Shap

Thanks Kane. Imo there was no other way to do it. My staff were great with me I owed it back to them

Damn that's a good question. I don't know the current landscape well enough to say but here is my thought process on it. Limited budget and just starting out. If I want long term success I'm going to need a few things.

#1 Traffic. With traffic doors open and there are plenty of opportunities that present themselves. Also, some traffic is the key to getting more traffic.

#2 Money as you make it be smart with it. Save as much as you can so when the opportunities to grow come up you can make a move. This is often people's biggest problem. You have to make sacrifices if you are going to build a company. Every penny you save counts. People are often afraid to make a sacrifice.

#3 Connections. In this industry you can talk to everyone. From a newbie starting out to the most successful program owners. Work hard at building up a network of connections. Be honest. Be true to your word. Those things stand out in this business. Don't ask for handouts. Always try to make sure whoever you are doing business with comes out even or on top of the deal. They'll remember you and want to do business with you in the future.

I would concentrate on stock piling those three things. With them door open and things happen.

Also, as I mentioned before I would suggest people being open to working with others. If time is something you can offer there are a lot of people that could use that resource. Working with a person or company is usually a great starting point and can help you get all 3 of the things I mentioned above.

Shap

I think most people think so

Shap

Great question.

I believe domain play a huge role. I registered the domain before youtube was registered. So I had it for a long time and it always had decent type ins. As soon as there was content on the domain it exploded. The great name helped it have a nice base of traffic.

One of our smartest staff members happen to be gay. He was a photo shopper for Twistys. We offered him the opportunity to run GayTube. What happened after that was simply amazing. The site really really blew up. It went in a completely different direction than I would have taken it. It had a real amateur and edgy feel to it. It was a REAL gay site. It converted like mad with real gay programs.

I'm sure had myself and a few of the other guys in the office run it it would have done well but it would not have done as well and been such a big hit.

Shap

GayTube was an exception and not one to follow. Our webmaster took over the site and it already had 20,000+ type in uniques a day.

On BigBreastLovers the way I built it up was very different. I had other sites and sent all my boob traffic to BigBreastLovers. Then I built the highest quality free site I could (note this was at a time where there were not many high quality free sites, way before tubes). I'd scour the web daily for the best boob galleries/links i could find. I worked it hard. And I would watch and see how everything did. A funny thing happened. I thought starting a site with hot chicks with nice fake tits would kill it (note i was still a college kid at the time and Pam was still popular lol). The reaction was ok. Then I started listed some natural girls and it blew up. I started getting emails (back when people would email free sites lol) asking for more natural girls. The more I listed the more traffic I got.

That was a great example of starting a site in a niche I liked and then watching the reaction and delivering content that maximizes site growth.

Clay

thanks! I used to submit to that, and PicWarehouse and SexApe. I always respected your honesty. I remember your sexape submit page would list honest sponsors and shady ones

MasterBlow

What is your purpose of life?

__________________

Theo

What made you move to London and how long you plan to stay there?

Shap

It's a very tax friendly place. Original plan was short term but it's starting to look very long term

johnclark

So its 2014 and imagine you are new to this business with next to no money to back you up, what would be your plan of action.

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Shap

I would take my talents and try to align myself with someone that will give me the chance to learn as well as grow with them. Work for/with them to get experience, connections, and some money.

johnclark

Cheers.

I am pretty new to this, been doing it for a few months now, however I am still trying to find something that will work for me, I have had some success but not as much as I had hoped by now. Patience is key I suppose.

The niche is have chosen is the babe/softcore niche. Just like twistys.

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Shap

Glad you like it

Shap

Great advice!

Shap

What have you tried?
How long have you been running it?
What do you need most the deals or the traffic?

Are all your deals time sensitive? I love the quantity sensitive aspect as well. Only 100 at this price.

Or even better one I recently saw was a sliding scale discount. Today Naughty America is 50% off. This price will only last 24 hours. Tomorrow it will be 45% off. Then 40 then 35 etc. And stick to that with your absolute best deals. You may see some great up take on the first days to off set the entire thing.

Your site also looks like a network site vs a deal site. I'm not sure how I would change that but maybe try to direct them more to a specific area. It's hard to say without knowing #s of your site. I would say if your deep listings don't get many sales i'd try to cut back on them and make them inactive deals. Sign up to be notified of our next 21Sextury Deal. Or maybe if 1000 request a 21Sextury deal we will launch a new special. The way it is now there is so much it feels like i don't have to join anything but I also don't think i'm getting a good deal anywhere.

Btw Free Teen Passport. Is that really a good deal? Or is it a free site for everyone? If you list bs deals then expect bs clients. If you list real deals then you'll get real clients. Include a rating next to the sites. If you want a really legitimate thing try to really sell a few things at a time but make them quality. If I join that free teen passport i'm never joining another adult site again. So if you want is $$$ today do it. If not give them good quality.

One idea on Twitter.
Your twitter account is non existent. When you have a deal why not use Twitter to your advantage. Ie you have a NaughtyAmerica deal coming up. Search for everyone posting to or about Naughty America. Don't spam them. But try to engage them in a conversation.
Ohh I love this scene so hot.
Reply Me too dude that chick is awesome.
Maybe even a follow up this is another of my favorite scenes of here (with a link to another hot scene of her).

Be real. Identify with them. Then they'll follow you and check you out and hopefully start stumbling across your deals.

Atticus

With kids, do you find it hard to move around? Uprooting, switching schools etc. Or is that one of the reasons why London is becoming a long term situation?

Shap

1. More than I would have ever thought possible when I started

2. Haven't invested in bitcoin. I'm very risk averse and don't understand Bitcoin enough to jump in. I came really close when it was hoovering around $400 per coin.

3. I'm not bored yet. Money hasn't bought me happiness. This is going to sound cheesy but the truth is my happiness comes strictly from my family. My little boys smiling, hugging or beating the crap out of me is all i need. I could be working a night shift somewhere and still be happy. Money has made life much more luxurious. I'll be honest I often feel out of place because a lot of the people I meet have always had money and they are pretty shitty people. They treat people without money like lesser people. Where I tend to get along with those people better. Ie at the gym the trainers are my type of people and I enjoy hanging out with them and the clientele all seem like douche bags to me. To be fair to the clientele as I meet them many are lovely people but the few bad ones are really bad and ruin the image for the others.

4. That's a great question. The internet is really starting to pick up speed. Things are moving faster and faster than ever. I know tech wise Wearable tech is just scratching the surface. Mobile is a no brainer. Everything seems to be heading towards everything being easily done at your fingers tips (mobile). What's my heart rate? Done. How well did i sleep last night? Done. I just had the last of the eggs and need some for tomorrow. Fear not my fridge has already ordered them for me and they'll be here tonight. That is where I see things heading.

5. You just described myself. Our growth was delayed years because of that trait of mine. But at the same time we avoided any major problems because of this as well. I started searching for a real right hand man 5 years before I actually hired one. In fact I was interviewing for that position the entire 5 years until I met him.
The best advice i can offer is read ReWork by Jason Fried. It tackles this subject.
Second to that start slow and hire one at a time and hire only where you really really need the help. When you have that person work with them until you both can't handle any more and really really need help again. I think that will keep things under control and at a pace that you are comfortable with.

6. Damn you have some great hard hitting thought provoking questions. Here are some key things I learned.
- Accountants and lawyers may seem expensive and a waste of money but I assure you if you find the right ones they are worth every last penny. The last 3 years of our operation including the sale I really saw this first hand. Good advice is so valuable and sometimes very expensive. We once spent over $5k in lawyer fees on a deal that fell apart and to be honest it was a blessing. Don't bend on your stance in a deal just to get the deal done. Sometimes small points in a legal document can be so important to the overall deal.

- Money management should be your top priority. You are a business and the goal of any business is to make a profit and avoid debt. If you do not manage your books properly it doesn't matter how great a product/site/idea you have poor money management will put you out of business.

- There is enough money to go around for everyone. You don't have to worry about Webmaster X stealing your business. You stand to gain for more by working together than you do not working together. Don't be afraid. If you are afraid someone else has a better product that try to improve yours but don't think that by not doing business with them it will help you get ahead. Working together is the only way that will get you ahead imo

- Business environment/landscape can change quickly. If you draw a hard line in the sand early you could be left on the outside looking in. In mainstream look at the companies that embraced social media vs those that didn't. In adult look at companies that worked with tubes and those that didn't. Those who didn't clearly are at a disadvantage to those that did.

Shap

This past summer was the first summer my 5 year old didn't move homes. Granted he's only switched cities (and country) once. Last year was his first year of school and that is definitely why London is looking long term. The position and situation my kids are in for schooling here is great and to change that would be a major disruption. One that would need a very good compelling reason.

And i haven't found it hard at all. They were young and so well travelled they are used to it. I think in 2013 alone they flew more than 20 times.

Shap

I think this takes care of all questions up to and including page 3. If I missed one there let me know. I'll get to work on page 4 questions tonight.

Shap

Yeah. Make sure you watch things carefully are really try to zone in on those successes and see if there is something there to exploit or develop further.

Nice niche but a very difficult one. It's a slow sell if anything. Much less impulsive.

johnclark

Cheers for the advice shap

I will continue trying the work things and try to zone in what sells best for my sites.

This is a long shot but, could you take a look at my stuff and give me your opinion? Would prefer not to post public but my email is in sig. No worries if not.

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Shap

Sure email me

Kolargol

Thanks a lot Shap! I will do that.

Clay

Hi Shap how can someone email you?

I'd like to send you a quick note to get a quick opinion, nothing that would take up a lot of time. Just to look at my sites real quick and let me know if you think I might have something good.
Ive been living with these sites a long time so its hard to see with old eyes if I have a good one

georgeyw

Fantastic advice!!! Will be posting this on my office wall!

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TripleXPrint on Megan Fox
"I would STILL suck her pussy until her face caved in. And then blow her up and do it again!"

NYRangers

I am going to miss Shap in Portugal this year. I wanted to give him grief on his posts. But it's hard to give someone so pretty, and honestly so sincere, shit.

You people that bust his balls are truly clueless.

A truly good person. With advice and feelings you should pay attention to.

Last of a dying breed.

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Understand the business before you open your mouth.

Shap

88 Shap at gmail

Shap

Ahh Thanks Man

I was trying to get this thread done with before you would see it.

Jane-Busty.pl

Hey Shap

a. Do You think, free porn has some positives for the whole industry? Name a few, if yes.
b. Your highest invoice for hosting/bandwidth? (for 1month) Which year was it?
c. Don't You think porn industry misses a global player? Do You think to start iTunes for porn is challenge enough for You to start realizing it?

;-)

__________________

Paul

Shap I thought you had ignored or forgot about my questions, thanks for taking the time to answer them all in detail. I really appreciate it

I didn't expect an answer to that question, you're too modest

It's almost head spinning how fast technology is changing. Within a couple of years smartphones and tablets have replaced laptops & desktops, I think if Wearable tech i.e. Google Glass/Augmented reality hits the ground running we're going to see massive changes in how surfers use the internet.

If you factor in Augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence along with improvements in Voice Search (Siri etc) and Kinect Motion Sensor we're talking about a scene from Minority Report becoming reality very soon.



This episode of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror is probably a good representation of where we are headed with technology but without Charlie Brooker's dark twisted outlook.

I think a lot of the features will have the potential to save time and allow people to multi task better but I fear it's going to put a lot of us out of a job online and the entire structure of how we currently use the internet i.e. Typing, Searching etc will become obsolete.

Question, Answer, Done.

Totally agree with you that everything will become even more on demand than it currently is, it's probably gonna make society as a whole very very impatient

Interesting... I was actually describing myself Wanted to ask the question because that's what I struggle with most, I struggle to get past a certain level of growth when it involves handing over tasks to other people. In my case it's not because I'm incredibly talented, it's more because I'm a complete and utter control freak!

Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll order a copy now and hopefully I'll learn some useful info from it.

Thanks!

A few people where asking some pretty tame questions so I thought I'd use this opportunity to ask you interesting questions and you certainly haven't dissapointed with your answers.

That's some great advice and again I'd just like to thank you for spending the time to reply and in such detail

One last thing, as a Man United supporter I'd just like to say I hope we beat you on Sunday

fuzebox

This is my biggest problem, and has kept me small time for a long time. Will give the book a read and see if it helps knock me out of this perspective

JayS

What was the most $$$ you made as affiliate in a month? And when was it?

Shap

Do you mean before I started Twistys (I ask because I still considered us an affiliate when we had twistys)?

And are you referring to most from one company or many?

The Porn Nerd

Is it still possible to take a paysite network to the million dollar level in today's climate? Is it even possible to get to over 200 full joins a day anymore if you run paysites not owned by "the big guys"?

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Over 90 paysites to promote!
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Shap

Big difference between million dollar level and 200 joins a day IMO. Million dollar level is 100 full price transactions a day. That I believe is absolutely do able.

200 full joins a day puts you at another level which IMO has always been a small group. It's possible but requires smart moves and a great product.

The Porn Nerd

Well that's encouraging because we're on our way to 100 full price joins a day. My thinking is I keep adding paysites and finding new traffic sources and, eventually and slowly, we will get there.

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Porn Nerd Cash | Porn Showcase | Aggressive Gold

Over 90 paysites to promote!
Now on Teams: peabodymedia

Shap

I don?t regret the sale one bit. There has not been a single moment in the last three years that I regretted it. It was well thought out and well timed. It has never bothered me that it is in someone else?s hands.

Shap

Well said!

Shap

I know that feeling. That is part of what is holding me back. I feel like Dr Banner in the Avengers and he says "You don't want to see me when I'm angry." I feel like back involved in business would bring out the Hulk in me again and I don't know if that's something I want right now. I don't have a coasting speed. I'm either all in or all out. And to be honest I love the time I spend and enjoy with my boys right now.

Shap

The never ending challenge.

johnnyloadproductions

Handsome (Ricky Martin) looking fellas must have all the luck, huh? kidding. Guess that's my only question...

Someone else in a similar niche as you were are the FTV guys. Though Rob shys away from attention, kinda, he does have a personal website that's been in the public domain and he does like attention to his cars; so what the hell.





There is some pull shooting all those models himself (not sure of the current situation) in that he has pull (in addition to his cars and now money) on getting into events.
I was always able to set things up I wouldn't be able as long as I had a cute model on hand with proof.


I think it's universal, as Rob says in his picture below in the magazine heavy hitters

"When you see successful people, 10 times out of 10, those people worked their asses off for it, probably to the point where they barely have time to enjoy it."



My Grandpa who worked and ran his own high-precision machine shop, and at his peak had a networth of over 10 million told me: "Andy, love does some things, money does all."

Hard work pays off as well as treating your affiliates right, maybe Rob and Chris? were to busy to switch from CCbill to a NATS or MPA system?

FTVGirls.com breaks the 30,000 active members mark

I think Michael Ellsberg summed it up in his book, ?The Education of Millionaires.? quite well with:

And above that, know what you want in all respects to life.

Rob in his Bukkake Veyron below

JayS

Yes, before you started Twistys. Let's say only with your TGP's/CJ's if you can make the difference.

dezmondel

hello Mr. Shap,
where do you see 3D SGI erotica in the grand scheme of things?

thanx in adv.

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fuzebox

Why do people make a distinction between freesites, paysites, affiliate, paysite owner? It's all making money online and monetizing traffic. If you can make more with your traffic by starting your own paysite, you should. At the same time, if you have a paysite, you damn well better have your own traffic sources.

Shap

Well Said!

Shap

I'm not a fan. 3d is a weird thing. Every few years it becomes the hot fad and every time it fails to catch on. Maybe one day. But it's not something i'd ever put much money in. I'm probably the wrong guy to ask. I've just seen too many people come in with 3d saying they have the future and leave with empty pockets.

Shap

I can't remember off the top of my head. I know $60k for sure. My gut tells me somewhere between 60k to 100k.

Shap

Your Ellsberg quote is dead on. Never heard it but it's great.

And Rob built a great brand and has enjoyed much success. Have to respect that.

Nickatilynx

One of the best threads on GFY for many years.
and also fuzebox is right.

back to the top....

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dezmondel

your words ring true Mr. Shap.
thank you for your time!

dez

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fuzebox

I should stop trolling your thread... One day people will care what I have to say