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Feature Articles

opinion

Staying Compliant to Avoid the Takedown Shakedown

Dealing with complaints is an everyday part of doing business — and a crucial one, since not dealing with them properly can haunt your business in multiple ways. Card brand regulations require every merchant doing business online to have in place a complaint process for reporting content that may be illegal or that violates the card brand rules.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Ben Rush, Marc MacNamara Talk 'Dirty Words' Feature

Falcon/NakedSword is giving Zachary Zane of “Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto” fame the cinematic treatment, with director Marc MacNamara and screenwriter Ben Rush crafting the upcoming feature “Dirty Words” around Zane’s notoriety as an author. To learn more about the project, its challenges and rewards, XBIZ sits down with all three gents.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

Halloween Marketing Tips for Adult Retailers

As the days grow shorter and shadows stretch longer, a thrilling opportunity arises in adult retail: Halloween. This bewitching season allows us to invite shoppers to explore their sultry side. Let’s embrace the spirit of Halloween and create an unforgettable experience for our brick-and-mortar stores and online boutiques.

Ian Kulp ·
opinion

Girlsway Celebrates a Decade of Acclaimed Sapphic Erotica

When Girlsway launched back in 2014, Bree Mills had a plan. As head of production for Gamma Entertainment, she set out to up the stakes of all-girl content with the new imprint — and to continually, proactively reinvent the brand and its offerings along the way.

Alejandro Freixes ·
trends

An Inside Look at the Decision-Making Process of Expert Merchandisers

Buyers in the sexual wellness industry bear a weighty responsibility. They must strike the perfect balance between meeting customers’ demonstrated needs with tried-and-true products, and staying on top of the latest trends — and that is only scratching the surface.

Ariana Rodriguez and Casey Murphy ·
profile

Goddess Ishtar Talks Dominant Creativity, Career

Before Goddess Ishtar became a model, she majored in psychology and studied languages at college, with a focus on English, Latin and Hebrew. Originally, she planned to be an English teacher — but when a friend introduced Ishtar to the world of camming, it struck her as an appealing way to make money while doing something uniquely suited to her dominant personality.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

Establish Expectations: Market the Fan Perks You Offer

Fostering a vibrant and engaging community of fans takes more than just great content; it requires outlining membership perks and setting clear expectations for subscribers. This ensures that members feel valued, understand what they are getting and know how to conduct themselves within the community. Here are some tips to help you accomplish this.

Sara Loverays ·
profile

WIA Profile: Catherine Corsaro

As director of product training and information for JO parent company CC Wellness, Corsaro oversees all sexual health and product education from the company’s Valencia, California headquarters, including training new reps who may have never touched a bottle of lube until their first day on the job.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

Setting Yourself Up for Vacation as a Creator

Taking a vacation as a content creator can seem like a daunting task. The constant need to produce content and stay engaged with your audience may make it feel impossible to step away.

Megan Stokes ·
profile

Kitty Quinn Ascends as Cosplayer Streaming Queen

Once upon a time, Miami native Kitty Quinn ran a costume shop on Etsy. There, she explored her passion for modeling and cosplaying, donning her own wares to show them off. This gained her online fans, who loved both the artistry of her creations and the model sporting them.

Alejandro Freixes ·
profile

Novum Veteran Executive Team Leverages Expertise to Grow Brand

Novum Brands may be relatively new on the sex toy scene, but there’s nothing green about George Gatziaris and Vadim Daysudov, who together founded, own and helm the business.

Colleen Godin ·
opinion

Al and Michele Harrington Discuss Vision for Pleasure Brand Love Verb

Former NBA player Al Harrington has matched his success on the hardwood with equally impressive accomplishments in the business world, including creating cannabis company Viola. Now, Harrington and his wife, Michele, have expanded their business portfolio with Love Verb, a venture aimed at enhancing couples’ intimacy through a variety of pleasure products.

Quinton Bellamie ·
profile

WIA Profile: Patricia Ucros

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Ucros graduated from college with a degree in education. She spent three years teaching third grade, which she enjoyed a lot, before heeding her father’s advice and moving to South Florida.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

Creating Payment Redundancies to Maximize Payout Uptime

During the global CrowdStrike outage that took place toward the end of July, a flawed software update brought air travel and electronic commerce to a grinding halt worldwide. This dramatically underscores the importance of having a backup plan in place for critical infrastructure.

Jonathan Corona ·
opinion

A Look at the Benefits of AI for Optimizing Retail Operations

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail tech, staying ahead of the curve is not just advantageous — it’s mandatory for survival. Currently, small-to-midsize retailers face an unprecedented opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) features to gain an advantage, enhance employee productivity and optimize operations.

Sean Quinn ·
opinion

The Need for Minimal Friction in Age Verification Technology

In the adult sector, robust age assurance, comprised of age verification and age estimation methods, is critical to ensuring legal compliance with ever-evolving regulations, safeguarding minors from inappropriate content and protecting the privacy of adults wishing to view adult content.

Gavin Worrall ·
opinion

Boosting Visibility for Female Sexual Dysfunction Products to Overcome Stigma

It is undeniable that sexual wellness has entered the mainstream, and the market is expected to expand. Many of those sales are driven by women, who have become more empowered than ever to buy sex toys and accessories — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, when a significant consumer uptick made this shopping category more lucrative than ever.

Naima Karp ·
opinion

Account-to-Account Payments: The New Banking Disruptor?

So much of our industry relies upon Visa and Mastercard to support consumer payments — and with that reliance comes increased scrutiny by both brands. From a compliance perspective, the bar keeps getting raised until it feels like we end up spending half our time making sure we are compliant rather than growing our business.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Falcon/NakedSword Embarks on European Adventure for 'Heart On'

After running into award-winning creators Callum and Cole at an industry event in Amsterdam, Falcon/NakedSword president and CEO Tim Valenti called up Ben Rush in Los Angeles with an idea: to make an international rom-com starring the real-life boyfriends.

Alejandro Freixes ·
opinion

Tips for Making the Most of In-Store Marketing

When it comes to brick-and-mortar retail, getting shoppers in the door is only the beginning. Once they are inside, catching their eye and getting them to open their wallets is a whole other ballgame — both for retailers, who want shoppers to spend as much money as possible in their stores, and for manufacturers, who want that money spent on their products specifically.

Rebecca Weinberg ·
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