Freesites...How much is too much?

[maxx68]

I understand that Freesites are used to draw in surfers then direct them to your sponsors with the hope they will sign up, but how do you know if you are giving away too much for free?

I'm staying away from vid clips on my site cause I know (from experience:bananacock: ) you can get off watching a bunch of them, but if you have the right free content on your site you can still get off to those as well.

So...how do you know you've come to that fine line between giving your visitors a site that titillates to a site that basically gives them what they need without having to spend any money?

[Lee]

Im a strong believer that anything over 40 pics is to much and as you said, surfers will be able to get off to more content than that.

Unfortunately many affiliates equate MORE free content with MORE sales and that just isnt the case, they dont know any better though.

Regards,

Lee

[Bill]

Really, you can't know when you are giving 'too much', and you shouldn't be worrying about the surfers that manage to jerk off to your free site.

Concentrate on your selling to those surfers.

Pretty much by definition, most surfers are "just looking" - your target is the surfer that is on the edge of the excitement&impulsebuy threshold.

I'm sure you've already heard that the content should be selected to appeal to and push the excitement threshold of your target - that is, you try to tell a story to your surfers brain that makes them WANT more of the story.

The nature of that story changes with the niche you are selling. If you are selling cum, for instance, you have to include cum in the story, even tho you might think you should withhold the cum to keep your surfer from jerking off to your content. Your target 'cum' surfer, in this case, has a higher excitement threshold for cum than say a muscle surfer, and if you don't show them some cum, the switch in their brain clicks to the "NO - this is shit" position, and they won't bother to visit the sponsor in an excited state.

But the key to freesite and gallery profits is the selling you do with your links to the sponsor and the support text and suggestions that you associate with those links.

[maxx68]

Thanks guys...

Right now I'm just adding links to my sponsors galleries to my hub. I just wanted to make sure that when I start building my mini-free sites I don't go overboard.

[Lee]

But the key to freesite and gallery profits is the selling you do with your links to the sponsor and the support text and suggestions that you associate with those links.

This is actually the perfect example of what is going wrong with the industry these days when it comes to those of us who do still build free sites.

Because content is hitting the web en mass for free, link lists and directories are becoming more demanding with the amounts of content we need to use on our free sites and also, how little ad space we're actually 'allowed' to put on our sites.

I remember when we could have an FPA on the jump page between the enter link and the main page of a free site, 80% of my traffic would go to the sponsor via that FPA, then link lists and directories didnt want FPAs to be used anymore.

Then there was the main page itself, we used to be allowed to put 2 or 3 ads on that page, not any more.

Then on to the galleries, we used to be allowed to put 2 or 3 links to the sponsor on the galleries, not any more.

Now it seems most places are requiring that you beef up the amounts of images, movies or stories being used on free sites whilst at the same time, limiting the amount of actual 'ad selling' that can be done.

Im pretty much at the stage now where im submitting to 3 or 4 link lists that are accepting sites based on how *I* want to build them... So they actually sell the surfer, not give the content away for free.

Regards,

Lee

[maxx68]

This is actually the perfect example of what is going wrong with the industry these days when it comes to those of us who do still build free sites.

Because content is hitting the web en mass for free, link lists and directories are becoming more demanding with the amounts of content we need to use on our free sites and also, how little ad space we're actually 'allowed' to put on our sites.

This is exactly what I'm worried about. I want my sites to be "popular AND profitable" without giving away everything.

I remember when we could have an FPA on the jump page between the enter link and the main page of a free site, 80% of my traffic would go to the sponsor via that FPA, then link lists and directories didnt want FPAs to be used anymore.

Not wanting to sound ignorant, but what is a FPA? Front Page Advertisement or something?

Then there was the main page itself, we used to be allowed to put 2 or 3 ads on that page, not any more.

Then on to the galleries, we used to be allowed to put 2 or 3 links to the sponsor on the galleries, not any more.

Now it seems most places are requiring that you beef up the amounts of images, movies or stories being used on free sites whilst at the same time, limiting the amount of actual 'ad selling' that can be done.

I would really like to set my Link site (HUB) and my TGP, like the old days you are speaking of. I was considering only letting certain individuals setup accounts. I would like to let folks of your caliber submit galleries and links.

Im pretty much at the stage now where im submitting to 3 or 4 link lists that are accepting sites based on how *I* want to build them... So they actually sell the surfer, not give the content away for free.

Be patient Daddy I'm working as fast as I can!LOL

Regards,

Lee

I'm certainly glad I started this discussion. Perhaps if enough of us got together we could start to change the situation for the good.

[Bill]

Well, there are about a half dozen "big" gay linklists that require 50 or 60 pics.

I've subbed to them, and tracked the profitability of their traffic, and nowadays I rarely sbmit to them - because, based on my numbers, which may not apply to another builders numbers, their traffic doesn't produce _two_ standard fressites worth of sales. In fact, I was making less money from a 60 pic freesite than from a single 24 pic freesite subbed to other less demanding linklists, based on my tracking.

In fact, I've been consistently surprised at how badly the traffic from the 50/60 pic linklists performs.

These days I build two 'levels' of freesites, 24 pics and 30-36 pics. These seem to sit at the optimum point of profitability and reviewer acceptance for freesites. (as long as my selling is properly tuned.)

Every once in a while I make a few test freesites with 50-60 pics to restest the traffic quality from the 50/60 linklists - and so far, I keep reaffirming the conclusion that the traffic quality doesn't warrant that type of building.

---

I wasn't sure I entirely understood the point of your post Lee, but I'll continue to assert that it's selling that is the key to profitability with things like freesites and gallerys.

Altho typically this doesn't apply to hubs - a hub is usually stuctured a bit like a personal TGP, and it will contain hundreds if not thousands of items of content, just as a TGP or a linklist does.

[jason559]

We have over 9,300 pics and growing, yeah, probably too much, but what would you expect from a site called freegaypix?

[Lee]

In fact, I've been consistently surprised at how badly the traffic from the 50/60 pic linklists performs.

Same here, its almost as if the traffic from those places are JUST looking for free porn and nothing else, thats why ive cut my submission list on templates down to about 4-6 sites that have rules i like.

Whilst the 50-60 pic link lists do send more traffic, its unproductive and therefore costing me money instead of making me money so i can live without them.

Point was, just because a link list asks for more pics in return for more traffic, doesnt mean that traffic and extra content is worth anything to you overall.

Regards,

Lee

[maxx68]

We have over 9,300 pics and growing, yeah, probably too much, but what would you expect from a site called freegaypix?

I don't think it's the quantity so much as the quality. If you are showing say video stills from the removing of clothes to the full-on money shot, you're basically giving everything away, however, if you have a site with nothing but teaser picks, then so what.

Am I correct?

[DrChango]

from the stand-point of an 'end-user', it's easy to get enough to jerk to from just browsing free content. Point of fact, even though I now have access to a ton of content through work, I still do the 'free spank' approach half the time.

The times I have bought a membership somewhere (which I do about two to three times a year) it is usually something where the free pics or content has a gap I want to take a look at. They have a still of an action about to take place, and then another of the models after it has happened, but done in such a way that I HAVE TO SEE IT!. A good example is a facial. If there's a pic of the happy recipient about to get it, and one of the 'aftermath' and they're done well enough, I have to get that membership to see it actually happen.
Don't know if that makes sense, not exactly at my most eloquent today (got a head cold and I'm in the middle of a last minute move on friggin' New Year's Eve!)

[Lee]

Don't know if that makes sense

Makes total sense and thats what everyone should be doing, unfortunately they arent though, which is why so many surfers can get off looking at the free stuff.

I forget who it was but several years back there was a sponsor who started launching sites with movie trailers on then, the trailers showed just enough of the action to entice the surfer, almost to the full cumshot but, rather than showing the money shot at the end, you (as a viewer) literally got to see the tip of the stream of cum about to shoot of of the models cocks and that was it, the surfer thought they were going to see everything, but the site owner cut the good shit off JUST as it was about to happen.

The surfer literally got to see a small bead of cum about to shoot out of the models dick, im told those sites converted like crazy because of that.

Regards,

Lee

[DrChango]

That sounds like some top-notch editing. I might bring that up to the marketing leads just to hear some truly inventive cursing by the editing and graphics guys in the breakroom:argue:

[Lee]

That sounds like some top-notch editing. I might bring that up to the marketing leads just to hear some truly inventive cursing by the editing and graphics guys in the breakroom:argue:

Oh it was, i totally felt for the poor sucker who had to do the editing work, the clips were perfect in every sense, about 2 minutes long, medium quality, showed the good stuff in the shoot but not the money shot, the poor guy who did the editing must have taken hours upon hours to get them right.

Regards,

Lee

[DrChango]

That tears it, sent the marketing guys an e-mail and I'll bring it up again at lunch. Pity I don't have a beef with any of the editing guys, 'cuz I'd be rubbing my hands and laughing maniacally right now, haha