GAY MARKET MATTERS

Day two of the Cybernet Expo seminars covered many interesting topics, one of those being an often-neglected subject, “The Gay Market Place”.GAY MARKET MATTERS

Day two of the Cybernet Expo seminars covered many interesting topics, one of those being an often-neglected subject, “The Gay Market Place”. For anyone interested in being involved with gay niche marketing, this seminar proved to be incredibly helpful. The panelists, Craig Tant (Mansites), Aly Drummond (Python), and Sal Abbate (XXXcash) discussed a vast array of issues affecting gay niche marketing, while moderator YNOTBob directed the focus of the seminar.

Craig Tant opened the discussion by warning of the one mistake that is often made while marketing adult sites to the gay demographic: lack of knowledge of the gay market. Clarifying the statement he went on to say that knowing what gay people want is extremely important. He joked, “You don’t need to be gay, but it does help.” Craig also brought up the fact that the gay world is not yet saturated and stressed that now is a great time to be getting involved in gay sites. With higher retention ratios and a wealthier demographic, there are plenty of great incentives for webmaster involvement as well.

Adding to Craig’s comments was Aly Drummond of Python. Aly stressed the need for gay sites not being created solely by straight men. “Get input from gay men” was one suggestion she made which can be accomplished easily. Aly also mentioned that with the growth of the gay market comes the need for more gay content, stating that there is currently a tremendous shortage of quality gay content.

Sal Abbate of XXXcash discussed some other issues within gay niche marketing. He suggested that webmasters should take into consideration that the gay demographic tends to be more technically savvy and smarter. This means that adding more features to gay websites is a must. One recommendation from the audience, which all the panelists agreed upon, was gay chat programs, which allowed members to talk to each other.

After each panelist touched upon a few key issues, the forum opened for audience questions, of which there were plenty. One audience member asked about marketing to both gay men and straight women on one site. Aly felt that in most cases the webmaster should focus on meeting the needs of one demographic in order to avoid being too broad. “Pick what you want to do and then do it the best,” was Aly’s suggested modus operandi. Sal of XXXcash also commented on this topic with a very different response. He felt that it was possible to market to both gay men and straight women on softcore sites, asserting that, “PlayGirl subscribers are 80% gay men and 20% women.”

Another big issue that was brought up was the legality of allowing members to post or share nude pictures. The panelists attempted to steer away from this topic as to avoid providing legal advice (as none of the panelists were lawyers), but agreed that in cases of content on the Internet, § 2257 requirements must always be met for each piece of sexually-explicit content. Member’s pictures can be posted, but proof-of-age with the pictures is required by law if there is nudity. Colin Rowntree made a good suggestion to meet both legal needs as well as maintaining member satisfaction. He recommended allowing members to post non-nude photos on the site with e-mail contact information and those interested in seeing more can email the person and share nude photos by email.

All in all, the seminar on the Gay Market Place left audience members with some good information, advice, and warnings when it comes to gay niche marketing. YNOTBob wrapped up the seminar and for the most part everyone left with a good incentive to participate and make their earnings from gay sites. Like most Cybernet Expo seminars, this one provided webmasters a wealth of information to build from.

Alli is the Director of Marketing & Public relations for TopBucks.com and TopCash.com and can be reached at allison@seekio.com.