The live webcam site NeedLive.com and its vibrant affiliate program, MoneyVerse, were launched a little more than a year ago. But the way these budding new entities are being operated indicates that the leadership definitely is not green.
That's because the men pulling the strings, Ron and Zoltan, are seasoned executives in the live webcam business, going back to 2000. Ron, for example, used to manage one of the world's largest international webcam companies, and Zoltan was one of the founding partners of that same firm. Ron and Zoltan have taken that knowhow and applied it to the marketplace of 2009 with an alluring business model that features something few, if any, competitors offer: true lifetime payouts.
The program offers unique commission options
"NeedLive and MoneyVerse have a true lifetime payout for our webmasters," says Gerard Della Porta, the U.S. representative for NeedLive.com. "A lot of other companies will claim a lifetime payout, but they usually have some fine print that negates that promise — like if a webmaster doesn't send new sales, he can lose his old commissions. Our payouts are true, and that's the biggest strength in our affiliate program, MoneyVerse. If the webmaster sends us a signup today, he'll continue to make commissions on that customer as long as that customer remains signed up."
The program offers unique commission options, too. The revenue-sharing option starts at 20 percent, but right now the firm is offering a promotional special that boosts the figure to 40 percent. Also, the program has raised its pay-per-signup option to $150, up from $35 for each new subscriber. The final option offers a 15 percent webmaster referral.
"If a webmaster has a friend who is not currently signed up to the MoneyVerse program, and he refers that person to us, then any sales that person makes will net him a 15 percent commission on them," Della Porta says. "And our payments are biweekly. We pay webmasters by check, ePassporte or through bank wire."
The NeedLive product bears praise as well. It features individual and studio models. To interact with the models, customers purchase credits.
"The girl's stream their shows live," Della Porta says. "We have a live cam-to-cam feature in which the user can interact with the girl. We also feature voice-to-voice, so the user and model can see and hear each other. Our members also can chat with the models.
"In addition, we offer a voyeur option. Once a member takes a girl to a private viewing, only he can do a cam-to-cam and voice-to-voice show. But other people who have membership minutes to spend can click in and watch the show without interacting. The voyeur charge is one-half of the per-minute fee that the model charges for a private viewing. This allows multiple people to jump in at half the price.
"Finally, all members have the opportunity to take advantage of our Happy Hour Special for only 99 cents per minute. This feature applies to all newly registered models for the first six hours they are online."
Another feature at NeedLive.com is free chat. This applies to the surfer who goes to the site just to check things out. Before even taking out a credit card, the surfer can chat with models for no charge and decide whether it's worthwhile to purchase credits for a private viewing.
"The girls bill by the minute," Della Porta says. "The average fee is $1.99 per minute, and the voyeur charge would be half of that.
"All of our models — whether they're hired by a studio or independent — are amateurs, and they are basically willing to do anything for our members. A lot of our girls work out of studios in Eastern Europe. These studios have anywhere from 10 to 60 little rooms, each set up with a bed and a camera. The models are hired locally, and our company pays a percentage to that studio. This allows us to avoid the headache of dealing with the girls, since that's handled by the studio owner.
"NeedLive offers the option to block certain countries from the models' chatrooms, so no one in the models' home countries can see them working. This anonymity is important to models who have boyfriends, husbands or families they don't want knowing about their work.
"We also use a lot of models who sign up directly to our site," Della Porta adds. "They work from their homes, which makes them more like independent models. Many of them are right here in the U.S."
The high quality of the NeedLive models isn't the only asset that sets the company apart from other live webcam firms. Many of its models feature HQ webcams, which give customers a high-quality picture using the latest Flash technology that supports mpeg4 streaming.
"This really enhances the experience of our members," Della Porta points out. "You instantly can see the higher quality of the picture when you buy time with a model that features an HQ webcam."
The customer feedback on the excellence of the picture, as well as on the models, has been nothing short of ebullient, causing some of the NeedLive members to go beyond the ceiling they can bill to their credit cards each day on this site.
"We give them the option to be able to spend more," Della Porta says. "They have to send in a form with their signature so we can make sure it's not a fraudulent transaction. When this is completed, they receive a VIP status, in which the models can take care of them, which provides them with a unique VIP tag and a golden color on all chatrooms. This gives them even more attention from the models, along with the higher spending limits. And we don't charge our customers anything extra to become a VIP member."
Although Della Porta is new to the NeedLive roster — he joined the company in January — he was well known to Ron and Zoltan as a veteran of the adult industry. Bearing the moniker, "Mr. Romance," a name acquired after he'd attended so many industry shows and eventually became indelible thanks to Eric of GFY, Della Porta is clear about his mission with the firm.
"I'm here to help in the branding of NeedLive.com," he says.
And judging from the early results, he and NeedLive will be a happy combination.
