paysites that don't update

[basschick]

lately i've been reviewing a lot of sites, gay and straight, that don't update. some are actually exclusive content reality sites that shoot somewhere from 8 to 40 episodes, create a site with them and then leave it alone except for adding more bonus sites - usually unrelated to the niche of the original site. there are also single model and non exlcusive sites like this.

some of these sites make no claims whatsoever regarding updates on the tour but others offer weekly updates.

imo this is yet another way to show proven paying members that they shouldn't trust paysites. like they needed another reason.

any thoughts?

[Dzinerbear]

Yes, I never got this. I had to score one site so low in a review because they didn't mention anything about updating. So they lost 10 points because they don't update. And they shoot exclusive content, which wasn't bad for the niche. Even if you update once a week you get 8 points, 10 for more than once.

I'm not going to lie to surfers reading my reviews. No skin off my nose, if I say "don't buy this piece of crap" (and I have) and the surfer does anyway, they've been warned and I make $35. But you're right, basschick, it paints the whole biz in a bad light.

I don't understand why a sponsor would go to all the bother of shooting content, and then, not keeping it updated. But my guess is that they're not really interested in selling a gay site. They just have it there to capture some of the gay dollar. They're usually the kind of site where straight guys are duped into sucking the cameraman's cock or gay guys who were told they were going to get paid but everyone runs out of the room after he shoots. Yawn.

Michael

[basschick]

it's definitely not a gay site issue. there are tons of straight sites that don't update, usually made by the same companies who make the gay sites that don't update. the ones that really amaze me are the ones that put dates on their most recent update. why would they do that when they know they don't update? seeing a date 6 months or a year old isn't likely to make their new members feel great about their membership.

[robin]

This bugs me no end for a variety of reasons. Its really shortsighted to say the least. They could be making way more money from their existing members and potential members if they actually updated.

Its also a disservice to the hard work and money spent by affiliates to drive customers to their sites who end up getting a one shot commission instead of a nice reoccurring commission.

And for the sites that claim that they constantly update it's downright deceiving. Oooh they updated some fhgs -- wow. (Yeah I actually reviewed one of those recently.)

[marcjacob]

I can understand new paysites with exclusive content finding it hard to update due to cost, finding models etc, but even they could use non exclusive sets to keep the updates coming. Really this is a very bad business practise as we all know that regular updates keeps members retaining.

[basschick]

these are not new paysites and many are owned by programs that make literally hundreds of thousands of dollars per year if not more, so i'm pretty sure they simply don't choose to update - the non updating paysite in a network of mostly non udpating paysites is a business model for some companies.

I can understand new paysites with exclusive content finding it hard to update due to cost, finding models etc, but even they could use non exclusive sets to keep the updates coming. Really this is a very bad business practise as we all know that regular updates keeps members retaining.

[marcjacob]

Thats shocking, and when you consider that most programs offer a % option its dishonest to both webmasters and surfers. I agree also that its recking the industry by making surfers slower to get their credit cards out.

[Huskyhunks]

The internet is all about the next best thing. Maybe the made all that money by keeping a steady flow of new products like a conveyor belt thing. Maybe paysites do have a shelf life. Maybe after a few years they all go stale unless they are totally re-invented.

[basschick]

maybe so, but one of the sites i reviewed today has 8 videos and some more had 12 or 14. i doubt there's a shelf life quite that brief

Maybe paysites do have a shelf life. Maybe after a few years they all go stale unless they are totally re-invented.

[Dzinerbear]

Actually I've been thinking about this. Maybe this is a strategy based on research.

Maybe these programs know from experience that surfers buying memberships don't rebill all that well for their plug-in filled member's areas, so they have weighed the costs of producing more exclusive content versus just capturing the initial membershp and they calculated that it's not worth it -- or the costs are too high.

Does that make sense?

Let's say I have site and I have produced 20 movie clips and made my members area. If I invest another $3000 in content every month, am i getting that money back in another $3000 in new memberships or is my return the same if I do nothing because new traffic keeps buying?

Cheers,
Michael

[Dzinerbear]

And I think Husky Hunks has a point, too. I mean, isn't it a lot harder to sell an AVS membership these days than say in 1998. Haven't so many people already had one and they didn't have a terribly satisfying experience, so why bother getting another one? Or maybe you bought another membership and not much had changed, so why bother?

And I'd say with a sites like Sean Cody and the like a surfer could probably buy a membership, chew up everything they want to see and cancel. Then they could come back in six months and buy another and do the same thing. They'd save themselves a heap of money. And maybe eventually Sean Cody just becomes boring because the content is always created by the same people, so while the guys are the different, the set-up never really changes.

Another example is Next Door Male. The guy sits on couch, he pulls out his cock and gets hard watching porn, he jacks off for a few minutes, and then, he stops and has a shower, then he comes back and finishes off on the bed. This happens over and over again. So after a while a surfer must get bored.

Michael

[Huskyhunks]

Basschick, I would be so disappointed to join any site only to see a few clips on the members area. I wouldn't know how they could keep their chargeback ratio low enough.

Michael, I think you're on to something here. It's probably more profitable to re-invest in advertising than to try to produce new content. $3,000 buys alot of advertising and not so much content. Maximizing the initial sale business model seems to work pretty well even if a surfer never comes back. You also have residual values like emails and upsells that are factors as well.

Sean Cody will probably always do well just because of the sheer volume and quality of product he has. The site hasn't been redesigned in a while but you know, it's a decent design and alot of webmasters try to knock it off. What they don't understand is that it's all about the content behind the design.

Theme sites rely on the "edge" factor. Once a surfer gets off on that edge, then it's not new. Been there done that. So, I think what you see is alot of the theme sites relying on the initial sale model because it offers that edge thing cause people are always looking for new ways to get off so the demand is always there.

[Dzinerbear]

Theme sites rely on the "edge" factor. Once a surfer gets off on that edge, then it's not new. Been there done that. So, I think what you see is alot of the theme sites relying on the initial sale model because it offers that edge thing cause people are always looking for new ways to get off so the demand is always there.

Yes exactly, today's "come and watch guys suck off the cameraman in these audtion videos becomes tomorrow's "twinks swapping cum in another's mouths" or "guys getting pegged by their girlfriends wearing strap-ons." The cameraman blowjob schtick is passe, create a new idea and invest in that instead of trying to prop up a dead horse.

Michael

[Lee]

You also have to take in to account the 'actual' value of a member, cancellations are common place these days, almost immediately after the member joins, the reason for this? Dubious practices when it comes to telling the surfers what they will get when they become members... Then not delivering.

I update all of my sites weekly, with the exception of Gay Christmas Porn for the pure fact, there is barely any gay xmas content out there as it is.

Whether its a photoset, new movie, new story, whatever each site does get new content on a weekly basis as thats what i tell the surfers before they become members.

A lot of these sites that do only have 8-12 exclusive movie scenes or photosets in them only have that much because that is the amount of content a member will view on a regular site before cancelling their membership or their card no longer rebills.

On the subject of exclusive content, the amount of programs that shoot even 8 exclusive movie scenes simply dont know enough about 'business' to realize they could be maximizing their profits with this content, not just online, but offline. It only takes 4 shoots of exclusive content to have a DVD ready, but how many programs using exclusive content at the moment, have their own DVD lines also?

You also have those funky CMS programs that will update the members areas based on when a surfer becomes a member, only showing a certain amount of content during the first month, a new set the 2nd month, etc etc you figure with an industry standard [on the straight side of things] at 3 months retention max, if you are lucky, that is all the content these sites need to remain profitable [from a retention standpoint] as if you join next week you are going to go through the motions of these 'updates' just like i did 1 month ago.

You then have the sites where the surfer joins and is given the same content month after month, after month and the only thing that updates are the plugin feeds, which do update and by most program owners are considered an actual 'update' to the sites members areas, thats one of the reasons i havent used any plugins in my paysites, i know if i do ill become lazy and start skipping updates because the feeds will update my sites for me.

In addition you have the 'boredom' factor that Michael explain, the surfer has seen the same plot, over, and over, and over, and over again so many times before it becomes old hat. When DVD content became the latest fad in the industry i openly commented that this type of content will only work for so long until it becomes worthless, guess what, it has become worthless, less than 2 years after it really became the 'craze' because every site owner flocked to WWC, myself included to get DVD content.. That is now worthless, to the site owners and the surfer who has seen it everywhere.

The real money with paysites is to be made at the expense of the affiliate and the surfer/member, email collections, upsells, cross-sells, console chains, cancellation offers, old member emails, new member emails, existing member emails, all of which are being done by the programs whilst paying the affiliate $30-$40 PPS.

Just like everything in the industry, we [the industry as a whole] grab ahold of something and duplicates it to death, TGPs, Blogs, DVD Content, Review Sites, the circle will continue with the next 'craze' [HD content] ad infinitum.

Regards,

Lee

[Xstr8guy]

Sean Cody will probably always do well just because of the sheer volume and quality of product he has. The site hasn't been redesigned in a while but you know, it's a decent design and alot of webmasters try to knock it off. What they don't understand is that it's all about the content behind the design.

Theme sites rely on the "edge" factor. Once a surfer gets off on that edge, then it's not new. Been there done that. So, I think what you see is alot of the theme sites relying on the initial sale model because it offers that edge thing cause people are always looking for new ways to get off so the demand is always there.

I think you nailed it! Gimmicky theme sites, ala the originator Bang/Bait Bus, have a very short shelf-life. Whereas quality content sites such as Sean Cody have a potentially limitless lifespan.

It's too bad really. I could possibly still be selling lots of penispalooza.com memberships if they just updated once a month. I don't think I've ever had better conversions with a paysite since the early days of baitbus.com.