ability exists already (would you ask your dentist if he can do dental work?) - online biz is little different to real world where a degree of business accumen is required.

That means, capital, a business plan (based on reality as opposed to Excel spreadsheet fantasy) and preferably a degree of other relevant skills ie programming/design/ whatever. The ability to do a job once and automate is crucial.

Blinding aimlessly hoping for traffic and signing up with new sponsors each week in the hope of increased earnings is going to cost both financially and be a total waste of time. From any sponsor list of affiliates, around 10-15% at most do worthwhile biz, - the remainder just clog a sponsor database.

For an individual genuinely interested in this market there is hope - the first criteria is liking what you do. (That does not mean drooling over stupid pics - they don't exist to drool over - they are intended for marketing to the drooling public). If the end result of enthusism is a good product, earnings usually follow on - tho they may vary.

If there are any misconceptions about earning millions with little work - the salary at McDonalds is far better. Bottom line - the adult online industry is very little different to "offline" adult, but with more people drifting in and out hoping to be players, bros or whatever label gives them percieved cred.



PS And hanging around GFY 24/7 is one sure way to fail, so, git back to work :winkwink:

you sure can, but right now I think you're better off going mainstream rather than adult

Stick to design work and enhance on that and if you are not solo go that route on top of being employed by some other company too.
Otherwise despite whatever peoples remarks in this thread can you really spare the time amongst all other things?

I'll vouch for Barefootsies, it's very possible, but we like the idea that you need $30k to start your own paysite, keep telling everyone :thumbsup

I started one for under $1k and I'm weeks away from launching another for the same... with exclusive content.

:thumbsup

It's not as difficult as most make it out to be, but it will certainly be more of a challenge than an inexperienced webmaster is planning on. One of four things will happen to a n00b:

1. They get tired of putting work into something that isn't profitable and quit prematurely rather than tinker with the various options available to them.

2. Same as above, but they continue to follow the adult business primarily as a spectator with the intention of eventually getting back into things. In the meantime I think some of these surfermasters become posers that can't restrain themselves on the boards.

3. This is rare, but some n00bs are so far out in left field that they accidentally do something amazing and cash in outside of the business model safety net that most experienced webmasters confine themselves to for financial security reasons.

4. These webmasters tried a bunch of different things, were not afraid to change things up and kept at it until they landed on their feet. Maybe it was six months of trial end error. Maybe it was two years.


Now, how exactly one should specifically go about this as a new or struggling webmaster is open for debate. Personally, I think anything having to do with TGP's or TGP traffic in general is going to create problems here in 2007 for someone who doesn't know what they are doing. It used to be that TGP was the starting point. Now I think it's probably more like blogs.

And of course you should at first limit yourself to niches that you personally love and thus understand what is going to sell. There are a TON of paysites out there created by people who didn't understand the niche. Never assume that since you don't understand a niche, your sponsor does and thus you are safe sending traffic because usually you aren't!

There's no money in porn.

Just ask Lars.

Hard work and dedication and the rest will come

Since this response is WAY WAY down the list, I figured I'd make it stand out by increasing the FONT SIZE.

The short answer: YES

Regardless of whether you are pushing ADULT or MAINSTREAM, if you follow certain basic principles, you'll make money. Here they are (courtesy of http://www.webmasterlabor.com)

1) There are other ways to make money besides building websites. Learn how to harvest traffic. You can also learn to make money via partnerships or brokering.

2) Traffic is the mother's milk of online promotions. How do you get traffic? One way to think of the Internet is a collection of areas composed of links where certain people congregate. Find your target market's area. Find a way to put links in that area that won't piss off the owner of that area and won't land you in jail. As the Internet matures, getting targeted traffic is getting easier and easier because the Net has become more efficient at segmenting audiences. You just have to know where to look--or build your own filter

3) Get rid of the Get Rich Quick mentality. Making money online is a marathon. It is not a sprint. It is not a quick blowjob in the back of an alley. It is a long drawn out process where your methods change and YOU change. Sometimes, the personal change is worth more than the change in your net worth.

4) Shoot for the WIN WIN situation (aka "One man's spam is another man's content"). Many webmasters are content in being traffic poachers. A site or communications format unwittingly gathers their target market and these webmasters just leech the traffic to their sponsors. This is parasitic behavior that makes for one pissed off spam-fighting host. Why not make it a mutually beneficial arrangement? You provide content and in exchange you get traffic? Thankfully, "content"'s meaning changes depending on the host site :)

5) Don't take yourself too seriously. Leave yourself open to correction. Your stats are your best teachers. Just remember to let yourself have the patience and understanding to listen to them.

You are so right. Winning online is like shaping a sculpture. You need both, the right tools and skills ..and both need to be found and developed & improved over time. If you have found your way, you also need dedication and persistance to really go that way.

It is a good thing to learn how to get traffic to ones own site first... it sounds simple, however it is not straight forwards... if you trust a source for good quality traffic for you're niche and it converts and covers your over head then your are a head of the game... then you can make money with almost any program.

later,