New adult webmasters tend to ask the same questions over and over. At Cozy, we understand the repetition. We never forget that everything is new to the newbie. We try to answer the oft-asked question no matter how many times we’ve heard it before. However, there are some questions that will result in answers you may not like. Here’s one:

"Which sponsor is the best?"

If you ask this question on an adult webmaster message board, be prepared. Oh, you’ll get responses but you’ll also get spammed with referral links, barraged with wisecracks and besieged by philosophers. If you’re lucky, you might even start a flame war.

First, the referral link spammers will chime in, touting their wondrous sponsors. Sign up under my link! Then come the sponsor reps with their invitations to ask more questions, in private. ICQ me! After that follows the comedians that just want to fuck with you. Try goawaynewbie.com! Last in are the philosophers with ambiguous platitudes. There is no "best" sponsor ­ there is only the "right" sponsor.

You’ll get answers but they won’t help you. You need to ask a different question. You need to ask:

"How do I choose a sponsor?"

That’s a question we can totally answer. Here it comes.

There are literally hundreds of adult sponsor programs today. Some push just one paysite or product. Others own many paysites and/or provide numerous services. Some sponsors are brand new. Some have been around for years. There are sponsor programs that are run by former affiliate webmasters. There are sponsor programs that are run by ex-employees of other sponsor programs. All of them claim to have the best sites and services. All of them tell you that their stuff converts. Most of them provide free webmaster content. Quite a number offer bonuses and prizes to high-performing affiliates. There are click-thru programs, recurring programs and programs that pay per signup. When faced with the endless selection of adult sponsors, the prospect of choosing one leads to misguided questions.

"Finding a sponsor is a process that requires research and experimentation. A sponsor that converts well for one webmaster won't for the next."

Finding a sponsor is a process that requires research and experimentation. A sponsor that converts well for one webmaster won’t for the next. Some webmasters do great with click-thru programs and submitting thumbnail galleries. Others own popular free sites and make good money with pay-per signup programs. One webmaster gets rich by marketing an adult classifieds sponsor. Another makes big green with a gay content sponsor. All of them started out as blind as you are right now. They stumbled in the dark and carved the steps that will lead you to your future sponsor.

Pick a Platform.

What kind of site are you going to create? Free site? Blog? Are you going to build and submit galleries? The type of site matters. Click-thru programs are great for high traffic pages like TGP galleries. Pay-per signup and recurring programs are nice for free sites, where users stick around a little longer. A blog is a swell place to pimp a sponsor program that allows you to sell tangible goods. Maybe you want to hardwire your site directly into a sponsor program ala AVS or faux TGP. Imagine a sponsor program that takes advantage of your type of site. Find one that works on your platform.

Pick a Niche.

Your content decides your sponsor or your sponsor decides your content. Either way you approach the choice, you need to find a sponsor that compliments the content on your site. Got a lesbian site? You’ll probably want to choose a lesbian sponsor. Is your site an interracial hardcore site? There are some fine sponsors with interracial paysites just waiting for you. Are you going to open a porn movie review blog? Did you know there are sponsors that offer porn DVD rental memberships to surfers? Your sponsor’s content or product doesn’t have to match yours but it should complement it. Promoting a bukkake paysite on a softcore babe site is not complimentary marketing. Pick a niche and find a sponsor that fits it.

Pick a Sponsor.

You know what kind of site your going to create. You’ve picked a platform and a niche. Now you look through sponsor listings on resource sites like Cozy Frog. You visit the sponsor’s webmaster pages. You study the sponsor’s payout programs, site/service portfolio and affiliate tools. You choose one that looks professional and trustworthy. You search the boards for posts about sponsors. You ask other webmasters if they can recommend a sponsor in your niche, for your platform. You do the homework and you pick a sponsor.

Test the Sponsor.

This is the hardest, most frustrating step. After all that research, the truth is, you really won’t know a sponsor is right for you until after you’ve signed up and promoted them for a while. If you market a sponsor for a couple of months with no results, find another sponsor. If you are making money with a sponsor, keep them. Simple fact, hard reality. Granted, some sponsors will drop you if you’re not a productive affiliate. However, you have the right to drop a sponsor and find a new one. You can promote as many sponsors as you want. You have to test sponsors and keep testing until you find the ones that work for you.

Maybe the message board philosophers are correct. There is no "best" sponsor ­ there is only the "right" sponsor. Sadly, some very profitable sponsors have closed shop and left webmasters scrambling for replacements. Happily, there are many replacement sponsors out there to choose. Choosing sponsors isn’t easy but you’ll know which ones are best when you get paid.