A little discouraged but still have the desire

Okay...this is for anyone who cares to answer.

I have to admit that after reading some of the replies to some of my questions, I'm feeling a bit discouraged and somewhat depressed. Without going into a long drawn-out dramatic explanation, I'll just say that I REALLY want and NEED to be successful at being a webmaster, that being said I would like to ask the following:

As a newbie, what would you suggest I do to get myself into the biz and start making some money?

I'm currently with GayPornAccess and in the process of building a site which I hope will be placed within their line-up.

What should I do to promote my site should it meet their approval?

Would it be in my best interest to create my own TGPs & MGPs, link lists, banner farms, etc...to promote my site on GPA or what? If most TGPs & MGPs are keeping everything in house as it were, what's the best way to promote my site?

I wish someone would write a book (with pictures, I'm a visual type of guy, lol) explaining everything.

I just don't understand why sponsors have affiliate programs if in the long run, the sponsors control most of the best ways to promote sites and are keeping everything to themselves.

Thanks

do you have any blogs?

HunkMoney...

I had a blog but after 3 months of virtually zero traffic I decided to try something else. I guess I should build another one and just keep it up for awhile longer.

I also had a site at ning promoting another sponsor, but there content was, um, a little out-dated and overused, soooo....

blogs are definitely without any doubt the way to go. it's the easiest, the fastest and the cheapest way to get started. if your blog got NO traffic and no sales, that means you need some help. well, here we are, ready and able to help :)

why not show us your blog if it's still up. if not, tell us about it so we can tell you what went wrong or what else you needed to do.

No need to feel discouraged, we have all been where you are now, it just takes a little patience and willingness to ask for and accept the help you get given which it seems you have :)

As already mentioned, blogs right now are probably one of the hottest things going and if you do it right, you'll be getting a lot of traffic in a short space of time, with rss feeds being offered by so many sponsors too, there really isnt much work to be done on your part.

Also, one thing that is also working for a lot of people right now are 1 page sites, a few pictures, a bunch of text and some banners going to your sponsor sites, easy to build en mass and if you build them to specific niches, very quick to get listed in the SE's.

Is Gay Porn Access your only sponsor? If so, how much traffic have you sent their way? If you are sending them clicks but those clicks arent converting in to sales for you, try another affiliate program.

Dont forget, the sponsors main goal is to make money from their sites, because of this a lot of affiliate programs have their own internal traffic sources they use so that they dont have to pay affiliates for every sale to their sites, it only makes sense these days for affiliate programs to have internal traffic flowing otherwise, as soon as a 'new' program came up, they would lose all their affiliate traffic and sales.

Stick in there, it will take you a while to get things going but it really does sound like you are willing to ask the right questions and learn from the replies you get.

Regards,

Lee

Whoaaaa...

Lots of great info guys! Thanks!

It's ironic some of the suggestions that were made cause to tell ya the truth, I had started tons of blogs and was really interested in the whole one page website deal (I was gonna pay $300 for a one page site, long time ago, when I was stupider than I am now)and I got so overwhelmed and at times underwhelmed, I scraped the idea. I am a artist and I do best with visual stuff and creating websites is quite enjoyable to me so...

I am going to get my hosting and start looking into the best possible sponsors. Then get my ass in gear with creating a shit load of one page sites.

Now here's a question or two...well maybe more, LOL!

I currently own the domain: gaycliptube.com, okay, well if I set this up and bar folks from uploading vids and use it to promote my sponsors, do you think the whole barring of uploading will be a turn-off to my visitors?

Second, when I start the whole one page site thing, this is what I am thinking: registrar a domain name and then create sub domains for each of the one page sites. Thoughts?

Also do any of you guys who have affiliate programs supply movie clips to your affiliates and if so do you allow said affiliates to edit them into say 20 second teasers?

God my head is spinning, I don't think i have been this excited since I got my FLESHLIGHT!LOLOLOL!!! :bunny:

I beg to differ.

Blogs are a terrible place for a newbie to start.

Is there a good place for a newbie to start anymore? Well, thats harder to answer.

However, there are really only about a half dozen venues in which to start, so if you know what those venues are, and what the cost-of-entry and potential return-on-investment is for each, a logical order appears.

Personally I think telling a newbie to start with blogs borders on the cruel.

... as a side note, the autolink plugin puts the link on the keyword blogs, not I.

I have to weigh in and say that blogs are totally the way to start these days. And you can do it for free too, there are tons of places that have free blog hosting, add that to sponsor content and a good quality script like this one and you can easily get 1 new blog setup a week, in a year you will have a network of over 50 blogs and you WILL get sales from them.

rushing things is probably why you didn't do too well before. start ONE blog for now - just one. it should have its own domain. the blog will not be one page - each blog will have its own page, each month will have its own page, and if you go for categories, they will each have a page.

BEFORE you choose a domain, choose the niche or theme of your blog. make sure it's one that is either a microniche with 7 sponsors for or a strong niche or theme with at least 14 quality sponsors. each of the sponsors will need to supply blog content.

once you've thought of a niche and domain, come back here before signing up for anything and run it by us.

btw, you can see a LOT of blogs, both good and not so good, by checking the listings at bestmaleblogs.com

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maxx68

Whoaaaa...

Lots of great info guys! Thanks!

It's ironic some of the suggestions that were made cause to tell ya the truth, I had started tons of blogs and was really interested in the whole one page website deal (I was gonna pay $300 for a one page site, long time ago, when I was stupider than I am now)and I got so overwhelmed and at times underwhelmed, I scraped the idea. I am a artist and I do best with visual stuff and creating websites is quite enjoyable to me so...

I am going to get my hosting and start looking into the best possible sponsors. Then get my ass in gear with creating a shit load of one page sites.

Now here's a question or two...well maybe more, LOL!

I currently own the domain: gaycliptube.com, okay, well if I set this up and bar folks from uploading vids and use it to promote my sponsors, do you think the whole barring of uploading will be a turn-off to my visitors?

Second, when I start the whole one page site thing, this is what I am thinking: registrar a domain name and then create sub domains for each of the one page sites. Thoughts?

Also do any of you guys who have affiliate programs supply movie clips to your affiliates and if so do you allow said affiliates to edit them into say 20 second teasers?

God my head is spinning, I don't think i have been this excited since I got my FLESHLIGHT!LOLOLOL!!! :bunny:

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Blogs may not be the ideal begginer project, but it's definately one you can do with absolutely no expense on your part. You'll not even pay for any hosting, or content for that matter, if you don't want to. Hit my www.adultblogbuilder.com and you'll find a big list of adult blogger freehosts in posts and down the right column of the site. You merely create an account (tip: use something you want for a niche, like "Fratboy Initiations" or "The Sperm Exchange" for the account name, otherwise your first blog is YOUR name or screen handle name).

Now register with one or two sponsors that have the content for the niche blog you just created. Ideally, find at least one with available sponsored RSS feeds and/or hosted video clips and they provide an embed code for you to use, and start posting. Get a good week or two of posts onboard and then get your blog submitted to link lists and directories. Keep up a submission schedule, do 1 or so a day for a couple weeks, then 2-3 per week after that. Once you get the hang of what you're doing and get some income happening, you can add more blogs to the initial account you make at each of the free hosts. Make sure to link back out to your other blogs on your first blogs. Repeat the submission routine.

If you find you do need a small virtual account to house a couple domains, and probably some content you'll use on the various blogs ... while National Net is indeed a good choice when you're ready for a server, there are adult hosts out there that can setup a virtual account for you at a reasonable rate. Try www.global2000hosting.com or http://nakedhosting.com/affiliates/i...ate.php?id=490

i think if you are truly serious about making it as a webmaster, paid hosting would be a must. there are plenty of good quality adult hosts offering accounts for $15 month or less.

I think it's rather humbling to see all the suggestions about blogging.

What that says about the difficulty for a beginner to profit from the "traditional" traffic sources, or to enter those systems, is a reminder of how this biz is changing.

And I still think it's crazy to tell a beginner, who probably doesn't have the link partners or link juice to drag him/her/self into the SE's, probably doesn't understand the longtail and keyword positioning, and may or may not be a prolific and strategic writer, to focus on blogs.

Yes, they aren't difficult, entry is not expensive, and they have a certain glamour. They're just not reliable in producing cashflow for people who aren't already skilled in SE writing and strategy.

And, like I said at the beginning, the fact that you're all suggesting them, rather than freesites or galleries, says something hard about entry into the biz.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill

What that says about the difficulty for a beginner to profit from the "traditional" traffic sources, or to enter those systems, is a reminder of how this biz is changing.

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I agree, was talking to Bec about this earlier this afternoon in fact.

Its a shame that webmasters want to be paid for doing very little work these days, i would much rather pay webmasters for actually doing something other than using all the tools *I* provide them or they can get for *free* unfortunately as you said though, its the state of the business these days :(

Adult webmasters really have become lazy beyond belief for the most part, thankfully there are some of us left who actually do 'work' for a living though and dont just use the same rss feeds, fhgs, hosted free sites, etc, etc as everyone else does :)

Regards,

Lee

Two years ago I'd of said try the freesite and gallery route. But now, if he's in the US, he has to worry on the whole ID's and 2257 rigamarole, so using sponsor content gets dicey in that respect. Buying content and just doing a straight up pay per sale, get your cash and run since that guy isn't on the site you're promoting is of course still doable. Now you just need the funds for the bandwidth a good gallery listing will need, bandwidth/disc space for the gallery hosting in general and money to foot buying the legal content. Success also falls to the webmster who's willing to get into a submission routine for these types of sites just as it does for those with blogs.

Getting into "the biz" can run a huge gammut of site types and services. He has to figure out if he really is willing to invest the time (even more so than the money) to make it happen for himself.

First...Thanks again for all the info:D

I just got my new check card and I am going to get me some hosting. I think I'm gonna go with a virtual account even though I have always used shared. I think it would be best, since I'm serious about this, to act like a big boy and get a big boy hosting account.

I will be looking into the hosting suggested by Lee and Basschick.

As far as blogging and/or free sites...I think I'm gonna take Lee's advice and go with one page free sites, get situated and then add blogging to my portfolio. the only worry I have is that most blogs are nothing more than repositories for vid clips, I should know, I have a few fav's that I download clips from all the time. The thing is, it is very easy to find a site that has enough clips to get you off, so why goto one of the sponsors and get a membership?

At least with a free site you just giving them a taste of what's to come...at least that's my opinion.

As to affiliates who don't want to work...very true and even some sponsors are the same, I however, am not one of those people. how many folks do you know would put in 7 to 10 hours a day for over three years, only to earn roughly $100 a year and still be adimit about be an adult webmaster.

Hard as try to get away from this industry, something tells me I am supposed to be doing this. I just wish I had found this website sooner.

I will be successful with hard work, determination and the help of the great folks who gather at this site.

Thanks again

Just a couple of gentle corrections:
1. Virtual and shared hosting are the same thing, a managed server is where you have the entire box to yourself.

2. A free site usually consists of a "warning page" then the "main page" and at least 2 "gallery" pages.

Thanks Bec..

I signed up for a virtual dedicated server from NakedHost.

I have a question about warning pages...If I'm using a "hub" that will link to my one page sites, can I put the warning page on the hub? Will this affect my SEO?

Does SEO even matter anymore?

Thanks again -Jay

No, the warning page is part of the free site. You'll be putting some advertising on it, as well as the required reciprocal links out to all the sites you submit your freesite to, like hunkhunter, or gaydemon for instance.

Here's a real quick example of what I mean
http://www.gaypornbox.net/galleries/...rat_boys_fuck/

Now go to the second page and you see the links for the galleries, & a couple more links for the sponsor site. You can also add text links to another freesite or 2 of yours as well as your hub home page on that page.

Okay, I get it...

I got me some serious work to do! I like it though, keeps me out of trouble!

Thanks - Jay

I strongly suggest checking out the various "rules" on a lot of the link list sites just so you don't get heavy into building these and then realize you didn' t do something you needed to do to get listed. Like, file size of thumbs or large picture is too much or too little, image size isn't within the range they want shown, don't put the large pics onto an html page, and so on.

http://www.allgaydirectory.com/gay_s...irectories.htm
http://www.billyspervwebsite.com/links/index.html
http://www.maledirectory.com/index2.html
http://www.rudeboxxx.com/webmasters/
http://www.gaydemon.com/directory/

Start with these to get a general rule of how to proceed.

Bec you are a fountain of knowledge!:cheerleader:

I wish I had you, Lee and the rest of the gang a few years ago. I will definitly be coming back here over and over again. i also save the posts that are emailed to me so I can go back to them.

Thanks everybody and have a great weekend:gaydays:

Bill, you say not to get into blogs, so then what do you suggest? I think it would be more helpful to make a case for your suggestion vs. blogs, rather than just putting down blogs as an option.

And Maxx, in your first post you said you wish someone had written a book on how to get started and actually someone did at another adult forum. It's a free PDF file that has a ton of info but I don't think I'm allowed to name the forum here so PM me.

Would that be the one offered by Klixxx ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bec

Would that be the one offered by Klixxx ?

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If so, when they launched that book it was so outdated it wasnt funny, would be interesting to see if they had actually updated it in the last 3-4 years.

Regards,

Lee

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sc32803

Bill, you say not to get into blogs, so then what do you suggest? I think it would be more helpful to make a case for your suggestion vs. blogs, rather than just putting down blogs as an option.

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I'm not 'putting them down', I'm saying it's probably not the best place for a new person to start.

Everyone should have some basic blogging knowledge, and blogs are a good secondary option. A person with the time and the search engine knowledge and the network of connections to get the blogs well linked up can make money with them. But it's an art now - there's only so much space in the serps, even in the long tail.

And a beginner would have to be both lucky and a prolific and clever writer to grab enough results spots to make enough sales to pay the rent after taxes.

Blogs aren't a guarantee of money - they're a recent fashion in the SE game, and like all se, there's a lot of competition.

They make a nice hub, and thats where I think a beginner should start with them.

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Unless a beginner has money to start with, and is willing to risk it buying gallery spots and posting server space, freesites are still the place to start.

I'd post to both the straight and gay linklists - because the cashflow is better.

Is it great money? It's not like it used to be, thats for sure. But it will teach selling techniques, weed out sponsors, and has the big advantage that it will produce some sales, and thats very cheering for a beginner.

i work with tons of webmasters who can't make sales with free sites. i work with very few who can't at least make a few sales with blogs.

also you don't make one freesite - you make them regularly and submit them. if you accidentally don't follow all the link list rules, at best they won't send you traffic and at worst they will blacklist you.

you can make one blog, work on it, let it grow, establish trades and search engine traffic.

Every sector in this business has it's rules and it's requirements.

Yes, the big advantage of blogs is there are fewer rules.

A person who can't make sales doing freesites is obviously doing something wrong - probably not selling effectively - but thats a seperate subject.

I think it would make an interesting experiment. Get a new person, have them start a blog and start freesite posting, and see what makes money.

I'm willing to be shown that there's plenty of space in the serps for a new blog.

Well aren't I proud of myself...Got everyone thinking and what not. And while all of these discussions are going on I'm taking notes. As far as the book from Klixxx goes...I rummaged through a shitload of discs that I had burned and came across a bunch of info that I gathered, oh I don't know, 3 years ago and the book wasn't there, but a lot of other info was and of course it's outdated.

I like coming here and seeing the info for myself. It's a comfort to know that the people giving advice on this forum are successful. it's also nice to see that the individuals that make up this community are so mature and there isn't any of the typical bickering, spamming and general nonsense that I have seen at other forums.

Thank everyone and hopefully down the road, with your help and encouragement, I'll been dishing out my own pearls of wisdom here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lee

If so, when they launched that book it was so outdated it wasnt funny, would be interesting to see if they had actually updated it in the last 3-4 years.

Regards,

Lee

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Well go download it and let us know
http://www.klixxx.com/klixxxuniversity.html :broccoli:

Not sure why Devilish hasn't made an appearance here .... but hit his site for more examples of freesites: http://www.gayfreesites.com/

I tried blogs in the beginning and I did like them but the problem with free blogs as I see it is they can be pulled down suddenly if the owner goes out of biz or say Google buys it and bans porn blogs like they did with blogger. Lots of people caught by surprise after doing a ton of work.
I use paid hosting because that way, I own the site and I know it is not going to disappear.
SEO is all I use to get into the front results of Google. Lots of text and links and yes, it takes time to get to the front of Google, so you have to be patient. My sites have no PR. I don't need it. You have to keep updating putting massive new amounts of text and links at least once a week. My largest site has about 1, 000 pages, so it is a very time-consuming thing. You want to keep massively updating the index page and all the highest traffic pages to keep the Google robot returning often to your site.
There is no overnight with Google unless you use AdWords.
Google is where the money is at.
I use Rainbow Revenue and Pimproll mostly, but I belong to approx. 500 affiliate programs to grab the niche stuff.
Take it easy and go for the long haul. It is worth it when you get there. Get going and give yourself at least 2 years to begin to make good money.
Cause that's how it is....
:groovy:

Sounds interesting. I think it would be an excellent experiment - can an fng (fucking new guy) do blogging profitably within a reasonable period of time, and make enough to keep from getting discouraged?

Can we get any newbies to take up the challenge?

You can sell pimproll gay sites? I must not have the knack. Probably gave up too fast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gaypromoter

Google is where the money is at.

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You have that right! It is sad that one company has so much power online. I know this first hand. For years I was on top and then one day Google decided they no longer liked my sites and suddenly my income was cut by more then half. Finding out what happen is next to imposable with Google. All anyone can do is just keep building. This can be a extremely stressful biz.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Northstar

... one day Google decided they no longer liked my sites and suddenly my income was cut by more then half.

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Been there. It can be very discouraging.

I used to make a bundle with relatively simple and straightforward SE building of non-spammy text content pages and domains.

Those days passed. The long tail became longer and thinner and tail-ier. Now centralization is the big winner.

Such is life.

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I still think a closely watched newbie blog project would be a fun idea.

It would be interesting to be proved wrong, and valuable knowledge for all concerned.