Photographer
MrE Creations
Posts: 155
There has been alot of talk here recently about paysites and their value. I have also had many messages asking about how to get into shooting this as I currently have 3 and will be adding a 4th this summer and all do very well. The appeal of them is high as you dont need to depend on an agency or other outlet to make money from your work, but done the wrong way, they just lead to loss of money and time. So I thought I would pass along a few pointers some may find useful. I know some of you have them or run them as well, so feel free to add to this thread. Photographers can many times sell images to webmasters who buy content for multi model sites. Thats often a good way to go as you dont have to be involved with percentages from profits off a site, you just get paid a lump sum and thats it. But if you want your own site, read on. If you know nothing about being a webmaster or how to run a paysite, DONT start one yourself unless you like wasting time and money. Find a webmaster with an established program and affiliates. Affiliates are people who run freesites that promote for you by putting banners and links for your sites on theirs. They are key to your success. They typically get 50% of each sale that goes thru their site. Another key reason for using an established webmaster is that affiliates usually do not promote sites with unknown and unproven webmasters whos sites many times shutdown due to poor management or various other reasons. You will also need these affiliates to get your site out to as many people as possible. No matter how much traffic (people coming to your website) you think you can generate yourself using Myspace, MM, OMP and other outlets, it wont be near enough. Classic example is a model who shall remain nameless but she is the "queen of Myspace" with a million friends and even a big Playboy spread. A great photographer and a clean layout plus a girl seemingly everyone knows and loves is a cant miss paysite hit right? wrong. There are random internet models outselling this self made celebrity 5 to 1 easily. Why? Because rather than partnering with someone who knew what they were doing, they decided to go it alone. Lastly, be prepared for costs. Some webmasters may want you to put in some money for server costs or even the initial $700 it costs to get Visa approval on your site so you can accept Visa cards. Avoid Verotel and Paypal as these can be troublesome and its just unprofessional. Pay the extra money for Visa and CCBill, the number one billing client for paysites. CCBill issues you a check every week based on sales for your site. They take around 16% of each weekly check as a processing fee, but it beats the alternatives. So thats the basics, there are many other things that go into it and its not as easy as it sounds. Like any other business, dont just jump in head first without knowledge of how things work or the help of others more experienced in the industry. Hope this helps a bit 
Photographer
studio_14
Posts: 13
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I'm a curious cat.
What are the addresses three sites you do content for?
Photographer
Studio Spike
Posts: 978
New York, New York, US
It's actually against PayPal's rules to use it on nakey sites....i found out the hard way and they canceled my account!
Then i went with a small card processing company because they allowed me to accept Visa without the $750 fee. That was great for a month until they went out of business and i had to do a lot of yellin' to get my money.
I ended up with CCbill, they've been great.
I've not coughed up the Visa fee yet, I'm sure that's costing me business....though there's no way to tell really.
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Do people actually pay to see porn naked ladies... whatever you want to call it...?
Photographer
Arizona Shoots
Posts: 28822
Phoenix, Arizona, US
CCBill used to be good. I actually toured their facility in Tempe, Az once. But then Visa started charging their fee and CCBill kept their fees the same. So, it seems to me that you'd almost be better off just getting your own merchant account since you'd be paying the fee anyways.
The other option is to use a service like BeeTokens and sell individual sets of photos or clips through your paysite. PureVanilla where you're part of a community of paysites and you get paid when someone uses their credits on your site.
One other thing to note about selling content. With the new 2257 regulations, you now have to send a model's personal information (ID, etc) to the buyer. I'm very skeptical about doing this. You never really know who you're sending this information to, and god forbid anything happens (ID theft, or worse) as a result, I'd be the person who got sued.
I'm just not comfortable with this, so I decided to stop selling content a couple years ago.
For me, the only solution is to run my own sites where the model's personal date is kept safe and secure with me.
Photographer
Moraxian
Posts: 2607
Germantown, Maryland, US
Sandra wrote:
Do people actually pay to see porn naked ladies... whatever you want to call it...? They do, and they pay quite a bit. I have a series of Pay-Per-View sites and they all make decent $$, despite that there's no nudity on most of them (only FunWithMarci.com, staring the lovely and talented Marci: MM 20795, has nudity... some artistic, some nude bondage).
Photographer
Arizona Shoots
Posts: 28822
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Sandra wrote:
Do people actually pay to see porn naked ladies... whatever you want to call it...? Lets put it this way.. Lets say you have a site that charges $9.95/mo. If you had just 100 recurring subscribers, out of the millions of horny dudes who prowl for porn (a very tiny fraction!) You'd pull in $1000/mo minus the credit card fees of course.
Even so, that's most people's rent/house payment.. Or a good portion of it. Keep in mind, that's just 100 members. Imagine if you could manage to get 1000.
Photographer
Studio Spike
Posts: 978
New York, New York, US
Sandra wrote:
Do people actually pay to see porn naked ladies... whatever you want to call it...? Yes it's amazing, you'd think there's enough FREE porn online to keep anyone happy, and yet my teensy, totally unpromoted, haven't-been-able-to-find-a-new-model-to-save-my-life nakey site continues to attract paying customers.
If ever there was a market that seemed saturated, it would be web porn....but new sites continue to succeed...
Photographer
Arizona Shoots
Posts: 28822
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Studio Spike wrote:
Yes it's amazing, you'd think there's enough FREE porn online to keep anyone happy, and yet my teensy, totally unpromoted, haven't-been-able-to-find-a-new-model-to-save-my-life nakey site continues to attract paying customers.
If ever there was a market that seemed saturated, it would be web porn....but new sites continue to succeed... What I've found is that single girl sites tend to do the best. I think some of these guys find a model that they really like and they follow that particular girl. Like I said earlier, just 100 devoted fans can earn you $1000/month...
Plus, what better way to turn all those TFCD shoots into cash?
[EDIT] It has come to my attention that some people on here think that I am advocating that photographers do this as a sleazy way to make money off of their TFP shoots.
I am not. This post was specifically meant to be addressed to models as a way for them to make money from their shoots.
Sorry that wasn't clear.
Photographer
MrE Creations
Posts: 155
Yea, solo sites can earn alot when guys fall in love with the model. Multi model sites are also very popular, more bang (no pun intended) for the buck. Multi model sites like Twistys for example do extremely well. The market has become so oversaturated the last few years, it takes a really special model to make a solo site a big success.
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
lol I got a message from John saying people pay for porn... hehe I am glad he emailed me cus I totally forgot about this post! but I will post what I told him. I
Photographer
studio_14
Posts: 13
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sandra wrote:
I wouldnt pay ONE hot girl to see her poo-nan poo-nan.. hahaha
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
John Jebbia wrote:
CCBill used to be good. I actually toured their facility in Tempe, Az once. But then Visa started charging their fee and CCBill kept their fees the same. So, it seems to me that you'd almost be better off just getting your own merchant account since you'd be paying the fee anyways.
The other option is to use a service like BeeTokens and sell individual sets of photos or clips through your paysite. PureVanilla where you're part of a community of paysites and you get paid when someone uses their credits on your site.
One other thing to note about selling content. With the new 2257 regulations, you now have to send a model's personal information (ID, etc) to the buyer. I'm very skeptical about doing this. You never really know who you're sending this information to, and god forbid anything happens (ID theft, or worse) as a result, I'd be the person who got sued.
I'm just not comfortable with this, so I decided to stop selling content a couple years ago.
For me, the only solution is to run my own sites where the model's personal date is kept safe and secure with me. Hey John, setting up a merchant account is the best way to go. Paypal and CCbill are what are known as "Third party billing providers" or in other words .. the high interest check cashing places of the Internet, while having a merchant account is dealing directly with a bank. Much lower transaction rates, lower set up fees, and no "hold backs" as the money goes directly into your checking account.
Another thing more people should be made aware of is that merchant accounts are not that difficult to get since the majority of brick and mortar businesses have them. A billing page is not that much different than the ZON machine in a store. Think of all the things that credit cards purchases are accepted for! If you are a photographer or model who does not do porn, then you should be able to get a merchant account without problem. Art nudes are not considered porn in the judgement of many banks. Any website that has adult sexual content is considered porn and might as well use CCbill since they specialize in that market. (It's one of those subjective "I'll know it when I see it" things!)
I can help anyone who wants to know more about how to go about getting their own merchant account. There was a time that I considered going into the third party billing business, so I've been researching this subject for over 3 years now. I am NOT a third party biller, but I am an authorized reseller of merchant accounts.
John, I keep all my models data private and on my own servers too! If I sell content, it's directly to the model for her own site.
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
John Jebbia wrote:
Lets put it this way.. Lets say you have a site that charges $9.95/mo. If you had just 100 recurring subscribers, out of the millions of horny dudes who prowl for porn (a very tiny fraction!) You'd pull in $1000/mo minus the credit card fees of course.
Even so, that's most people's rent/house payment.. Or a good portion of it. Keep in mind, that's just 100 members. Imagine if you could manage to get 1000. I know of a few models who have 2 to 3 thousand members any given month at $20 each. Not bad money!
Photographer
JSVPhotography
Posts: 4897
Madison, Wisconsin, US
John Jebbia wrote:
What I've found is that single girl sites tend to do the best. I think some of these guys find a model that they really like and they follow that particular girl. Like I said earlier, just 100 devoted fans can earn you $1000/month...
Plus, what better way to turn all those TFCD shoots into cash? Turning the TFCD shoots into cash... then it's not exactly a tfcd shoot anymore is it? I assume that the model is taking a portion of the cash as well?
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
Studio Spike wrote:
Yes it's amazing, you'd think there's enough FREE porn online to keep anyone happy, and yet my teensy, totally unpromoted, haven't-been-able-to-find-a-new-model-to-save-my-life nakey site continues to attract paying customers.
If ever there was a market that seemed saturated, it would be web porn....but new sites continue to succeed... There is too much porn online. However ... either the attention span is short or the quality is not that great. There are many types of model paysites that are not nude or porn that are successful too. It depends on many factors that I have written about.
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
Marker220 wrote:
Turning the TFCD shoots into cash... then it's not exactly a tfcd shoot anymore is it? I assume that the model is taking a portion of the cash as well? Either I pay my models or split the proceeds from their site. Doing TFCD then posting on a paysite is not ethical nor legal in most cases depending on the contract signed.
Model
Samantha Grace
Posts: 3228
Los Angeles, California, US
I know I have had a paysite in my head for about 2 years now. I just have trouble finding people I trust to help. I have been on other models sites, and other paysites. I get a lot of guys who email me and ask if I have a paysite. I think with the right people someone like me can do well. It is just findg the right crew to help.
Men really start to develope a crush on you. I learned this being a Glamourcon model. I would meet fans, who really liked me. It is strange.
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Patrick Walberg wrote:
There is too much porn online. However ... either the attention span is short or the quality is not that great. There are many types of model paysites that are not nude or porn that are successful too. It depends on many factors that I have written about. this amazes me! I will never pay for sex... and I will surely never pay to masturbate lol
I mean I can see where it can be tempting...but there is soo much free porn out there.. its like going into a candy store.
(anyone see dave chapelle show where he made a spoof if the internet was real?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt0Zqz8X_ac HILARIOUS!)
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
Samantha Grace wrote:
I know I have had a paysite in my head for about 2 years now. I just have trouble finding people I trust to help. I have been on other models sites, and other paysites. I get a lot of guys who email me and ask if I have a paysite. I think with the right people someone like me can do well. It is just findg the right crew to help.
Men really start to develope a crush on you. I learned this being a Glamourcon model. I would meet fans, who really liked me. It is strange. Grace, please read my post "What makes a Model Website GREAT" in Model Matters here. I just bumped it for you! 
https://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=63749
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
Sandra wrote:
this amazes me! I will never pay for sex... and I will surely never pay to masturbate lol
I mean I can see where it can be tempting...but there is soo much free porn out there.. its like going into a candy store.
(anyone see dave chapelle show where he made a spoof if the internet was real?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt0Zqz8X_ac HILARIOUS!) Why do men (and some women) pay for "singles clubs?" Why do we buy publications such as Playboy and Maxum? A "paysite" is the term used for any subscription website. There are many more websites that are NOT porn sites than there are porn sites (... it just seems that way! LOL) AND there are those professionals who subscribe to industry publications online ... such as Pollstar which gives up to date information on the live entertainment industry. I book bands so I read it!
Model
Samantha Grace
Posts: 3228
Los Angeles, California, US
Patrick Walberg wrote:
Grace, please read my post "What makes a Model Website GREAT" in Model Matters here. I just bumped it for you!
https://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=63749 Great advice, a lot of stuff I kind of already knew. I have been researching this for a number of years now. I am just looking for help on the technical end of it.
It was interesting to see Pattycake's site. I do not see her as a Betty Page. I think there are girls who have more of the Betty Page look, like http://www.switchbladestilettos.com/. I personally, do not find her attractive. She is just a plain girl. But I think that is the draw to her. I think men like the idea they can access her.
I have been told by many fetish model friends, get a paysite. You are so easy to market. A few of them, I have been on their sites. I actually, want to see if friends of mine who run a sucessful porn site will help me. Their site has been around since 1998.
My site wouldn't be considered a porn site. I would call it more of a fan site. Where my photos will be very Pg-13, some tasteful Playboy style nudes every once in a while.
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Patrick Walberg wrote:
Why do men (and some women) pay for "singles clubs?" Why do we buy publications such as Playboy and Maxum? A "paysite" is the term used for any subscription website. There are many more websites that are NOT porn sites than there are porn sites (... it just seems that way! LOL) AND there are those professionals who subscribe to industry publications online ... such as Pollstar which gives up to date information on the live entertainment industry. I book bands so I read it! I am not knocking it persay... just can't wrap my mind around the idea...I frequent the porn... so as a viewer of it I like my stuff FREE hehe
Maybe I would understand more of paying for a multi-site then just ONE person. I mean they would have to be like Brad Pitt or something special for me to actually want to PAY a monthly fee to masturbate to them... LOL
Like I said... if I was a guy.. I would not pay to see one girls poo-nan... LOL
*Sandra
Model
Samantha Grace
Posts: 3228
Los Angeles, California, US
Sandra wrote:
I am not knocking it persay... just can't wrap my mind around the idea...I frequent the porn... so as a viewer of it I like my stuff FREE hehe
Maybe I would understand more of paying for a multi-site then just ONE person. I mean they would have to be like Brad Pitt or something special for me to actually want to PAY a monthly fee to masturbate to them... LOL
Like I said... if I was a guy.. I would not pay to see one girls poo-nan... LOL
*Sandra I agree with you. But there are many who would.
Photographer
Studio Spike
Posts: 978
New York, New York, US
Samantha Grace wrote:
Men really start to develope a crush on you. I learned this being a Glamourcon model. I would meet fans, who really liked me. It is strange. Puhleeeeze....guys can crush easy. I've got a crush on Erin Esurance and she's not even real.
Photographer
Patrick Walberg
Posts: 45475
San Juan Bautista, California, US
Sandra wrote:
I am not knocking it persay... just can't wrap my mind around the idea...I frequent the porn... so as a viewer of it I like my stuff FREE hehe
Maybe I would understand more of paying for a multi-site then just ONE person. I mean they would have to be like Brad Pitt or something special for me to actually want to PAY a monthly fee to masturbate to them... LOL
Like I said... if I was a guy.. I would not pay to see one girls poo-nan... LOL
*Sandra Well Sandra, it's a fact that due to our biology, men are more visually stimulated and therefore it's also the reason that far more pornographic movies and magazines are aimed towards the male audience. The modeling industry is one of the few where women are able to get better pay then their male counterparts (hope that's the right word! LOL)
So you being a woman who enjoys the FREE stuff .. that's perfectly normal. Let us guys pay!
Model
Samantha Grace
Posts: 3228
Los Angeles, California, US
Studio Spike wrote:
Puhleeeeze....guys can crush easy. I've got a crush on Erin Esurance and she's not even real. You have a point they sure do. I think it is funny when they ask me on dates. I kindly, say I am very busy shooting and I cannot. But thanks, I would like to if I had the time.
Photographer
mccStudio
Posts: 1312
Santa Cruz, California, US
Sandra wrote:
Do people actually pay to see porn naked ladies... whatever you want to call it...? lots of lonely guys out there...
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
mcStudio wrote:
lots of lonely guys out there... LOL There was a point in time where I was too a lonely girl....
and thats when I found myfreepaysite.com
It is the holy grail...I mean they have tons!
well I guess different boats for different folks... I wouldnt pay to stroke my own boat though...no matter how lonely...
I am off to bed
Night boyz !
*Sandra
Model
Sandra
Posts: 830
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Patrick Walberg wrote:
Well Sandra, it's a fact that due to our biology, men are more visually stimulated and therefore it's also the reason that far more pornographic movies and magazines are aimed towards the male audience. The modeling industry is one of the few where women are able to get better pay then their male counterparts (hope that's the right word! LOL)
So you being a woman who enjoys the FREE stuff .. that's perfectly normal. Let us guys pay! oh and I love porn! So I guess if you guys want to pay then pay... but I feel like every man and woman should have some free porn in there life...or good quality dvd from intelliflix http://www.intelliflix.com/?aref=dt_gms3 and actually now on the dvds you can make your own porn! You can play the order in which you want to see it
Me and the bf have fun with that...
okay good night for real!
Photographer
Studio Spike
Posts: 978
New York, New York, US
Sandra wrote:
LOL There was a point in time where I was too a lonely girl....
and thats when I found http://myfreepaysite.com enough with the spam.
Photographer
mccStudio
Posts: 1312
Santa Cruz, California, US
Sandra wrote:
LOL There was a point in time where I was too a lonely girl....
and thats when I found http://myfreepaysite.com
It is the holy grail...I mean they have tons!
well I guess different boats for different folks... I wouldnt pay to stroke my own boat though...no matter how lonely...
I am off to bed
Night boyz !
*Sandra Yeah, i've always been meaning to ask a female opinion about this...
My ex watches girl on girl porn all the time behind my back. The way I found out was when I saw all these nakid girls in my Internet cache (i used to be an Internet developer and i check for scripts via cache, and no, i don't watch porn). I confront her about it and she just shrugs it off, like "oh, all girls do it." I'm like... ok. maybe she is right.
Then I visit a friends site (model), that happens to have a few nakid pics of her. I am doing this totally for research purposes. I swear, honestly. She sees me watching it and yells at me. "Stop watching porn!" WTF?!
such double standards.
Photographer
KoolGirlieStuff
Posts: 3560
Gainesville, Florida, US
I`m sitting on 11 years of work and 200,000+ photos ~
If I could get just $5 for each great photo I`ve taken, I could buy that Shelby I wanted.....where are all these webmasters willing to help? Or who`s the content buyers who will pay GOOD $$$ for sets of photos?....everybody wants everything for free nowadays
Model
Samantha Grace
Posts: 3228
Los Angeles, California, US
KoolGirlieStuff wrote:
I`m sitting on 11 years of work and 200,000+ photos ~
If I could get just $5 for each great photo I`ve taken, I could buy that Shelby I wanted.....where are all these webmasters willing to help? Or who`s the content buyers who will pay GOOD $$$ for sets of photos?....everybody wants everything for free nowadays I know what you mean. You know I have been trying to look for a trust worthy webmaster for a few year now myself. If I find one, I will tell you about them okay.
Photographer
Hamza
Posts: 7791
New York, New York, US
MrE Creations wrote:
Yea, solo sites can earn alot when guys fall in love with the model. Multi model sites are also very popular, more bang (no pun intended) for the buck. Multi model sites like Twistys for example do extremely well. The market has become so oversaturated the last few years, it takes a really special model to make a solo site a big success. So you still didn't give us the addresses of the three sites you shoot content for...
What's up with that?
John Jebbia wrote:
Plus, what better way to turn all those TFCD shoots into cash? Now this is a GWC way to make a buck if ever I saw one...
Photographer
Hamza
Posts: 7791
New York, New York, US
Photographer
Fotografia-di-Asia
Posts: 6118
Park City, Utah, US
Sandra wrote:
oh and I love porn! ... but I feel like every man and woman should have some free porn in there life... and actually now on the dvds you can make your own porn! You can play the order in which you want to see it
Me and the bf have fun with that...
okay good night for real! gosh, i love you more and more with each post you made. lemme know if things don't workout with your current bf.
Photographer
Mr-Kato
Posts: 152
John Jebbia wrote:
CCBill used to be good. I actually toured their facility in Tempe, Az once. But then Visa started charging their fee and CCBill kept their fees the same. So, it seems to me that you'd almost be better off just getting your own merchant account since you'd be paying the fee anyways.
The other option is to use a service like BeeTokens and sell individual sets of photos or clips through your paysite. PureVanilla where you're part of a community of paysites and you get paid when someone uses their credits on your site.
One other thing to note about selling content. With the new 2257 regulations, you now have to send a model's personal information (ID, etc) to the buyer. I'm very skeptical about doing this. You never really know who you're sending this information to, and god forbid anything happens (ID theft, or worse) as a result, I'd be the person who got sued.
I'm just not comfortable with this, so I decided to stop selling content a couple years ago.
For me, the only solution is to run my own sites where the model's personal date is kept safe and secure with me. Acutally, the 2257 regs are specific in the USA, as a photographer/producer/self promotiing model you must on the front page of the site (if it is adult in anyway- nudity, HC porn, bondage etc) YOUR REAL name, home address (NO PO Boxes allowed) and the hours of operation if it is not 8-5 m-f The models information is not given out to buyers unless you are selling said content to another site or publication company. The fines are steep for each infraction AND the prison time is worse (up to ten years for each infraction) As part of these regs if running a publication or website you must have in a searchable database, each and every model's ID (photo ID plus 1 other) her name, madian name, ALL known stage names, ALL known websites she has appeared on (Including this one if applicable) her DOB, plus be able to cross reference each and every photo you have of her in your database, this becomes really complicated when you have multi girls in 1 shot. If you sell a set or series of photos to another site or publication, you must give that website/producer all the model ID information for their records. To further complicate things, ALL models appearing on your website (Again if you are a USA producer) must either be a US citizen, have a work visa- you must have a copy of this visa, or it has to have been a runaway production. This is the BASIC rundown, you would have to goto the government website and reseach the 2257 regs as well as the 44?? addendum to title18usc2257. This set of laws only applies to USA producers, USA citizens, or content hosted on servers in the USA. if any 1 of these apply, you must comply with 2257, you can add a lawyer fee to the cost of running a paysite as well, you will need it sooner or later.
As for billing, yeah 3rd party billers take a big chunk of your money, but they fraud scrub transactions and toss out customers with a history of chargebacks before they become a problem and raise your rates or worse, get your account closed, You can pay the Visa fee, but also be aware, once your pay the fee it is not refundable in the 3rd party 'suddenly' finds your content too riske' also Visa (once the intial fee is paid for) has an annual fee of $350 to keep accepting their card (this is in addition to the 13-15% processing fees and the 10% 6 month hold back fee) Master Card has made similar rumblings but has yet to follow suit with an acceptence fee. Visa and MC do not want their logos on your site, anywhere. I have never delt with merchant accounts for adult material, these also require upfront non-refundable fees from $1000-5000 and more depending on content, also if they find your content to riske' at anytime, they toss you aside like sweat rag and you are out not only the itial fee/processing fees, but you will have to fight to get any outstanding money owed, plus they put you on what they call a fraud list that is past from one bank to another preventing your from getting another merchant account anywhere. Merchant bank rules change on the spur of the moment, one day you are in full compliance, the next day your site is closed and customers are demanding their money back.
Tokens are not a bad way to go, but Beetokens, is on their way out, they were supposed to fold back in September so be wary of them. Token systems is another token company, they take 30% off the top but handle all the credit card stuff and you have to know something about web design and coding or need a webmaster who does, there are token sites out there who use token systems and you just submit your photo sets to them, they look after everything and cut you a check for 50-60% of the dollar value of your total sales, kind of steep, but no hassles getting that daily-biweekly-weekly-bimonthly-monthly update done on time. Beware of these too, most will require your 2257 info on your models you are submitting or if you are the model, your personal information.
I have been running adult sites and setting them up for different producers since 1998, the rules are constantly changing, billing companies come and go at will taking your money with them. I do not profess to know everything, far from it, but I have a decent grasp on the regulations and the pitfalls to know, if you want to start an adult website now (based in the USA) you can figure on needed $15,000-25,000 to start if you are paying for models, this will include camera, lights, computers, software, webmastering fees, hosting feess- reccuring,credit card processing fees- based on a % of sales, and legal fees. for a single model site, it should run about $10,000-15,000 to get launched, all figures will be less if you have some or most of the gear to begin with, a decent comp will cost you about $2000 per 3year lifespan, Cameras in the $1500 range will last 2-3 years depending on usage, lights need new bulbs or stobes periodically figure 1000up depending on what you buy. and modeling fees range widely, I have paid as little as $40/hour to as high as 125/hour depending on the models rate/experience, I have also dont TFP and trade shoots with a couple of models, but this isn't the norm. Shooting for paysites is tricky somewhat, you need to try to get 50-100 photos per hour to yield 25-40 useable ones, (this goes up with experience) many paysites now have over 10,000 or way more for their members so do the math, 10000/40=250 hours of shoot time, this does not include travel, setup/teardown and record keeping, editing,and website maintaince.
but it is not all doom and gloom, once you get your photos, get them edited, uploaded to a server, design the site, try to get billing approved, they set your billing portal for you (most of them do) or if going with a merchant account, your webmster sets this up, you now have to advertise your site and get cross links in place quickly as the bills for webhosting are now coming in (these have to be adult friendly servers) you are now in the business of running a paysite, once you have one set up and running, you will need more to make any money at this in the end once you figure in your time and such. For most, tokens work just fine, no mess, no fuss, just 40-50% off the top, for a bigger piece of that pie, you need to invest way more time and effort on your part.
Photographer
Mr-Kato
Posts: 152
KoolGirlieStuff wrote:
I`m sitting on 11 years of work and 200,000+ photos ~
If I could get just $5 for each great photo I`ve taken, I could buy that Shelby I wanted.....where are all these webmasters willing to help? Or who`s the content buyers who will pay GOOD $$$ for sets of photos?....everybody wants everything for free nowadays I have done and helped set up many a paysite, and I ain't doing it for free or cheap anymmore, I know whats involved time wise, I get the offers once in a while but the price scares the crap out of them, my knowledge is worth something or I ain't doing it, it started as a hobby, and my 'hobby' turned into a 40 hour a week dredgery for squat, so I launched my own sites and get a few $$ each month so that I can now shoot what I want to, verses paysite stuff, and actually pay for the models for their time for other artistic projects. I would be happy right now if I got $5 per hour for each hour I spent getting sites launched, and maintaining them over the years (this amounts to about $94,000) and I have recovered about 4600.00 of my time so far since 1998 :\
Kato 'the cynical'
Photographer
studio_14
Posts: 13
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hamza wrote:
So you still didn't give us the addresses of the three sites you shoot content for...
What's up with that? I guess it is putting yourself out there too much to show the work. Theres a few content providers here but no one will say for who. Its abit odd.
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