I'm fairly new on the adult webmaster scene. In fact, as of 2/18/04 I've only been an active adult webmaster for 3 weeks. However (prepare yourself for a cliche) I think I've learned a lot in that time (where have you heard that one before?)

But seriously, if I were doing a Google search on "how to become an adult webmaster" and knew absolutely nothing about it, what would I want to know?

1)TGP's - TGP's are those massive link lists that are updated everyday by the site owner. Populare ones are THE HUN, PERSIAN KITTY, and one of my old favorites HARDCORE JUNKY. I used to wonder how the hell that guy updated his site everyday. Now I know.

Those links you see are usually created by guys like you and me sitting at home in front of the computer hoping to get traffic pumped to the page o' porn that they've built in an effort to generate revenue. How are they generating revenue? Those ads. Yeah, you know, those pop-up ads, banners, etc. Webmasters get a cut of the profit for every new signup referred thru their site. The going rate seems to be around $30-35 dollars right now.

2)Hosting - If anyone has every hosted any kind of webpage you realize that pictures are bandwidth hogs. Good, fast hosting is not cheap. So many webmasters use a FREE HOST that gives them free web space and free bandwidth. What's the catch? Well some free hosts are run by SPONSORS (people who own Paid-Membership porn sites) and they've established the free host in an effort to entice people to promote their site. Other free hosts are just regular entreprenuers who reap their profit by placing their own banner ads on any page you upload to their server. And if they DO NOT put mandatory banners on your page they most surely will find a way to "steal" your traffic. What's that? Well, some freehosts redirect foreign traffic. Some don't allow you to host your own 404 (error) pages and insert their own ads onto the 404 pages. There are a whole host of tricks.

3)Sponsors - Everyone has come across a Paid-Membership porn site. But what many do not realize is that the porn site they come across is usually part of a network of sites run by a single entity. Some of these entities run Affiliate programs where they'll give you a cut of the profit every time you refer a new paying member. Some give you a flat fee. Some give you a cut of the recurring monthly charge.

4)Content - No you cannot just download a bunch of pics off of USENET or a TGP and use those to promote a site. Why? Because of a little thing called LICENSING. Those pictures posted on TGP's were purchased by someone. Well actually, the license to USE THEM was purchased. And by you not paying for the license you are in effect stealing. And be forewarned, this ain't like Napster or Kazaa. You stand a higher risk of being caught with "stolen" images than with a "stolen" Metallica MP3. Adult content providers love to find people violating they're copyrights. So if you like being sued, go right ahead :-)