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If you read the Adult Check boards then your
bound to know who TLA is, if you don't, TLA is a successful Adult
Check Webmaster who frequents the boards, some love him, some hate
him, but regardless of that, I believe he's an interesting guy and
IMO has some great thoughts for you guys that would like to try your
hand at avs sites. Hope you like it. Justin.
Justin:
Welcome to Rookie Class TLA, how long have you been an adult check
webmaster and how did you first start out?
TLA: I started
out in 1996 and my very first site was an Adult Check site. I still
have it. After getting a couple of ID's and looking around at sites,
I was a typical surfer, I thought to myself that I could do it too.
I found a tutorial to teach me html and went through it in one day.
My only problem was pics so I started the same way many webmasters
did. Totally illegal with pics I'd gotten from newsgroups,
downloaded from the net etc. Then I read a post about using illegal
pics, ( I didn't know anything about what I was doing or that using
others pics was illegal) and promptly called Dave Clark at Web Legal
and order my first CD. I struggled to pay for it as I wasn't making
any money but I knew I would. I worked full time and made sites and
tried to make it go. Eventually I was making more from my sites than
I was at work so I did the part time thing and finally quit in
October of 97. I've been doing it full time since then. A lot of
people helped me back then with advice, scolding when I needed it
and even a secret now and then. It's thanks to those people I'm
where I'm at today. I don't have the biggest sites on the net, nor
the fanciest, nor even my own paysite. Just a bunch of sites with
Adult Check and a few free sites on free servers.
Justin: What are your comments on the avs systems at
present and what advancements do you see them making in the
future?
TLA: I love the AVS system. It's what made me semi
rich and is continuing to do that. It's paid for my 2.5 acres of
lakeshore and my new 3300 SQ ft house and all my toys. The only
thing that concerns me with AVS's in general is are they trustworthy
and is their links list open to the public or can only members
access it. Other than that they pretty much all work the same way. I
think more of them will be offering more content for their
webmasters. Videos, chat, games etc. that webmasters don't want to
pay for on a small site. Some offer some of those things now. I also
think that many of them will attempt to become portals and offer all
the things, email, news, sports, etc. that a regular non adult
portal has plus the added benefit of porn.
Justin: Your very much a character on the ac boards,
what do you find are some of the most glaring mistakes etc. the
people make when using an avs and trying to make money and what is
some advice you could give them about some of the pitfalls etc. to
look out for?
TLA: Character huh? I tell it like it is and
I don't suffer fools gladly, nor do I let experienced webmasters
give stupid advice to newbies or try to scare them. If that makes me
a character so be it. I'm blunt and to the point and a lot of people
don't like it. On the other hand a lot do like it. I seem to have no
middle ground, people either like me or hate me. Anyway, the biggest
mistake I see is newbies trying to put up a site on a free host and
make money from signups with an AVS. Worse yet is putting a site up
on Angelfire, Tripod, Geocities or any place like that where they
don't allow adult sites or porn. The first rule is no banners on
your splash pages. Don't let the surfer go anywhere but where you
want him to, free hosts banners take your valuable signups. Newbies
still believe the myth that you can put up a porn site, signup with
an AVS and make a ton of money. Wrong, it takes work and a lot of
work. I work an easy 12 hours per day, 7 days a week and fall
further behind everyday. Another thing new webmasters do wrong is
trying to be everything to everyone. Don't put up a general site,
specialize in something, find a niche and learn it. Lastly, find a
good adult server with decent prices and low BW charges and get set
up on it. When you can afford it get your own domain name. That's
the highest priority along with your own space on an adult server. I
found this book by Ken Evoy called Make Your Site Sell. It's the
best book I've ever found on how to design and market a site. I've
started the process of changing my sites around, rewording them for
SE and for better signups. It's something I wish I would have had 4
years ago. His 5 Pillars affiliate program and manual is a roadmap
for how to make any program you are affiliated with make you more
money. My income is up right around 10% in the last 6 weeks and I
attribute it all to MYSS and the changes I made because of what I
read. Just the free things Ken gives away on the site are worth it.
You can find out more about it at Sitesell.com.
Justin: What is your opinion on the new policy changes
at Adult Check and what are your comments on adult check as a
whole?
TLA: I don't think AC went far enough with the new
policies! I'd like to see more pics required, less tolerance of
cheating webmasters and more consistent application of present
policies to the Gold Site program. Actually I'd like to see a
moratorium on new Gold Sites until they get the present sites weeded
out and the links list cleaned up. That will never happen though. I
fight with AC as much as I do with anyone else. When they do
something good I tell them and when I think they screwed up I tell
them that also. Heh, heh, I know they don't always like the way I
tell them but they do listen. I think they do a good job at what
they do. The best AVS out there as far as I'm concerned. When I do
things the way they tell me I make money. That's the bottom line.
Justin: If you could make 1 change to Adult Check,
what would it be?
TLA: The lifting of the 25 sites per
template. There is no way you can tell me the surfer wants to see me
make a 9 page site with 5 pics and 3 banners per page rather than a
nice 3 page site with 15 pics and 3 banners per page. Yet if I want
to make more AC sites that's what it comes down to. AC is, IMHO,
telling me to make the kind of sites I hate just because I have 25
with the 3 pics pages. So I stopped making regular sites. I hate
that rule and AC knows it. ;)
Justin: Do you think there are still good income
possibilities for new guys starting out on avs sites?
TLA:
Definitely, without a doubt. People are doing it everyday. I do
think it's harder now to get started but it's still the best thing
going on the net for generating income. Some aspects are actually
easier because now you can find everything you need to know on the
net. Marketing, SE, site design etc. that wasn't really there when I
started. It's tougher because there are now more webmasters and more
sites but quality webmasters and quality sites still seem to be the
exception rather than the rule. Quality sells and it always will.
Learn the porn biz, learn the tricks of the trade, learn what your
customers want and most of all learn how to get good SE positions.
It takes some time, some dedication and a lot of work but it can
still be done.
Justin: How do you see the webmastering
biz progressing in the future?
TLA: I expect Congress will
get it's act together someday and some watered down version of Coop
will pass. It won't make much difference except for most free sites
in the USA going away. The rest of the world will still be able to
have free sites. More people will be forced to join the AVS system
or go out of business. I think the US Govt. will be looking for a
few blatantly illegal free sites to prosecute for porn in the hope
of scaring the rest out of business. In the next 3-5 years I expect
the big to get much bigger and to control much of the porn on the
net. My goal was and always has been to be big enough the big boys
won't be able to force me out of business but have to buy me out.
The small webmaster will all but disappear. I use a Wal-Mart analogy
frequently. When they come to town the small, inefficient mom and
pops usually go out of business, medium sized business are forced to
change a lot of things for the better or go out of business. The big
boys are going to find it's easier to own a bunch of their own
feeder sites instead of having partnerships along with all the
hassles the partnerships or affiliates bring. Before that happens I
look for them to start limiting affiliates and weeding out the ones
who don't produce. It's happening in non adult now. Personally, I
can't wait for the BW to get better so virtual sex will be viable on
the net. Imagine being able to walk all around a model, get closer
or further away, see her from below or above, all with no loss of
clarity. Being able to simulate touching her, feeling her etc.
Someone is going to make a ton of money selling the accessories for
virtual sex on the net but I'm going to make a ton by being one of
the first sites to have it, no matter what it costs
me.
Justin: Thanks for your time TLA, take
care.
TLA: Thanks for having me on the site. It was a
pleasure.
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