opinion

How (Not) To Get Rich Quick

The latest spam to make a noticeable splash in my inbox promises me that I can "Make A $1000 A Day" in the wonderful world of online adult entertainment; and all that I need to do to make this dream a reality is to sign up for this particular marketer's version of the key's to success as a profitable porn monger. But is it really that easy?

For many newbies taking their first tentative steps into the industry, and indeed, for those who may have been around just long enough to become disillusioned over the hurdles that must be overcome in the increasingly difficult pursuit of those ever-elusive porno profits, the offer of a magical panacea in the form of "insider information" that will reveal "shortcuts known only to a handful of industry experts" holds a powerful allure.

Before you plunk down your hard-earned money for the words of wisdom that you hope will pave the way to profits, however, let me give you something to consider: there are no shortcuts to success in this, or any other industry. Achieving your goals requires knowledge, patience, and hard work over long hours that you would really rather be doing something else. But hey, what do I know. Maybe the folks who market these programs really do have a valuable treasure trove of moneymaking information that can be yours for the low, low price of only... Hmmm, it does sound good, doesn't it?

"You have heard the stories on the internet how webmaster are making $1000s a day with adult sites you too can be part of that. Become a adult webmaster work part or full time with little or no captial investment" reads the spam, and while I would hate to think that he's not sincere in his offer, I would hope that this marketer is better at being an adult webmaster than he is at proof-reading his text or running a spell checker. Moving beyond this, a list of what this offer includes, is as follows [Editor's Note: spelling and grammatical errors are from the original]:

  • The basic how to build adult sites with no HTML skills
  • Give away free porn to your visitors and make big money
  • Your site will have the edge why your site will succeed where other fail
  • Where to get free traffic that converts to sales
  • Business models which is the best for you
  • Accepting credit cards without a merchant account
  • How to get domain names with traffic built in
  • Get memorable domains names
  • Get to the conventions in Vegas, Florida and network FREE
  • Where to get free content including streaming video
  • Secret places to advertise only known to industry insiders
  • Where to get free hosting including free domains
  • Legal advice from industry insiders stay legal without costing a fortune
  • Tricks to make money with AVS Systems
  • Thumbnail galleries how they make money for you
  • Adult porn blogs get in on this exciting new money maker
  • Where to find girls for adult photo shoots
  • Inside leads to the best affiliate programs most not open to general webmasters
  • Discounted content from leading content suppliers
  • And much more... Earn money from day one... While you sleep...

I posted the above list of "insider information" this program promises to reveal not to try and make sales for this gentleman, but to show you not only what is on most points a reasonable list of topics that every adult webmaster should be familiar with, but to illustrate the obvious similarities between this list and the topic lists on nearly any popular industry message board – including ours, here at XBiz.

The point being that you can find all of this information for free on most industry forums, and simply by asking, can even obtain specific recommendations targeted to your own operation.

The days when an unskilled and uncapitalized individual, especially one lacking an original idea or approach, and without possessing solid business skills, can enter this industry and succeed as an adult webmaster legally making "$1,000 a day!" are arguably over. This doesn't mean that the hopeful will not continue to try, and indeed, some will succeed – but it does mean that an increasing crop of so-called "industry insiders" will be positioning themselves to profit from the neophyte's naivety.

Hard work, persistence, and more hours than you can count can still bring you a nice chunk of change in this business – but as with any other field of endeavor, if an offer looks too good to be true, it probably isn't. At the end of the day, some folks might indeed benefit from a quick "jump start" to their learning curve – just make sure you get this start from someone who knows how to spell. Caveat Emptor ~ Stephen

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