Yesterday I spoke on a blogging/podcasting panel at Internext. Though I was working from the same notes I’d used for the presentation I gave at the International Players Ball called ‘Treat your lady right’, the other panelists made some excellent points.
Most useful of all was an answer to the ‘How do I get linked from Fleshbot’ question I’m asked all the time. Here’s what you missed:
- Jonno (Fleshbot’s editor) has to make 12 sexually themed posts a day to satisfy his contract. That’s not easy. It means hes desperate to find high-quality stuff to link to and welcomes good submissions.
- High-quality means original. If you’re re-posting something you found elsewhere your chances of getting picked up are very slim.
- High-quality also means high-value. Lots of big pictures or a nice chunk of video are exactly what he wants. If it’s text, make it short, sweet, funny and brilliant (then add an original picture because every post at Fleshbot has to have one).
- Don’t use Flash or frames to present your content, they make it hard to link to.
- Make sure you’re able to pay for the bandwidth you’ll use if you make it in. A Fleshbot link can send a significant chunk of 200,000 people a day in your direction.
- Send your items (not your blog URL, but the specific post you’re submitting) to tips@fleshbot.com
This advice also holds true for getting linked from Wired’s sex blog Sex Drive and just about any of the other big blogs. Good luck (though if you do what’s been suggested you won’t need that much of it)
May I chime in, since I do the occasional the sex blog roundup?
I effing hate Flash. I avoid Nerve.com now because of it.
When you write up your exploits, things like paragraph breaks, punctuation and spelling DO matter. Those of us looking for posts read and skim really fast, so a lot of space helps to skim faster (at least from my experience).
Blogger has a spellcheck, USE it.
Make yourself findable - submit your feed to search engines, RSS feed engines, Sexoteric’s news feed, etc.
I’m sure Bacchus will have some perspective on this too, since he’s been doing it longer than me.
When I get an email pitch for Sexerati with nothing but a URL and a little phrase along the lines of “I love your work!” but absolutely no other information, it goes to the bottom of the priority list. I really want people who tip me off to themselves to brag and boast as much as they can muster, so I can get worked up about what I’m about to go browse and possibly blog.
http://sexyangels.blogspot.com has been linked and flooded by a few sites and while it’s fun, the traffic does not monetize.
Angel,
I think it may be premature to think that your link from Fleshbot didn’t monetize… When http://www.tirepaddle.com/ had it’s day in the spotlight, it didn’t translate into immediate sales, but I know that several of the people who’ve bought from me since then originally found the site via Fleshbot. I also have had new buyers who just discovered me in Fleshbot’s archives, and I expect that to continue.
Not everyone impulse buys.
I also wound up with a wholesale account to JT’s Stockroom thanks to the link from Fleshbot. That alone has been a huge income generator, and should also continue.
It might depend on what you’re selling and how you sell. I just checked out your blog, and the pics are great! Very nice. You may just need to think of better ways to capitalize on traffic surges. One way to do that might be to post ASAP a special offer for readers coming in from whoever sent you the traffic.
Good luck!
I second BadAss’s comments. For me the spike in traffic- and in calls- lasted about a week, with periodic visitors wandering in from the archives. The first time I was oblivious, the second time I wised up and posted a special offer when the traffic jumped.
It also helps to consider the pic browser’s mindset- most likely not shopping around but looking to enjoy some beautiful and sexy photos (and they are gorgeous). Soft selling the added benefits of the live chat (seems obvious to you, I know…) might help, too. With live a lot of the appeal is the performer’s look, personality, and the interaction- you might want to try contacting one or two of the performers about getting individually featured on your blog.
Thanks for these great tips, I am currently trying to get my blog xxx-live-cams.blogspot.com some traffic, honestly I need all the help I can get.
http://www.secksee.com is always looking for some extra traffic, thanks for the tips!
Katie and Badass…thanks for the advice and compliments. Indeed, original cosplay photography from Japan and original photos/vids of the Asianbabecams girls are on the boards for 2006. Tough job but someone’s gotta do it. As for the monetizing, I’m learning how to serve and benefit the traffic better each time there’s a surge!!!