Hello again everyone! After well over a year of resting the keyboard from my regular rants in YNOT NEWS I have been motivated to come back and start writing articles again. My motivation primarily stems from the new Newbie Chat board we now have, and the various newbie seminars I have been speaking on and moderating the last couple of years at the various trade shows.Hello again everyone! After well over a year of resting the keyboard from my regular rants in YNOT NEWS I have been motivated to come back and start writing articles again. My motivation primarily stems from the new Newbie Chat board we now have, and the various newbie seminars I have been speaking on and moderating the last couple of years at the various trade shows. The participants in the newbie chat board resonate similar questions as the seminar questions, so I thought I would kill a couple of birds here, start up a series of newbie articles, and help out some of “tomorrow’s finest.”
First off, I love newbies! Everything about them… their questions, their enthusiasm, and their wide-eyed approach to our industry (I try to remind myself of how I felt as a “noob”). I admire their quest for knowledge while buried in a subtle shyness. Most of them are too programmed by the mainstream corporate world to ask questions on how to do “this” or “that.” But when they finally muster up the gumption to ask a question, and they find the wealth of help from other Webmasters, they are literally blown away. It is our duty as seasoned industry veterans to make sure we look after these new people and keep them from the scourge of scammers, thieves and those who will take advantage of them.
So, I have taken it upon myself (with a lot of urging from LAJ) to contribute regular articles to YNOT NEWS again. But this time I will be writing to the newer Webmasters in adult cyberspace. I will be showcasing newbie frauds, and scams, I will be offering the most basic advice, and I will be helping the newer Webmasters find their way in our exciting industry.
Secondly, I love newbie questions… from “Hey I signed up for this affiliate program, so when do I get my free paysite?” to “What is a TGP?” There are no questions that are stupid or silly. Occasionally, when I am giving a newbie seminar with another seasoned Webmaster, I have to stop myself and take a step back. We forget we are talking adult Internet language, and the newbie audience doesn’t understand it yet. For example, I was on a seminar panel with Lightspeed Steve at the recent Phoenix Forum and the question was asked why a particular newbie’s site wasn’t generating any income yet. We then started talking about stats and how you need to check them, retention rates, conversion rates, page views etc. – something we discuss daily and is simple to us. By the time we finished, we looked at each other and realized the blank look in the newbie’s eyes meant we needed to start over with definitions of our basic terms. It was even more apparent when he next asked, “What are stats?”
Before I start cranking out newbie articles in future issues of YNOT NEWS, I feel the newbies and I need to make an agreement. This would save us all some time, effort, and probably for the newbies – a lot of money. For you veterans out there, feel free to send your favorite newbie here for some motivation.
“YNOTBob’s Newbie Agreement”
YOU WILL:
· Read every article in our “For Starters” section prior to spending another dime in this industry.
· Listen. We don’t mind giving you advice, but answering the same question over and over again gets old.
· Ask many, many different questions.
· Show an effort.
· Write down your goals and a basic business plan.
· Network on the chat boards and attend tradeshows. See the part above about effort.
· Will remind Webmasters who you are, when you email them, especially when following up after a tradeshow.
· See “boobies” in this quite often, so be prepared to act accordingly.
· Have an opinion.
· Take the high road, both ethically, and legally.
YOU WILL NOT:
· Quit your day job.
· Be a millionaire in two months.
· Start your illustrious adult Internet career with a paysite.
· Buy traffic from somebody who claims “$99 for 100 million double opt-in emails.”
· Spam a fellow Webmaster.
· Think women having sex with animals is “cool.”
· Think that just because she is a model, she is also a hooker.
· Forget those who helped you.
If you can follow these simple guidelines, then we are in business. If you can’t, then prepare to explain to your lender, wife, husband, etc. how you just spent all of your savings on an Internet porn venture. This doesn’t really go over well at the dinner table during holidays.
Good luck to you, and I look forward to contributing regular articles, and hope to see you on our Newbie Chat Board!
“YNOT Bob” Rice is the Vice President of Webmaster Sales for YNOTMASTERS.com and YNOTBob.com and is a moderator on YNOT’s Newbie Chat Board and can be reached at bob@ynotmasters.com.
