members area questions

What makes a good members area?
Some people tells me to buy all the pictures i can... I'm not into quantity, but quality. What's a good start?

I see websites that say 100,000 pictures, 50 000 videos... i mean sure they have that but it must cover all kind of niches and not just a particuliar one.

If i do amateurs 18-25.. i don't want no older than 25 and professional porn stars... i mean that's pointless if i do amateur. People say i should still get zillions of pics and put them in the member area.

What do you think? is it best to have a big quantity of all kind of pics or less pictures but at least that focus on what the users signed for. I mean for me, it's all clear but i'm new to this side of the business and i just wanted to ask.

Same questions for videos and live chat.

Depends on how you are going to be marketing the site babe lol

If you are going down the 'true amateur' route then in reality you could launch the site with as little as 1000 pics of the amateur guys with some alternative content being used as 'filler'.

However, if you are doing a 'gay amateur guys' paysite then it is probably best to start off with as much content as possible including more than just images and movies, for instance go with some live feeds and chats and / or dating etc. Try to make the inside of the paysite feel more like a 'community' than a paysite members area which, in all honesty, most surfers have seen before.

Regards,

Lee

I'm going towards the true amateur site with soon some exclusive content i'll be shooting. I'll try to be as "diverse" (sorry not sure if that's correct english) as i can be.. like shooting black, hispanic, white... so it's not just White amateur site.

I agree also with you, i want to make the member area very friendly ahd make it like a nice community with lots of nice features for the surfers. I just don't want to put all kinds of pictures that has nothing to do with my site just so there is a lot of pictures, you know.

I think the most important thing is delivering on what you promise. If your amateur site promises fresh exclusive guys updated weekly and you give that to your members they will be happy, but if you are just feeding them with non-exclusive stuff they will know and will quit very quickly. I know of several small sites that just focus on delivering exclusive content in smaller quantities but do great on retention cuz that is what they promised.

cheers,
Luke

I do intend to add new stuff every week... all original and exclusive content.. so it may not be a lot but at least it will be quality i think.

here's and example of how exclusive content in small
quantities STILL outweighs the benefits of mass quantities
of non-exclusive pics...


be the surfer for a moment...

you've seen it all...
time and time again...
you happen upon a new site that promises fresh new content...

on the outside the pictures there are ALL new to you...
you're encouraged enough to give it a try - to see if
there really is EXCLUSIVE content inside...


you've been told already that the site is new...
and growing daily... with NEW updates of fresh content weekly...

so once you get inside and there isn't a ton of
content in there - you already had been told it was
a new site - continually growing and adding new
EXCLUSIVE content EACH week...


the promise of something new to look foward to every week
without having to scour the net for the new guys is
an attractive "find" for you...

you decide to stick it out for the month and see
if you want to stay as a recurring member - you'll
wait till a couple weeks down the road to see if
this site lived up to it's promises...

and lo and behold - the site DOES live up to it's promises...
there IS fresh new EXCLUSIVE content added each week...

there is an interactive element where the webmaster
does want to hear what you have to say and responds
to each eMail - or request for specific areas of interest...

you as a member of THIS site you found - feel as if you
matter... and they listen to you... you've rarely if
ever found that level of responsiveness on any other
paysites that you have joined... you start to feel
a sense of belonging... of wanting to stay a part of
this site... of helping them to grow... and experiencing
their growth and excitement right along with them..

you are so pleased in fact that you begin to share
your "FIND" with others... telling others about this
hot new site you've found with EXCLUSIVE content and
where you can make requests and when possible the
site's webmaster does honor your requests and that
makes you feel as though in a way you are helping that
webmaster to grow his site... you begin to LIKE that
feeling... and figuring out other ways that you can
help him grow the site even more - you start telling
friends about it whenever you can... and when you come
across guys that would like to do some modeling you send
them to the site for more info... especially if you meet
a hottie on the net or in person and you want to see him
naked (and more) - - - you send him to the site to
the model application section... and you have him use
your name in the referred my section of the application...
so that if... if the webmaster does in fact shoot that
model... you will be among the first to be privately
notified by eMail... and you will be the among the first
to get a sneak preview of a portion of that shoot...
while the webmaster prepares the rest for a future update
for the site...

so you can see - through the eyes of a surfer / member
that EXCLUSIVE content even though in small quantities
to start - can work in your favor... as long as you
have already done enough photo shoots of DIFFERENT models
to accommodate at least 12 weeks worth of future updates
plus a bas of I'd say at least 8 models inside to start with...


and if you decide to have a separate section inside where
you use plug ins of leased content or free content with
up sells - I would most definitely put that on a separate
index and clearly indicate they are NON - EXCLUSIVE extras
provided as a thank you for joining treat...


this would be such a fun project to work on...
creating a sense of community for paysite members...

I didn't know you did photo shoots ??

do you have any of your content stockpiled yet ??

will you be shooting straight guys in the 18-25 age bracket as well ??

will you be doing the photoshoots there in Texas ??

or will you be traveling elsewhere to also do some photo shoots ??

I wish you all the best on your new venture...

~Bell

p.s. I didn't reread the post above... I hope it makes sense
in print - the way I had it in my head (here in Dayton, Ohio
USA at nearly 2am eastern time)

Hi Bell :)
Thank you very much for spending time giving me your advices.
Thanks to everybody :)

Ok so i think i got the feeling now for the member area because it's exactly what i thought of doing and now you just confirmed what i had in mind.

I never had to pay to access to members area... being a designer, i've had access to hundreds of sites in 4 years. And they all bored me. Yeah some contents were nice but the layout was boring. I don't know why people don't spend time on their members area layout. And then i felt like it was boring. You click - watch - and close.... click - watch - close... I'm easily bored. So the idea of making the member area a community is very appealing to me.

I'll try to make it so people think they have their say in the content and they can help me or choose what they want to see. Anything that can keep them active.

I have a few ideas but i need more... so i'll just take my time to think about things and do them right.

It's a time like this when i wished my partner would be good with a computer because it's hard to think about everything alone.

Forgot to answer your questions :)
I haven't started shooting yet but i shot a few models like 3 years ago... just didn't have the right materials. Now i think i can do good amateur look content.

We'll be shooting here in Dallas first as we have about 60 models waiting for us. But if everything is fine, we'll be travelling around. Dallas is big but there is so much you can do here.

Anybody 18-25 who is interested and interesting will be "shot" :)
Straight or gay.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Scorpio
Forgot to answer your questions :)
I haven't started shooting yet but i shot a few models like 3 years ago... just didn't have the right materials. Now i think i can do good amateur look content.

We'll be shooting here in Dallas first as we have about 60 models waiting for us. But if everything is fine, we'll be travelling around. Dallas is big but there is so much you can do here.

Anybody 18-25 who is interested and interesting will be "shot" :)
Straight or gay.

---

get your paperwork requirements for shoots in order...
start with the legal facts... find those...
read those... understand those... start off with
EXCELLENT documentaion - and storage thereof...

have a backup of your documentation somewhere else...

get your model release ready and copies thereof...

get your model bio format ready - so you'll know what
questions to ask them during the interviews...

then start shooting...

you can never start gathering content too soon
once all the basics above are in place...

it doesn't matter if you won't be ready to USE the
content for 6 months or longer... start gathering it
now... you may run into situations in the future
when operating the site and keeping your members
happy are taking up more of your time than anticipated...
and not have enough hours in the day to do everything
the MUST be done - PLUS still shoot more content...
you'll be glad then that you have a lots of fresh
updates in your que

besides - lots of shoots can be seasonal...
and summer is a GREAT season to get your boys
outside in barely anything - and go semi
un-noticed in public for the lack of full attire...

and you never know when that current batch of 60+
models will dwindle away - and move on...

plus models will be more eager to pose for a reasonable
fee - on a start up site that isn't even yet online
and not yet raking in the $$$

once you are up and online and bringing in the $$$
your models will start to mysteriously (oftentmes)
start costing you more... (wink)

plus NOW - they'd be more likely to try *different things*
for you - in an effort to help you LAUNCH the site with
them as one of the featured models...

it doesn't take a ton of superb camera equipment to
do shoots... especially if they are amateur shoots...
and with you being so good with graphics programs anyway
you can always tweak the pics as needed...

good luck on your project...

~Bell

oh and...

if $$ is short to pay models...

perhaps you can offer a site design for them
to use as a gift for someone... say build
their mom, or dad, or landlord or employer
a website in exchange privately for a photoshoot...

they'd have a great gift to give someone
something you are easily capable of doing...

and they wouldn't be putting their face all over the net
if you'd instead offered to build THEM their own site...
you don't want to spoil the freshness of their face as
exclusive by putting them up on the net on their own site...

~Bell

Thanks Bell...
I'm very very excited about it.
I have all the forms (well some i need to redo) for the shoots and i always keep everything in order.

And before shooting we always think about things... we don't want to hurry and shoot someone with being prepared... we don't want "set ups" but still, we don't want to suck either.

We have lots of models waiting for us... and us waiting for money LOL
HoOpefully, i can start saving soon and get things rolling :)

I agree that developing a good community within the site is a great idea ... include things on your main member page like polls ... and find out what folk want to see. If you have the time to get really active, consider a chat room and/or a forum. I've been trying to push these same ideas onto a couple other clients and they're starting to get a grip about how much that would add to the retention.

Since you're starting from scratch, it'd be easy enough for you to plan for those types of additions either from the get go, or for future expansion ... and you already know that it's kinda critical to have a topnotch navigation system planned out in advance, and one that you can quickly update the entire site if you need to make or change something in it.

If you can't install all the features right off, then do a subcategory like the "Playroom" -- and have that subfoldered with its own special navigation that can easily be added to and setup to things like a member's chat, forum, polls, adult games, webcams or whatever. Just some options to consider ...

And Bell's right about reserving some content so that you have plenty on hand for those promised updates. Go ahead and make your galleries for the stuff in reserve, just don't add in the links til you're ready to make em live. It'll save you some work later while you're fine tuning and working out the bugs initially.

and don't open an affiliate program too soon...

save the buzz about the newnest for your own benefit...

create a desire by other webmasters to get a piece of the pie...
they'll be buzzing around about you - wanting to get sign up
and create some excitement for you - giving you some momentum..
plus there are actually webmasters that do JOIN sites - to
see what they have...

you might want to consider limited or by invitation only
affiliateships to keep the content from being blasted
all over the net... and you may want to have one of
the criteria for accepting an affiliate be one that is going
to actively promote you... and be sending x amount of traffic
within a certain period... and if they maintain or increase that
traffic level - you could consider a commission percentage
increase for them...

just some ideas for you..

~Bell

Yes totally... i want to have a queue of sets on hold.
So everyweek i can add a few sets and everything is under control.

Bell... good idea about the site design. I'm sure some of them would be interested in having their own page online. So i could probably work something out with a few of them.

Yeah i haven't thought about that... i may do a partnership with someone so i don't think i'll need that... but if i'm alone in that trip, yeah for sure, i'll look into that affiliate thingy.

So many thing i don't know.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Scorpio
Yes totally... i want to have a queue of sets on hold.
So everyweek i can add a few sets and everything is under control.

Bell... good idea about the site design. I'm sure some of them would be interested in having their own page online. So i could probably work something out with a few of them.

---

you could always tell them that their site can't go live until
their picture sets have been up on your site for at least
X amount of weeks... etc... so YOU benefit by the newness...

and don't use the same exact photo sets - shoots on their site
as you do on yours so you can reserve the trueness of the statement
of "exclusive photo sessions"


and require that if you build them a site - that it always carry
your link back promo of your choice - for their surfers to come
to YOU for MORE of them... and at that point you could let
that model have an affiliate ship to earn $$ off whatever traffic
he sends you from his site to yours for more of him... (smile)
- - - the model doesn't want to have to pay the high bandwith
that you will be paying for hosting more of his content...
nor does he have or will he have the time or committment to
coddle his members for retention as you will...

~Bell

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Scorpio
Yeah i haven't thought about that... i may do a partnership with someone so i don't think i'll need that... but if i'm alone in that trip, yeah for sure, i'll look into that affiliate thingy.

So many thing i don't know.

---

running an affilaite program isn't hard at all
it's primarily automated by CCBill...

it's much easier that you could imagine...

don't worry about that part for now...

~Bell

yeah i'll see for that later.
So many things to think about though

Thanks everybody

You've been a busy guy Scorpio and there's lot of good advice here - two of the biggest things to really take to heart would be
1) Deliver what's on the tour! Nothing says chargeback like a surfer
getting into the member's area for the first time and feeling the old bait and switch - it's like seeing the great new cars in the showroom and then finding out what's really on the lot is nothing but '74 Pinto Hatchbacks

2) Original and Exclusive content is key. If the quality is excellent & the faces are fresh and you update weekly, in my opinion that will be much better for initial sales and those all important rebills then just assembling a huge collection of images that they have seen a zillion times already and/or can see for free on a tgp.

When designing the member's area layout, make sure your original, freshest content is front and center to that's what a surfer will likely see first! Membership DOES have its privileges - but don't make your member's have to guess what they are!

Yeha i understand... i've been gathering already some fresh content just to start with, then fill up with some original content i'll be shooting. I'll also have a nice script for the content management so it's easy to update.

I just can't wait to start on it :)