I’ve never had much luck with cam sites but recently (with the help of Brett from Video Secrets and Brad from AWE) I’ve decided to give them another go with some white label sites.
I’m so accustomed to using hi-res photos and video clips from gay porn sponsors for my blog updates that the idea of promoting cam sites primarily through the placement of I-frame and banner ads seems foreign to me. So while trying to figure out how to best promote cam sites I came up with a list of challenges and possible solutions. Feel free to comment and add your own:
CHALLENGE #1. Lack of quality promo material such as hi-res model photos. Apparently the VS cam models want to remain somewhat anonymous so no photos are made available for promotion. AWE provides some pics but they’re fairly low quality, like screen caps.
SOLUTION: Make it a requirement that any guy who wants to do cam work must provide hi-res images of himself and agree to let affiliates use these for promotion. Even cell phones and $50 cameras take good pictures these days so a lack of a camera should not be an excuse. An alternate idea would be to offer models a higher payout if they provide good photos and allow them to be used for marketing. In my opinion the cam guys who don’t want their images showing up on affiliates blogs should be paid the lowest commission.
CHALLENGE # 2: Lack of regular content updates from cam sponsors, like we get from gay porn sponsors.
SOLUTION: When a hot new cam model debuts on VS, AWE or other cam sites it would be great if affiliates got an email update with details about the model and as mentioned above, hi-res photos for promotion. We should also know when the model will be live on cam. All of this info could be written up in blog posts to help drive traffic to the cam site. Now I realize that most amateur cam models don’t have a set schedule, but again, maybe VS and AWE should either make it a requirement that new models adhere to a set schedule, or offer them an incentive (higher payouts) for keeping a set schedule.
CHALLENGE # 3: Inability to review a cam site/model performance. Due to the nature of cam sites its not really possible for an affiliate to get an access pass to check out and review a cam site like they can with gay porn sites.
SOLUTION: Cam sites should make models available for online interviews with affiliates, similar to what Hollywood studios do. When a new movie opens a studio will put the star in a room all day where they conduct satellite interviews with news stations from around the world. So when a new cam model debuts on a site the affiliate should be able to request an interview via a private chat where the model answers questions from the affiliate, who in turn writes this interview up and posts it on his blog. Maybe the interview can even be recorded and posted on a blog as a video clip? Alternate idea: cam sites that offer an archive of past model cam performances should make these available to affiliates for review purposes.
I guess the running thread in my suggestions is that cam sites could probably do a better job of requiring and/or motivating the models to participate in site and self-promotion. This would certainly benefit everyone: the affiliates, the cam sites and the models. I suspect that many cam models might welcome the opportunity for more exposure from affiliates. The cam sites simply need to find an efficient way to facilitate the connection between models and affiliates.
Final suggestion: cam sites should select some of their top performers and pay them extra for participating in these marketing ideas. Once a few cam models start doing it I predict that almost all of the other models will jump on board also.