Remember when you were young and you could hardly wait for summer? The freedom. The sunny days and warm nights. The slow dusk and early dawn. The beach. The pool. The stolen kisses and vacation romances. Summer was cool.

"The point is, summer is coming whether you like it or not. Along with summer comes a decrease in overall sales for our industry."

Now, you’re an adult webmaster and summer pretty much sucks for the very reasons it used to be cool. All those damned surfers would rather do some real-life surfing when the weather changes. Instead of staying inside, where it’s nice and toasty, they prefer to be amongst the scantily clad crowds that pack into bars and roam the streets. How are you going to keep them in front of their monitors when all the coeds are college-free for weeks and weeks?

While there are a blessed few who make great money during the summer months, most of us see a decline in sales. Oh sure, it’s not summer everywhere on Earth at the same time. However, when the entire Western Hemisphere is off on vacation, one can’t help but notice a drop in profits.

There are several factors that contribute to the summer slump. The biggest being the loss of the male college-aged audience. We know this because of a proven increase in sales once school is back in session.

These guys surf for smut at university because they are operating without parental supervision. Granted these young fellas are of legal age. However, it’s not easy looking for dirty pics when one is staying at Mom and Dad’s house. In addition, these horny dudes have time to chase flesh and bone girls during summer break. Who wants to spend money on virtual booty when the beaches and bars are teeming with authentic snatch?

Another factor in the summer-sucking formula is the money factor. Summer is expensive. One has to buy a whole new set of clothes. Many folks go on trips or buy special summer sports equipment. In fact, more folks actually participate in sports during the summer. People are out playing soccer and baseball. They’re riding motorcycles and bikes. They’re surfing and swimming. When they’re not getting exercise, they’re hanging in outdoor cafes or traveling.

Then you have those fathers and mothers with kids at home during summer. Not only do they have to fork out the extra dough to keep the tots entertained; they have to fork out most of their free time. We love our kids but having them home 24/7 for months is pretty exhausting. Who has time to look at porn?

What’s an adult webmaster to do? How will you deal with the impending summer slump?

Some webmasters simply take the summer off. They saved their money during fall and winter and use it to enjoy themselves during the summer. Most often these are the very successful adult webmasters. They make serious cash and have earned the joy of a work-free break.

The rest of us do whatever we can to make it through the summer slump. Some of us simply work harder during the warm weeks. We put our hustle into high gear. If we were creating one free site per week, during the summer we create two or three. If we normally built one gallery per day, we create two. We update our existing sites. We look for fresh content. We tweak our sales text and optimize our SEO.

Some of us take the summer to learn new skills. One webmaster learns Flash while another learns PHP. This webmaster experiments with blogs. That webmaster tries his hand at a paysite. Some delve into mainstream sites or selling tangible goods via auction. Yet another webmaster picks up a digital camera and begins to scout for content models.

The point is, summer is coming whether you like it or not. Along with summer comes a decrease in overall sales for our industry. You have to make a choice. How will you deal with it? Will you moan and groan while your bank account dwindles? Or will you get active and do something extra-productive?

Summer sucks but it doesn’t have to. Make this summer the year when you finally try something new. Make this summer the one where you clean up all your sites and finish those projects you neglected during the cold months. Make this summer the summer you break into non-adult sales. Make this summer more than three months of agony. Make this the summer that doesn’t suck!