XBIZ
Upstart Novelty Companies Stake Place in Crowded Market
It’s not only the adult novelty “household names” that have benefited from the recent sex toy and pleasure product market frenzy. There’s a new “Doc” in the game who’s identified an electro stimulator niche, a line of new toys are now being marketed with color as their central selling point, and there are even products that make stainless steel their marketing hook.
Dev Depot: Make Better Decisions With A/B Testing
When it comes to optimizing your adult website’s user experience, traffic and revenue streams, nothing can take the place of formalized testing: comparing one specific approach to another by splitting visitors between two variations of a particular element; such as images, design features or call to action, in order to determine which is the most profitable. It is not something that a webmaster can effectively do manually, however, due in part to issues such as fluctuations in traffic sources, which will prevent a “try this one day, try that another day” approach from obtaining reliable results.
When Worlds Collide: Lubes/Edible Products Build Brand Awareness
Just as vinyl seems to have made a kind of comeback in the music world, so have tried-and-true methods of marketing pleasure products—particularly lubes and consumables—in the still relatively new 21st century universe called the Internet. More conventional, but no less effective approaches to promoting one’s products have included in-house training of novelty store employees (to educate the consumer at brickand- mortar outlets), as well as print ads, trade publications, television, radio and plain old word of mouth. Of course, the Internet is still an incredibly powerful tool to make retailers and consumers aware of lube products.
XBIZ EU to Host Controversial 'Porn Studies' Session
XBIZ is pleased to announce the addition of a special “Porn Studies” session to the XBIZ EU lineup, slated for Sept. 24 from 3-3:50 p.m.
Toy Stories: Retailers Keep Consumers Engaged
Vibrators. Ben Wa Balls. Romantic games. Cuffs. Lingerie. It doesn’t matter what pleasure product you’re talking about, in this crowded, ultra competitive marketplace, the products don’t sell themselves. That’s why retail store owners and wholesalers continue to evolve with creative methods to move product from the warehouse to the shelves to the cash register.
Future in Focus: Toy, Novelty Market Growth
What trends—current and future—drive the pleasure products market? How important is penetration into mainstream retail? What business strategies can be used to capitalize on sales opportunities?
DeV Depot: Faviconer, Update Your Site’s Favicon
For many web designers, the migration towards higher resolution displays brings with it a range of challenges and opportunities, some of which are small and pesky while some others form the well crafted details that separate one site from another; such as the site’s favorite icon, or “favicon” — the small, customizable graphic that is displayed near a browser’s address bar, or by the site title on a browser window tab and bookmark list bar — a nicety and perfect branding opportunity that draws user attention to your site or app.
Dev Depot: Userium Easily Improves Usability
While the early days of the adult Internet were littered by seat-of-the-pants attempts at website production, today’s finicky audiences demand a higher standard; requiring at least the most basic of user testing as well as developer evaluations prior to user testing, in order for any acceptable level of excellence to be achieved.
Dev Depot: Ramping Up for Retina — Retinajs.com
2013 could be considered the year of the tablet as an increasing number of consumers are turning to the powerful but portable form factor as their computing platform of choice — combining clear, sharp graphics with impressive multimedia capabilities to become a preferred viewing portal for everything from web pages to first-run movies.
Dildos and Domination — The Legalities of Domme Strap-On Play
Pegging has come a long way since the 1970s. When pegging (a woman anally penetrating a man with a strap-on dildo) was included in the 1976 adult film favorite “The Opening of Misty Beethoven,” that scene was controversial even in the adult entertainment industry. But these days, pegging isn’t nearly as underground as it once was. Mainstream websites like Salon.com have published articles on the subject, strap-on porn is plentiful, and the activity is discussed so openly that in 2001, the popular sex columnist Dan Savage even held a contest to come up with a name for it (which was how the term pegging achieved prominence). Pegging is widespread in BDSM, and being pegged by a dominant woman (either a dominant girlfriend or a professional dominatrix) is a common fantasy among submissive men. But what are the legal implications for a pro-domme should she peg a male customer during a session? The answer to that question has a lot to do with where she works.
Bad News Comes in Bunches
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the trend started to cause panic. One death alone is one too many, cause for concern and examination. But since January of 2012, the mounting number of deaths that have claimed the lives of gay porn models both past and present has been alarming.
Extending Your Brand
Putting your name on someone else’s product is a fast way to expose your brand to new audiences, driving previously unreached customers to your business, while helping to reinforce current customer’s confidence in the strength of your brand — providing a level of reassurance that they made the right purchase decision, encouraging further sales.
Cybersocket to Host XBIZ EU Kick-Off Party
Cybersocket has signed on to host an XBIZ EU kick-off party alongside event sponsors Reporo, MPA3v5, CCBill and WTS-ACH, on Sept. 23 at the Foundation Bar.
XBIZ Launches Online Pleasure Products Buyers Guide
XBIZ is pleased to announce the launch of Pleasure Products Index, a comprehensive user-friendly guide to the latest releases from pleasure product manufacturers.
Making the Most of Google Analytics
Google’s popular website visitor analytics tools provide a raft of insights to owners, operators, traffic managers and other website stakeholders — but the depth, breadth and complexity of the data involved might make mastering Google Analytics a full time job.
Ten Adult Website Traffic Essentials
Adult website traffic sources don’t need to be new, unique or revolutionary in order for them to yield solid results — although it helps. This can lead to newer site operators ignoring tried and true traffic generation techniques, such as the following 10 adult traffic channels that will provide a strong foundation for taking your business to the next level.
XBIZ Executive Awards Pre-Nom Period Ends Aug. 1
The pre-nomination period for the first-ever XBIZ Executive Awards closes this week, with final submissions being accepted through midnight on Aug. 1.
XBIZ Survey: 25% Use or Plan to Use Bitcoin
The buzz surrounding bitcoin as an alternative payment option for adult website operators has reached a fever pitch, with points both pro and con fueling an in-depth discussion of the platform’s merits and risks. While many operators have had a chance to come to grips with the technology, the fast pace of its evolution means the talking points may change from day to day, driving the need for continued monitoring of the situation.
Changing Landscape: Women Working In Adult Marketing
In the past decade or two the role of women as part of the business landscape has changed substantially, and in the adult industry where femininity and passion are an important part of the actual product being sold, the role of women as marketers may be the best example of the ways societal views are evolving as several savvy ladies lead the way toward new revenue streams, greater brand exposure and an expanded return on investment for the companies they represent. XBIZ sat down with top marketers who happen to be women and asked for their views on the experience of being a woman working in marketing adult businesses during the past, present and into the future.
‘Evil Slut Clique’ Uncovered, Q&A With ESC Forever
Instrumental in the development of CatalystCon, ESC Forever, aka the “Evil Sluts,” Lilith and Jezebel expanded their online blog into a media consulting firm that specializes in social media. In this exclusive Q&A, the Evil Sluts divulge what makes their services unique.