JenC
11-17-2003, 03:58 PM
Opening a paysite is easy. Converting the paysite is somewhat easy. Retaining the paysite is sometimes challenging. Why is it so hard to keep members after they've joined up? Well because we're not psychic and we can't always read their minds as to what they want to see. But there are ways that you can appease them and they're unbelievably simple!
First rule of thumb....never promise anything on the tour that you don't have inside the site. I review paysites for a site that publishes reviews to help the surfer make more informed choices when joining a site, and you wouldn't believe the amount of shitty paysites that are out there making misleading claims on the tour! And we all wonder why Visa has come down so hard on our industry lately. :mad:
Always have the same girls as on the tour, immediately visible inside the site. Surfers are joining because they see the free samples on the tour and usually they want to see more of what they saw on the tour. (I'm generically saying "girls". This tutorial can apply to gay paysites as well) If you don't have the girls you're offering, they'll become frustrated and cancel. I've even had some of my members asking me if we even have more sets of the girls on the tour besides the ones on the tour. They want to see more and more of the girl. So make sure you can back up what you're selling. Also don't make any false claims. Don't say you have a million pictures if you only have 10,000.
Secondly, make sure you have a great variety of content. If you have a BBW site for example, make sure you have just slightly chunky girls as well as the extremely obese ones. BBW covers a variety of different sized women and your surfers are all gonna be different in what they particularly like. If you have a niche like BDSM or some other kind of fetish, make sure the scenerios of the content differ. Surfers don't want to keep seeing the same story line over and over again. Variety is the spice of life!
Next, make sure your content is QUALITY. If you're offering downloadable or streaming movies, make sure you have a high and low broadband option. People on cable modems don't want to see shitty quality movies and people on dialup don't want to take years downloading a big file. Make sure you can accommodate everyone and even have different types of files such as WMVs, MPEGS, QuickTime movies or whatever. Some people prefer certain movie types over others. Also make sure your pictures are clear and a nice, hi-resolution. Surfers don't wanna pay for a site with low-res pictures or shitty screencaps. Sometimes it's nice to throw in some screencaps from each movie as "filler" content, but make sure you have some decent digital stills as well.
People love interactivity. Make sure there are lots of interactive things to do on your site. One good idea is to have a "poll". People like their opinions to be heard, and you can also get a feel of what people want to see on your site. Ask them what kind of content they want to see more of and then listen to their answers. Also it's a good idea to have a "hot or not" script on your site and you can put some of your content in the script to see if they like certain girls or not. Things like these will make the member feel important like he has a say in what he can see in the future, and it gives you an idea of what you can do to keep him as a member. Remember that you cannot please all the people all the time though....so the majority rules. Do what the most of the surfers want to see, don't appease a small minority or what you want to see yourself. Try to please the biggest amount of people.
Some people will even get so interactive that they'll put a message board on their paysites. Personally, I advise against message boards. I know it seems like an obvious thing to do is put a message board for your site, but message boards only lead to people bitching about what the site is lacking or people asking to cancel their membership on the message board. Basically, message boards will get you a lot of negative publicity that you don't want on your site. People are more likely to tell you when they don't like something than pay you a compliment. Why provide them a forum for their whining? Personally I think it's better to keep the members separated. But you can judge for yourself. No matter how hard you try and please all the members of your site, there is bound to be a "lone complainer" and he'll go right to the message boards to voice his opinion.
Next, make sure you update frequently. I don't know the "magic number" in what should be the standard, but I'd say a minimum of once a week should be a good rule of thumb. Personally, I update my paysites three times a week but not everyone will be able to do that. Especially if you're first starting out.
Make sure you have good navigation. I can't even BEGIN to express how important this is. This is probably the single most important thing that you can do for your sites. Make sure your content is clearly visible and easily obtainable from the very first member's page. People don't want to go hunting for the stuff they saw on the tour, don't make it hard for them or they'll just get frustrated and cancel. Make clear links to "videos", "pictures", "stories", "games" or whatever your site features. If your content is buried, people will never find it.
Have some bonus stuff to offer the members. Stories and games I already mentioned. Live webcams are good, personal ads are good, news, desktop wallpapers, jokes and just little bonus things that they'd enjoy. This is great for "filler" content and really makes the surfer feel like they're getting a good deal.
Limit your "upsells". People have already paid to get into your site. If they have to pay again for too many other features, they're gonna get pissed and cancel. Having upsell webcams is fine but make sure there is plenty of content they can get to without having to pay again. Also having banners to penis pills, sex toys and stuff like that is a good idea, but keep them small. You don't want the member to think they joined a site just to get spammed.
No exit consoles in the member's area! I can't even believe these paysites that will pop consoles in their member's areas. You're just pissing off the surfer by trying to push more stuff on them so stop it!!! :)
Finally, have clear, visible links to your customer service area. If the member is having some tech support issues, they want them resolved right away. Have a "Frequently Asked Questions" section that may resolve all the technical questions that they might have. They don't want to have to email someone and wait for a response, they want instant gratification. Also make it easy for them to cancel with a clear link and instructions on how to do so. If your site has good content and is keeping them happy, they won't want to cancel, but you don't want to make them feel trapped or scammed into staying a member. Hiding the cancel link will only lead to chargebacks.
Most of these are common sense issues, but you can't imagine how many paysites are lacking in these areas. All you have to do is keep your customer happy! Don't be greedy and rip him off and he'll be glad to give you his business!
First rule of thumb....never promise anything on the tour that you don't have inside the site. I review paysites for a site that publishes reviews to help the surfer make more informed choices when joining a site, and you wouldn't believe the amount of shitty paysites that are out there making misleading claims on the tour! And we all wonder why Visa has come down so hard on our industry lately. :mad:
Always have the same girls as on the tour, immediately visible inside the site. Surfers are joining because they see the free samples on the tour and usually they want to see more of what they saw on the tour. (I'm generically saying "girls". This tutorial can apply to gay paysites as well) If you don't have the girls you're offering, they'll become frustrated and cancel. I've even had some of my members asking me if we even have more sets of the girls on the tour besides the ones on the tour. They want to see more and more of the girl. So make sure you can back up what you're selling. Also don't make any false claims. Don't say you have a million pictures if you only have 10,000.
Secondly, make sure you have a great variety of content. If you have a BBW site for example, make sure you have just slightly chunky girls as well as the extremely obese ones. BBW covers a variety of different sized women and your surfers are all gonna be different in what they particularly like. If you have a niche like BDSM or some other kind of fetish, make sure the scenerios of the content differ. Surfers don't want to keep seeing the same story line over and over again. Variety is the spice of life!
Next, make sure your content is QUALITY. If you're offering downloadable or streaming movies, make sure you have a high and low broadband option. People on cable modems don't want to see shitty quality movies and people on dialup don't want to take years downloading a big file. Make sure you can accommodate everyone and even have different types of files such as WMVs, MPEGS, QuickTime movies or whatever. Some people prefer certain movie types over others. Also make sure your pictures are clear and a nice, hi-resolution. Surfers don't wanna pay for a site with low-res pictures or shitty screencaps. Sometimes it's nice to throw in some screencaps from each movie as "filler" content, but make sure you have some decent digital stills as well.
People love interactivity. Make sure there are lots of interactive things to do on your site. One good idea is to have a "poll". People like their opinions to be heard, and you can also get a feel of what people want to see on your site. Ask them what kind of content they want to see more of and then listen to their answers. Also it's a good idea to have a "hot or not" script on your site and you can put some of your content in the script to see if they like certain girls or not. Things like these will make the member feel important like he has a say in what he can see in the future, and it gives you an idea of what you can do to keep him as a member. Remember that you cannot please all the people all the time though....so the majority rules. Do what the most of the surfers want to see, don't appease a small minority or what you want to see yourself. Try to please the biggest amount of people.
Some people will even get so interactive that they'll put a message board on their paysites. Personally, I advise against message boards. I know it seems like an obvious thing to do is put a message board for your site, but message boards only lead to people bitching about what the site is lacking or people asking to cancel their membership on the message board. Basically, message boards will get you a lot of negative publicity that you don't want on your site. People are more likely to tell you when they don't like something than pay you a compliment. Why provide them a forum for their whining? Personally I think it's better to keep the members separated. But you can judge for yourself. No matter how hard you try and please all the members of your site, there is bound to be a "lone complainer" and he'll go right to the message boards to voice his opinion.
Next, make sure you update frequently. I don't know the "magic number" in what should be the standard, but I'd say a minimum of once a week should be a good rule of thumb. Personally, I update my paysites three times a week but not everyone will be able to do that. Especially if you're first starting out.
Make sure you have good navigation. I can't even BEGIN to express how important this is. This is probably the single most important thing that you can do for your sites. Make sure your content is clearly visible and easily obtainable from the very first member's page. People don't want to go hunting for the stuff they saw on the tour, don't make it hard for them or they'll just get frustrated and cancel. Make clear links to "videos", "pictures", "stories", "games" or whatever your site features. If your content is buried, people will never find it.
Have some bonus stuff to offer the members. Stories and games I already mentioned. Live webcams are good, personal ads are good, news, desktop wallpapers, jokes and just little bonus things that they'd enjoy. This is great for "filler" content and really makes the surfer feel like they're getting a good deal.
Limit your "upsells". People have already paid to get into your site. If they have to pay again for too many other features, they're gonna get pissed and cancel. Having upsell webcams is fine but make sure there is plenty of content they can get to without having to pay again. Also having banners to penis pills, sex toys and stuff like that is a good idea, but keep them small. You don't want the member to think they joined a site just to get spammed.
No exit consoles in the member's area! I can't even believe these paysites that will pop consoles in their member's areas. You're just pissing off the surfer by trying to push more stuff on them so stop it!!! :)
Finally, have clear, visible links to your customer service area. If the member is having some tech support issues, they want them resolved right away. Have a "Frequently Asked Questions" section that may resolve all the technical questions that they might have. They don't want to have to email someone and wait for a response, they want instant gratification. Also make it easy for them to cancel with a clear link and instructions on how to do so. If your site has good content and is keeping them happy, they won't want to cancel, but you don't want to make them feel trapped or scammed into staying a member. Hiding the cancel link will only lead to chargebacks.
Most of these are common sense issues, but you can't imagine how many paysites are lacking in these areas. All you have to do is keep your customer happy! Don't be greedy and rip him off and he'll be glad to give you his business!