Can You Still Make Easy Money In The Industry?

Was just wondering what you guys thought about this?

I had the chance to speak to a group of webmasters on my icq list over the weekend both new and old and, it would seem that the general consensus is that in todays market it is much harder to make money in the industry than even 12 months ago.

Do you think that this is the case?

I actually think it comes down to the individual themselves rather than the industry as whole, if the person entering the business thinks of it as a business from the start and works hard i strongly beleive that they can be making a lot of $ in under 3 months.

However, how many webmasters enter the industry thinking it is easy money?

Anyway, what do you guys think?

Regards,

Lee

I think too many people are under the impression that all you have to do is put up a site and the money will start rolling in.
You're right in that it's an actual business that you have to treat as one. Customers don't just come to you. Making your product available is one thing. Getting people to want it/realize it even exists is something else entirely.

Well I think you know what I think about this... but I will expound anyway LOL

Honestly, I came into this business when it was easy to make a buck. I lived off of one free site that I worked with recips and link lists. TGPs were on there way in and Pic Posts were to be avoided LOL

But even at that time I thought of this as a business. The atmosphere on the web was also very different. The competition was there but not in the volume it is today. And, there was little competition it was more cooperative. And it was that cooperation that made me get into this business to begin with.

But today, it's a totally different environment. Competition is fierce; the shear number of new webmasters coming in online adult daily is astounding.

I have been talking to a number of webmasters in the past couple of weeks that simply do not have a real plan. Some thought that this is easy money and now they are struggling beyond their comprehension and wondering why it's not working. And trying to back track isn't a quick fix for a couple of reasons – they don’t know how to do it to begin with, they don’t have the funds to sustain them until they can fix it or, they need the funds to get someone to fix it for them. And most of them mentioned that they lacked a real business plan.

I agree with you Lee, coming in today with a solid business idea and plan can work. Treating this as a business and not a game is the key to making it. And I'm not talking living it large, I mean making it so that the bills are covered etc. And if you continue to work it AS a business then living it large will come.

My two cents!

Gary-Alan


:fracais:

no...its bloody hard to make a buck.


Cheers,

Luke

I really think business is still good... i mean there will always be people surfing the web and buying memberships... what's harder now, is to build a site with all those damn laws, and visa stuff... people get scared to start in this business... but like any other business, you have to earn your spot... you can't earn money just doing nothing... just need a little more work than before.

My problem as a designer is that people are scared to start in this business so design orders got very slow this past year. But i just need to work a little more to find clients.

:yeehaw:

At least your bloody rich to start with! SMOOCH!

Quote:

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Originally posted by Chilihost
no...its bloody hard to make a buck.


Cheers,

Luke

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Hi cutie! (Meant to make Luke jealous!)

Ironically, I was asking about you not too long ago because I was having a hard time getting a response from ya on icq and everything and was told you were "swamped with biz" by this other person.

Geez..COME see me sometime! I had one large project that went to someone else..but I've got some other things I need done.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Scorpio
I really think business is still good... i mean there will always be people surfing the web and buying memberships... what's harder now, is to build a site with all those damn laws, and visa stuff... people get scared to start in this business... but like any other business, you have to earn your spot... you can't earn money just doing nothing... just need a little more work than before.

My problem as a designer is that people are scared to start in this business so design orders got very slow this past year. But i just need to work a little more to find clients.

:yeehaw:

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I haven't had a lot of paysites up, most of mine were free, but the links to other sites made the money. I've had some sites up close to 8 years now, and I think it's much harder now for a lot of reasons. There is simply too much free porn out there right now, everyone and their dog has a TGP giving away free stuff [let's not mention the 2 new TGPs I just put up lol].

People think it's easy, you just put up a site and the folks will visit if you're in a search engine, and that was true years ago, but now, there is too much competition. The sponsor sites are also killing the little guys, though if truth be told, most of them are garbage - I can say that having put up a website where I post reviews of adult gay websites!

If you work really hard, know your niche, and know how to generate traffic, you can make a great living.

Scorpio is right though, sometimes I hesitate to spend cash for a design when I wonder if the site will truly make a profit. I've begun putting up much simpler sites, mostly plain tables with a fancy logo, instead of the splashy design, at least initially, to test how things will go. Once I know the site is making cash then I consider changing the design to something splashier (that reminds me, I really need to get in touch with you Scorp).

It's no longer cheap to get into this. Between registering with Visa and Mastercard, licensing with Acacia (yes, some of us actually are doing that), buying exclusive content, paying a designer, etc, it's quite an investment.

This Summer was Slow for us but I have noticed an increase in traffic with the weather getting colder. Keep Linking to quality websites and use the yahoo groups. The groups are powerful!

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Originally posted by adwebpro
This Summer was Slow for us but I have noticed an increase in traffic with the weather getting colder. Keep Linking to quality websites and use the yahoo groups. The groups are powerful!

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Please make sure that you drop your sites url into your signature.

You can change your sig preferences by hitting the 'user cp' button above the main body of the forum and clicking on the link in your control panel :groovy:

Regards,

Lee

My second year in the business I made 14,000.00 in sales from a single AVS. This Year, 12,000.00. This Month so far. 100.00

As you can see my sales have plumeted to nothing... The influx of newbies, sponsor content, tgp's, so called free galleries. They kill sales.

I am struggling to make it in this business. I have done everything but beg people to sign up with my AVS's but unfortunately sales keep getting worse and worse and worse.

I have recently been building sites for every "AVS", or what used to be call AVS's, that will allow free host sites. Everyone says they haven't seen a drop in sales but I know better...
I lost all my domains and web hosting and am now using free hosts, I know this has alot to do with the loss of sales but it shouldn't be that drastic...
UGHHH!!! can it get any worse?


THE FIRST POST IS USUALLY THE JUICY'EST... :crybaby: