Have we finally reached maturity?

[dareutwo]

I've been basically gone for the past year.
In the past few days, I've made a couple freesites, and started submitting.
Some are gone, but now more and more are going to partner status only.
Has this industry finally grown up enough to do this?

(I mean, I used to review sites with .edu domains)

[neticule]

quick answer? yes.

something has to happen, the mass amount of adult webmasters in the last few years has been ruining the industry, and at some point it gets so saturated that something has to be done. this is the first step, i really hate logging into partner accounts for linklist, BUT i understand, and i would rather have to login to submit then have 10 times as much competition to get listed. the industry will be fixing itself over 2005 i think, slowly the crappy cookie cutter paysites are going away and being replaced by better converting and higher quality sites, the partner accounts can only help things in my opinion.

Things get so bad at some point with conversions and getting listed that a huge number of people just give up and get a "real" job, that is the first step for it to get better for all of the other people, willing to just hold on to what they have and wait for things to get better.

/end ramble

[Ramster]

Not so sure about it cleaned up but partner and paid accounts are the future.

[plateman]

Yes I agree and nows the time to get out of porn..

[neticule]

Originally posted by plateman
Yes I agree and nows the time to get out of porn..

indeed, any of you with even a small doubt about doing this whole porn site stuff, just give it up and leave it to us professionals...

[RawAlex]

Paid and partner accounts are the way things are going mostly because of the organized bullshit that comes from certain areas. I don't use partner accounts right now, but I have huge IP blocks out there to keep the worst of the worst off my submit page. If I didn't I would be looking at literally hundreds more crappy unlistable sites per day.

It's really a game of numbers. Most link sites will handle anywhere between 20 - 100 new listings per day. Some of the biggest lists are seeing 3k submits per day. Do the math. Why would any sane link site owner want to decline 2900 sites per day?

partner accounts (free or paid) solve many issues, and help to keep quality high and the money flowing.

All of my new projects going forward will be on a partner account basis.

Alex

[Cleo]

Quality both in design and content along with being known on the boards and in person goes a very long way.

I've really upgraded my script a lot in how it deals with submitters. I can ban just about any aspect of a submit and you need an account to even load the form.

Like Alex anywhere from 20 to 100 sites a day is plenty for me to list.

If I've already gotten thirty lesbian sites submitted to me in one day I get real picky about listing any more but if I've only gotten one Indian site that day it would have to be a really crappy site for me not to list it.

Basically just following the rules is not enough to get listed anymore. You also have to have good design and content.

[GeorgeTH]

Originally posted by RawAlex
...I have huge IP blocks out there to keep the worst of the worst off my submit page. If I didn't I would be looking at literally hundreds more crappy unlistable sites per day.

All systems unfortunately have their flaws... I remember back in 2001 I spent about 6 months in Europe, and during that time I lost several important submissions spots due to IP blocks; I was using pay-per-minute ISPs (or for 3 weeks only internet cafés in Croatia) since I wasn't a resident and an ISP contract didn't make any sense...
When I returned home several sites had gone 'password only', and despite numerous emails never replied (uh-oh comes to mind; the previous year they had listed almost every one of my submissions, traffic was good, but all my emails were ignored!). And most Brownie scripts simply delete passwords after 3 months of no access...

The big question is: will submission accounts cut off all newbies? The trustworthy ones as well as the clueless and outright-malicious cheaters?
Is that what everybody wants?

When did you start, as a newbie, and how would you have felt about running into shut doors everywhere you turned?

[Cleo]

I also have blocks of IPs banned.

I remember when I first got started doing this and we all pretty much knew each other. You would get so much traffic from a LL that you needed to watch your BW usage, it was expensive too.

The problem is everyone and grandma too has gotten into the porn biz.

It evolution, survival of the strongest, I would hate to be coming into this business now.

[neticule]

Originally posted by Cleo
I would hate to be coming into this business now.

I hear ya there! every year its atleast twice as hard then the previous to get started in this business.

[Sarah_Jayne]

in many ways I couldn't think of what it would be like to be a total newbie in this industry right now. You would have to be a really hard worker and very determined. Maybe that isn't a bad thing for us in the long run but I am happy I got in when I did.

[Greenguy]

I don't think we've "reached maturity" but more along the lines of a constant evolution of sorts - and this is not just for Link Lists & TGP's, it's the industry in general.

More mature, but maturity in this business is infinite.

[Ramster]

I don't think anyone wants to "shut the door" on newbies. I was a newbie once.

Supply & Demand

I think the days where you can start this business with ZERO investment are near an end. A newbie will need to own a domain or 2. He can still use some sponsor content. He can still get listed at most link sites without paying. He can still get listed at some tgps without paying.

But realistically a newbie must be willing to dish out $200-1000 a month for hosting and listings on link lists and TGPs on a regular basis. Simply a cost of doing business. Otherwise a newbie will always be dealing with the "grade b" traffic places. And things will continue to go that route.

You can't "advertise" your product (gallery or free site) in the brick and mortar world for free so why on the internet now that the demand is outwaying the supply.

[Greenguy]

The investment to start in this business is still minimal - you can get a domain for $10-15, a small hosting package for $50/month, some cheap content for $100 & then, aside from programs & whatnot (editors, ftp, etc) it's just a time investment.

[Sarah_Jayne]

you are right about costs...it is much cheaper these days to get in on the ground leve. Heck, for what it used to cost for one domain you can have your own little domain empire now.

[neticule]

true, and there are more content providers these days as well, with more competitive pricing.

my favorite thing that ever happened on the internet was domains going from $70 to $10

[Alphawolf]

Originally posted by Cleo

It evolution, survival of the strongest, I would hate to be coming into this business now.

Actually, even since I started freesites late August/September it has gotten a bit tougher.

That 'no vidcap' rule was a real smack in the ass.

With so many sites movie based the only choice is to use actual movies.

That would kill a virtual hosting account very quickly even on just LL traffic.

Those mediocre vid caps worked well for me...so they must have turned the surfer on.

If I take away the vid cap sales I'd be about 20% less revenue overall. Then again- I'd be forced to promote other things and adapt.

When you 1st start you really have no sense of what sort of traffic/bandwidth to expect.

Then again...you can't miss what you never had and if you're new there's nothing to compare it to.

It's an uphill battle, but I'm starting TGP within the next week...

It's not easy being a newbie, but it's doable and something that can make money for you while you're on vacation or sleep at night is worth sluggin' it out.

[LeeNoga]

Originally posted by Greenguy
I don't think we've "reached maturity" but more along the lines of a constant evolution of sorts - and this is not just for Link Lists & TGP's, it's the industry in general.

More mature, but maturity in this business is infinite.

I agree GG.

I have been around for 10 years and have seen alot of evolution, and thats what some may call maturity which is also correct.

We still are "rightsizing" from the massive explosion that came to the scene in '97 cashing in on the goldrush.

We are seeing some old business models break down as new folks and companies bring new things and ideas to this business.

It is like any other system, the strong will survive and the weak ones will fall by the wayside and die off.

This business is still about, "Work smart, not hard" and there is there is so much money to be made for those willing to make a serious investment of time and in some cases resources.

If I were going to start as a "noob" today, I would definately get into the paysite review business. The traffic is not huge but damn if it is not golden. These folks coming to read reviews WANT to spend money. I much rather write a review than submit galleries and hope for the best.

If you know what kind of traffic converts best, thats your ground 0, and that will always tinkle some cash, so adult is always good for a dabble if you do not make a career of it [which ithe nbr of folks doing this as a career is on the decline, BTW]

But thats my .02 cents plus prime :-)