Are we taking a wrong approach here?

[Element115]

Is there any real data to support that this industry is even affected that much by economic downturns? I honestly don't see why it would be. Obviously more people losing their jobs would have a little bit of an impact because that's less potential customers. But unlike buying a car or a house, people don't think logically when they spend money on things like alcohol, condoms, sex toys and even porn. They are all impulse buys and the nature of an impulse buy is that people often spend money on them whether they can afford them or not. We're in the business of instant gratification. If people acted logically while they were buying porn than most of us would be out of job.

Unless someone has some hard numbers that show definitively how the sale of online porn goes down during a recession I think it's a little early to be switching gears.

[Greenguy]

Originally Posted by Element115

Is there any real data to support that this industry is even affected that much by economic downturns?...

I'd post my personal stats & income & show everyone that I'm down 50% with the same traffic, but maybe everyone can take my word for it

***

I've been pushing free & $1 trials for YEARS & they are still my best sellers.

I really wish I could convert indie amateur sites, because real amateur porn is by far my FAVORITE niche, but my surfers disagree

[Element115]

Originally Posted by Greenie

I'd post my personal stats & income & show everyone that I'm down 50% with the same traffic, but maybe everyone can take my word for it

***

Fair enough I'm sure we can all take your word for it and I'm also sure we can mostly agree that your stats are probably a fairly decent barometer for the industry.

I'm curious to know, are your sales down all across the board or are you noticing any trends? Personally, I've seen my conversions go up for the most part but I'm dealing almost strictly in micro niches. As Trixie points out, you can get porn for free online. So maybe that's why I'm not seeing much of a difference since the micro niches are much more difficult to find.

Having said that, I do have some mainstream sites and my conversions on have always been pathetic. I was beginning to think that I just don't have the knack to convert mainstream sites but looking back on it now I'm starting to think that the problem is that I'm still taking a micro-niche approach to my mainstream sites. I tend to focus on quality and ignore the price completely. Looks like it's time for me to give up on the connoisseurs and start selling to the bargain bin shoppers.

[Greenguy]

Originally Posted by Element115

...I'm curious to know, are your sales down all across the board or are you noticing any trends?...

I'm noticing that people are still clicking, but they are not buying as much.

[Element115]

Originally Posted by Greenie

I'm noticing that people are still clicking, but they are not buying as much.

So you're saying that there isn't any particular areas that aren't affected? Free sites, $1 trials, micro niches, everything is down across the board for you?