Fact. Porn has become a cheap commodity. A really bad one at that.
If you type it into Google, you get it. Loads of it for free. It blasts you in the face. If you have ever walked down the street in Las Vegas, you’ve probably had the “snappers” throw it at you. It literally paves and litters the streets. As a result, adult businesses who used to rake in the big bucks, are now panicking.
As an adult business or entertainer, if you are going to survive, evolve and be successful in the new economy and new adult industry, the key will be to create a new paradigm. A NEW Industry. To do things differently and do it NOW. You don’t have a choice.
Just “what” that new paradigm is, might be different for everyone, however, here are my thoughts.
So What is the Answer?
As a consultant, I teach my clients strategies on how survive and prosper on their own, without the need to rely on a mass market that is burning itself into extinction.
If you ask any economist, the way to combat commoditization is by specialization. In other words, doing the opposite. Finding that strategic advantage that creates value for your customers and as a result, justifies premium pricing.
This isn’t an adult business thing. It’s a business thing. Plain and simple. The key is to stop creating porn, and start creating value, whatever that means to the market, (i.e. your customers).
The thing that keeps coming back to my mind is this:
People are into all kinds of weird and kinky shit that they are willing to pay for.
Always have and always will be.
The unequivocal fact is that there will always be new opportunities out there to make money, in adult or any other industry, for those who give people that special, unique experience that they can’t get just anywhere.
As a result, the answer to a declining, commoditized, mass marketed industry is to take an old school, direct marketing approach.
In my opinion, the people who are best positioned to identify and take advantage of these new opportunities, are the independent adult entertainers, (e.g. the dominatrixes, cam performers, phone sex operators, etc.)
Those with the ability to understand and engage with their customers, and to quickly create unique, exclusive content, products and services to meet their customer’s “long tail” needs (the one’s who blog, tweet, share, communicate, ENGAGE) will be the new leaders of the adult industry. Hands down.
As an adult entertainer, here are 5 key factors for succeeding in this changing landscape:
- Go Deep: Your ability to research and diversify, explore and experiment. Deep dive into the underground and subcultures to smoke out the new and bizarre. Join or even create new networks to find ways to listen and gather information.
- Specialize: When you discover a particular idea, fetish (or niche) that is lucrative, then specialize, and position yourself as the “go to” provider for that type of experience and provide the best quality products and services as possible, at a premium price.
- Learn: Master the art of marketing and self promotion, study it on a continuing basis, so that when you see new opportunities, then you’ll be prepared to quickly take action on them and exploit all possibilities for monetization.
- Control: Don’t rely on the typical mainstream adult channels for traffic and promotion. They don’t get it yet. Take the controls and lead. Learn to build your own digital platform, capture leads and understand the mechanics of how to control your line of communication with your customers.
- Ship it!: Never forget, YOU ARE the content. YOU ARE the product and the service. Anything you do can be considered a sellable product, so focus on creating, packaging and selling anything and everything you do. It’s not just about naked videos and photos. Write a book, Sell merchandise, Sell advice, Start a podcast. Sell other people’s stuff. Put yourself in a box and SELL it!
As an independent adult entertainer, the future of adult really lies in your hands. It’s up to you to take it and own it. Make a commitment to constantly learn as much as possible about how to grow your business and market yourself.
These are skills you can bank on.
