Boasting powerhouse brands such as MYLF and Team Skeet, Paper Street Media is known for its compelling, high-quality, original content and its aggressive update schedule, along with the profit opportunities it offers for affiliate partners.
Named “Paysite Affiliate Program of the Year” at the 2020 XBIZ Awards, Paper Street Media has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the industry’s most progressive companies.
Being on the front end of sales and marketing, each day brings on new and challenging opportunities for my team and me to tackle.
One of the driving forces behind Paper Street’s ongoing success is Director of Affiliate Sales Louis Montalvo. XBIZ wanted to know more about this busy exec’s career and recently caught up with him for some insights on how he’s helping the company move forward...
XBIZ: How did you first venture into the adult industry?
Montalvo: I started my career with Paper Street Media more than seven years ago as an affiliate manager with a background in photography and graphic design. At the time, I was working at a photography shop just a few blocks away selling equipment and handling their online sales.
Paper Street was a small team of innovative, tech-driven people with a passion for creating unique adult content. I kicked things off with managing our affiliate program PaperStreetCash and handling our partnerships. Within the first year, I attended my first adult show in Phoenix, which exposed me to this incredible industry and its people.
I made valuable business and personal connections, which highlighted the trajectory of my career and allowed me to build a foundation and grow. As PSM started to expand with the launch of some very successful products, so did my role here.
XBIZ: Tell us about Paper Street and how you interface with the various brands it operates.
Montalvo: Our motto is “Same Team” and that sits at the core of our values and how we work here. We understand the importance of working collaboratively to reach our goals, and that has been a driving force in our success. We approach things with the “Same Team” mentality no matter the task or department.
This approach has created and maintained a “family culture,” all while meeting corporate growth demands, structure and objectives, allowing us to operate efficiently and effectively in a fun-friendly environment.
Our brands are a collection of ideas and hard work throughout the company. All facets of marketing and sales for our networks and individual brands is my main day-to-day focus. My work isn’t limited to just this aspect of the business because of our tribe mentality to help each other succeed collectively.
XBIZ: What defines your company’s mission and makes it stand out? And what about your own role?
Montalvo: Our company mission statement is: “Discover what excites the world and deliver it seamlessly to our members.” We always aim to stand out by delivering new and innovative products and consumer demand sits at the forefront of many decisions we make.
My role plays a part in the research and development of our products, and consumer engagement within different marketing channels. I lead a department with our values and mission in mind, and I aim to move as agilely and data-driven as we can to stand out. Our data reporting and the ability to quickly spot various trends allows us to take action to stay ahead of trends as well as to pivot when needed to react.
XBIZ: What’s a typical workday like? What is the most rewarding part of your job and what is the most tedious, albeit essential, part?
Montalvo: Being on the front end of sales and marketing, each day brings on new and challenging opportunities for my team and me to tackle. But we don’t make moves without having solid data and a game plan to drive it. I’m kind of a data snob with a creative instinct, so I naturally aim to provide innovative and efficient marketing strategies, with a focus on having a positive influence on our day-to-day customer acquisitions and long-term value.
XBIZ: How do you approach balanced leadership with staff, in terms of setting clear expectations and delegating tasks?
Montalvo: My goals and those of my fellow leadership team all align directly with our overall company objectives. And ultimately, we all work towards one goal individually in different ways. Communication is key, and the foundation for setting and meeting expectations. We are laser-focused on our own goals but are also very communicative and mindful of each other’s goals and hurdles to help each other.
XBIZ: What are the hottest content trends right now? How is this influencing the direction of Paper Street and its future offerings?
Montalvo: I feel that content trends are pretty subjective. We live in an era where trends come and go in the blink of an eye. So, fixating on something popular at the moment might not be so hot once you launch that product. We have a good understanding of the kind of content we’re best at, and if anything, aim to be the trendsetters. If something seems to be trending that aligns with the vision of our product portfolio, we’ll try to be the first to deliver it uniquely and in true Paper Street fashion.
XBIZ: How has the consumption of premium content changed over the past few years? Where is most of your new business coming from in terms of traffic sources?
Montalvo: With the rise of online consumers and the tech industry came the expansion of the streaming business model, and that has increased the demand for more and more niche-specific premium content, while consumption methods have had the greatest change with new devices and content formats.
We as content providers have to monitor and adapt to the ever-changing needs and deliver what we do best. We’re always open to testing our products with different marketing channels and have seen an increase in collaborative efforts with other studios and models.
XBIZ: How has the current COVID-19 lockdown impacted your production process, release schedule and other new initiatives?
Montalvo: The initial start of the COVID-19 lockdown and production halt had a direct impact on the core of our business, which is producing and delivering new content to our members and market. We pivoted quickly and were able to produce and launch a new style of content in a way we have never done before, so, in came our new series of sites: StayHomePOV.com, StayHomeMILF.com and StayHomeBro.com.
These new sites allowed us to continue to provide our members with the value they paid for. It also helped us retain our position within the market.
XBIZ: What adult or mainstream companies and individuals most inspire you?
Montalvo: Not to sound too diplomatic, but everyone in the adult industry inspires me — there are too many great minds and companies I work with daily to try to pinpoint one down.
XBIZ: What are your top goals for the future?
Montalvo: My goals involve continuous growth in my personal and professional life.
