Kath’s main focus at Adult NetSurprise is working with their members to make sure they are getting the best possible service and the best and most accurate information available to help them succeed.Kath’s main focus at Adult NetSurprise is working with their members to make sure they are getting the best possible service and the best and most accurate information available to help them succeed. In keeping with that mission, Kath compiles the daily features for Adult NetSurprise, edits and is the concept creator of the daily adult webmaster e-zine, Adult Buzz (http://www.adultbuzz.com), and is involved with information and course development for Adult NetSurprise’s Learning Center.
Let’s find out how Kath got started in the online adult entertainment industry:
YNOT: How did you get involved initially in the world of adult online?
Kath: I started working as a volunteer with adult webmaster resources because I wanted to give something back to the people that had once given me so much help when I was a newbie. Things have changed since I started out. In some ways it’s tougher to break in to the industry and make a buck and in other ways it’s easier because there are more resources available to help webmasters learn the ropes. I enjoy helping today’s new webmasters get a healthy start that will ensure all of us a prosperous future.
YNOT: What type of work were you doing, if any, before you started in the biz and what types of sites and/or targeted business did you start with?
Kath: I worked in property management, marketing and accounting for about seven years before leaving my career to home school my children. I was a very involved advocate for home schooling support centers and information on the ‘net and in Southern California. During that time I was published in several parenting magazines, home education textbooks and even a “For Dummies” book geared for kids. I guess becoming involved in the educational and literary aspects of the net was a natural transition for me given my “real world” experiences. With online adult, I got started in 1998 – a little later than most of my colleagues, but I like to think that my hard work and diligence has helped me to earn the respect of my peers and allow me to work equally among them within the industry. I actually got my start in mainstream – mostly sports theme portals, family type project and resource centers, etc. In adult, I started with my own erotic story site “Kathleen’s World of Erotica.” I enjoyed writing – this was definitely my “ego” site, but my fan-base got way too demanding and I found that there was more money to be made in other areas. I soon got involved with building a multitude of niche and fetish-based free sites, learning the ins and outs of traffic generation, sponsor promotion and content use. I also own a small links list site that focuses on anime and toons – I guess I’ve dabbled in just about every niche in the market and have enjoyed learning what works for me and what doesn’t.
YNOT: Where did you begin gathering info about the business and when did you get your start?
Kath: I started out using search engines until I came across a popular webmaster resource. Unfortunately, at that time they weren’t welcoming total newbies into the fold so I was turned away. I discovered a free hosting program that also offered in-house resources and tips. That helped me learn about sponsors, traffic generation programs and how to work the engines. Via their community board a fellow webmaster told me about the old CONDOM Project which was run at that time by Meatman. Once I found Meat and the community of webmasters who used to frequent the boards there, I was given all the information and support I needed. I owe a lot of my early success to the veterans that I met there who helped point me in the right direction.
YNOT: Give us your thoughts on how easy or difficult it was for you to get started.
Kath: It was hard in the beginning – as it should be. If a resource makes things TOO easy I think the newbies won’t appreciate the information they’ve been handed and will expect for everything down the line to be completed with the same lack of effort. You have to want it and work for it if you are to truly succeed. I contribute my success to the fact that I was given a basic outline of what was expected from me, plus the opportunity to voice my questions and opinions in a supportive environment. Without that I think I may have given up and moved on to other things.
YNOT: What changes would you like to see made in the adult Internet industry?
Kath: I would like to see webmasters work together to get rid of the scum that is ruining things for us as a whole. The content stealers, the illegal/scam sites, the big mouths that make the media and general public view us as a plague upon society, the opportunists who are here for the quick buck, the webmasters who fraud sponsor programs – I’d love to either see them educated into doing an honest and professional business or thrown out of the industry once and for all. With the new US administration we need to clean up our own backyard more than ever if we even hope to survive Ashcroft’s agenda. It’s sink or swim time baby!
YNOT: What do you love about the adult Internet industry?
Kath: I love the opportunities for success that we all have before us. We are pioneers embarking upon a totally new and virtually unexplored frontier. We are literally writing history each and every day. When you think about it that way, it’s an awesome responsibility we have on our shoulders. Something we should be taking a little more seriously.
YNOT: What do you dislike?
Kath: The attitudes of some people that there isn’t room enough in this industry for everyone. Competition can be a wonderful thing – it can push you to limits of creativity beyond where you would be if you held the monopoly on your niche. I also have a low tollerance for cheaters and out-right copycats. It’s one thing to borrow on an idea, expand upon it and make something totally new out of it – but it’s another when some programs outright steal stuff from their competitors. I can’t respect that.
YNOT: What are your thoughts on the future of the adult Internet industry?
Kath: I feel that if we all work hard to make sure we work with the laws and legal limits that are set before us that we will survive and continue to be the only successful business on the ‘net. Look at all the dot-coms who have come and gone. Fresh ideas, big investors backing them up – and still, they’ve gone by the wayside. We have a unique product that will always be in demand by consumers and as long as we continue to market and sell it responsibly, I feel that we will continue to enjoy the fruits of our labor for a long time to come.
YNOT: Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years?
Kath: Because the opportunities are so awesome and the ground-work for this industry is still not set in stone, it’s hard to predict where I’ll be in the future. I hope it’s still working with education, resources, information, industry news and innovative project development for our community as a whole. I honestly enjoy the work I do day in and day out – I feel it’s the best contribution I can make to the future of our industry.
YNOT: If you had one bit advice you could offer new webmasters, what would it be?
Kath: Try new things, be open to new ideas and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s all about finding out what works best for you.
