Terms You Need to Know | Types of Sites | Content | Hosting | Promotion (Web Traffic) | Webmaster Resources

Have you ever wondered why some adult websites guard their content behind secured directories while
others seem overly eager to give away short clips and tons of pictures? Maybe you've noticed that some
supposed porn sites are really nothing more that just a bunch of links to other sites offering content...? Well,
all of these sites are various types of adult websites and, believe it or not, most of them are making money
off of you. The breakdown below is a breif overview of the most popular types of adult websites. If you
have been thinking of starting your own, you're most likely going to pick one of these:

The Free Site
Yes, you're probably already aware that there is a plethora of free smut available around the web today. What
you may not already know is that the sites offering this free content are actually in the business of making
money, and they're doing quite well at it.

The free site works, in essence, by providing you with tempting free pornography in hopes of tantalizing you
to the point of opening your wallet. These sites are really affiliates (e.g.- resellers) of larger pay sites. The pay
sites, commonly referred to as "sponsors," provide the free sites with an endless supply of free galleries, free
thumbnail images and low-quality or abridged versions of their videos. Pay sites even go as far as giving
away some of their outdated content to the free sites. The free sites then live up to their name and pass this
content on to you at no charge, but all with the intent of getting you interested enough in the pay site that
you sign up to see the full content area. When a free site links you to a site where you can sign up, the link
is specially encoded with tracking information. If you actually subscribe, the pay site has a record of who
referred you, and rewards the free site with a payment.

Free sites are the most prolific type of site on the Internet. Because they're generally easy to set up and all
of their content is free, they're also ideal for a new webmaster to run relatively free of risk. With all of the
content supplied by other sites, free sites are also free of the headaches of complying with various laws
such as US Title 2257 (which requires documented proof of a model's age).

Although a free site does sound like a pie in the sky, there are some major caveats to starting your own.
Since they're relatively easy and inexpensive to set up, free sites dominate the Internet. There is tremendous
competition, with webmasters working full time in attempts to draw in potential subscribers. Advertising
is also a hassle, since many of the resources used by larger pay sites (such as galleries of content) are not
readily available to free site owners. Making money with a free site is also a sticky topic. With all the free
sites already competing for attention, it's easy for potential customers to satisfy themselves with the free
content, not subscribe, and defeat the site's purpose. Example of a Free Site

The Thumbnail Gallery
A thumbnail gallery is part free site and part advertising tool. A thumbnail gallery site offers free images (often
scaled down or edited) to the visitor. The gallery generally consists of only one page with an index of 10-14
images and a few ads. Much like the free site, the content for a thumbnail gallery is usually provided by a
sponsor, and the sponsor pays the thumbnail gallery owner a commission every time someone subscribes
after visiting the gallery.

Thumbnail gallery webmasters very rarely run only one gallery, and most run hundreds. After all, making
money with a thumbnail gallery is a statistics game: the more galleries you have, the more visitors will see
them and the more likely someone is to subscribe.

The thumbnail gallery gets its name from the thumbnail images cataloged on the index page (which is
usually the only page) of the site. When a user clicks on a thumbnail, the full (though usually edited)
image is displayed. Example of a Thumbnail Gallery

The Thumbnail Gallery Post
Consider a Thumbnail Gallery Post (commonly known as a TGP) to be a phone book of thumbnail
galleries. Since a user can go through several galleries in a matter of minutes, it only makes sense to
create a directory of as many galleries as possible for the visitor to experience.

TGP webmasters generally make money by listing their own galleries in the TGP. In order to increase
traffic to the TGP, they also allow other webmasters to post links to their galleries, usually in exchange for
a link back to the TGP (known as a "reciprocal link"). It is not uncommon to find a TGP with hundreds or
even thousands of links to thumbnail galleries around the world. Generally speaking, the most prominently
displayed images or links belong to the webmaster running the TGP, while the other- less obvious- links
are the ones submitted by others. Once again, the TGP webmaster is paid by a sponsor site.
Example of a TGP

The Link List
The link list, also known as a link dump, is similar to a TGP but generally smaller and with fewer images.
The link list webmaster makes money in much the samw way as a thumbnail gallery or TGP webmaster:
by posting links to his or her own sites. Much like with the TGP, a link list webmaster can increase
traffic (and potential subscribers) by allowing other webmasters to post links in exchange for a reciprocal
link.

The link list is widely considered the easiest adult website to set up and most serious adult webmasters
maintain at least one. A plethora of software, including a tremendous amount of free software, is available
to fully automate the link list site. Because running a link list is remarkably simple, lists have grown
exponentially and become virtual search engines of porn catalogs. Regardless of what type of site you
ultimately choose, you're probably going to want to run at least one link list for additional income or
as a stand-alone advertising tool. Example of a Link List

The Pay Site
The pay site is like the holy grail of adult websites. The pay site is the father site that supplies content
to all of the other types of sites listed above. People who start pay sites normally have very deep pockets,
a creative idea and a unique niche. As hard as it is to give away free porn with a free site, it's even harder
to get people to pay for it, but some do... and that's why we have pay sites.

A pay site consists of three major avenues: the tour, the content area and the advertisements. Let's look
at each of these three concentrations individually:

The Pay Site TOUR
The tour is the pay site's bread and butter; it is how new subscribers get enough information to make
a purchasing decision. The tour is normally a well planned, well laid out cross section of what can be
found inside, presented in such as way as to make membership an irresistable option. A pay site's tour
is such a major investment that it has created an industry all its own: individuals and companies offer
all kinds of services from professional design of a tour to professional consultation. New pay site owners
are strongly encouraged to have their tour professionally designed, often at a cost of several hundred to
several thousand dollars. This expense is in addition to the massive disk space and bandwidth requirements
necessary to host the numerous pictures, videos and more associated with the tour. The tour is one of the
most important components to a successful pay site. Example of a Tour

The Pay Site CONTENT AREA
Once a subscriber is convinced (by the tour) to pay money, they expect to get what they paid for. The
pay site's content area is what they get, and it is normally an enormous repository of adult images,
movies, stories and other goodies not available anywhere else on the Internet. Once upon a time, an
adult webmaster could maintain a content area with only a few gigabytes of content. Those days are
long past, though, and hundreds of gigabytes or even terrabytes are now the norm. Depending on the
site's niche, the webmaster has two options for supplying this content: it can either be purchased from a
content supplier (see the above link to "Content"), or it can be produced with a camera and model(s).
As one can imagine, stocking a content area is quite an undertaking, with most pay site webmasters
investing tens of thousands of dollars in content alone. Quality AND quantity are essential in the content
area, though, because content is what keeps subscribers coming back. A poor quality or sparsely
stocked content area makes cancellations and chargebacks nearly inevitable, and those are the two
enemies of the pay site webmaster.

Special note about a pay site's content area: When setting up a content area, carefult consideration
should be given to the selection of a server. Numerous web hosting companies are available on the web,
but small, inexpensive hosting packages are not well suited for the bandwidth and space-intensive
needs of the content area. If you are launching a pay site, do not skimp on the hosting package, because
high disk usage and bandwidth fees will cost you more very quickly. If your web host does not offer
at least 500 gigabytes (500GB) of storage and unlimited bandwidth, keep looking; you will need
that kind of powerhouse hosting for a pay site's content area.

The Pay Site ADVERTISING
A pay site webmaster's creativity is not limited to the tour and the content area. The webmaster is also
responsible for driving traffic to the pay site's tour, and that's where advertising comes in. Advertising can
take any number of shapes and sizes and ranges from free link exchanges (see link lists above) to
expensive print, radio and television ads. The opportunities for advertising are endless, but the current
staple of pay site advertising is providing free content to the free sites and TGPs as described above.

Unfortunately, no website can give you a complete advertising summary, as the advertising opportunities
are without limit. If you are unsure of how to market your pay site, then you should consider starting
with a free site or link list. These sites provide ample grounds for learning various advertising tricks while
minimizing the investment risk. If you want to learn more about advertising your website, then visit
the "Promotion (Web Traffic)" link above.