The Newsweek post-AVN Awards/Adult Entertainment Expo article was an interesting read for anyone in the adult entertainment business or those considering it.

I just became an the affiliate sales manager for the largest adult store on the web. It could have made me depressed to find this news my first week on the job but I know better. I have noticed the trends they reported: market saturation, surfers becoming ever harder to shock into action, cable and free online porn driving the demand for physical product ever lower.

The reality for adult webmasters is similar to pressures affecting webmasters in every industry. Saturation is everywhere, and I believe we have to evolve past the infancy that internet marketing has stayed in since it’s inception. Since reading the Cluetrain Manifesto almost a decade ago I knew that these early years of marketing online were going to be a painful evolution. Only now with web 2.0 and the self-publishing revolution are we finally starting to see markets respond to the points raised in that insightful book, now available to read online for free.

So, will adult webmasters get a clue in 2007? Will you stop seeing visitors as “targets” to be manipulated into sales and start a conversation with people who share an interest in a particular kink, star, toy or niche that you enjoy? The Newsweek article points out that “the current starlet of do-it-yourself Internet porn is Joanna Angel, who has built a boutique brand around her tattooed self.” Adult webmasters should take notice: She is doing what we all have to do to rise above the cluttered internet of 2007. Build rapport with fans that are attracted to your personal twist, your lens to the world, your unique take on the world of adult entertainment.

And I would add that Joanna gets it. She says “the DVDs we make are just to promote the site,” calling her business an internet company. With the changes facing entertainment marketing across the board–as new technologies and trends evolve at head-spinning pace–we must stay ahead of the curve. It is for this reason that I actually ENCOURAGED by the news in the Newsweek article, rather than discouraged.

Here’s why: Gamelink pioneered the sale of porn on the internet in 1993 and is still pioneering video on demand (VOD), pay-per-minute (PPM), and other cutting-edge technologies coming online later this year to allow our affiliates stay ahead of the curve. When markets are saturated, you want to be with the company that leads the way in terms of innovation of new ways to deliver this content and add value to the adult entertainment experience. This is precisely why our conversions are higher than our competition. When Atlas Multimedia switched to Gamelink from a popular competitor of ours, they found “conversions at GameLink are better than we have seen anywhere else.” I am proud to have joined the team that is positioned to win this game, despite the “Hard Times.” A recent testimonial shows another reason to join our affiliate program: “I have to say that the store looks incredible and its so fun and easy to navigate compared to other custom stores we’ve had.” - Graham, Elegant Angel

If you are an adult webmaster you’d be crazy not to check out our partners program. If you are new, you might be tempted to pass it by if you are looking strictly for high initial payouts and percents. Experienced site owners know that conversion ratios and availability of staff within our affiliate marketing, programming, and search engine optimization (SEO) departments are far more important to your ultimate success. When you partner with gamelink you stay ahead of the curve, and ahead of your competition. You play a bigger game and get access to our team of in-house SEO experts to help you attract the right traffic that will convert. Of course we have excellent webmaster tools. You also get custom programming services to give you exactly the kind of custom data feeds, exclusive editorial content, and tailored promotions that you will need to build a store that will stand out from the crowd and position you to dominate your niche.