Adult entertainment featuring trans models has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past few years, driven by increasing social acceptance and awareness.
Along with the creative efforts of top-tier players such as TransErotica, the new generation of performers is putting the power behind the punch of this growing genre.
For some insights about the site, its affiliates, performers and the consumer appeal of trans porn, XBIZ turned to industry veteran and TransErotica Director of Operations, Dan Hogue.
XBIZ: What led to the launch of TransErotica?
Hogue: We experienced the power and growth of this great community through the DVD and content we shot at PornStarPlatinum called “Porn Stars Love T-Girls.”
From that experience and the emergence of some extraordinary talent that had very little space, outside of getting their paid gigs to shoot, to express themselves … and since we had done a similar model for cis-female porn stars (PornStarPlatinum), we decided the time was right to give that same program to the great T-girls out there.
We wanted to give them a place to not only develop quality content they can use for their sites and channels, but also give them a home to express themselves and display their art and the shoots they wanted to experience. That is how TransErotica was formed.
XBIZ: Tell us a little about what makes TransErotica stand out from its competition. Does it offer unique features or tech? How many models and scenes are available for members and what does the update schedule look like?
Hogue: The thing that makes TransErotica special is that it is not what we decide to shoot, it is what the stars we represent decide they want to shoot. It is a true expression of their art and desires, so the content is more meaningful for the fans who follow them. This makes us unique and we have no real competitors. Other trans companies shooting porn do not compete with us because they do not offer the individual star’s “official sites.”
The sites are updated at least two or three times a week. It can vary on how often the individual models choose to update their sites. We currently have 20 stars on our roster with another three in production or in the works. We have nearly every top trans star in the community both past and present and out of the top 15 nominations for “Best Trans Star” this past year, 10 or 11 of them are on TransErotica.
XBIZ: There are a number of performer-focused network sites included for members. Tell us why these are important to have, how the models are chosen and if the content on these sub-sites is exclusive to them or also part of TransErotica.com.
Hogue: All of the performers’ individual sites have their own front door for both the performers and the affiliates to promote. Many find it easier to promote stars, while others find promoting the niche more appealing.
With that said, for retention purposes, those stars’ areas are available in the TransErotica members’ area. This way, fans not only get to enjoy the star they love the most, but also have a reason to stay should that star not be updating enough for their liking. Retention is key.
The way we choose models now is based on how much content they currently have, their level of desire to continuously update their sites and create content, as well as their level of potential involvement in their site and working their brand.
XBIZ: What does the future hold for TransErotica?
Hogue: We have just completed a yearlong revamp of the entire network and affiliate area from the ground up. I have reorganized it. Affiliate area, production quality, DVD lines, as well as building a more team-oriented approach with the performers.
Way too often there is a disconnect with the performers and networks like ours. We wanted to be more than just a place to use for content and call a home for their official site; we want to “team build,” which is why we enlisted the assistance of Alix Lovell and her team at New Verticals Consulting to develop our social media strategy and help us find ways to make more money for the performers, as well as help them in being a part of the team.
She did that and more with the development of our Snapchat premium and public tools where we offer the gals “takeovers,” where not only are we able to promote them, their sites and more, but they also make most, if not all, of the money that is made during the promo and their live time on Snapchat.
Also, we created the “TransErotica Babe of the Month” as well as other avenues to incentivize and get some of the gals involved. We now also offer them channels and social media management as well, should the models choose to use them. This frees up more of their time to focus on engaging fans and working on their art, as well as removes the day-to-day stress of managing all of the ancillary revenue streams that performers have these days.
Since completing the revamp, we are changing gears toward marketing and adding the live cam shows for the stars so their members can get that face time with them. Also, this gives TransErotica, the gals and the affiliates a fantastic way to market the sites in a high-converting way.
The bottom line now for us is to take what we have built and get it in front of as many people as we can, through as many ways as possible.
XBIZ: TransErotica has a robust affiliate program. How important is this traffic to the site in 2019?
Hogue: As mentioned before, we spent a ton of money adding the gals, revamping the program and increasing our presence. It is now time to switch gears to marketing both for affiliates and for the individual gals’ sites that are active.
We have a very personable and knowledgeable staff and ownership group with offices both here in the U.S. and in Montreal. We have the ability to adapt to affiliate needs and desire to work with the other programs within our community. We are currently working with others like Trans500 and Grooby to develop white labels, as well as other ways to cross-promote within the community.
We have developed tools that make sense to our partners and affiliates. We have also started working directly with the performers to teach them how to make even more of the revenue by using the affiliate program, showing that they are active to affiliates who desire to make money promoting their brand as well.
In 2019 and into 2020 is a pivotal period for us as a company. We are looking for great rewards for the gals that have been patient and loyal through our rebuilding year. We are looking to show them as well as the affiliates that we are worthy of their time, attention and traffic.
XBIZ: The TransErotica affiliate program offers a wide range of program options. How important is it to provide this promotional flexibility for affiliates and do you have any recommendations on the best program for specific traffic types?
Hogue: One thing we do not offer is trials. Well, I take that back, I guess we do have trials, they are just 30-day trials. We do offer a few programs. I think the best-converting is the 50-percent-off program normally set aside for review sites and performers where the first month is half-off, converting to full after that.
This has been very successful on Twitter for us and our affiliates, as well as performers. Any affiliate that is interested in any of our discount programs can email dan@transerotica.com to get that activated on their account.
XBIZ: How well is the premium Snapchat working for the site and its affiliates?
Hogue: Snapchat is awesome for us! Alix Lovell has really outdone every expectation we had with this project and tool. She has not only done an amazing job bringing the gals into the fold as mentioned, but has also created a moneymaker for the company.
The issue with Snapchat is the internal browser it uses does not carry any cookies or ability for affiliates to market. So, for that to work if we do get a Snapchat affiliate that wishes to use the platform to send us traffic, we need to create a white label for them to send to, that is hardcoded to them. So, we will do that in those cases where the affiliate has the traffic and desire to justify the additional work needed for them.
Overall, we love Snapchat and are making the most of their platform both public and private. I also should mention that when it comes to the trans community, it is huge for us. There is a big difference between the cis-female market and the trans market when it comes to making money on this platform.
XBIZ: What can you tell us about the current popularity of trans porn?
Hogue: The growth is massive and the crossover that began years ago is reaching new heights each year with the addition of more and more big-name mainstream porn stars, both female and even the males like Sean Michaels teaming up to do trans shoots.
I see this community growing every year and the quality of the stars increasing year after year. The gals are stunning and it has been a pleasure to work with them and watch them grow both as people and as stars, and to be a part of that success is rewarding.
XBIZ: How has consumer demand evolved since the site launched?
Hogue: Fans cannot get enough and they are vocal! This community and its stars have some seriously dedicated fans. They have demanded and expected more quality and diverse experiences within the sites and content we have developed, and we have accommodated them in every way possible.
XBIZ: How has the performer pool changed over the years?
Hogue: It changed in an extreme way! When we started, we did it with three sites: Jessy Dubai (at the time, the performer of the year), Tyra Scott and PornStarsLoveTgirls. We then got more active in the community and saw this brand-new “Just turned 18 years old” by the name of Chanel Santini.
We approached her and signed her just three days after her 18th birthday at the TEA Awards. We all know where she is ranked within the history of trans stars. This got us motivated to really start getting aggressive about recruiting and taking this to another level.
The beautiful and talented ladies we found are astonishing: Natalie Mars, Marissa Minx, Lena Kelly, Casey Kisses, Korra Del Rio, Alexa Scout being the result of those early efforts, to now seeing the newest crop of young and beautiful talent coming into TE like Nikki Jade Taylor, Kayleigh Coxx, Chelsea Marie, Lianna Lawson and the extraordinary “fresh face of the year” - as well as the latest “TransErotica Babe of the Month” — Khloe Kay. And these are just some of the stars that we have sites with. There are so many stunning and talented gals out there that are doing wonderful things to grow this niche — they are so diverse and dedicated to learning more and more.
XBIZ: Finally, what else do our readers need to know about TransErotica?
Hogue: We have the tools for you to be successful in making money with TransErotica. We are willing to work with you both as performers and affiliates to accommodate you in any way possible to make your lives easier. You will make money with us and within this community.
If you are not promoting trans at the moment, give it a shot — you will be astonished at some of the conversions you see on platforms that normally have underperformed for you in the mainstream adult market and in the mainstream arenas that you may be promoting with now. It will compete, if not be more successful. “PornStars Love Tgirls” is the No. 1-selling DVD line we have on PornStar-Platinum (a mainstream porn platform). The trans market converts!
