When the web took off like a shot, the moneymakers expected e-commerce to take off like a shot. It didn't. Millions and millions of humans were perfectly willing to go as far as to take out loans just so they could log onto the information highway yet none of them wanted to buy anything but porn. Corporate investors, lending facilities and stock analysts all threw money at any venture that had a website and a few countries' economies are suffering from that foolishness today.
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"The convenience of cybershopping has quietly begun to count in measurable numbers." |
Like the old laser disk players, the e-commerce push was ahead of it's time. When dotcoms started floating belly up, the money and reputation of e-purchasing swam for the shore. Online ad sales dried up. The media began to concentrate on reporting Internet horror stories and tales about the seamy aspects of cyberspace. The web was described as a dangerous place that harbored pickpockets and mashers. It seemed as if economic feasibility in the Internet was only to be found in computer parts and digital images of naked models having sex.
Then a wonderful thing happened. The people who were once innocent rubes became savvy surfers. They got comfortable with the territory and learned it was possible to buy tangible goods from an online source without getting ripped off. The convenience of cybershopping has quietly begun to count in measurable numbers.
According to the US Commerce Department, third-quarter online retail sales are 34% higher than they were last year. Those third-quarter sales are up seven percent from this year’s second quarter. Nielsen/NetRatings, Goldman Sachs and Harris Interactive report that US consumers spent 6.2 billion dollars on the non-adult net just this November. Online shopping is no longer a misguided dream. Humans are buying goods over the Internet more and more each year. Used to be we in the online smut trade were the only ones who made a living off the web. Now it looks as if the non-adult crowd is finally catching up with us. Stuff sells on the net and it no longer has to be dirty stuff.
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You have an advantage over just about any online retailer because you are an adult webmaster. Granted, you might not beat Amazon.com or WalMart.com in a profit counting contest, but you definitely have it over on any old would-be online auctioneer or mom and pop cybershop. You can sell physical merchandise -porn-related or not- on the Internet because you know more about how it works than anyone.
You know how to get traffic to your site. You know how to set up shopping cart software. You know how to find affiliate sponsors to partner with when you wish to be a free agent. You know what to look for when paying for a host. You understand layout and sales copy. You and the adult Internet industry have an understanding about how the web works that only experience can teach. If you sell it on the Internet, you could sell snow to Eskimos.
Now, don’t go off selling potholders to housewives and leave online porn altogether. We love you and we would miss you. Just keep in mind the lessons you are learning in this smutty business will become the foundation of your future. If you ever decide to expand into selling something other than fantasies, your Internet porn experience will put you ahead of the game no matter what you sell. The thing is that the world is catching up to the net and you hold within you the tools to profit from that burgeoning market.
Online adult toy stores are all the recent rage for a reason. Savvy surfers have learned to relax their grip on their wallets whether they’re surfing for cookbooks or dildos. The elusive female market has been found and they’re cybershopping for stuff they can hold in their hands. Women have surpassed men in overall Internet sales numbers. Women surfers have opened the floodgates to this new surge in online purchasing and now that you know what they want, you can sell it to them.
If you choose to stay within the realm of adult merchandise, you’re still on track with the times because you know the net.
In spite of the fear mongering manipulations of a sensationalist press, millions and millions of people are filling out online forms and clicking on checkout buttons. They’re logging on to look for bargains and stuff they can’t get in their own cities. They’re fearlessly forking out credit card information to buy the things that they can call their own. Online shopping for real-life products has arrived. Go get em, webmaster!