You can own the best paysite in the world, but without an ongoing flow of fresh prospects, sales will not be forthcoming, making the paysite into a free site for all intents and purposes. This harsh reality is the fuel that is driving marketers to grab their share of adult internet traffic in order to grow their business.
To discover the ins and outs of this process today, XBIZ recently asked a group of experienced operators “What are your favorite strategies for driving traffic to paysites?” Their answers were most revealing, and provide a roadmap for other site owners to follow:
[Our favorite strategy to gain new prospects] is to utilize the treasure trove of data we have collected over 15 years in creative ways on mainstream sites and publications We just recently provided data to Vice and GQ in regards to the changing pubic hair trends in porn. -Todd Spaits, YanksVR
Bishop from AEBN said having healthy relationships with affiliate partners is key to the future of AEBN, telling XBIZ that “collaborating with established traffic sources and new upstarts to provide a quality product to their consumer audience is what we do best.”
“There is no one best strategy to generate traffic to a paysite,” Bishop added. “To do right by our business we try every opportunity we can find.”
Emphasizing the need for diversity in sources, Bishop noted that finding productive traffic is never easy, and revealed that “concentrating on creating the best possible consumer experience at a fair price and working closely with our partners has been the foundation that AEBN was built on.”
YanksVR CMO Todd Spaits told XBIZ his current favorite strategy to gain new prospects for his paysites “is to utilize the treasure trove of data we have collected over 15 years in creative ways on mainstream sites and publications.”
“We just recently provided data to Vice and GQ in regards to the changing pubic hair trends in porn,” Spaits said. “We have been collecting that data since 2002, and it is just fun to use and get out there.”
For many operators, including Grooby Productions president Steven Grooby, social media is an intimacy-driven playing field that can be leveraged for a David vs. Goliath level of customer engagement — but it takes skill and time to make the most of it — and even then, social media is only one part of the paysite promotional puzzle.
“Without being able to compete on SEO or buying traffic with the bigger corporations and tube sites, we have to look at other techniques — and that’s the branding, the social media, the events and reaching into the community,” Grooby explained, adding, “Affiliate sales have pretty much dropped off for all but a few bigger players, so we tend to get most traffic direct.”
Cherry Pimps CEO Jack Avalanche said, “Currently, social media is extremely hot, as you can reach users on a somewhat personal level. Some platforms are losing their luster and successful methods, but others are rising in their place, and the future will likely bring more.”
Vette Nation owner Vicky Vette told XBIZ, “We have always been big on social networking, staying in constant contact with fans through Twitter, Instagram, Yahoo (when it was actually good) and things such as newsletters, and of course traditional galleries and other promotion. If there’s a way of promoting we try it ... except buying traffic, which we have never to this day done. We do keep a close eye on Google rankings, which is critical to obtaining as much traffic as possible.”
“Although we do a lot of paid advertising,” Clement from Bang.com said, “we like to create a buzz around our content — and it’s always cool to see real fans posting fan-made content on Reddit, for example.”
CrakRevenue’s Jean-François Laverdière tells XBIZ the company has a wide range of effective methods for driving traffic to paysites.
“We have access to an incredible number of traffic sources thanks to our in-house media buying team that’s always on the ball in terms of being present on the best spots on every popular tube on the market today,” Laverdière said. “We also have an impressive mailing list of what we call ‘tube lovers’ — a wonderful segmented list that outperforms every other type of campaign we run in terms of ROI.”
CrakRevenue also boasts a network of more than 25,000 affiliates and counting, which drives traffic to hundreds of offers on a daily basis, including the company’s paysites.
“Of course, driving traffic isn’t everything,” Laverdière explained.“We make sure to optimize the monetization process for each and every user, starting with our most dynamic creatives, all the way down to our landing and sign up pages.”
CrakRevenue’s Maxime Côté said the company is “quite fond of using channels on tube sites to drive traffic to niche-specific content,” and is actively seeking new partners.
“If you own a paysite and have a spot or opportunity for us that you think we’d be interested in, please make sure to get in touch with us,” Côté offered, adding, “We’re always willing to put our heads together to design the perfect funnel for your niche offering to help you make more money!”
Kink’s senior marketing manager Jesse Garza told XBIZ that for him, driving traffic to paysites is all about organic promotions that go beyond search.
“Staying relevant in both adult and mainstream press, being present and engaging on social media, both through your own profiles and with models you work with, on industry forums such as FreeOnes, lifestyle sites depending on your niche (like Fetlife for Kink as an example) and of course, making sure your SEO and SEM are up to best practices,” Garza explained. “Organic always has the best ROI and user value and that’s where I spend the majority of my time.
“Affiliates, email and buying/selling/trading traffic are a great foundation and essential to any adult company,” Garza added, “but the organic reach and connection to your user base are what will earn you the long-term members if done right.”
YourPaysitePartner.com founder Kenny B. said that although the company still uses tube sites as a traffic generator, it is now focusing heavily on social media.
“It’s all about engaging the user, and social media gives us that direct reach to the consumer,” Kenny B. explained, confiding, “I’ll admit we were a little late to the game but we’ve been catching up and seeing incredible results from being consistent with our interaction with fans through all the various social media platforms.”
Rocky Andrews, Lucas Entertainment’s marketing and affiliate relations manager, told XBIZ that the way to drive traffic paysites is as easy as “finding and creating content that performers and fans are both excited by and helping that enthusiasm be the fuel that fires up conversions.”
Yannick Ferreri, head of business development for Porndoe Production, said tube traffic is definitely one main contributor to both reputation and traffic.
“You simply cannot get your name out there without the use of free mediums, as they represent the largest consumption of porn anywhere,” Ferreri explained. “Otherwise, we have found social media to be one of the more untapped areas in adult entertainment.”
Ferreri said the company’s nimble production team has “finally started to take advantage of our diverse following and push our reach even further by applying our localization concept of content to our social presence and giving users bits of content they would not get elsewhere.”
Finally, Ferreri explained that less piracy in the entire tube/paysite ecosystem would help paysites get more traffic, noting PornDoe and PornDoe Premium “are striving together to promote positive change in the industry by bringing informed buyers to paysites worldwide.”
At the end of the day, the topic of effective paysite promotion was not something that every operator was comfortable discussing, with Wasteland CEO Colin Rowntree telling XBIZ, “I’m not saying!” Other companies’ responses could be summarized as “today’s paysite game is so competitive, I’d be crazy to share my secrets with you!”
Simplifying paysite promotion to a proven science that is an art form to itself, James Deen told XBIZ that “controversy creates cash.”
Regardless of how it’s done, talented promoters are using their skills to drive traffic to their paysites — the first step in online adult’s profit chain.
