This tutorial is designed to teach you how to build an adult website/business. The outline of this tutorial is as follows:

1. What kind of Site?
   
2. Finding a Sponsor
   
3. Content
4. Building the site
5. Webhosts vs. FreeHosts
6. Traffic Generation
7. The Beginning

Once you have learned some HTML and have the means by which to edit the HTML, you're ready to begin planning your site. First of all, you need to decide what kind of audience you want to address and this will help you to decide what type of site to build. Any seasoned adult webmaster will tell you that a good place to start is with a free site. What is a free site? It's one in which surfers have full access to pictures or other content. A pay site is one in which a surfer would have to pay for a trial membership or full membership to get access to all pictures and/or other content (such as videos, audio files, or games). Free sites usually don't cost as much to start up and the lessons you learn in operating a free site will go a long way into making your paysite even more successful.

Your goal with building a free site is to direct your surfers away from your site to the site of your sponsor. In other words, you don't want to give the surfer too much. So, building a site with softcore pictures will be your best bet! Of course, you can have hardcore pics as well, but limit it to just a few so that your surfer will be enticed to sign up to see the "triple XXX HARDCORE" at your sponsor's site. If they see it at yours, they'll be totally satisified with sponging off of your efforts and will never visit your sponsor!! No sponsor sign-ups = no money = unhappy webmaster!!!

Okay, you've decided now on a free, primarily softcore, website. Great!! Lots of naked women!! Right? Not necessarily!!! You have more decisions to make!! To say that the people that surf the net are an extremely diversified group would be stating the obvious! You can decide to appeal to the masses or you can decide to build something called a "niche" site. A niche site is a site that appeals to a smaller portion of the general public. Niche sites generally appeal to some type of fetish... bondage, feet, smoking, big breasts, little breasts...really any part of the anatomy and almost any sex acts.

Warning!!! Adult NetSurprise and any legitimate sponsor will not condone or endorse sites that push child pornography or beastiality. Also, please be familiar with your state laws and regulations regarding pornography.

Finding a Sponsor

What is a sponsor? A sponsor is company that pays you for your traffic in one of several ways. The most popular ways are:

• Click Through Programs: you get paid for each time a surfer visits the sponsor site via a banner located on your site -- they "click thru" to the sponsor site. These programs were the first adult related ad programs on the web and they have remained popular to this date! The payout varies from sponsor to sponsor. The payout can be either a flat rate or a variable rate depending on the traffic --- that is, the more clicks, the higher the payout. Blind link programs are classified as click through programs. The rates range from .025 to .08 cents. Companies that offer Click Through programs use sophisticated software to detect webmasters that attempt to cheat them. (Blind links are text links or images that promise one thing and deliver another).
• Partnership Programs: you get paid for each time a surfer sign ups for a trial or full membership at a sponsor site as a result of your sales pitch (your free site). Sextoys stores also offer partnership programs in which you get a percentage of the profits generated by your website. This is a traditional commission based sales relationship. The payout can be a one time payout or it can be a recurring payment. The payout for one time payouts ranges anywhere from $3 to $50 per signup. Recurring payments are typically calculated using a percentage. Percentages range anywhere from 40%-100%. Again, it's important to read the rules and regulations very carefully so that you can be assured of payment on payday!!
• Other Ad Programs: There are other miscillaneous including those which encourage the surfer to submit their email address to receive content. When the surfer does this, you get paid either a flat rate or a percentage depending on the sponsor.

When you visit a sponsor you should read the terms of services very carefully!!!
Pay special attention to:

• What types of sites does the sponsor have? Hardcore? Video? Gay? BDSM? what?
• What types of accounts are available? What kind of programs?
• How often can you expect to be paid and what is the minimum paid out? How is the payout sent to you? Do you have to pay extra to get it wired directly to a bank account?
• Are there country limitations? (i.e. If you live in Russia, do they actually work with webmasters in that country?)
• How does the sponsor feel about blind links? Text links? Pop-up windows?
• Does the sponsor have tips and tricks available to assist you with making the sale?
• Does the sponsor have any free content?
• Template

Finding a sponsor is no small task. You have to be comfortable with your sponsor because your relationship with your sponsor will directly influence your income. It's a good idea to visit the sites that you will be promoting. Take the free tours that offered to guests. Does the tour make YOU want to sign up for the site? What do you see at the site that you know you could effectively sell. Remember that is how you make money!!

Another way to find a sponsor is to ask other webmasters. Don't be surprised if the responses you get are a bit vague. The sponsor/webmaster relationship is a very private one. Most webmasters will give you a thumbs up or a thumbs down and that's about it. Be satisfied with the answer and then go on.

Content

After you've chosen a sponsor, you can think about content. Why find the sponsor first? Because the sponsor may actually have content for your use at no charge!!! Imagine that!! You don't even have to buy any pictures!! That's right...more and more sponsors are offering webmaster free content for use on their websites. There are several sponsors that offer free content to Adult NetSurprise members, too. If you find that your sponsor offers free content, please be very sure to read the terms of their use. Most sponsors will have a limit as to how many pictures you can use, whether or not other sponsor banners may appear on the page with the pictures, and what text to use with the pictures (copyright info etc).

If your sponsor does not have free content, then you will have to buy the content for your website. You should NEVER "borrow" content from another website through a hotlink. There is no such thing as public domain pictures. Please be informed!! Visit APIC -- The Association for the Protection of Internet Copyright. There are many great sources for content. Remember, if you are going to operate a free site, your content does not need to be "top shelf." You don't want to give away the store!! Your objective is to spark the surfer's interest and then get your surfer to your sponsor site where they will sign up to see the really great stuff! Find content that appeals to you, is similar to the sites you'll be promoting, and is within your budget. On the other hand, you can buy "top shelf" content, modify it (if the license allows you to do that) --- dither the "hot" spots, blur the image alittle, or crop it to a smaller size, and use it on your free site. Then later, when you build a paysite, get that content CD out again, and use that top shelf to sell your own site. Whatever, you decide, always think ahead... have a game plan to use your time and money wisely!

When you shop for content, again, use caution! All content should come with a license dictating use. READ THE LICENSE VERY CAREFULLY. It's a legal agreement between you and the content provider! A model release should come with the content verifying information like the model's age. Some licenses will require that you acknowledge the content provider as being the copyright holder by placing text on your site to that effect. Along with that copyright statement, you should also include a blurb about 18 USC 2257 US Federal Law to make it plain that you do not use and nor do you endorse use of pictures that display children under the age of 18. After you purchase the content, the content will either be sent to you via email or by snail mail. You'll also receive a copy of the license which you will have to sign and return to the content provider.

Building the Site

Okay, whodda thunk that it would take all those steps before you even built the site?? But now is the time!! Put those creative juices to work!! Site layout is pretty much up to you. At the "front door" of your website you should have a warning for minors to leave and an agreement for legal age folks (they acknowledge that they are about to see some porn, etc). This warning/agreement can be combined. If you're not sure what to say, study the wordage used on other sites. You could also get legal assistance with creating this warning/agreement. Again, be familiar with state laws and regulations!!! Ignorance is not a legal excuse!

When you put together your site, consider each and every pixel as a piece of real estate. Location, location, location is the key!! Make your sponsor banners easy to see and easy to click. Be stingy with your content!! Try to limit your site to about 30 pics at the most. If you want a listing on a high traffic link site, you'll need at least 30 pictures... maybe more, but they don't have to be crispy clear or even beautiful. Try to match your content with whatever sponsor you are promoting. If you have a BDSM site, your surfers are not going to be interested in ebony sex...if you have a gramma site (older women) then your surfers are not going to be interested in a sponsor that sells legal teens! You are selling a product. Point out that your product is not nearly as good as what your sponsor offers!! Some sponsors will, time permitting, assist you with creating a sales pitch or assessing your site layout.

If you exchange links be prudent with your link exchange. You don't want your site to appear like a banner farm. That will turn off your surfers and they won't take you seriously. Also, it's good to exchange links and network, but be sure that it's a fair exchange. If you ask for a listing on a very popular link site, you should follow their rules and regs!! Some major link sites do not allow pop up windows, blind links, etc. Don't whine about not getting a link if you haven't read the rules!!

Webhosts vs. Freehosts

You've got the sponsors, you've built the site, and you have no where to put it. Obviously people can't access YOUR computer... so what do you do now? Well, you have several decisions to make. These decisions will be based on the money you have available to invest. If you have some funds, you can register your domain. Some domain registration sites also will "park" your domain at their site and redirect the traffic to whatever URL you provide (a good thing if you are using a freehost). Other registration sites require that you have a webhost already chosen. A webhost is a company that will serve the files/webpages that make up your website. Webhosts charge a fee that covers the maintenance of those files on their server and for bandwidth. Bandwidth is the amount of data that is transmitted in a given period of time. If you expect a large amount of traffic, then you'll need more bandwidth. But you can expect a small amount of traffic in the beginning...at this point, no one knows you exist and there's plenty of competition out there!!!

A freehost is one that will serve your files/webpages for free! Well, almost free... "free" is a bit misleading. It's actually a tradeoff. Once you upload your pages to the freehost, they will add their own banners and text links to your webpages usually at the top and at the bottom. So you automatically lose some of the profits that you could've generated by using your own webhost and domain. Freehosts vs. webhosts is a pretty hot topic among webmasters. Most newbies start with a freehost simply because they can't afford a webhost, but anyone will tell you that as soon as you can do it, get a good webhost so you're no longer sharing your success with the freehost!

Traffic Generation

Traffic generation is the lifeblood of your site. Without traffic you cannot turn a profit. Traffic doesn't happen overnight. "If you build it, they will come" does not work in this case! If you build it, so what? If know one knows you are there, you will never see a dime for all of your effort. So how do you generate traffic? Traffic is generated through search engines, networking with other webmasters on a one on one basis, and by submitting your site to link lists or TGP (thumbnail gallery posts). Review any information you can find about Search Engines. Adult NetSurprise offers the Search Engine Zone and Help Boards to help you with optimizing your site for search engines. Attend chat sessions, ask questions, be curious... it's your future that depends on it!

Network with other webmasters by reading and participating on the webmaster boards (there's several of them), the Adult NetSurprise message Board is at http://adultnetsurprise.com/message-board/ Visit other sites that look like yours, email the webmaster and request an exchange of links (and if they agree, *follow* through with your exchange promise -- be fair!). Attend chat sessions; attend conventions; be a part of the community!

Submit your site to link lists and TGPs. Always, always be aware of the rules and regs (most link sites do not like blind links, pop up windows/consoles, or full page ads). If the webmaster doesn't list your site, they have their reasons and they are NOT obligated to respond to your persistent emails to explain/justify why! When your site brings in the masses then you can be choosey as well. Remember, they make their money by catering to their audience. If your site won't appeal to their audience then they won't list it. It would be a waste of your time and their time. Use your common sense.

The Beginning

"The beginning?" You say. Yah, after you've accomplished publishing your first adult website, you've taken only the first step to success. Don't expect to make the big bucks from a single site. Once you've created the first site, use it as a template for creating 10 more sites, then 10 more, and then 20 more, etc etc... you do the math:

1 site x 1 signup per day = $30
10 sites x 1 signup per day = $300
100 sites x 1 signup per day = $3000