• Building A Surfer Trap – Stage 8 – Final Stage

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Traffic | Response: 0

    Ok people we have hit the final stage in our surfer trap, Stage 8.

    All we are really going to do in this stage is a brief recap over what we have done so far along with checking that our trap is working properly.

    In order for us to check our trap is working properly we need to upload it to our server if we haven’t already done so, therefore, you should do this now.

    Once the surfer trap has been uploaded we now need to go to the first page, the Multi-Site FPA.

    Depending on how you set up your Multi-Site FPA you should either get a pop up or not.

    You should also have a counter AND a banner exchange code loading at the bottom of the page below your ‘no thanks’ link.

    If this works how you want it to then this stage is working ok.

    The next thing we need to check is that ALL of the links off this Multi-Site FPA are working so expect to get a lot of pop-ups while we check this.

    You should click on each of the Single-Site FPA’s in turn ensuring that for every one you have a pop-up console appear.

    In addition to checking the Single-Site FPA links you should now click on the ‘no thanks’ link along with the counter code and the banner exchange code on your Multi-Site and Single-Site FPA’s.

    If these all load fine then this stage of the checking is complete.

    Next, we need to close down any and all of the FPA’s we may have open including the Multi-Site FPA.

    You should now be left with a couple of consoles, again, follow the links on your consoles including any to the counter you chose along with any banner exchange code you utilized on your consoles.

    Again if these work how you expected them to, this section of the checking process is now complete.

    For the next step, you need to log into your counter AND banner exchange account, you want to make sure that you have gained additional impressions and rankings from your banner and counter impressions and clicks.

    Be aware however, that some counters and banner exchanges will not count multiple views and click from the same IP address so you may only show one or two additional clicks, impressions, or rankings. This is perfectly normal.

    If your accounts have gained additional ranks, impressions, and clicks then this stage is completed.

    Close down your consoles, you should now get the blur consoles that you created (if you used them) again, as before, check that all of the links from this consoles work.

    If they do then you now have a fully complete Surfer Trap to use.

    So, what next? Well there are a couple of options, you can mirror this surfer trap to experiment with your sponsors different tour pages, link your first mirror to the second tour page, your third to console free tour pages, etc.

    Another good thing that you can do is to create additional Multi-Site FPA’s however, this time, create them by niche so where we have a general Multi-Site FPA at the moment you could use this same method for a Gay, Asian, Teen, etc Multi-Site FPA using the same methods we did when we created this trap.

    You should always sign up for a new counter and banner exchange code for each variation of your surfer trap. This way, you get to see performance based on a new working model enabling you to decide which version of the trap works best for you.

    I hope this tutorial has given you some insight into how we can generate, filter and trade traffic whilst marketing our sites effectively and, that it has given you some ideas on how you can implement even the simplest item provided to you by your sponsor to generate sales.

    For those of you who have been following this tutorial I would like to thank you and wish you all the best with your new found marketing skills.

    If you have any questions as always, feel free to post on the forums and we will endeavor to help you out.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Community Forum Scripts

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Scripts | Response: 0

    Whether you have little or much traffic one thing that will enable you to benefit greater form this traffic is giving your surfers the sense that they are part of a ‘community’ much like the message boards built around adult webmasters have the feel of a community to them your surfers will end up staying around a lot longer if you can give them a reason to come back to your site over anyone else’s.

    That said, one of the main factors in starting your own little porn community is the need to have a place where all the ‘action’ take place. What better way than you own message forum.

    However, we hit our first problem, having never thought about starting a forum up before you wouldn’t know where to go to look for scripts or, what the best one is. That’s the reason behind this little guide.

    Below you will find a short breakdown of the more commonly used message forum scripts along with a short list of features each one has to offer you when choosing to build your own online community.

    VBulletin http://www.vbulletin.com

    This is actually quite a good forum script, most of the main forums on the web use either VBulletin or PhpBB when it comes to threaded forums. VBulletin uses MySQL and .php to run the actual forum and, set-up of it can become a little tricky if you want to customize it to your exact needs and color scheme. That said, once you overcome the initial complications in setting the forum script up it is easy to handle and, with a price tag of only $160.00 its an affordable option for many.

    Ultimate Bulletin Board http://www.infopop.com

    Unlike VBulletin UBB uses Perl programming for the forum script which, means you can install it on any cgi enabled host. However, the one main drawback with this script is that it uses flat text files to store all the data which, can sometimes bog down your server with unnecessary file calls. The cost of $199.00 however can be a bit to expensive for most webmasters.

    Ikon Board http://www.ikonboard.com

    Ikon board is a nice little threaded forum script and, the fact that it is free to download makes it even more so however, even though it uses MySQL for the backend or, choose to store your data in flat text files this script just seems a little to ‘basic’ looking for my personal taste. That said, there are many types of site using IkonBoard so the script must be good enough for them to be using it. Then again, maybe its the price tag of $0.00 that has made this a popular choice.

    PhpBB http://www.phpbb.com

    PhpBB is probably the most well known free forum script on the web today, its easy to customize (within reason) supports php and MySQL functions yet seems to offer nothing in return. The basics of a forum are there however, every webmaster and their closest friend seems to be using this script. The whole idea of building up a community is so that your site can stand out from the crowd, in my humble opinion, the script does what it is supposed to but, it doesn’t offer any redeeming qualities to your site.

    Site Net BBS http://www.focalmedia.net

    Sitenet BBS, formally known as Netboard, is probably one of the better Perl based forum scripts on the market, it price tag of $69.00 makes it an affordable choice for almost everyone and, the installation process itself is VERY simple to understand. The one drawback that i have found with this forum script however is that it stores the data in flat text file which actually slow the server down quite a lot making connections to the forum time-out on numerous occasions. However customization of the script is very easy using only HTML based templates you do not need any additional programming skills and, it has a nice interface with a few good features. For the price it is well worth a look. They also offer a freeware version however the links on the bottom of the forum become annoying after a while.

    In summary there are a lot of popular forum scripts available for webmasters to start using some are free other require payment ALL have a range of different functions available in them.

    Before looking at installing any of the scripts you should always try a demo first to see which one has the features and benefits you would like to offer your community members.

    If you can get your base community built up on a forum they enjoy using then all the rest of your marketing should pay off in dividends long term.

    Article written by Lee.

  • AVS Changes – Is The Proverbial Sky Falling?

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General, Promotion | Response: 0

    With the announcement yesterday from several of the large AVS systems, Free Age Card, Sex Key and, Gay Passport (also speculation on and off the forums state that Mass Pass were aware of this happening) that they will no longer allow webmasters to use the terms; AVS, Adult Verification Service, AGE Verification Service and, Access to thousands of other sites what does this hold in store long term for AVS webmasters?

    Quite simply, it looks at first glance as if these changes have something to do with the speculation surrounding VISA and AVS systems from a few months ago.

    In fact, these changes have been on the horizon for some time now however, until yesterday webmasters seemed to be unsure as to what, if anything will be changing. Even though the speculation has been circulating for some time, one of the first AVS systems to envoke these new rules, Sex key, came out with the following statement; ‘While we knew changes were coming, we just now found out what we believe are the new requirements. With this new information, we are trying to comply as quickly as humanly possible.’ quickly followed by; ‘We felt it was better to give people a chance to modify their sites this weekend rather than to not be in compliance Monday.’- Craig Tant.

    One thing is certain, come Monday, there WILL be a lot of unhappy webmasters

    So apart from the added workload for webmasters what other issues is this likely to bring up in the immediate future, well, again, based on the rumors and, i should stress that is all they are up to this point in time, from a few months ago we could expect one or more of the following items to happen to the AVS model as we know it.

    1) Visa starts to charge the AVS companies the $750 fee just to process memberships.
    2) Visa starts to charge individual webmasters the $750 fee to use an AVS service.
    3) AVS Systems cease to exist.

    So, lets break each of the above items down and see how it will have a long term effect on both AVS webmasters and, the adult industry as a whole.

    AVS Companies Charged $750 Visa Fee’s.

    In itself this isn’t a big issue that we should be immediately worried about, after all the AVS company will be the one footing this bill and, with the amount of traffic and sales that these programs get $750 is a relatively small pebble at the foot of a mountain. That said however, some of the smaller AVS systems might end up having to close because they cant afford the fees in much the same way that some Amateur paysite owners had to close their aff programs.

    Webmasters Charged $750 Visa Fee’s.

    This is the option that i am most concerned with, after all, with thousands of AVS sites being built each day and being submitted to literally hundreds of AVS companies the potential cost of this could run into thousands for individual webmasters.

    Of course, with this expense there also comes some benefits. The immediate benefit that comes to mind is that a lot of the dishonest webmasters will refuse to or, be unable to pay this fee that in itself will lighten the strain for the rest of the industry.

    There is also the possibility that webmaster may need to pay this fee for each and every AVS that they submit to which, in itself will not only harm the individual webmasters but, it will also see the rise and, dare i say it, fall of some of the smaller or less profitable (from a webmasters point of view) AVS companies. No doubt if this did ever happen the likes of Cyberage, UGAS, Global Male Pass et al will be unaffected as, they have enough of a webmaster following and traffic base to ride this potential storm out.

    AVS Systems Cease To Exist.

    This is potentially the worst case scenario and, whilst i will be the first to admit that this is VERY unlikely to happen, the possibility needs to be looked at.

    What happens to all of your sites you have in the AVS systems? What happens to all of your potential rebills? What happens to all of that AVS traffic?

    Well i would say for the most part, changing your sites from AVS to the free model wont be such a big deal for webmasters however, the financial losses to individual webmasters and companies could run into hundreds of thousands a month. With these financial losses will more webmasters leave the industry or, will more of the AVS webmasters start running TGP’s and dilute the traffic quality even further?

    Speaking of traffic, we all know by now that AVS traffic is qualified potent traffic but, what will happen when this traffic, should the AVS be closed down, hit the adult web again? Quite simply long term the effects of such a force could have positive and negative effects ranging from paysite memberships sales rising to the onslaught and proliferation of free porn being searched for again – good news for TGP owners.

    As you can see from the above, all of the speculation, rumors and, facts speak for themselves in so much as, if you are an AVS webmaster, you NEED to start diversifying your business model to ensure that even if the worst doesn’t happen, you are still able to be profitable online.

    Article written by Lee

  • The Next Big Traffic Craze – Thumbnail Link Lists

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Link Lists | Response: 0

    As adult webmasters are constantly thriving to create the next craze in traffic sources to garner sales from their sites it comes as no surprise that there is already talk amongst the ranks of the next big thing, what is this new idea? The Thumbnail Link List.

    Thumbnail Link Lists – Re-Inventing The Wheel.

    As the past year and a half have taught us as webmasters, regular TGP’s have almost become a thing of the past with more and more thumbnail TGP’s being created and submitted to daily, why then, has it taken so long for someone to think up the idea of the Thumbnail Link List? Quite simply I think it has been a case of to much has happened over the last 12 months in the adult industry for webmasters to think this idea up.

    So What Is A Thumbnail Link List?

    A thumbnail link list is in effect a way of displaying free sites on your own standard Link List by utilizing small thumbnail samples of the images contained within the free sites galleries, in fact, much the same way that a thumbnail TGP works however, instead of only listing single image galleries your link list will consist of links to individual free sites.

    Much like the Thumbnail TGP traffic source, the thinking behind the Thumbnail Link List is that by showing your surfers what type of pictures the sites within your link list contain they will be more likely to visit the free site thus improving your CTR to your webmaster submitted sites and, ultimately, your site overall allowing you to manipulate the traffic to garner more sales for yourself as the Thumbnail Link List owner.

    Submitting Your Site To A Thumbnail Link List.

    Looking at the Thumbnail Link List idea from a webmaster who would be submitting your free sites for listing (and ultimately traffic) how do the rules of the Thumbnail Link List differ to that of the regular link list which we are all used to seeing, well for a start, the main difference will be that you either need to submit a thumbnail yourself or, enter the url to one of your gallery pages in addition to the main entrance to your free site, this will actually be the only significant change in how you operate your link list submissions compared tot he current link list method, however, as each Thumbnail Link List owner will have their own individual rules you should check before submitting as to what is required from you as a submitter.

    Thumbnail Link Lists – Overview.

    The whole Thumbnail Link List idea is one that, in all seriousness should mean more traffic not only for the submitters of the free sites but, also for the Thumbnail Link List owner themselves, by offering the surfers a preview of the content contained within the free sites they will be visiting they can simply reduce the amount of sites that do not appeal to them and focus more on the sites that do meaning that the webmasters who submit highly niched free sites to the links lists will now be able to benefit from a larger traffic base and ultimately, more sales.

    Article written by Lee

  • Using Basic Server Side Includes (SSI)

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    Server side includes are what their name sounds like.  A way to include the contents of another file into your current web page BEFORE the web page gets sent off to the surfer.  Not only does this include contents of a static file but you can also include the results of a CGI program and on some web servers, you can even have it display the current date and time.

    Now, many web hosts do not normally have server side includes turned on. You will have to ask your host if they have SSI turned on and if they do, what is the file name extension for SSI.  By default, SSI files have an .shtml extension.

    Sometimes, you can turn SSI on yourself.  If you host doesn’t have SSI turned on for you already, you can try adding the following two lines to your .htaccess file.  Then create a file with the .shtml extension, include a SSI command and see if it works.

    AddType text/html .shtml
    AddHandler server-parsed .shtml

    When you use SSI commands, you place them exactly in the location within your web page where you want the output of the SSI command to appear when you finally browse the page.  If you have SSI, then you can use the following command to include a file.  When you include a file, you can either give it a path name to the file or you can give a URL to the file. I’ll list both here.

    <!–#include file=”/some/path/above/my/web/to/my/header.html” –>

    This is an example of how to include a file based on its path name.  Now,
    here’s the same file put included with its URL.

    <!–#include virtual=”/to/my/header.html” –>

    And this is an example of how to use a URL.  With a URL however, it cannot be a complete URL such as http://www.somesite.com/somefile.html.  It has to be within your current website.  You can also use the URL method to run a CGI script!  Here’s an example of that:

    <!–#include virtual=”/cgi-bin/somescript.cgi?myfirstarg=1amp;mysecondarg=2″
    –>

    As you can see, we can even pass arguments to the CGI script just as if you typed it into your browser!  There is also another way of running a CGI script but this is not as widely used any more and you should use the #include virtual method instead.  Here is the same example so that you will know what it means when you see it.

    <!-exec cgi=”/cgi-bin/somescript.cgi?myfirstarg=1amp;mysecondarg=2″ –>

    As I mentioned earlier, you can use SSI to display the current time and date. Here’s how:

    <!-echo “$DATE_LOCAL” –>

    This will display the current date and time. SSI is usually used when you  want to have a standard header or footer on each page.  It’s also used for displaying rotating banners or page counters. As you see above, you can also  use it to display the current date and time or the date when the page was  last modified.

    SSI has also been used for cloaking and some tracking  software uses SSI to track each incoming hit to the web page.  If you would  like more information about SSI, go to
    http://www.apache.org/docs/mod/mod_include.html.  This is the definitive guide on SSI on the Apache web server.

    Most other web servers that use SSI also follow these conventions.

    Article written by Lee

  • Gay Adult Marketing 101

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Promotion | Response: 0

    There is a myth out there that gay traffic is hard to convert because a gay surfer is reluctant to buy. This isn’t so. Conversions come down to two things:

    • The gay surfer is discriminating; a membership to a site that has exactly what we want
    • The gay surfer is loyal; I, believe, this comes from our experience as a community. When a Gay surfer decides to purchase a membership, it’s typically for a longer period of time.

    This is evident with the better Gay Pay Sites; conversions may be lower than a straight hardcore site however, membership tend to be longer than the industry average. The gay surfer is discriminating; we look for a long-term membership with a site that has we want whether it’s teens, bears, amateurs, etc.

    With that idea, I always advocate that age-old niche free site philosophy use a variety of sponsor programs on your sites. Typically, my free sites will have one main sponsor (I use Quality Males) then I’ll break my other banner slots down one Teen site, a Twink site and maybe a product like Viagra. But this will vary depending on the “flavor” or “personality” of your site – if you have a gay leather site, my main sponsor will be a Leather sponsor or product, with a variety of other sponsors (one mega site, a teen site, and maybe an adult toy store).

    One marketing option, I tend to see working well is the full-page ad vs. only banners. I, honestly, do not know whether it’s a quality issue, a larger ad or the surfer’s disgust with banner ads, but it works well in our market.

    One thing that experience has proven to me, it makes no difference whether you’re a webmaster to gay or straight traffic, you need to analyze your traffic. If you’re sending traffic out to sponsors and your not seeing the conversions, maybe you need to really look who your surfers are. If you’re lucky enough to know who your surfers are, then look for a specialty sponsor (whether partnership or click-thru program). It’s all a matter of finding the right sponsor programs and tweaking your site (and we all know how that can be). Don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s the long term that we need to be looking at. Remember that this isn’t “Who wants to be a Millionaire is 30 days or less”.

    Gay traffic isn’t difficult to manage as many people think. It’s a matter of patience and understanding your market. And the best way to understand that market, is to ask a successful webmaster in the gay adult market..

    Article written by Gary-Alan

  • 10 Killer Advertising Sentences

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: General | Response: 0

    10 Killer Advertising Sentences.

    Tell your readers what they are probably thinking, feeling or doing as they read your ad copy. This strategy will usually trigger their own subconscious mind to bring out these feelings or actions.

    You can add these sentences into any ad copy. You may have to change one or two words so it relates more to the product or service you’re selling.

    1. As you keep reading this ad copy, you are feeling more and more compelled to experience all the benefits of our product.

    2. The more you understand just how valuable our product could be to your life, the less you think about delaying this important purchase.

    3. After you read this short ad you will feel like your problems are almost completely solved, all you will have to do is order.

    4. As you’re skimming through this, you’re beginning to think you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying out our product.

    5. As you’re scanning over this ad copy, you are beginning to imagine using our product and enjoying all the benefits it brings.

    6. The more you keep reading our ad the more you feel it would be a waste to let this opportunity slip by.

    7. The more you review our ad the more you begin to find yourself getting very excited about our product and starting to feel the urge to buy now.

    8. You don’t know it yet but, at the conclusion of this ad, you will feel driven to order and experience all the benefits of our product.

    9. You don’t realize it yet but, in a few short minutes you’ll realize that you can’t put off this vital purchase and then you’ll be yanking out your credit card.

    10. As every word you read travels from this ad to your brain, you start to understand just how much our product could benefit your life.

    I hope this article has given you some insight as to how we, as webmasters, can actually ‘manipulate’ the surfer into doing what we want them to and, ultimately, into making us money.

    Article written by Lee.

  • Mixing Business With Pleasure

    Date: 2011.02.23 | Category: General | Response: 0

    Regardless of your status in the world of web mastering there will come a time when you will want to attend one of the numerous webmaster seminars. However, what should you do to plan for the day you attend your first seminar, are there some things you should aim for and things you shouldn’t? Well in this article we will take a look at planning your conventions.

    Before attending the convention of your choice there are a few things that you should prepare these are.

    Exercise.

    get out for half an hour each day at least two weeks before the day of your journey to the convention. You will be surprised at how much time you will spend walking around the convention floor and, by getting some basic exercise in before hand you wont feel the strain of being on your feet for hours at a time instead of being sat in front of your computer.

    Contacts.

    Make a list of people that you want to see and arrange with them in advance a time to meet up and have a chat. Most people who attend these conventions are busy for the entire course of the show. You may not get a chance to pop by their booth and talk tot hem if someone has already beaten you by booking a time to chat with the person you want to meet. It is also a good idea to trade hotel and cell phone information before leaving for the show, this way, if anything happens to make you miss a possible appointment you can call or leave a message informing them you will either be late or canceling.

    Seminars / Parties.

    Take a look at the events and seminars happening at the convention before you go, plan which ones you will want to attend make a list and take it with you. This will save you countless hours of wandering around aimlessly hoping to make all of the seminars and get to as many parties as you can in three days.

    Booths.

    Look at who is exhibiting at the convention, find out their booth number and make a note of it. List any specific details you may want to speak to the booth owners about. You can guarantee if you go unprepared you will miss out that important question or selling opportunity you wanted to make.

    Baggage.

    When packing your suitcase for the convention make sure you leave plenty of room for convention give a ways, You will be surprised at what you will be given for free at these shows, t-shirts, toys, books, flyers, you name it, you will be offered it.

    So, you have done the pre check, what do you do when you actually arrive at the convention?

    Food.

    Eat at every opportunity you get. Most people will end up not eating for the entire length of the convention. perhaps even arrange to meet up with someone you want to talk to in a restaurant and grab a bite to eat whilst talking business.

    Business Cards.

    Take them and lots of them. Everyone and anyone will ask you for your contact details, if you have a bunch of business cards with you at all times, you can just hand them out. Make sure you include your full contact details, your name, nickname, email, icq and, aim contact details. The more ways you give someone to reach you, the more chance you have of them actually attempting to get in touch with you.

    Clothing.

    Wear comfortable, clothing and shoes. Think casual but, also think business, shorts and t-shirt may be good for comfort but, it doesn’t portray a good business image and, that’s the sole reason you are attending the convention, to do business.

    Parties.

    If you get offered an invite to a party, take it, plans change so quickly at the conventions, your friends may suddenly feel tired and you have nothing left to do, attend a party, then you have another opportunity to network some more.

    Behavior.

    Although the conventions are a fun atmosphere, don’t forget that they are in the first instance a place to do business, treat it as such, you may miss out on the ideal business opportunities if you are acting like a drunk ass hole. This will reflect badly on you long term.

    You have taken in all the events you can handle, you have made your way back home what next? how exactly do you put this information and your new found contacts to use?

    Business Cards.

    Go through all the business cards you have been given and send your new found contacts a quick email thanking them for their time. This will be a good way for you to give them another reminder of what you spoke to them about and, I have personally gotten more business from the shows using this follow up method than if I had just waited for them to contact me.

    Notes.

    If you made any notes at the show, take a few minutes to re-write them, keep them safe in a notepad, you never know when one of these bits of information may come in handy.

    Well, that’s pretty much it for the basics of the adult conventions, obviously there is more to it than this but, if you are attending your first convention you will have a bit of insight into the work involved.

    Article written by Lee

  • Writing A Business Plan – The First Step To Success

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Forms & Contracts, Writing | Response: 0

    Regardless of what type of business you want to run be it a bakery, a funeral home or an online marketing empire the one thing that you will require is a business plan however, having never taken any business basics 101 classes what do you need to have and, what is required in your business plan?

    That is what we will touch on in this brief article from the basics to the not-so-basics by using a few simple steps you can be sure your business plan will contain all the information you need to make it up the ladder of success.

    Information Summary.

    As the name suggest this is a simple summary of what you are hoping to achieve from the name of your business, the goals, the concept and your plans. This should actually be no longer than two pages so that you can fill the needed information out clearly and concisely.

    Business Details.

    This will be the founding information of your business again you need to mention your business name, what type of business you will be running (Sole Trader, Partnership, Corporation, etc) in addition you will also need to include details of who the company owners are, whether it be yourself alone or a list of your business partners, this information will be invaluable to you at a later date you also need to include a brief history of the business whether you have been running it already for a number of days, weeks, month or, years.

    Products And Services.

    Basically, you need to write what exactly it is you will be selling. Are you going to be selling baked goods, marketing services or custom solutions. Keep this section simple, if you need to go into depth then do so at the end of your business plan by way of an appendices. Once you have listed several of the products or services you will be selling you should also list the features and benefits (Marketing points) of the products and services in addition, why do you think your business idea will succeed, what do you offer your clients that no-one else currently does? In addition you also need to have a basic pricing structure planned out, this will assist you in the future as, from your initial plans you can see what, if anything needs to be changed.

    Marketing.

    A business is more than just an idea. You need to have good pricing, affordable suppliers and a great marketing plan. This is what is also needed in your overall business plan. You should include details of your competitors products and how they compare to your own or, if applicable why your product will be a benefit to the market place should it not already be readily available. In addition the marketing section of your business plan should include a list of advantages as well as some of the pitfalls you are likely to see. You also need to include a section detailing your specific marketing strategies regarding your overall and individual products and services.

    Industry Economics.

    This area should detail some of the more specific areas of the industry you are going to be working in for example, what type of industry are you entering, how does the future for this industry look and, more importantly, how many existing companies work this industry as well as how do you successfully launch yourself into the industry. Parts of this area you may have covered in the marketing and previous section non the less, go over them again here in more detail.

    Target Market.

    We have detailed the business ideas and products and services but, what about your potential clients? What does your product offer then that they need which no other company does? What is your target client base? How will you reach your customers? All of this and more needs to be addressed in this area of your business plan.

    Competing Companies.

    What do your competitors do and, more importantly, who are they? Make a list of your potential competitors and address their weaknesses and strengths ensure that you leave no stone unturned when getting this information together often, you will realize that there are things your competition is doing that you can do much better then they.

    Don’t forget to address their marketing, what are they doing right and, more importantly to you, what are they doing wrong? How can you capitalize on this and make their errors benefit your long term business plans.

    Location, Location, Location.

    Location is everything and, this is particularly true in business for example, will you be working from an office, from your home or even your garage, do you require any special permits to operate your business? Can your customers reach you easily? All of these items and more need to be considered when writing this area of your business plan. By addressing any and all of these items you will find yourself with a much clearer picture of what is needed of you and your business.

    Stock + Supplies.

    Often overlooked in business plans the one thing you NEED to have is a list of potential suppliers and sub-contractors who can provide you with your products and services. What materials (if any) do you need? How much will these cost you? Where will you find your stock and supplies? By getting this information available now you will have a better idea once your business plan is laid out as to what you are able to offer easily and also it will enable you to lay your pricing structure out more concisely.

    Labor.

    So you have this great business idea all laid out but, who will be running this for you? Do you need additional staff or are you going it alone? Do you need to setup accountants, lawyers, insurance companies, consultants, bank accounts etc etc? All of these aspects of your business need to be laid out here.

    Capital.

    Money, as they say, makes the world go round. Your business is no different, how much financial outlay do you require to get your business off the ground? Do you need to ask for a loan from your banking facility to help you out? How much income are you planning on making within the next 6 to 12 months? How much of this income needs to be invested back into the business? All of these ‘financial’ question need to be answered in this area of your business plan only then will you begin to see the bigger picture of your business idea.

    Hopefully this article has given you some solid advice and information regarding planning for your new business and, once you have all of the above laid out you should be able to see whether you will succeed or fail in your new idea.

    Also, by planning now for the future of your business you should hopefully be able to avoid any hidden costs which can often push a company to the edge.

    Article written by Lee

  • Sample Adult Model Release Form

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Forms & Contracts | Response: 0

    For many webmasters the option of being able to shoot their own content is a wholly viable one as such, you should ensure that the models you are using sign a suitable release form. Below we have set together a pretty industry standard model release form which you may duplicate if you so wish. European Webmasters would however, recommend that you get professional legal advice in respect of this matter and that this is no substitution for proper legal advice.

    I, (Please Print) ____________________ (Model), for good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is acknowledged, give to [INSERT YOUR LEGAL NAME HERE] (Photographer), his legal representatives, successors, and all persons or corporations acting with his permission, unrestricted permission to copyright and/or use, and/or publish photographic portraits or pictures of me, and the negatives, transparencies, prints, or digital information pertaining to them, in still, single, multiple, moving or video format, or in which I may be included in whole or in part, or composite, or distorted in form, or reproductions thereof, in color or otherwise, made through any media in his studio or elsewhere for art, or any other lawful purpose.

    I hereby waive any right that I may have to inspect and approve the finished product or copy that may be used in connection with an image that the Photographer has taken of me, or the use to which it may be applied.

    I further release the Photographer, or others for whom he is acting, from any claims for remuneration associated with any form of damage, foreseen or unforeseen, associated with the proper commercial or artistic use of these images unless it can be shown that said reproduction was maliciously caused, produced and published for the sole purpose of subjecting me to conspicuous ridicule, scandal, reproach, scorn and indignity.

    I acknowledge that the photography session was conducted in a completely proper and highly professional manner, and this release was willingly signed at its termination.

    I certify that I am not a minor under the laws where I live, and am free and able to give such consent.

    Model’s signature:_________________________ day___/month___/year_____ Address:___________________________________ City:______________________________________ State/Province:______________________________ Country:___________________________________
    Zip/Postal Code:_____________________________
    Country area code and home telephone number:(______)____________________________
    Witness (non family member):___________________________________
    Witness (non family member):___________________________________
    This form will be retained with the negatives, transparencies, digital media, and/or contact sheets. day___/month___/year_____ {INSERT YOUR LEGAL NAME HERE}.

    The above model release form is to be used as a mere example form and, when entering into any contractual agreement with any model for photographic / video work you should always seek proper legal advice.

    Article written by Lee.

Premium Sponsors















Categories

Site Links