Shap

Hi Everyone. I always love reading the really good in-depth business threads. They are always really good to get ideas flowing and see what others have to say. With that said I thought why don't I try to start a good business thread and see what other people think. Anyhow here is my attempt at it.


My question to you GFYers is...
What do you think of the current SoloGirl Paysite Craze?
Do you think companies are making bank on them or just doing alright?


Here's My Opinion....

To my knowledge more SoloGirl sites were launched in 2005 than in any other year before and by comparison I would say there were fewer Mega Sites (ie Twistys, Atk, Karups) launched in 2005 than any other year before. One might think that SoloGirl sites are more profitable than Mega sites and hence the huge explosion of them. I believe that person would be wrong and very far from the truth.

Everywhere you turn there is another solo girl site popping up. Another big webmaster program announcing they've launched a new solo girl site and Xbiz running articles about how SoloGirl sites are the big craze. I can't help but wonder if everybody jumping on the wrong bandwagon.

I don't know the exact history of paysites but my guess would be solo girl sites were the first type of paysites. Names that come to mind are Carol Cox and Danni Ashe. Both have been extremely successful and have been in our industry longer than 99% of us. They were successful because they were able to attract a market that was willing to pay money to see more and learn more about that girl. It gave the surfer an inside look to their life as well as some hot pics and movies. Both of those sites started as Single Model sites and eventually developed into full blown sites featuring many models. Why? I believe because it was the logical step for them to grow and maintain market share. With their competition offering more they had to increase what their member's got in order to remain competitive. If Danni were still a site about just Danni Ashe she'd have a SMALL fraction of the members she has today.

It has probably been close to 10 years since Carol Cox's site went live. Since then we've had a whole variety of paysites come out. From cookie cutter to mega site to niche site to reality sites to reality niche sites, to dvd sites etc. I think it is very safe to say since the new visa regulations went into effect the paysite industry has taken some major steps forward. Instead of the old cookie cutter crap, surfers are finally getting something for their money. Reality sites SAVED big PPS programs. Reality sites allowed programs like SicCash, SilverCash, Adult.com to continue running high converting sites for a relatively low cost.

Ok, back to today. Have we come full circle? Here we are 10 years later and you have a large number of companies jumping on SoloGirl sites as if it is the biggest thing to hit the paysite industry. You would think 10 years later our industry would have evolved and there be more mega sites or model networks featuring multiple solo girls (ie Lightspeed). Instead a number of companies are jumping on board and starting from scratch with half assed, overpriced, under updated and personality less Solo girl sites. From my standpoint it just seems odd. After the visa regs I thought it would only be a matter of time before a company like SicCash, SilverCash, Adult.com, Ars ran a huge successful mega site. Instead being cost effective and running/starting sites as cheap as possible is more important and so some of these companies have entered into the solo girl market. Are they afraid of the cost and work that goes in to a mega site? Or are the profits too long term for their business model?

To answer my question.
What do you think of the current SoloGirl Paysite Craze?
I believe companies getting in on solo girl sites thinking they've found their long term solution are in for a rude awakening. I think Mr Steve Lightspeed would be the first to tell you, if you base your business model around solo girl sites you are going to have to keep trying and trying until you hit a big seller. Once you hit the big seller milk her dry and start looking for the next big seller FAST. If you don't find that big seller don't expect big bucks.

Do you think companies are making bank on them or just doing alright?
I think most of them are making SOOOOOOO much less than you think you'd be shocked. I know sites like Naughty Allie and Vanilla Deville are doing well. They have a model behind the site that is making it work. The sad reality is most solo girl sites don't. Most are over priced. Most don't have the appeal and the member's area to retain at any price higher than $14.95 (and most charge more than 14.95).

In conclusion I think instead of people saying "SoloGirl Sites the Hot Thing in 2005" I believe it should be "SoloGirl Sites the NEW Quick Buck in 2005". It's too bad that the industry still turns towards making a quick buck instead of building quality long term sites.

My Prediction... One last thought. I predict you'll see a lot of companies not followup with new solo girl sites in 2006. The big paysite companies that jumped on the bandwagon this year are going to realize that it wasn't as easy and as profitable as they thought and they'll go back to the drawing board. In the meantime companies like us will be buying them up and turning them into profitable ventures ;)

What are your thoughts on this?