Four Keys to Failure for Aspiring Pornographers

There's a popular myth about adult entertainment. Most people think it's a quick, easy way to make some money without doing a lot of work. I would laugh at these people, but I hardly have time with all the paperwork and attention this job requires. If you want to succeed, it takes more than a passion for the money; it takes a passion for the work.

In fact, there are ways to make some quick, easy money in this industry. Most of them, as in most industries, end up being very bad business practices, and can get people into much more trouble than they are worth. I want to review four of the most common mistakes I have seen people make in their attempts to skim the cream off the milk. Most of them wound up with nothing but stale cheese!

The First Key to Failure: Shooting for the Big Audience.
It's tempting to look at the world as a big wallet, and try to design your business around the areas where most of the money is. You slice the pie, and figure that by going for the category with the biggest market, you have the best chance of getting some money no matter what you produce.

For example, you might start with the assumption that most consumers are men. Further, you might notice that most of the products targeted at these men feature women with large breasts. From this, you could conclude that if you produce content featuring large-breasted women, you will be able to secure a part of this large market segment for yourself. That could be a sound analysis, but it leaves out the most critical element of passion.

If you, personally, are not attracted to images of women with large breasts, then you are very unlikely to produce content which appeals to men who are. Focus on the areas which ignite your personal passions, and develop original, unique content which appeals to you and others who share your interests. Your products will be more compelling, and you may be able to secure a leadership role in a coveted niche market.

The Second Key to Failure: Sloppy Paperwork
It is tempting to jump into the adult entertainment industry with a casual attitude. After all, this isn's something serious like producing paper clips or selling coffee. This is erotic entertainment, with all the associated free-love and personality. You don't seriously think that all those porn stars actually bother with things like contracts, agents, distribution agreements, and legal forms, do you?

You bet they do! Whether you want to be in front of the camera, behind it, or just running a website of other people's work, this is a business just like any other. There are forms to be filed, content tracking requirements, taxes to pay, and laws to track and obey. The pubic face of this industry may appear carefree, but behind all that partying is usually a team of lawyers, accountants, bookkeepers, administrators, and filing clerks making sure all the t's are crossed and the i's dotted.

If you want to fail, don't learn about the paperwork requirements. When the government asks for the cross-indexed hard copy model release for the picture which appeared on your web site six months ago, you need to be able to produce it immediately, or your entire business could be shut down.

The Third Key to Failure: Stealing Content
With all the "free porn" available on the internet, and all the neat tools to copy it, making money with a commercial website should be the easiest thing in the world, right? All you have to do is download a few hundred pictures, put them up in a private gallery, and start charging folks to see them. What could be simpler than that?

Original content is the life's blood of this industry. It may look as if there are no consequences to sharing downloaded porn, but you must be prepared to pay for what you use. The companies who produce this content spend thousands of dollars annually on models, sets, photographers, equipment, and lawyers to protect their rights. If you try to make money from their work without paying them an appropriate licensing fee, they can and will come after you for what is rightfully theirs. And they will win.

The legal right to produce and promote adult entertainment comes with the obligation to behave in a professional manner. Producers of adult content enjoy the same rights to protection under the law as content producers in any industry. The costs associated with violating these protections can be much higher than the possible short-term gains.

The Fourth Key to Failure: Hiding
So once you have found your passion, gotten your paperwork in order, and produced your original content, the money should come rolling in, right? Not unless people can find you. It's all well and good to have the best "women with hairy elbows" website in the world, but if people who like that sort of thing don't know that you exist, you're not going to see any money from all your hard work.

You cannot succeed if you are hiding from your audience. To make a mark in the industry, you and your site have to become synonymous with the niche market you occupy. This means sending out press releases, buying advertising space, and generally making yourself known to as many people as possible. Build it, and they may never know. Promote it, and they will come.

If you are shy, you may need to hire someone to act as your spokesperson. There has to be someone from your company out there, visible to the target audience, embodying the dream that keeps them coming back for more.

Conclusion
Making a success of an adult entertainment company is not impossible, but it does require some specialized skills and some careful attention:

If you are not passionate about the type of work you do, it will show in the product. Repeat customers are the bread and butter of this industry, and nobody's going to give you a second chance if you disappoint them the first time.

If you fail to keep careful records, you are at risk of violating the law and sacrificing more than your business and your profits; you could sacrifice your liberty. The record keeping laws change from time to time, and you must keep yourself current to stay within the protection of the law.

If you steal other people's work and charge for it, you are not only disrespecting your colleagues, you are subjecting yourself to possible prosecution. This industry has fought hard for the legal protections it enjoys, and does not take the matter lightly.

If you don't stand up and take credit for your hard work, nobody will ever hear about you. Your audience wants to support your work, and perhaps even live vicariously through your exploits. Give them a chance to get to know you. It will pay off for everyone!