Genius is often described as the ability to see what other’s miss, and more importantly, act on it. And it could be said that a stroke of that sweet stuff was what helped launch Torontobased LoadedCash into adult industry prominence.
The company’s ability to see a natural connection between webcams and dating helped to spawn a mini-dynasty that has grown into one of the industry’s most impressive affiliate programs, coupled with a network catering to the ever-so-popular dating site phenomena.
Company honchos make it clear that its affiliate roots are being bolstered while at the same time it’s aggressively determined to continue as a major player in the dating marketplace where it was born.
In 2004, company honcho AJ Durden and partner Steve Sonic — the original front-line force — jumped on the symbiotic merge of cams and the hunger for real world dating, hitting the marketplace with early products including AdultActionCam.com.
“We were among the first to merge the two together successfully. It was also a way to integrate cams and user video content onto dating sites. Again, we saw a hole in the market and filled the need,” Durden says.
A key to the company’s early success was its unique ability to master email “deliverability.” LoadedCash says its system pioneered the technique with advanced technology that allowed it to qualify traffic and adjust sending for peak performance.
The result and the benefit to users was that email could be delivered for various traffic sources resulting in increased conversions.
‘We ate RFCs [email transfer protocols] and mail headers for breakfast. Seriously, we did a bit of that, but also through trial and error. We used and abused third-party hardware and software solutions and eventually brought it in-house to make it one of our core-competencies,” Durden says.
Another milestone was how the company assisted its network of affiliates in capitalizing on social media traffic by identifying a particular channel and then researching and mastering that channel themselves. Durden notes that capitalizing on any channel comes down to understanding the customer and their motivation and then fulfilling that need.
Although LoadedCash is well known for its affiliate program with an immediately recognizable brand name, the company started the program as a means of providing traffic to dating products. But the company honchos make it clear that its affiliate roots are being bolstered while at the same time it’s aggressively determined to continue as a major player in the dating marketplace where it was born.
‘Our strength is definitely in affiliate marketing, but we also have a strong focus on our dating products as well. Unlike other affiliate programs that try to generate webmaster activity with shallow offers, we consistently improve our dating products that result in sustainable products that convert and retain,” Durden says.
A small, lean and mean firm, with many employees still on board since its inception, LoadedCash nevertheless says its big enough to be a serious competitor in the adult and casual dating space, but likes the fact that it’s svelte enough to respond quickly to market changes.
Durden says, “We’ve recently launched SweetDiscreet.com, an innovative new site that caters to the married dating market. Also, iHookup.com, a casual dating product was launched at the beginning of this year. We’re continuing to improve upon all our brands, and with both new products, we’re already seeing high conversion rates.”
What’s particularly exciting is the company’s foray into the mobile space with its first mobile version of XXXBlackbook.com in 2009. Since then the company has updated all of its products to run on mobile devices.
Add what LoadedCash considers one of the best affiliate marketing tools in the industry today — “Traffic Optimizer,” that was launched last July — and the company has its “guns’” loaded to take on all comers.
Durden maintains that the optimization engine employed in Traffic Optimizer is unique because it determines the best path for converting an affiliate’s specific traffic. By using proven algorithms, the system is able to make decisions based on statistical significance and improve an affiliate’s bottom line over time.
The company said that most affiliates experience an average unique-to-registration rate lift of 25 percent, but based on the algorithms and the confidence of statistical significance, its new tool allows affiliates and their reps to tweak a campaign to its full potential.
But being technically adept and seizing upon opportunity didn’t come without growing pains. Durden maintains that LoadedCash knows what it takes to build a successful company in what’s become an extremely competitive and shrinking market.
He’s quick to point out that his success was built on honest and comprehensive affiliate platform. “Some webmasters are confused over is the dramatic difference in payout offers from affiliate programs competing with the similar product offerings. Programs that advertise high payouts seduce a lot of webmasters, but they’re not aware of the ‘fine print’ that is often not posted with these offers. Work with honest programs with strong support and you’ll make more money on a quality product and affiliate program than on a program that needs to trick people into sending traffic by promising payouts that are too good to be true,” he says.
Durden adds, “The old adage applies here, ‘if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’”
What sounds particularly good for LoadedCash is its plans for the future. Right now its substantial causal dating site portfolio includes iHookup.com, Sweet-Discreet.com, Adult Dating: XXXBlackBook.com, SexPlay-Cam.com and gay dating site GCruise.com. And there are plans for more.
But it’s not resting on its laurels. The company says it’s pushing “big time” into the areas of white label sites and serious promotions that are going to inspire webmasters to try its new products. Durden says webmasters will “earn some serious coin.” “We’ve already said too much about this... but stay tuned,” he advises.
And it’s not enough to compete, the company wants to dominate the casual dating arena with a host of new products and technologies that Durden claims will give affiliates the opportunity to earn like never before — and make the competition nervous.
“Don’t stand in our way,” Durden says. “You will be crushed.”
