Which is more important? The paysite or the tour?

Duh. Both are equally important. You won't get members without a good tour and you won't retain members without a good paysite. It's a symbiosis thing.

"A tour is not an afterthought. Your tour is your infomercial, your cyber brochure. Picking the wrong kind of tour is a huge mistake. While there are many permutations, a paysite tour comes in three basic forms."

While I will undoubtedly write an article analyzing the elements that make up a good paysite, for this article I shall concentrate on creating not just a good tour but the right tour. There are some different styles of paysite tours. While one style might work for someone else's paysite, that same style might not work for your tour.

As a paysite owner, you have to believe in the quality of your product. You have to know who you're selling to. You have to know how to appeal to your targeted audience. A proper tour isn't only flashy graphics, sparkling text and selected freebies. A proper tour should be a reflection of the content within your paysite member's area. A proper tour should give potential members an enticing taste of the benefits of membership. If your tour makes promises that your paysite can't keep, you'll suffer. If your tour doesn't adequately depict the wonders of your paysite, you will lose the surfer. A tour is not an afterthought. Your tour is your infomercial, your cyber brochure. Picking the wrong kind of tour is a huge mistake.

While there are many permutations, a paysite tour comes in three basic forms:

The Multi-Page Tour

This is probably the most common type of paysite tour. It consists of three or four pages where you will describe what's inside the member's area. You'll use a combination of images, sales copy and menu buttons to keep the surfer clicking all the way through to the join page. The trick is in the click. You want to make sure that FREE TOUR button hits the surfer's eye as soon as the page loads. The first page will contain model photos and/or screen shots along with alluring text. As the surfer clicks through the tour, you will give them more imagery with further text, explaining membership benefits. Don't leave out any detail. Tell the surfers everything you offer. Some will be sold on the first page while others wont be sold until the second or third page.

The One-Page Tour

Believe it or not, one-page tours have proven very successful for many paysite owners. An example of a one-page tour is one where the page is constructed of a table with several rows and a couple of columns. Each row contains a model image in one cell and a detailed text description of that model in the adjoining cell. Each row is like a mini commercial for each model. When a surfer wants to see more of a particular model, they are taken to that model's individual page, presented with a free pic or two and join form. One-page tours appeal to surfers that like a no-nonsense approach.

The Portal Tour

A portal is a sort of catchall webpage. Many portal tours are designed like online magazines, featuring articles, galleries, games and other goodies. Some goodies are free but the better goods require membership. There are portal tours with layouts like blogs. Others offer free browsing of personal profiles, ala online classifieds. Some present the surfer with a chance to view cam models in pre-recorded mini-sessions. The purpose of a portal tour is to involve the surfer so much so that they want to pay for membership.

As I stated, there are many permutations of these three, basic forms. Your job is deciding which form is right for your paysite.

How do you decide which is right? The hard way, naturally. You're going to have to experiment with your surfers. If the multi-page tour doesn't work, try the portal tour. If the portal tour isn't productive, you might have to opt for the one-page approach. If you have a new way of presenting a tour, give it a shot. You'll know a tour works when you see an increase in sign-ups.

Your tour is especially important if you plan to open an affiliate program. Those hard-working webmasters will do their best to promote your site but they can only bring the surfer to your tour. After than the onus is on you. Even the best affiliate free-site or gallery can't overcome a crappy sponsor tour.

The quality and format your tour is as consequential to your success as is the content of your paysite. You can't slack off on either. Try out different tours. Find the one that's best for you. Hire a professional designer if necessary. Your tour is your sales vehicle. May you ride it all the way to riches!