How many of you are into something which falls outside the scope of adult related products or services? For that matter, how many people in this business use their resources and knowledge for developing something more mainstream? Let's take a look at what can be achieved if you really wanted to:
Eyeballs
The best advantage the porn industry has over
mainstream is that there's a stream of never ending Internet users actively
looking for porn, regardless of market conditions and other factors which
normally affect other Internet-based operations. An in depth customer
analysis should give you a fair idea of your visitor's needs. The next
step involves a two-track strategy:
1. Offer mainstream products that you think the customer wants as a bonus or free gift along with your adult products. There's a vast difference between giving away 1 DVD free along with 5 and giving a Wal-Mart gift coupon along with every adult purchase.
2. Considered that it's more difficult to bring in traffic to mainstream sites. If you were to develop a site which caters to mainstream products, all you have to do is divert traffic from your adult sites - you'll be miles ahead of the competition. This cross-connection is normally difficult to achieve because mainstream companies are loath to associate themselves with adult markets. But, if you have both, then all you have to do is study which of your customers from both sides are looking for products on the other side.
Skills
Use your skills to develop a mainstream market.
It's my opinion that folk here in the adult industry are a step ahead of
the rest when it comes to marketing and presentation skills. You successfully
sold your adult products to a bunch of horny old guys who are normally very
conservative when it comes to spending money. You could use those skills
to open any number of non-Internet based businesses such as video libraries,
print magazines, cable and broadcast ad agencies and the like. These businesses
will not only supplement your income, but likely provide new outlets for
advertising all your products; adult or not.
Resources
Let's tally up what you have in the form of
resources. You have unlimited access to the Internet, 1-5 high end computers
with the latest multimedia software and the ability to instantly setup a
Website with billing facilities.
Have you considered setting up a Website and bagging contracts for stuff like data entry, proof reading, medical transcriptions and the like? Do you have any idea how much insurance companies pay to have their records entered into their computers? These contracts go to companies outside the US because there's nobody to do it at a cheap rate inside the US. Since you already have the setup, you wouldn't have any real overhead for doing these types of jobs. You have the capacity to offer a cheap alternative to outsourcing.
Taking a look outside the world of adult entertainment might not only increase your revenue, it will add to the list of your skill sets, give you knowledge and reach of a wider market, and in the end, help you serve your customers with a more objective view.
Speaking from personal experience, I used the resources and knowledge of two of my other concerns to make an entry into the adult market. And now, the adult biz is helping me to develop my mainstream concerns. There's no reason why YOU can't start with an adult biz and then enter the mainstream, too!
