Sure, modeling is tons of fun.

But first and foremost, it’s a business. And the sooner you start treating it like one, the better your results will be. And by results, I mean payouts.

I’ve worked in marketing for years and have sold many different kinds of products - from clothes, to music, to A.I. technology, to porn. They’re very different markets, with very different customers, but there are fundamental principles that apply to selling any product or service.

Not sure where to start? Then you’re in the right place. Let’s go over some basic marketing principles that are proven to work for the biggest businesses on earth - and they’ll work for you too.

Your own domain

Any and all independent professionals, mainstream or otherwise, should have a personal website.

It’s the perfect place for interacting with fans, writing on your blog, and sharing contact details.

But you don’t even need to build a whole website if you don’t want or need to – you can just link a custom domain to your Pornhub or Modelhub profile. “Friendly” URLs can be posted in more places (looking at you, Facebook) and often convert traffic better than Pornhub links.

For example, Bryci and Jenny Blighe both have custom redirect URLs.

Social Media

While only certain social media platforms allow adult content, you can leverage all the mainstream platforms to get more attention.

For sharing NSFW pics and videos, your options are a bit more limited - Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit all allow NSFW content, but Instagram and Facebook don’t.

That said, you should still have accounts on all major platforms; just tailor your content appropriately.

For Twitter and Tumblr, try posting NSFW teaser pics, GIFs, and videos, with links to your Modelhub profile. Tell your fans if they like what they see, they can tip you or buy the full video on Modelhub.

On Facebook and Instagram, you can do something similar, but with SFW content. Take cues from all the bikini models on Instagram to learn how to build a huge following without nudity. Linking out from SFW social networks is a little more complicated, because sometimes Pornhub.com or Modelhub.com links will not be allowed. Try linking to your Twitter, which then links to your Modelhub profile. Consider mentioning in your bio that there is more NSFW content available on your Twitter account.

Or, consider linking to your “Friendly” domain/redirect URL that you made back in step 1. ;)

YouTube content takes a bit more work to set up, but a good SFW teaser video can drive massive traffic back to your Modelhub account. Try experimenting with SFW cuts of your videos, with links to Modelhub in the description.

Reddit is also an amazing resource for drumming up business. There’s a NSFW subreddit (sub-forum/community) for pretty much every possible taste, fetish or body type. /r/SexSells, the main subreddit for buying and selling adult content, has close to 80,000 subscribers, and can bring you lots of traffic.

There's also /r/GoneWild, which is a subreddit for posting nude photos and GIFs. Posts there get millions of views, but they are stricter about self-promotion. If posting there, make sure you have posted elsewhere with your Modelhub/Pornhub link, in case readers go through your comment history. You might also consider creating your own subreddit that contains links to all your content.

SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) usually refers to structuring your website and content in such a way that it appears higher on the Google results page. This is absolutely, 100% necessary for anybody doing business online today.

However; Google’s search algorithm isn’t the only one you should be paying attention to.

Any website with a search bar (like, oh, I don’t know… Pornhub) uses an algorithm to categorize and deliver results. The aim, of course, is to give the searcher a list of results ranked from most to least relevant.

But each website uses slightly different tactics to deliver those results.

At the core, what you’re looking for is twofold:

- What content are people searching for?

- What words do they use to search for it?

Let’s use Pornhub as an example.

For point 1), it’s easy enough – sorting videos by Most Viewed or Top Rated gives you a good idea of what people are actually watching. Visit a category you’re interested in uploading to, sort by most-viewed, and look for patterns – what do the top-viewed videos have in common? Are there certain phrases or details that you see repeated? Take note of those common threads and work ‘em into your videos.

Now on to point 2): you’ve identified what’s popular. How are people looking for it? A good indicator is the titles and tags of those top videos; if you see a particular word repeated in the titles of top videos, chances are you’ll wanna include them in your titles, as well (Just make sure that your videos actually contain what’s being described, or your ratings will plummet – clickbait hurts us all). Another great way to see how people search for things is to use the autocomplete feature in the search bar. Start typing in a keyword, and see what the most popular search is related to that word.

For example, if you type in “Blowjob,” the top search results are:

This gives you an idea not only of what people want, but how they describe it.

Work these concepts into your videos, and especially your video titles, and your views are gonna skyrocket.

We also regularly publish data and trends on our Insights Blog. Make sure to read it at least once a week to find out what's trending.

Email

Bet you thought email was dead.

Far from it.

In fact, email has been the top generator of return on investment for the past three years.

The reason for that, many speculate, is because of the personal connection we still associate with email. You may still think of email as a relatively intimate way to have a one-on-one conversation, even though your inbox is probably 90%+ promotional messages.

That means brands and entrepreneurs can leverage that intimate connection to have dialogue with their customers. And by “have dialogue,” of course I mean “drive sales.”

So how can you make it work for you?

First off, you need a way to send those emails. If your list is small enough, you can do it manually through a secure email client like ProtonMail or Tutanota. You can even do it through Gmail if privacy and security are less of a concern for you.

But once your list grows a bit, you’ll want a mailing list management tool. This will let you efficiently send emails to your whole list at once, or even break down your list by different criteria to tailor your messaging (people who have bought something, vs. those who haven’t, for example).

Big mainstream businesses use services like MailChimp, but their terms and conditions may prevent you from using them. It’s not fair, but it’s the reality – pornography/sexually explicit content is not allowed to be sent through most mainstream email providers.

However, you still have options available to you. SecureSender and Newsletter2Go, for example, both offer secure sending solutions without content restrictions.

So: you’ve chosen how you’re gonna send your emails. Next up is building your mailing list.

Your customers gotta want to hear from you. So you need to make it worth their while.

What’s the advantage of joining your mailing list? Is it exclusive pics or videos? Is it a discount that’s only available to subscribers? Maybe it’s an advance schedule of your upcoming vids, thanks to our scheduling tool.

Whatever it is, you gotta entice folks to join. Plug it on your website, your social media, and your profiles.

Then, once they’re in the door, you can start sending out offers.

Here’s a few tactics you can try to drive sales from your email list:

- Early access. Let them purchase videos before you announce them publicly on social media.

- Give your email subscribers a coupon code for purchases.

- Let your subscribers know as soon as a new video or photo set is available, so they can be the first to check ‘em out.

- Exclusive vids. Give out links to your unlisted videos and make them feel special.

Try all different kinds of angles to drive sales and you’re sure to see an increase in numbers.

HOWEVER: it’s important to keep people engaged. If all you do is sell, sell, sell, your readers will start to unsubscribe.

You gotta give ‘em something good now and again to keep ‘em interested.

That might be a free photo gallery or video, or even a personal story, but it should be something they can’t get anywhere else. Anything that keeps your readers subscribed is worth doing.

This might seem like a lot of work. But that’s why they call it “working.” The more you put in, the more you’ll get out – in business, and in everything in life.

Keep these tactics in mind as you’re building up your brand. Apply principles that build billion-dollar enterprises to your own work. Don’t get mad at big business – BE big business.

Because, like Jay-Z said:

I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man.