Do You Think Webmasters Expectations Change Based On When They Started?

[Lee]

For example, 10+ years ago when myself and several others on the GWW Community started in the industry, conversion ratios were pretty much typically in the 1:100=1:300 range, free content meant you got maybe 10-15 640x480 blurry pics to use, promo tools were pretty much just 468x60 and 120x60 creatives, traffic was gotten by doing link trades with other sites, the list goes on and on....

Now whilst we would all agree that a 1:100 conversion ratio today is good, most affiliate webmasters seem to be happy with conversions under 1:1000-1:2000 and some i have spoken to are happy if they convert a site in under 1:5000 :eek:

For free content they want full (or almost full) high definition exclusive content images or full scenes from a movie/dvd.

For promo tools they want everything possible to be hosted or custom created for them.

Traffic is something you buy from a broker for many, or something that you need to pay to get in the form of partner accounts (partner accounts USED to be free and given to those submitting quality sites regularly).

Do you think the expectations of an adult webmaster changes (along with what is acceptable) as they enter the industry later and later?

I wonder if a webmaster entering the industry in 5 years time will think the 'norm' is a free site containing 100+ images or 4 full scenes from a DVD movie because that is all they will have known from when they started.

Your thoughts on this? How much has the industry changed from when you entered it to the present, in terms of the tools, sites, content, etc you were given by the affiliate programs you joined?

Regards,

Lee

[basschick]

when i started 13 years ago basically you put up a link here and there and made the big bucks. i mean, at 2 cents per RAW click, not only were we making $600 per week from several sponsors, but they were making money paying per raw. and of course, we started online to promote our phone sex lines, which we completely dropped 4 years later.

we bought our content off slides at $25 to $150 per pic, but we didn't need many. there was no free content of any sort, and none was needed - although in most cases, i suspect it was because people were using stuff they found in newsgroups.

on the other hand, sponsor theft was sometimes much more blatant and sometimes shocking or even funny.

i can honestly say that my expectations have changed so completely that it's like i'm working in an entirely other industry when you compare 1996 and 1997 to today.

[Lee]

I used to LOVE PPC programs, there used to be one called FatPockets (now i beleive they are just pps/revshare) that i used to make a minimum of $500 a month with when i first started out, i literally joined the program a week after starting in the business... They were the good days.

Remember when a domain used to cost $90+ too? LOL

Sponsor theft back then was definitely more blatent and to some extent, more accepted than it is today, one program owner used to actually post publicly on the boards he was going to 'shave' 75% of his affiliates traffic during a weekend because he wanted to go on vacation and guess what.. He did, and people STILL sent their traffic to him LOL

There are definitely some things i miss about the industry 10+ years ago and in fact, there is more i miss about how things used to be than what i like about the state of the industry today, everything today is much more 'secret' than it used to be, sponsors try to outsmart affiliates as much as possible instead of being open about what they are doing, webmasters are always trying to fuck other webmasters over and not having to worry about retribution.

I remember one time this guy basically copied a site of another webmasters, a bunch of people got together and image sourced a couple of the guys pics, he made about $2500 from the site he copied, but his bandwidth bill for that week ended up being almost $8000 LOL

Regards,

Lee

[Lee]

Oh shit i just checked Fat Pockets and they still have the very first porn site i ever promoted in their portfolio.....

http://www.smutfantasies.com/

Its a slightly different tour to what i remember but it still looks pretty much the same as it did in '99.

That site used to make me 1000's a month for doing very little work on the old PPC program.... Submit a gallery to free6.com every day for a week and watch the $$$ roll in... I wish i had a time machine LOL

Regards,

Lee

[basschick]

i might take a ride in that time machine with you. our first per-click sponsor was called the dirtybird's nest, and at 2 cents per click - using only the approved banners - we did great. then there was assmeat. and remember adwealth? they were originally pink something, and they had a "rough men" site that did great for us. and back then, great meant either pay per raw click with honest counting or selling at 1:100 or better.

and remember topbucks before they were topbucks? they were also pay per click and did pretty well. i can't remember what they were called.

ah, the good old days...

hey, did you promote hpic back in the day? they used to send us travellers checks from europe every couple weeks, usually at least a few dollars over what they owed us and sometimes a lot more *LOL*

[Lee]

Actually i didnt promote Hpic, at the time i was happy i was making what i was with Fat Pockets, of course hindsight being what it is, i wish i knew i could have more than 1 site on a domain at the time haha

TopBucks used to be... Topcash didnt they for a while? Now they use that domain for their mainstream products.

ARS used to be called something else too haha

AdWealth was actually still around a few years back but their site vanished and started redirecting to... I think EveryCent.

PPC needs to make a comeback, im still waiting on hearing from CCBill when their new PPC platform is going to be ready for beta, im on the list for that and have a bunch of PPC style tours ill be adding as soon as its ready LOL

Regards,

Lee

[Bill]

Oh geez now you are making me groan for the good old days.

6 figure grosses for easy work as a pure affiliate.

Thousand dollar checks were common.

Such is life. At least I paid off my house and all my debts from earlier businesses, and socked away some retirement.