Breaking into The Adult Marketing & Web Development Business - Updated 10/05/2009

Recently, I’ve received a lot of questions about delving into the adult marketing via Twitter and Facebook; the questions I am asked most are:

1. Is there good money in it?
2. Is it hard to do?
3. What do you do?
4. How do you develop a clientele?

The simple answers are:

1. There can be, if you do it correctly, it’s just like any business.
2. Yes, it is hard to do. Just like any business
3. I do the same thing you do for mainstream clients.
4. You develop clientele just like you do any business.

These questions are just the icing on the cake, what “inquiring marketing minds” actually pondering and asking is how to penetrate the adult industry and creating a successful business. They want to know if it can it worth the time and effort. Well, guess what? Any smart, determined marketer or developer can create a successful adult business, but they have to have a strategic plan to do so.

Here are my tips for deciding if you should start an adult marketing company:

Tip #1: Don’t approach the adult industry like it’s some secret Illuminati society that must be infiltrated. There are multiple ways to enter it: networking, emailing, trade shows, etc. It’s the same as any industry; it takes time and a targeted, strategic approach. Pick on that is most comfortable for you and go from there. For you online types, my next suggestion in perfect!

Tip #2: Set up an alternate Twitter nd start following adult entertainers, designers and other professionals that look interesting (@AudaciaRay, @VictoriaLane, @DarkGracie, @MasterRobyn, @Mindchaotica, @KimberleeCline and @PBVixen are a must). Start reading blogs, looking at web sites, check links and slowly start to comment. Just like it takes a website about six months to fully integrate into the Google sandbox and be allowed to play, it is the same for any new person in the adult scene. When you find something that tickles your fancy, proceed to Tip #3!

Insider Tip #3: Find something interesting? Go Google the crap out the thing that made you go – “OH!” and start studying it. Need inspiration? Check my side links, I put the stuff I really like there. Find a niche that works for you and start there, then grow.

In mid-September, the beautiful Melissa Gira, wrote a piece about me in Valley Wag. It was called “Porn Marketer teaches you how to use Twitter”. I laughed at myself. Porn marketer I didn’t know I could get that title.  Thanks Melissa, I love it.

Since then, Melissa’s column was cut and I wanted to vocalize my dismay, it is really a shame. I only read Valley Wag because of Melissa. It drew me in to exploring the rest of the website. My link to her column will remain in my “Fix List”.

Many publications cut their sex columnists - supposedly because of the economic state and needing to tighten budgets, cut the fat.

My initial reaction was “Big Mistake”.

Sex is just as comforting, distracting and fulfilling as the macroni and cheese, good books or  reading the latest “stay positive” article. Mainstream Sex, ALT sex and even Kink Sex are just as relevant as anything else that could be published.

You had brilliant minds working hard to add value to their media outlets (Audacia Ray, Regina Lynn, Tristan Taoromino).

My Questions: Do they feel it was an easy line item to help their bottom line or did they did it to change public perception of brand in the midst of the economic crisis and political changes?

I would interested to see if there are positive effects after excluding the sexual voices that provided knowledge and education to their mainstream audiences; I think Valley Wag, Village Voice and Wired will find many drawbacks to hasty decisions.

I am very happy that many of you are jumping on the social media train. Many savvy sex workers and adult industry business people are using it effectively to network with others in the adult industry, but some people are misusing it.

Social media has a place in adult business, it is for networking, promoting your books, educating mainstream audiences and developing new concepts. Anyone who uses them is very careful about content. They don’t put racy photos on it or link it to escort sites.

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