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JBM:
Can you start by telling us a little about Juicybucks
and about what you do there?
R-C-E :
JuicyBucks started in back in 2001 by Scott and Heath, Scott
coming from a business background and Heath coming from the
old AdWealth / ScottP scene. We were basically generating
our own traffic at that time and decided we needed to expand.
So, in mid 2002, JuicyBucks.com
was born and we've never looked back. Heath left in 2003,
to pursue his own ventures. I am the oldest employee here,
starting back in 2001 doing all sorts of minor jobs. Little
bit of design, mostly admin work and customer support. Since
then I've moved into daily operations, support for webmasters
and controlling the technical side behind the business. I
suppose you could say I'm head gimp :)
JBM :
How many sites do you currently have?
R-C-E :
Currently JuicyBucks has 13 Adult Paysites and 1 Adult Software
Product. We are also trialing some new teen sites with a new
partnership program, but that is still in development. We're
in the process of giving a lot of the sites a face lift, with
more broadband friendly landing pages, and giving some of
them the "reality" treatment. We've also got a few
new sites coming up in the pipeline.
JBM :
How does Juicybucks deal with foreign traffic? Are you able
to process it?
R-C-E :
We have found, particularly with our non-US processors, that
we are able to convert foreign traffic quite well, with limited
amounts of fraud. Our processor allows us to specify different
payment options based on location, so that is a nice feature.
A lot of Europe can direct debit their membership to us, which
results in almost no chargebacks.
JBM :
Are there any legal issues facing porn businesses in Australia?
R-C-E :
The biggest legal issue facing Australian companies is the
issue of hosting. We would love nothing more than to host
in house, however due to content laws in Australia this is
simply not possible. One of the big hassles we have had is
dealing with IPSP regulations. We have had to start companies
in the US and in Europe to be able to process Visa and Mastercard
in these countries. But that’s the cost of doing business.
Trying to get an adult merchant account in Australia is pretty
much next to impossible.
JBM :
What are some tips you would give to webmasters getting their
feet wet in this business?
R-C-E :
My first tip would be to read, read, and read again. Forums
like JBM and resource sites are really invaluable. You're
not going to get the goldmine in there, but you will get a
few ideas to help you get started. Don’t just throw
money at the thing, unless you have some good help. Also,
keep in contact with your sponsors, chat with them hit them
up for advice, ask them for tips and resources if needed.
Most decent sponsor programs out there will be more than willing
to give you help, as it affects both their and your own bottom
line. And be creative! Make advertisements you would click
on, make pages you would visit, and use content that you think
is good / great. Nothing worse than selling a product you
don’t believe in, it leads to failure.
JBM :
Do the new 2257 rules concern you or affect you at all?
R-C-E :
The 2257 regulations are something we have not quite figured
out yet. We understand the record keeping requirements and
are in the process of complying with the new standards, however
being an Australian company, we are not sure the exact implications.
With the Free Trade Agreement between the USA and Australia
in the process of being approved, our legal systems will be
more closely aligned than ever. So we just comply with the
regulations according to US law. That’s all we can do
really.
JBM :
Do you think processing will become easier or more difficult
over the next couple years?
R-C-E :
Processing is something of a mystery at the moment. It could
go two ways; the major credit companies could continue to
tighten the squeeze, forcing more and more people out of credit
card transactions (which, I think, will continue to be the
forefront payment system on the Internet for some time). However,
its giving the industry a shakeup we really needed, with all
the fly-by-niters and fraudsters out there.
The second way it could go is that the credit companies achieve
their goal of minimizing fraud (webmaster fraud, not consumer
fraud), and start to loosen the noose around bigger, more
stable adult companies. After all, the credit companies aren't
out to screw us as merchants, they are out to make money.
If we can show we can provide stable transactions and big
turnovers, then their lips will get wet with desire again,
I am sure.
It is good to see escrow services and e-cash services starting
to gain ground. We have a long way to go with these services
but I think we will be seeing more and more of these services
popping up, allowing more ways for us to earn revenue.
I have spoken with numerous merchant processors, both from
in and outside the adult industry, with some pretty radical
ideas about payment security. The problem is, most of these
services don’t collect the money until the surfer has
waded through forms, sms's, phone calls, which just frustrates
both the surfer and ourselves. WE need a form of payment that
is completed before the erection dies, its as simple as that.
JBM :
What methods of payment do you accept on your sites?
R-C-E :
We accept credit cards, online check for US and Canadian residents,
direct debit for numerous European countries, and 900 telephone
billing. We also accept payment by mail, but I think we have
only received one payment by mail in the history of JuicyBucks.
It was a check covered in angels too!
JBM :
Hahaha That’s amazing. How reliant are paysites on people
forgetting to cancel their memberships?
R-C-E :
That really depends on a few things. Our processor emails
the surfer when he/she is billed again for the month, so there
are not a lot of people forgetting to cancel their memberships
on our sites. I don’t mind this, as our chargeback /
refund ratio is nice and low. However, it still is a big part
of business, I must admit. We have tried numerous tactics
to retain surfers better, mostly based around the concept
of the surfer feeling important and appreciated. The first
rebill is the most important in my mind, if you can get the
surfer to go to the monthly membership, you're pretty much
right. It’s those first 3-7 days that make the difference.
With our new revshare program we are really pushing for retention,
with some decent results. Lower price points and regular overt
updates are a big help.
JBM :
Do you have a big problem with the smart shoppers who sign
up and cancel before they even enter the members area?
R-C-E :
There are always people who do that, surfers have lost a lot
of trust with adult membership sites over the years, and I
don’t really blame them. I guess you just have to accept
those surfers as part of business. With our 7 day trials on
a lot of sites, the surfers don’t panic as much as a
3 day trial. They get a bit more time to peruse the members
area without worrying about being stung a monthly before they'd
even seen the content they signed up for. If you show that
you have exactly what they paid for, you are sure to gain
their trust more so than a random signup to a standard members
area.
JBM :
What do you dislike most about this industry?
R-C-E :
Two things really annoy me about the industry. I'm not interested
in drama on webmaster boards. If I wanted drama I will watch
Days of Our Lives. If I want some help, some promotion, something
to do with the industry, I'll hit the boards. There are some
great boards out there, don’t get me wrong. These are
the boards I frequent.
The thing that really gets me is the "my kid stole my
credit card" emails which we receive from time to time.
Even if it were true, which I highly doubt is EVER true, its
not my problem your son is a thief and you use your computer
as a babysitter. Don’t blame me for your bad parenting.
JBM :
Hahahaha What about chargebacks, how do you deal with a surfer
threatening to chargeback?
R-C-E :
Usually we comply with the request and issue a refund. If
there is a legitimate reason we will apologize and offer a
month free on top of whatever they purchased. If we believe
they are being snakey, usually a not-very-polite email makes
its way towards their inbox. We've got some things in the
pipeline to combat chargebacks, which if we find is successful
enough, we will be offering to the entire adult industry as
a service.
JBM :
What’s your biggest mistake or regret in this business?
Is there something you still kick yourself over?
R-C-E:
Apart from not getting into the business in 1995? Well, its
not so much what I did or didn't do in the industry, just
something humorous that happened with work resources. After
returning from a night on the booze, my friend and I were
berating each other on IRC. As a joke, I fired up a couple
of servers to hit him with some major bandwidth. I went upstairs
to take a pee, and promptly fell asleep on the bed. I woke
8 hours later to a very angry boss and a big bandwidth bill.
Almost cost me my job! I still count my lucky stars I didn't
get fired that day, and have gone on to see this company grow
and grow. :)
By the way, my friend and I are still friends, another bit
of luck. :)
JBM :
Hahaha That’s a great story. Ok to wrap this up, why
don’t you tell everyone why they should promote Juicybucks.
R-C-E :
Well, without going into the usual spiel about on time payments,
great conversions and some of the highest payouts in the industry
($40 per signup ain't bad!), I would like to think we provide
some of the best webmaster support of any program in the industry.
We're always willing to help any webmaster grow their traffic,
source content, hook up link trades, provide hosting, whatever
an affiliate needs within reason we can supply. I think we
also have some very unique sites which no one else has in
this industry, and we have some plans for the future which
will make it even easier for someone to promote our range
of sites. Our goal is to make it quick, simple and effective,
to get up and running for our affiliates, so they can spend
more time making money and less time doing drudge work.
JBM :
awesome, thanks a lot. Great interview.
R-C-E :
not a problem! thanks for the opportunity to tell people a
bit more about us :)
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