I am probably risking every content provider, their 2nd cousin and their dog entering this thread, but there are hardly any impartial threads about content on the pond, and as someone who has bought as an affiliate, bought for resale, bought for paysites, and even organised exclusive shoots in a variety of niches …. its about time we had a thread on the subject with my lowly newbie … but at least impartial thoughts and tips
Firstly the content market is the grass roots of the adult industry, the really hands on dirty and down to earth base level of what this industry is about. You get all sorts … but rarely do you get your professional minded, business geared and conservative button up shirt with collar pornographer type ….. well people just like me … who are just in it for the $ and not the lifestyle. It takes a particular type to shoot content well, and I for one am so damn glad they do the job because there is nothing I would hate more than having to be involved with content production. Thanks for taking one for the team guys !
Firstly buying content as an affiliate….
Don’t. Well unless you are in a very narrow niche and you are sure the content you are buying isn’t all over the place. This is especially true for tgp and freesite submitting.
Affiliates simply have no need to buy content with such an incredible amount of content on offer by affiliate programs. You are actually worse off buying content from the popular content houses than using free affiliate content because in many cases the popular cheap/middle price content house stock sets are absolutely everywhere!
As an affiliate I posted galleries and freesites hardcore for 2 years. I made a good living off them, and used both free content and bought content. Now this is back 2-4 years when there still wasn’t anywhere near the content available from affiliate programs that there is today ….. and still i made MORE from the free affiliate content than the bought stuff. When looking for sponsor content try the smaller to medium sized affiliate programs with a nice variety of sets and not 100000000000 affiliates promoting them.
Though when using free content please note :
- It doesn’t get worn out or saturated anywhere near as much as you think it does. You should be using the content over and over and over …. not just once. If you stop getting listed then ok its time to move on, but you would be surprised how much you can get listed with content that many consider to be oversaturated.
- If you make a few sales and your sponsor isn’t one of the big (we only care about the 100 sales a day guys) ones ….. then might be worth contacting them and asking for some members area content that others dont have or even a members pass! Many programs are more than willing to let you use their members area stuff if you prove you are a webmaster who can actually make sales.
If you are looking at buying content to submit …..
- It helps if you like the niche, because your content shopping isn’t based on guess work.
- Don’t assume price means its less saturated or better. Dirt cheap content can be better and less saturated than expensive stuff.
- Spend some time looking for smaller content providers, they may have some unique content at decent prices that will work perfectly with your galleries/free sites. There are many content providers who do a good job of selling their stuff, but the problem is their stuff is absolutely everywhere…. and more saturated than any sponsor content could ever be. Many of the smaller content sellers will give you more value for money and more reusability. The number of times I have bought from the ‘best’ content providers and been knocked back on my first submit for the reason “content is overused”!! There goes $20-50 for nothing.
- When buying to promote another site (not that I suggest you do) … try to match the genre, niche and style of the content to that of your sponsor.
Now some tips for dealing with content providers.
- The more they have been in the industry, the more confident they are likely to be. Problem with this is that many attach an extra pricetag to their content because they have been shooting X number of years. Be sure to judge their content on your own … don’t take their claims at face value. It helps to ask fellow webmasters interested in the niche their opinion …. and I have found that doing it without mentioning who shot the content works the best.
- I personally have found dealing with newer or smaller content providers better. I am able to foster a more workable relationship, and prices have been fair. In fact for some of my exclusive stuff …. the cheapest shoots I had done have proven to be the most popular with surfers! Go figure
- Price is always a point for negotiation. Don’t be a scrooge … but still try to work a deal that is a win/win. Content providers do tend to offer large discounts for bulk buys, so it might be worth getting a worthwhile stock of content in one go if you can.
- Unfortunately many content shooters can be desperate to sell their content. They will try anything to get a sale, and make claims that are unrealistic. Step back from the sale hype and try to decide whether its money well spent or are you really just responding to the sales pitch? Once you part with your $ …. it’s probably gone for good so be sure.
- Most content providers who sell a variety of niches don’t understand those niches. A classic example would be voyeur. I could confidently say that 95% of content providers with voyeur category have it filled with content that doesn’t even pass as poor voyeur content. This is the same over several niches, so do your research and don’t take the category on face value.
- Docs. Are they in order? Don’t just take their word for it, ensure they are before you make the purchace. If you don’t live in the US there are still advantages to having .2257 docs.
- Do they have resale rights for the content? Its common to see content providers try to sell budget packages for bargain prices on the boards. Its worth ensuring they have the rights to sell the content. You might be buying a problem.
- Check the licence. Do you need to fax or mail the licence in? Also be aware what the licence allows you to do with the content. Eg if you have a paysite you are using it on, can you offer if for affiliate use, or even now freehosted gallery use ? Many content providers have noticed affiliates are taking content off free hosted galleries and have excluded fhg use because of it.
- When buying content don’t expect the content provider to give you all docs and all content without paying a cent. I am sure these guys have been ripped off as many times as buyers have been ripped off by fake content sellers. Be willing to meet in the middle as far as payment terms go…. especially for the first transaction. Asking for references or using a contract for big $ transactions shouldn’t be a problem for either party. Offence when being asked for reference is usually a sign that something is wrong.
- On the few occasions I have attempted to get a refund from a content provider I have never been able to. Usually it was because their content was nothing like the told me it was…. and was unusable. In fact I have learnt you should always get samples before buying…. just to make sure. This is definitely true with microniches where the videos/pics may not actually be in the microniche you are told they are.
I could keep going all day
Do you want to shoot content????? If so PLEASE DO! The industry needs new blood … and there are far too many guys who have been around for years and years who try to discourage new people from entering the industry. In my experience the newer guys shoot much better content ….. especially in niches they are interested in and passionate about. In fact some of my best sets are by fairly new content providers who hardly charged anything, and they are the sets that just drive our members wild, and always get the best sales when put on tours/promo stuff.
There is actually a lot of room for content guys who can listen, who can act with professionalism, and who don’t require you to climb the ‘Great Wall Of Ego’. That is just a personal opinion of mine though
My best advice ? …..
My advice is that just like you should never take advice on buying a car from a used car salesman, never take advice on buying hosting from a host, …. you should never take to heart advice on buying content from a content provider. Make an informed decision with your hard earnt $.
Call it a lesson learn’t the hard way.
