changing solo paysites to hardcore

[basschick]

i see this usually from new amateur sites. they start with solo guys for 10, 20 or 40 episodes. then - after their affiliates have reviews and blogs up about the cute solo guys - they start focusing on hardcore content. usually they always meant to have a hardcore site but either didn't know yet how to find the models or didn't have the money to shoot hardcore when they started.

i feel that this is a bad idea as you start off branding the site as solo in the minds of your members and the guys who almost join and come back later. also i notice that usually the hardcore in these sites isn't shot as well as the solo - it's not as easy as shooting solo since there are 2 bodies getting in each others' light and covering up things like the penetration.

what do you think - should they start off solo and move up to hardcore when they can or should a site that establishes itself as solo stay solo? or here's one other option: should they start a second site - a hardcore site to complement the solo site, and members get access to both?

[xstr8guy]

UKNM is both hardcore and solo. Why not? Lol.

We intitially started off as primarily solo for practical purposes... we already had a bunch of exclusive content to use. But as we've grown, our budget and reputation has grown and made it a whole lot easier to attract high quality models.

I look at it this way... if we had waited to open until we had 40 hardcore videos to put on the site, we'd probably still be waiting. Why not make some money while you grow your brand?

And as a surfer myself, I like to see both types of action. I like to watch 2 or more guys going at it but I also like to look at pics or solo vids of guys that I find particularly hot.

[basschick]

why not? well, once your site gets listed on link lists and review sites in the solo category, you're going to miss the sales your site would have made had it been listed in the hardcore category. also i think that after 30 or 40 solo episodes, the members who have actually retained are probably looking for solo guys.

[InsaneSimon]

I did this mistake :( Not because I hadn't money to spend but I didn't find a good hardcore producer. The problem is solved now. ;)

[MiamiBoyz]

We started MiamiBoyz in 1999 as a solo site and have not had hardcore on it ever. Yes, the members do not want hardcore. They enjoy exactly what we give them. I would recommend sticking to one format and doing it well. We have members who have been with us since the start.

Lee

[Adam Mason]

I think you missed the point of solos - on most sites they are there as an introduction to the guys... it's a tease and water-tester to see if they would be popular enough to feature in a hardcore shoot.

I personally can't remember the last time someone emailed me asking for more solo content...

[nickbaer]

I don't need hardcore to satisfy my viewers. I have 3-4 titles mixed in, but have always maintained a lite-core theme.

I can find models who will do nude but non-sexual, and other models who will do solos... it is they that I am more concerned about putting side-by-side with hardcore!

Since neither of those classes of models do hardcore, they shouldn't be on a site with hardcore alongside solo and soft core.

In turn, viewers who like soft core, like the uniqueness of it, as compared to the relative easy of which to find hardcore content.

[basschick]

actually i have solo traffic that doesn't buy hardcore well at all - it's filtered by terms like jacking off and mastubation, and converts solo much much better. your site has both, and guys expect both. if all the links to your site were listed only under solo and most of the traffic was filtered masturbation traffic, your sales wouldn't do so well.

since your site is generally listed under UK and amateur, your surfers aren't on the hunt for solo action.


I think you missed the point of solos - on most sites they are there as an introduction to the guys... it's a tease and water-tester to see if they would be popular enough to feature in a hardcore shoot.

I personally can't remember the last time someone emailed me asking for more solo content...

[xstr8guy]

Interesting reading other people comments. But I haven't changed my mind.

UKNM wasn't hatched full grown, it evolved organically. We let the sales figures and member comments determine our growth patterns. To be honest, what category we get listed in on a link list is the last thing I worry about. And if it ever did become a problem, I'd simply contact the webmaster/affiliate and ask for a correction.

And like Adam said above, we primarily use solo shoots as an "introduction" to new models. And since our hardcore video shoots are not "documentary" style but rather "themed" shoots, models do not speak unscripted lines. So we ocassionally feature popular models in solos so the members can hear them speak candidly and get to know them better.

Now that I think about it, I would wager that the most popular gay adult sites have become successful by being more flexible and growing organically. It would be interesting to compare Randy Blue, Corbin Fisher, etc. today to what they were when they started.

[xstr8guy]

also i think that after 30 or 40 solo episodes, the members who have actually retained are probably looking for solo guys.


When we first started, our update schedule was 3 solos and 1 hardcore video per month... not including photo updates, which we pride ourselves in.

After the first few months we noticed consistently higher sales figures for our hardcore updates. So we decreased our solos and increased our hardcore updates to 2 each per month.

As time passed and sales grew, the trend continued to show higher sales figures for hardcore, so now we update 3 hardcore vids and 1 solo per month. I imagine eventually solo videos won't be featured on the tour at all but will be bonus content for members only... unless its a very hot model.