How I'd start out...

[Zuss]

I've read lots of thread in the last couple of days. As a newbie, I'd propably go the freesite/gallery route. It seems easier than starting a full sized TGP from scratch. This is what I'd do if i was to start today..:

1.First, I buy a domain+ some quality Webhosting with enough bandwidth, because I know that Gallerys are bw consuming.

2.I buy some cheap content to build 2 gallerys (10 pics each). I know that it's more likely to get listed on big tgps if my content is unique. I also try to make my gallerys look professionell and better than my competition to higher my chance of beeing listed....

3. I submit my gallerys to as much TGPs as I can. I avoid automatic submission software because it's better to do manual submissions.

4.I build a freesite around my 2 gallerys and submit it to freesite linklists. I do it mainly to collect additional Searchengine traffic.

5. I use my earnings to buy more content, to do more gallerys and freesites because it know that I have to keep on going if I want to make real money.

Questions:

a)Is 50GB bandwidth enough for a beginner?
b)Should I do niche gallerys? I mean REAL Niche gallerys such as goth, footfetish, gay men licking eyebrows etc
c)Is there money in freesites or should I concentrate on gallerys alone?
d)May I use my gallery pics to build a freesite? Or would I need 'fresh' content?
e)How about anonymous domain registrations? Is that a big no-no? I don't feel good about exposing private details on the web...
f) Sounds like a dumb newbie question but: Is it hard to break even with a nice gallery. with paid content? How many sales could I pull from a single gallery. I guess only 1 or 2?

Or should I forget the gallery thing and start to build a fake TGP or something similiar? I've got the impression, that adult webmastery strongly relies on social networking. If that is true, one should start out with gallery submissions, don't you think?

Thanks for reading

[Lycanthrope]

Do it all, and as long as you are making galleries and free sites, make some TGP2, (5 pics, preferably on html pages), galleries as well. TGP galleries get you some money qucily, free sites and TGP2 galleries get you a nice steady stream of SE traffic. If you plan on submitting to the big TGPs, 10 pics will not cut it... better plan on 15 minimum and anonymous domains are a no-no on some. As far as bandwidth goes, I can not tell you what you will be using as I have no clue where you will be submitting, regardless, 50gig will not be near enough. If you know for certain you plan on submitting to the biggies, (the hun, etc.), I would start with a dedicated server with a minimum of 1000gig of b/w with the ability to upgrade.

Build a fake TGP, (and if it is thumb preview, you'll need even more bandwidth), and on your recip'd submissions, add a link back to your fake TGP for some additional traffic. (your gallery submission domain should be different from your "tgp(s)'"

Anyfuck, do it all, see what works for you. Eliminate what doesn't and concentrate on what does.

[Ace-wtf]

Lycanthrope gave you some great directional advise

goodluck

[Zuss]

Thanks Lycanthrope!
To be honest, I've never heard of TGP2...will do research on that!
So I'd really need a dedi if I wanted to submit to big tgps like thehun?
Maybe it would be better to start off on a lower scale. I surely couldn't afford a dedi (and my linux skills are not that great so I'd have to get a managed server=even more expensive)

I jcan't spend insane amounts on hosting and stuff. Maybe I just need to test the water instead of diving in. I can still use my profits as a steppingstone to higher levels, right?

Any suggestions on how to do so? I don't wanna waste time on free hosting and shit. What I need is a clean start without the need of robbing my wallet. I can't shell out more than 2-300$. Is that enough or can I forget about the whole thing?

[Lycanthrope]

Thanks Lycanthrope!
To be honest, I've never heard of TGP2...will do research on that!
So I'd really need a dedi if I wanted to submit to big tgps like thehun?
Maybe it would be better to start off on a lower scale. I surely couldn't afford a dedi (and my linux skills are not that great so I'd have to get a managed server=even more expensive)

I jcan't spend insane amounts on hosting and stuff. Maybe I just need to test the water instead of diving in. I can still use my profits as a steppingstone to higher levels, right?

Any suggestions on how to do so? I don't wanna waste time on free hosting and shit. What I need is a clean start without the need of robbing my wallet. I can't shell out more than 2-300$. Is that enough or can I forget about the whole thing?

TGP2 is a format that many insist is dead, but for those of us that still do it, we know otherwise. I would give you a URL to check further into it, but posting links to other boards is a no-no here, so email me or hit me up on ICQ if you want to learn more.

Anyway, I personally don't feel freehosts are a waste of time, especially if just testing the waters. Many people started with freehosts, and many people still use them for galleries. The key with them is to only use the bigger established ones, - or, alternately, use freehosting provided by a sponsor. Most TGPs / LLs / etc. will accept galleries / sites on sponsor provided freehosts no problem. Of course, paid hosting will always be your best bet.

The problem with starting out too small, especially with galleries, is that profits can be gobbled up quickly as soon as you have bandwidth overages.

If you are truly just wanting to give it a try without much risk, I would get a virtual account for your fake tgp and then utilize a freehost or sponsor provided freehost for galleries. If you are successful and wish to persue it, well, you would have obviously made some money so hosting will no longer be a problem.

You have one good thing going for you - by your own admission, you have no business administrating your own box and have realized you need a managed solution. There are many decent hosts that can get you some good bang for 2-300 dollars, the host in my sig for example, has a fully managed 5mbps(~1500 gig) package for $200 / month.

[gruvr777]

Ok, I'm still a bit new here too. I still dont understand how my buying pic content for a TGP gallery translates into making me money? You mean just by virtue of the person viewing the pics "maybe" clicking the link back to my page? Or By advertising banners? I dont know, I think the sponsers probably do better at converting sales, since I dont have a site built around this bought content. Anyone have any success with this formula? I'd love to hear about it. I may even give it a shot...lol. So far for galleries, i've been trying to find some of the more obscure sponser content, and building my own page around it.

[Zuss]

Excellent advise Lycanthrope!
I've changed my plans accordingly....

First I'll buy a rather genric industry related domain such as supermegaxxxpix.com.
Then I apply to a adult freehosting provider. What do you think: Should I go with free hosting offered by my Sponsor (for instance: ARS offers freehosting) or use a independent provider? That of course, would put me in a fortunate position as I could build gallerys around paid content....

Do I really need paid content if I'm testing the water? I guess bigger TGPs won't accepting free hosting anyway...

After submitting for a while I'll have enough money to afford decent hosting (I keep your link bookmarked).

[Lycanthrope]

Excellent advise Lycanthrope!
I've changed my plans accordingly....

First I'll buy a rather genric industry related domain such as supermegaxxxpix.com.
Then I apply to a adult freehosting provider. What do you think: Should I go with free hosting offered by my Sponsor (for instance: ARS offers freehosting) or use a independent provider? That of course, would put me in a fortunate position as I could build gallerys around paid content....

Do I really need paid content if I'm testing the water? I guess bigger TGPs won't accepting free hosting anyway...

After submitting for a while I'll have enough money to afford decent hosting (I keep your link bookmarked).

You'll have to check w/ the individual tgps, some big ones do accept galleries on freehosts. Regarding content for galleries - it almost depends on what you are going to promote. With so many reality and exclusive sites out there, and with sponsors giving out tons of free content, buying content is hardly neccesary anymore and is almost counter productive as whatever content you bought will not be in their members area. If you plan on promoting "generic" mega sites though, yes, paid content can be used to promote many sponsors.

Regarding where you should go, I guess if I was just staring out now, I would utilize everything that sponsors are providing, including their free hosting. <spam> Pimproll offers a shitload of sites and a ton of tools to help newbies and veterans alike make some good money. Make sure you take a look at them. </spam>

[Zuss]

My vision is taking more and more shape Thanks to your great support!
But how would I signup at pimproll.com without having a website in place? Is that even possible?

[Lycanthrope]

My vision is taking more and more shape Thanks to your great support!
But how would I signup at pimproll.com without having a website in place? Is that even possible?

Not all sponsors ask for a domain, some that do have it as optional, if it is required, once you have your domain registered, you could park it temporarily, (this is usually done automagically by the registrars), then just list the domain with them. Or, simply say you'll be using freehosting.

[Zuss]

I finally signed up for pimproll (under you of course!) and got approved (thanks to pimproll)
But may I ask you for a decent freehost since pimproll doesn't offer a hosting service, although they state it on their page :-/

[Lycanthrope]

I finally signed up for pimproll (under you of course!) and got approved (thanks to pimproll)
But may I ask you for a decent freehost since pimproll doesn't offer a hosting service, although they state it on their page :-/

Thanks buddy.

I think they are working some things out w/ their freehosting. The 2257 changes have made everyone do things differently... or at least re-examine some things. Hit their support forum... it is pretty helpful and replies come pretty quick.

For general use freehosting, I would check out the following:

http://kinghost.com (no experience with them, but well known. I've seen many big TGPs list galleries hosted here)
http://www.pornparks.com (I have a bunch of old sites and galleries still with them and have had no problems. They give FTP access)
http://www.lightningfree.com (no experience with them either, but ran by a guy who is pretty well respected here).

There were a few more I was going to recommend, but after checking them out... they no longer exist. Big ones too.

[adultguus]

Thanks buddy.

I think they are working some things out w/ their freehosting. The 2257 changes have made everyone do things differently... or at least re-examine some things. Hit their support forum... it is pretty helpful and replies come pretty quick.

For general use freehosting, I would check out the following:

http://kinghost.com (no experience with them, but well known. I've seen many big TGPs list galleries hosted here)
http://www.pornparks.com (I have a bunch of old sites and galleries still with them and have had no problems. They give FTP access)
http://www.lightningfree.com (no experience with them either, but ran by a guy who is pretty well respected here).

There were a few more I was going to recommend, but after checking them out... they no longer exist. Big ones too.

I´d go with Kinghost. I see them on lots of the bigger tgps, so that´s a good sign.

[Zuss]

Great! I'll give kinghost a try. I don't expect to get listed on most TGPs...heck, I don't even expect sales. I'm just curious hoch far I can get in terms of uniques and sponsor clickthrus...

Is there any rule on how many sponsor links I can add on a single gallery page? I'm not talking about banner farms and crap like that. I'd just link some salestext and images....

[Lycanthrope]

Great! I'll give kinghost a try. I don't expect to get listed on most TGPs...heck, I don't even expect sales. I'm just curious hoch far I can get in terms of uniques and sponsor clickthrus...

Is there any rule on how many sponsor links I can add on a single gallery page? I'm not talking about banner farms and crap like that. I'd just link some salestext and images....

TGPs cater to their surfers, not their submitters. Because freehosts typically have a header and / or footer w/ some ads, and you'll have to probably add some fucking recip links, you will probably only get away with 1 or two links to your sponsor. No joke.

[Zuss]

Even if they're totally unobtrusive? That sucks! Maybe I shouln't "waste" my first gallery (which I already spent a couple of hours on) using a freehost. At the other hand side, I can still do more....

hmmm....

No, I think I'll do a new one with less sales text, a simple layout, 1 pre-sell statement, 1 call to action....

[Zuss]

Ok, I'm not sure if the whole gallery thing is something for me. I do really enjoy building gallerys. But it seems that I can't really stand submitting them to TGPs. It's not a piece of cake, that's what I've learned today. What I know is, that I'd definatly need a decent autosubmitter if I decide to persue the gallery route.

I tried mightysubmitter, because they offered me 10 free submissions. Unfortunately I have to admit that it's crap. Not total crap. But crap. I can't seem to get the autosubmit to work at all. I submitted to some TGPs by hand but it's a really frustrating job as most tgps...

-don't accept freehosts
-don't accept freemail
-don't accept more than 6 outgoing links
-are instantly blacklisting me for whatever reasons

Moreover, every little TGP got it's own obscure rule. There's no such thing like skip & submit. I don't want to be blacklisted so i kept on reading. Drives me nutz! I spent one or two hours with mightysubmitter and managed to submit to maybe 10 or 20 TGPs...wow...that should really pull some sales /ironicmodeoff

I'm just too frustrated at the moment....

[Lycanthrope]

...I'm just too frustrated at the moment....

Welcome to the wonderful world of TGP submitting. Many of the issues you listed are why I do not do galleries anymore. Free site submission is not much better.

You must remember that most people doing galleries and sites have been doing it awhile. They have built and fine tuned their submission list(s) over the years. They know what works where and this and that sites' rules. They will not share this information, especially with a newb, so do not even ask.

Now aren't you glad you just didn't jump in with a dedicated server?

Something you may want to look at is TGP2. Go to tgp2base.com and learn a bit more about it. Definately more webmaster friendly. I'll warn you up front though, the money isn't immediate. Where TGP is setup for an initial burst of a lot traffic, TGP2 is more geared toward building long term smaller streams of more productive traffic.

[adultguus]

-don't accept freemail

Sorry, that should have been advise number 1. Get a decent email address. Nobody will take you serious if you use your hotmail address.

[adultguus]

You must remember that most people doing galleries and sites...

I think you can also complete this sentence with "..quit the business after a few months of trying." for a lot of people. Most of them than realize that the adult biz isn't the biz of quick and easy money as they thought it would be.