Source: Powder XXX
By: Powder
I’ve met a lot of new women coming in the adult business lately, who always have a lot of questions about how to get their name out in the market place more. A lot of these girls misunderstand that their agent will mostly book them for scenes and leave them to their own devices when it comes to building up themselves as a product. I’ve always felt an agents job isn’t only to get these girls work but, help build careers.
Unfortunately, most agents don’t make the effort due to the time they would have to invest and to be honest, the majority of new talent in this business rarely want to put the time and effort in to build their careers. They would rather go do a scene, then go home and call it a day. Also, there is a myth that marketing yourself is going to cost a ton of money (a common tale told by webmasters to get as much money out of talent as possible) which doesn’t have to be the case. Talent in this business Can market themselves at a very low cost and with only a small amount of time per day.
Below are some simple ways that new talent or any talent can go about marketing themselves at little or no cost. All it will cost you is a bit of time.
1. Make a new E-mail: The very first thing you should set is an e-mail account. One with your industry name followed by ”XXX”. For example, if your stage name is ”Ashley Ass”, it would be ”ashleyassxxx@email.com” you can do this for Free through many various web based e-mail sites. I recommend using Google.com’s Gmail at its fast and allows for up to 20MB of file attachments per e-mail.
Use this e-mail for All your dealings in the porn industry. It not only protects your real identity but, gives an easy address for people to remember. Also use this e-mail address to set up your Myspace, blog, etc. Avoid using your personal e-mail as much as possible.
2. Build a Myspace, Facebook and Twitter: If you don’t have one set up for your porn stage name, you are missing a huge marketing opportunity for yourself. There are several Million potential customers to buy your scenes and market yourself to on Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. Use it to meet them and gain fans! If you have a Myspace, Facebook or Twitter set up for your private life, Keep Them Separate. Don’t link your porn Myspace, Facebook or Twitter to your personal one. Remember; protect your real name at all costs.
Also be smart, make sure your Myspace is set up for 18yrs or older only and also set the profile to private. This will make it harder for Myspace to have a reason to delete you. Also keep your pictures PG or as close to G as possible. Putting stars over your nipples does not mean you won’t get deleted. The more adult your pictures, the higher chance you have of being deleted.
Check your Myspace often, at least twice a week if not more. Respond to comments and e-mails even if its with a ”thank you for visiting my profile”. It makes you seem personable and will help you build a fan base.
3. Get a Blog: I recommend WordPress.com, Blogger.com or Typepad.com.
These sites give you a free URL (web address) for your blog. It’s a Free self contained website that easy to use. No more having to pay webmasters or paying to have any content hosted, Its Free and only take about an hour (depending on how computer literate you are) to learn how to customize and configure. Plus you are in charge of all your content.
Maintaining a blog is pretty easy and you should update it at least three to four times a week (if not every day). You don’t need to spend hours typing 500- 700 word blog entries. Just take 10-15 minutes out of your day and let your readers know when you are up to, what scene just shot or a industry party you attended. Its very simple and easy plus allows you to maintain a connection with fans as well as build new ones. You can also do link exchanges with your friends to help build visits to each others blogs or websites.
4. Make some Business Cards: Business cards are a Must. I recommend having two types of business card. One for fans and one for industry people. The cards for fans should be the following: Your Name, e-mail address and website. Thats it. For the industry people your are networking with make sure to have: Your name, cell phone number, e-mail address, website, agent (if you have one) and what types of shoots you are available for (B/G, B/B/G, G/G, etc). Also having your picture on both sets of cards is a bonus so those you give it to can put a face or body to the name. Check out sites like vistaprint.com or check your local yellow pages for places to get business cards made.
5. Youtube: As most people know YouTube.com is a video sharing website, where users can upload, view and share video clips. Its incredibly popular with millions of people surfing the site at all hours of the day. While no adult or porn clips can be shown, you can still get your name out there and help build up your fan base.
First, sign up for a Youtube account under your porn name. If your name is taken, just add an XXX to the end and try again. Once you’ve created your Youtube channel, you can customize the channel to your liking. Make sure to use your industry e-mail address when signing up. Again, protect your real identity at all costs.
You might be wondering what to put up on your Youtube channel. Its up to you? If you have a video camera or even can do cell phone video, post behind the scenes clips from a shoot, a night out at an industry party or even yourself in different sexy dresses, asking fans which outfit they like best? Just remember to keep it PG and Myspace worthy.
If you don’t have a video camera, you can always buy a webcam and do some video blogging. Several adult stars are video blogging or posting videos on Youtube such as Nikki Benz, Trina Michaels, Dana DeArmond, Kerry Louise, Alexis Golden and Julia Bond.
Video blogging is useful in several ways. If you don’t like to type, not only can you post your video blog on Youtube but, then you can post the Youtube of your video blog on your Myspace, as well as on your blogging website. That is three places on the internet now that fans can find you and view the videos you post. That is three sites to help you build a fan base.
You can also use a simple editing program like Windows Movie Maker in Windows Xp and Vista to add your name to the beginning of the video, as well as your Myspace, e-mail and blog website address at the end. Simply adding where people can find you on the web can help drive traffic to your Myspace and to your blog website.
For a good solid webcam, I recommend a Logitech Quickcam 9000 for $79 or the Logitech QuickCam Communicate Mp for $49. Both webcams can be found at Frys, Wall-Mart or Best Buy.
Youtube is still an untapped market by most of the adult industry. Few adult stars and companies post on mainstream tube sites due to the restriction of adult material but, with a little time and creativity, you can make a mainstream site like Youtube work for you.
Remember, don’t wait or rely on an agent, publicist or anyone else to help you build your name in this business. You have all the tools right at your fingertips and you just have to use them.
If anyone has further questions about marketing, you can contact me directly at powder@powderxxx.com
Powder
