Do solo models sell on DVD ?

Um... HELLLOOOOOO?!?!

Yeah, I'm Jasun from Fratmen.com and Fratmen.tv and we do exclusively Solo male videos.

We sell large amounts of them, and we're getting bigger and bigger as people find out about us.

Yes, it's a rather tough niche to break into, but we have LOTS of collectors who will buy every single title we put out. We've released over 100 titles, and every week, the orders stream in for the newest release.

I find that quality will win out in the end, and your loyal base will never desert you so long as you give them what they're looking for.

thanks - you've renewed my faith in the niche :)

DISCLAIMER - i have never sold DVDs, only online stuff!

seems to me that personality and scarcity of niche might affect sales, too.

most of all, you might need a different sales approach - more personal, more involving with particular models. solo doesn't always sell the same as porn even online. build a few of your best guys a fan base and they will buy more than one video of their favs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jasun

Um... HELLLOOOOOO?!?!

Yeah, I'm Jasun from Fratmen.com and Fratmen.tv and we do exclusively Solo male videos.

We sell large amounts of them, and we're getting bigger and bigger as people find out about us.

Yes, it's a rather tough niche to break into, but we have LOTS of collectors who will buy every single title we put out. We've released over 100 titles, and every week, the orders stream in for the newest release.

I find that quality will win out in the end, and your loyal base will never desert you so long as you give them what they're looking for.

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Desslock,

I agree that Colt does a great job of promoting their solo models. My site is sort of anti-model, pro amateur, real men type of hybrid site. It's really just my own little playground and I'm usually front and center. Some people would say that I cross the line because I usually have sex with the guys I feature on the site. To me, that's just natural.

With that being said, the appeal of my site is believe if a combination of my own pics/videos (using the feedback that I've gotten) and the sheer number of men that appear in the amateurs section. It's not at all a model focused site.

So, what I'm thinking is because I appear in almost all of the video that I shoot, I'll just make dvd's from my webmaster perspective and star in them. So far as I know, there's not very many dvd's shot from that perspective. I think Seth does it with Guys On Video and Amateur Straight Guys as well. I really enjoy their videos.

Jason,

I was actually thinking about fratmen when I did this thread. I read where fratmen has been releasing solo videos for years then added the online presence. I do believe that expectations play alot in how well the videos sell. For you guys, the expectation is really high and focused like a laser on the next model and video that you present. Obviously, you know exactly what your members and video fans want so fratmen is way ahead of the game coming from the dvd background then establishing your place on the web.

Gotta remember too that Fratmen.tv is an exceptional site, with really exceptional guys, as is Citiboyz, and both are well established lines with established fanbases. Not saying it's impossible, just that it's not easy... and a new producer will have that much more difficulty getting retailers to pick up the product and push it if there isn't already an existing awareness/demand for that studio or line.

Also, as far as marketing DVDs vs websites... I'm constantly amazed at how different the two markets are... with DVDs, the "BUY" impulse seems to be based almost solely on the cover picture... the customer doesn't seem to get anything about personality or whatever unless it can be conveyed through that cover photo, and they apparently never read the text on the DVD back, either. Sometimes I wonder if they even LOOK at the back of the DVD :)

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Originally Posted by boyfunk

Sometimes I wonder if they even LOOK at the back of the DVD :)

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You know, the few times i have purchased DVDs i always read the back first then go to the cover LOL

I guess the mechanisms behind DVD sales although the primary ones are similar, are actually very different than web based marketing as you mentioned.

I guess it also helps if you have a brand recognition in a specific market place as to how well a certain type of DVD will (or wont) sell, using Bill as an example, i think they have a very solid brand that DVD consumers recognize as being primarily 'hardcore' content, from that perspective, i can understand why a solo title wouldnt sell well, because, for all intents and purposes, that doesnt reach out to their target deographic.

Likewise, you probably wouldnt sell many 'bear' type movies Chip for the simple reason that your brand is one which DVD consumers know is primarily associated with 'twinks'.

I could be way off base with my assumptions especially as i didnt get to do half as much DVD related business with DILF as i wanted to but, im guessing where you position yourself in the marketplace plays a large role in deciding whether your DVD titles have strong sales volumes or not.

Regards,

Lee

I think that you're probably right about how Fratmen built up slowly and had a strong fan base before we went with the on-line website and now that we've got that, it's driven sales back to the DVDs.

We're more the exception than the rule, to be honest, but i think that it does go to show that if you're really in tune with what your fanbase wants and you never let them down, you're going to be able to make it work.