trends

Discussions for Dollars

With a new year comes new opportunities; but for some savvy website operators, one of the best opportunities this year might not be something new, but relatively old — phone sex — or to be more accurate, its high-tech cousins: two-way audio/video chat — along with Skype Sex and all other manner of digital flirtations...

Interactivity with an extremely personal touch is the name of this game and an increasing number of adult entertainment companies are embracing this new look at old techniques — and the reasons for doing so are compelling: live 1-on-1 audio chat with the performer of his choice is content the surfer can't usually get for free; and a talented performer can keep the customer on the line almost indefinitely — and calling back for more — racking up the billable minutes — and dollars, for both the program operator and performer.

In some cases, these programs are evolutions of traditional phone sex operators, turning to the Internet to reach a broader audience in much the same way that the video studios and many adult print magazines have done. Other programs may be start-ups or resurgent brands exploring the latest in social networking technologies. Regardless of their roots, these companies have eschewed the typical pay site business model to embrace live sex offerings — and in some cases, are sharing the wealth with a growing affiliate base.

One example of this new breed of adult webmaster affiliate programs is LoveSexyCash, which promotes webcam, chat and dating sites. According to the LoveSexyCash website, parent company Virtual Universe "has provided cutting edge social networking services, infrastructure and content to companies and consumers" and "is known as a pioneer in leveraging the latest technologies to build exciting interactive communities." Among these communities are adult-themed social networks which enable consumers to connect anytime and anywhere; online or via their cell or landline phones.

Flagship website 3X3G.com offers surfers live 1-on-1 and group chat webcams combined with cutting-edge standard and VOIP phone sex services, plus private photo and video galleries showcasing each performer. The company's gay portal, Gay Guys Live, offers a different twist on live chat services, with a variety of features and membership options.

A "white label" solution allows individual website owners to embed a customizable version of the LoveSexyCash cam and phone sex system into their own sites, using an inline frame (i-frame) tag in the site's HTML markup. There is no setup cost and the company pays site owners a commission on the sales the system generates for them.

LoveSexyCash is powered by a NATS backend, allowing for easy affiliate stats reporting and for many affiliates, a familiar promotional material access process and the comfort in knowing that all surfer clicks and sign-ups will be counted, without any under-reporting a.k.a. "shaving." RSS feeds, free hosted galleries, banner ads and content downloads are all available.

It's the company's interactive erotica that sets LoveSexyCash apart, however, with the flexible communications mechanisms allowing for a variety of interaction options between viewers and performers — and even blurring the lines between which is which — especially in the case of dual, two-way webcam setups, where both the customer and performer are able to see and hear each other; allowing for an immersive cyber-sexual fantasy encounter.

According to LoveSexyCash Affiliate Manager Ananda, the program has very little competition because many U.S.-based adult companies believe that phone sex is dead.

"Not enough people understand the power of the spoken word when it comes to getting it on," Ananda said. "LoveSexyCash offers a simple plug-in that will let a program owner test and see how lucrative having a phone sex component is."

But don't let all the high-tech bells and whistles fool you: the product is all about live, two-way verbal communication — and a good performer that has a way with words will be able to satisfy the caller, even if he can't see her — which is sometimes a good thing, such as when all a boy has is his telephone, an itch to scratch and a few spare minutes...

Phone Sex Specialists
Specializing in the erotica of the spoken word is AlwaysPhoneSex, which offers webmasters a unique 1-800 number to promote to U.S. and Canadian website visitors — paying out a 25 percent commission on all calls to that number, with a referral bonus too.

According to Kelly, a partner in the 10-year-old company, it's the personal touch that counts — an approach that she embraces personally as the company expands into the online arena to recruit affiliate webmasters.

"I still answer calls personally, so believe me when I tell you that no one knows better than me what callers want to hear," Kelly said. "We are not a call center that pumps out low quality, boring calls."

Kelly personally selects and trains all of her home operators and takes pride in knowing that her customers are satisfied.

"Some of our customers have continued to regularly use our services for literally the past decade — providing tangible proof of the consistent quality of our calls and excellent 24-hour customer service," she said.

The AlwaysPhoneSex program is free for affiliates to join and includes a $100 signup bonus payable once your account hits $200. Detailed, real-time call stats are available, showing all sales generated by your unique telephone number. The company claims an average call cost of $25, with many calls generating much more, making this an attractive non-competitive upsell offer for a variety of website operators.

The program allows callers to access 1-on-1 live talk, where one caller and one operator "have a sensual telephone interaction," as well as an eavesdropping feature that allows callers to silently listen in on someone else's call. Recorded audio stories are also offered, letting callers listen to a selected girl reveal an erotic fantasy story or real life experience.

For those callers that are seeking more than casual conversation, a dating/chat feature offers interactive, sexy fun with local women.

"Callers can listen to the greetings of women that are currently on the line, record their own greetings, and when ready, connect one on one with real amateurs," Kelly added. "Our system is extremely easy to use and offers very high retention rates."

As adult entertainment company owners seek new ways to arrange the pieces in their marketing puzzles, one of the pieces that may fit the best is one of the oldest: talking dirty.

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