The company planned its first two sites to fill the amateur teen genre and will look to expand to more hardcore offerings in the near future. IHeartRoxy.com will be the second site to debut on the network sometime in June.
“I’ve been an affiliate of other cash programs myself for more than a year now,” Irina, owner and operator of IHeartBucks.com, told XBIZ. “I learned the industry that way. Reading the webmaster boards helped with meeting people and networking, too. After gaining knowledge from an affiliate standpoint and knowing what works and what doesn’t, I decided to start my own program. Four to five month later in development, here I am.”
IHeartBucks.com is only one of a handful of affiliate programs owned and operated by a woman, which the company feels is a strong selling point to its models.
“I think it definitely helps a lot [being a woman] because it’s completely different being a girl approaching another girl about modeling, than a guy approaching a girl," Irina said. "I think girls aren’t scared away when it’s another female, which makes them more comfortable.”
The biggest challenge of operating a network of amateur models is maintaining an individual identity and keeping the content unique, Irina said. With many amateur models to choose from, fan interaction remains a strong selling point. Chat sessions, webcam shows and even personalized content shoots can help take an ordinary solo girl’s site to the next level, the company believes.
“I’m looking for someone who obviously has the right look — the girl next door type,” Irina said. “A girl who is easy to work with, interacts well and appeals to a wide audience are the qualities I look for in a solo site.”
IHeartBucks.com offers a 50/50 revshare split with a 10 percent webmaster referral. The content on its site network will be updated every week. Among the company’s marketing tools are custom banners, free hosted galleries, zipped content and a model’s picture of the day.