This may sound like a harsh question, but it's a fair one to ask. We all need a little "kick in the ass" at times to keep us moving forward and striving to accomplish our goals. There is no shame in a lack of motivation or a feeling of despair. The shame lies in allowing it to control your future.
Let's get a few simple facts out of the way from the start. You are reading this because you sell porn. That's right....say it with me now...."I Sell Porn". This is not a get rich quick scheme and it is not the "fast track" to success that most people new to this business think it is. This is a job. This is YOUR business. You must treat your business as such, or you simply won't make it.
There are no shortcuts to success. You must be willing to work long, hard hours, with very little return on investment. Yes, I said investment. You've undoubtedly heard the old saying "it takes money to make money", and this holds true in the porn biz, as well. You may hear from people who talk about making money with virtually little or no investment, but this was back in the earlier days of selling porn on the Internet. Now there is much more competition for the surfers, and to get your share of the pie, you must invest a little in your content, domains and hosting if you want to stay in the game.
So, you say you want to stay in the game? You've got your domain, you've got a host, you have some content, so you build your first site and watch the money start pouring in, correct? No, it's not quite that easy. The best web site in the world will not make a single penny if it never gets any traffic, so you go out in search of traffic. But where should you start? The search engines are a good place to start, because they are always changing and take a while to get listings, so it's imperative to get some knowledge of these as soon as possible. But that traffic is in the future, and you need traffic today to help pay for the content you bought and hosting service you're paying for, so you go for a listing with a Link List or a TGP. This is a lot of work, considering the hundreds of link sites and thousands of tgp's that you'll have to wade through to find what is best suited to your needs.
Now, you've got your site some traffic and the money is starting to pour in, right? Again, not so fast. The days of building a single, profitable site on the adult Internet are all but over....and I'm being generous in this assessment. The single biggest key to success on today's adult web is to build and submit, build and submit, build and submit. You need to build sites in as many niche areas as possible, and continue to build new pages every day, and submit new pages every single day to keep your flow of traffic up. (read "Creating The Surf", by Old Tom)
Have you done all of this? Are you currently doing all of this? Still feel the need for a "kick in the ass"? Don't despair, it happens to us all. You need to be devoted to your business, and committed to it's success. If something isn't working, make a few changes and try again. You will have the desire to quit at some point, and this is when you need the "kick in the ass" to keep you going. It will not always be fun, or interesting or easy. It will, however, always be a job. Grit your teeth and push through the obstacles that life has piled up on your desk and just keep building and submitting.
Rome was not built in a day, and your porn empire will not be built overnight. There is much to learn on a daily basis in this biz, and there will always be an excuse out there for quitting. There is no such thing as a good excuse, so ignore it and push forward. Look at what exists around you and think of ways to improve it, or make it more appealing. Network. That's an important one, so I'll say it again....Network. Get to know the people you work with and be aware of the reputation you are building for yourself at all times. Your peers can be the difference in keeping you in business, or making sure you get nowhere.
Think back to your job. What is it that you do? You sell porn. This implies sales, which means you will need to learn how to sell. You need good people skills and a good reputation. You will need the determination and desire to acquire and to hone these skills into tools that help you achieve the success you're looking for. There will always be more to learn, and more to do. The Internet changes daily, and as adult webmasters, we must change with it.
If you've read everything above, and you're still here wanting to be an adult webmaster, then please bend over and allow me to be the first person to officially kick you in the ass! Take your desire and go build, submit or learn. Success is out there just waiting for you to take it, but it will not come easy for most, and it will not just fall into your lap. This is a job....are you willing to work?
- Freak
A few titles of recommended reading:
The Magic of Thinking Big
The Greatest Salesman in the World