What's your most effective affiliate marketing tool ?

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Originally Posted by Huskyhunks

Standard banners to me are almost useless but there's something about them that is familiar so I still use them every now and then. I like the icon and odd shaped sizes if I'm gonna use a banner. Half and full page ads seem to lose their punch very quickly especially with the more popular programs. Free hosted galleries seem to sell nicely but I think my most effective tools are just regular content pictures placed like banners with some text under them.

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Banners and photos with text under them is one of my favorites.

For me, I really have to see the inside of a program. That is, I have to really know what exactly is in that website I am trying to sell in order to convey that to the prospect. When I got a membership to Falcon Studios, it opened up so many different possibilities to sales. Those limited animated banners are a real straitjacket.

For example, Falcon has one on one interviews (called their Alone With series) with many, but not all of their models. In their site, I saw that they had an Alone With interview with Carlos Morales. Well, I knew that this particular hispanic musclemodel has a loyal base of fans. And when I sell porn stars, I think like I am trying to sell rock stars. I remember spending seven dollars once to rent a ninety minute documentary video on the Pet Shop Boys from Waterloo Records, so I just figured it would make sense that people are out there who would spend some money to see an Alone With on Carlos Morales. So then I wrote up my page, and made specific citations to this Alone With movie that only members can be on FalconXXX. This is something I have to spell out explicitly... because obviously that kind of tidbit would not be on a Tour.

That is one of many techniques. There are lots.

Steve

You know where I could get some really good preview videos for my members site, just really hot guys talking or something that will turn on my viewers with out be able to get them off LOL

I love Austin BTW from Dallas

Maybe you like to have a look at my private promotion project at:
http://www.thebestboys.com

It's builded like a web. Picture galleries divided into subdomains, Video gallery, one TopList, one Link site and a TGP.

This combination is working very good for me. But it also costs a lot of work (I am doing this in my spare time, only) and a lot of traffic. I am somewhere between 500 and 700 GIG per month.

Perhaps you will get some inspiration for your own work.

Not sure I would want to give out all that for free, people are really getting to much stuff for free now days. I only like giving out PG stuff, but I am kinda cheap

Well, yes it's all free. But with quality traffic it sells good for me. What more to wish? :extat:

How many videos do you give them? What’s around the total size of them. Maybe your right I should start a site kinda like that if others are doing it. :karate:

Usualy, I update one video trailer per week. File size is about 3-4 MB. But this alone wont work, remember I also have picture galleries and all the other stuff. My visitors getting the feeling like to visit a member site, without to pay anything. So they will come back and tell others about my site. If they like to see more, they will visit the sponsor.

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Originally Posted by Huskyhunks

Standard banners to me are almost useless but there's something about them that is familiar so I still use them every now and then. I like the icon and odd shaped sizes if I'm gonna use a banner. Half and full page ads seem to lose their punch very quickly especially with the more popular programs. Free hosted galleries seem to sell nicely but I think my most effective tools are just regular content pictures placed like banners with some text under them.

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Ultimately, I'll say the tour! No matter how great a promo tool is it must lead to a well-designed tour.

For our free sites, the answer is good FHG. Good = a gallery which consists of clean/clear thumbs and full-size images in a series.
Mix 'n' match (misc. or various images) does not work for us.
Also (note to offending sponsors), make sure the ads or banners you have on them actually compliment the 'theme'. What am I going on about... well, some seem to think straight links/banners belong on a gay FHG.

For our paysites, hardcore banners. A hardcore banner (leading to a good tour, of course) still sells best!
I am getting sick of softcore banners, especially when the images, which the banner is comprised of, do not speak for the site.
Example: a big cock blowjob site - one would expect to see... A BIG COCK, in a mouth (just a guess) or a hand, but NOooooooo... instead one is presented with two females hugging (? WTF, why are you not sharing what your on ?).

... I should start a site kinda like that if others are doing it.

Of course, cause others are doing it makes perfect sense as to why someone should do something.


Who let the flock out, bah bah bah bah.

Hi Guys,

Desslock, that's a great idea by giving the surfer more of an idea of exactly what is inside. Falcon has a strong brand but not everyone knows what the websites about. Guys love behind the scenes images and videos. Maybe you should let falcon know about what you are doing. Sometimes site owners are so concerned with what in the member area that they forget about the front end, and in this case, the affiliate tools. Without the right marketing tools, all that great photography and video never gets noticed.

Lippi, your site gave me a bone. That's an interesting set up. I do wonder if it's not too many free pics. I could have jacked off to the free pics very easily and come back for more free stuff. But... you know your site, you know your members, and you know what sells more than anyone else. Are those your sites that you market, or are they sponsors ?

Paco,

I know what you mean about misplacements. One very popular video on demand company mixes straight and gay on their fhg's and it sucks. It's hard enough to get the attention of gay people. I'm sure it turns more gay guys off than on.

Sometimes fhg's look better than the site tours and it's a let down for the surfer. You have to have a strong site tour to impress your visitors. Building that interest and momentum for a sale is a hard thing to accomplish.

Well I just picked Falcon out of the air as a vivid example. My site is a movie review site, so I lean heavily on the studio affiliate programs.

It all has to do with how to present the product to the consumer. I tried promoting ChiChiClicks / LiveAndRaw for almost two years and got absolutely nowhere. I finally saw the inside of the site, and got a better idea as to what was there.

Then I found things in the site that *I* would pay money for, and then rewrote my pages accordingly. Lo and behold I'm getting sales... maybe a signup a week, plus PPV rentals and rebills. And I had almost written them off! (Jason Stuve was who pidgenholed me in Phoenix and persistently got me thinking about them again last year)

I never really read it described like this, but what we do is marketing. I have had to approach it like that in order for me to be successful.

Steve

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Originally Posted by desslock

I never really read it described like this, but what we do is marketing. I have had to approach it like that in order for me to be successful.

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Ive been telling webmasters that for years but, the vast majority of them still seem to think we are in the entertainment business, we arent, we do this to make money and until they start approaching it from a 'marketing' angle, many of the webmasters in the industry will never make any money from porn. Instead, they will just continue with the proliferation of 'free' porn on the web which in turn will make it harder for those of us who are running a business to make money.

Im glad im not the only one that sees working in 'porn' as a marketing business, maybe there is hope for more of us to start thinking this way too :)

Regards,

Lee

Well over on the mainstream side, if you participate in the affiliate programs for Commission Junction or eBay or Amazon or others.... they call it affiliate marketing, which is an excellent way to describe the job. They don't use perjorative terminology like "free sites"....

And its not particularly easy.... business schools offer degree programs in that. When I worked in retail sales, the "marketing" of the stuff I was selling always interested me. Glory be that I actually found a way to get into the kind of job I really wanted.

Steve

OK i have a question.

just looking at the free sites listed in this post i am seeing pics of totally naked boys, dicks and all, cutre boys mind but still totally naked. my question is dont you worry about the DOJ in regards to this? with the big push against porn on the net, offering these free with no age check isnt it risky? or is it worth the risk?

also just pointing to Less's comment about porn sites as a business. do you think that there is so much of this out there that a lot of people dont need to pay to join a site cause they can get off with the free stuff ?