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JBM :
great, I'll make it as quick as possible.
First, thank you for your time. To start with, can you tell
us how you got started in this business?
Gramma :
I used to spend hours on the computer playing games - my husband
told me that if I was going to be on the computer all the
time I needed to make some money while I was on there. I had
heard that an old chat room buddy of mine had broken into
the adult end of the industry and was making a sizable income.
(This was 1996 - 97) I started a little website and started
making some friends in the industry. I added a 'mature' page
to my site, and it just took off. I was lucky enough to get
some really good domain names and hook up with some good people,
and here I am today.
JBM:
Those games are very addicting. Is your husband happy?
Gramma :
Well, by diversifying and paying attention to details, I've
managed to hang on in this business. He was able to retire
in 1998 and is enjoying his free time hunting and fishing.
Meanwhile - I don't have any time to play games anymore! My
mature ezine is starting it's 7th year in existence, and in
2000 we added 2 other ezines. I lease these to other paysites.
I still take a hands on approach to all my websites within
the grammacash.com
group, and have a big network of other adult sites as well.
We also have a web of nonadult sites that are starting to
grab their space on the net too.
JBM:
Wow, you sure keep busy. When did you start grammacash.com
and what were some of the challenges you faced starting it
up? Or was it all smooth sailing?
Gramma:
I started grammacash
back in 99 I think. The challenges then weren't near what
they are now. My biggest deal was finding a script to do the
affiliate stuff. The paperwork wasn't even that daunting to
get a merchant account back in those days. There weren't so
many sites and programs out there and people understood that
partnerships were a good source of continuing money. We weren't
so 'get rich now' then.
JBM :
Have you felt pressure to move to a pay per signup model over
the years?
Gramma:
There was pressure even at the beginning by some people. I
never wanted to be 'Big Business', and preferred to keep it
personal and stay with what was working. I have, of course,
added hosted galleries, hosted free sites, and lots of free
content for my affiliates, and we have multiple tours available.
We're up on the latest affiliate marketing methods, but still
think the partnership structure is a good one.
I've really focused on my lease products more than my paysites
in the last couple of years.
JBM:
Speaking of which, you provide lease products for many of
the largest paysites on the net, what made you start doing
that, and is the business model still as viable today?
Gramma:
My first ezine (Readvintage.com)
was developed strictly for my use. In 1998 there weren't a
lot of products to put on mature sites, and I thought we needed
something that no other site had. We had our own cam girls
at that time, and then this ezine. It was exclusive to my
mature sites for nearly 2 years when we then decided to market
it to other sites. In 2000 we also added wifewatch.com
(amateur/swinger/wife) and blacklovin.com (ebony) to our lineup.
Ezines add some credibility and non-porn related content to
websites. Just think about it, a lot of people's first contact
with porn were magazines, so they're comfortable and familiar
with the concept. They like the variety and interactivity
an ezine brings them. I also have an exclusive mature photo
gallery that I lease, and a free mature story library that
I let other sites use.
I also do some customized lease products for some sites.
JBM :
That's a lot of content. I guess i should ask what kind of
staff you have or if you slave away by yourself 22 hours a
day producing all that?
Gramma:
well I do slave away :) but I have 2 full time employees and
I hire regular writers for the ezine's regular features.
JBM :
Over the past couple years, with the rising popularity of
reality sites and exclusive content video sites, there seems
to be a bit of a backlash against feeds and more specifically,
paysites that are mainly leased products. Any thoughts about
that?
Gramma :
oh i have lots of thoughts about that! Why does it seem we
have to absolutely flood the market with cookie cutter sites
that although they say it's original content - it's the same
old crap over and over? No wonder there is a membership retention
problem. You need to listen to your surfers and give them
what they want. Once you've seen 14 girls get it in the butt
in the back of a backhoe (uh oh - next reality site backhos.com)
- I think you're ready to move on to the next thing, and if
all that is on that site is 14 more girls getting it in the
butt in a backhoe - well your interest is going to drop. The
multiple site memberships helps with that some - but most
surfers have a particular interest that they're looking for.
I think main niched sites with just the appropriate niched
content is still a good model for a membership site for member
retention.
JBM :
And on that note, you are well known for producing quality
sites, as retention has gone down industry wide over the years,
have you felt it as much? How do your numbers now, compare
with 3 or 4 years ago?
Gramma:
oh numbers are down for new members compared with 3 or 4 years
ago, But I do still have members that have been with me since
1998. How could new members numbers not go down with the thousands
of sites out there that are niched as compared to the 10 or
15 there used to be for each niche. Once I get them in my
sites, I can usually keep them :)
JBM :
I remember you posting on YNOT and I think netpond, do you
still post on boards? What methods do you use to get new webmasters
into your program?
Gramma:
I still visit some of the boards - I don't post a lot anymore.
I am listed on most of the adult resource sites, and I advertise
on All of 'em. I use gallerysubmitter.com and am a sponsor
there. I still get a lot of personal recommendations from
people too.
JBM :
What are some of the biggest changes in the industry that
you've noticed over the years?
Gramma:
I think by trying to do the right thing and help other people
get in this business, it's actually hurt us as much as helped
us. There are too many web monkeys out there giving our stuff
away for free. I find the 'new breed' of webmasters to be
rude and disrespectful for a large part. There are still some
good ones out there - but there is also a 'gang' mentality
that I find a bit frightening.
The good news is, that technically we've advanced enough that
cheating a program is almost a thing of the past. Although
we were always aware of chargeback's, the new credit card
laws have caused us to have to be more vigilant and actually
do our job at customer service (i like that!)
Broadband has been a GREAT thing to happen to our industry
- and PHP - I love php!
JBM:
Any thoughts on what the next couple years will be like for
the industry?
Gramma:
I think it's going to be tough. If the government can't shut
us down one way - they're going to try to find other ways
to do it. Maybe a national registry of pornographers or something
that we'll have to register with in order to do business.
Heck they may even make us pay a fee. That way our names and
addresses will be publicly available, which is what a lot
of us fear. They have us by the short hairs with the credit
card companies, hitting us in the wallet first, next it'll
be something a lot more personal.
I think a more pay per service model will be prevalent. A
site with all the major products/niches available, but delivered
a la carte, you only pay for what you choose - in essence
you build your own site and pay according to the content you
choose.
I think surfing the web on the TV will play a big role in
our site models as well.
JBM :
You mentioned earlier content being given out for free. I
remember before the internet, or as it was getting started,
seeing a porn magazine on sale for 30 bucks. Does it amaze
you that people will pay for anything with the amount of free
content out there?
Gramma:
I'm amazed every day :) We are dependent on the laziness of
most surfers. They may be cheap, but they don't have the time
to go find the free stuff they really want, so for convenience
sake they may just pay $25 a month. A lot of web whackoffs
only have a limited time to find what they want and get off.
A site they've joined probably has what they need to start
the launch procedure.
JBM :
Thank god for that. You produce a lot of content, have you
seen costs decrease a lot over the years?
Gramma :
Costs for average content has decreased dramatically. If you
still want good quality exclusive stuff it's about the same
price range.
JBM:
Ok, just a couple more questions and I'll let you get back
to work. What are your thoughts on pop ups, and the attempt
by Microsoft and others to eliminate them?
Gramma:
hoofrickinray! I hate them, I've always hated them, I resisted
using them for a long time.
I'm sure someone is at work in a backroom somewhere with
the 'next' popup, or a way to get around their blocking of
them.
JBM :
I can think of many people working on that. LOL On a lighter
note, how much spyware do you have on your computer? Or do
you use a Mac? Cause I have to replace my computer every 4
months. LOL
Gramma:
I run a spyware program ..(PestPatrol) and since I cleaned
them out initially- I haven't had a new one (spyware) since.
I remember when Gator came out - I thought it was the coolest
thing because it remembered my CC numbers and could automatically
fill in forms etc. Then I found all the stuff it put on my
computer and had a devil of a time trying to get it off!
JBM :
I loved Gator till I found that out also. LOL Ok, what niches
does grammacash cover now?
Gramma:
We have mature, wife/amateur, ebony, stories, teacher fantasies,
chubby, and vintage.
JBM :
And any big plans for the near future?
Gramma:
I always have ideas! But nothing I want to talk about right
now ;)
JBM :
Well, in that case, why don't we wrap this up by you plugging
all your products.
Gramma:
Sure thanks :)
Grammacash.com
- my affiliate program - we offer hosted galleries, and hosted
free sites for affiliates. I have free content for my partners,
and we'll build custom banners or galleries for you. I'm affiliated
with gallerysubmitter so when using my sites on your tgp pages
you can submit for free.
Lease Ezines - Vintage
(www.readvintage.com), Wifewatch
(www.wifewatch.com) and BlackLovin
(www.blacklovin.com)
I also have a mature exclusive lease photo gallery, and a
free mature library of mature themed stories.
I sell mature, wife, chubby, and ebony content.
You can contact me at gramma@grammacash.com
or on ICQ at 1910009
Thanks This has been fun - you really made me think :)
JBM :
thank you very much for your time, its been a lot of fun.
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