What Makes A Great Model Website

Just A Little in site For The Models
Written by LaNisha Rene lanisha_rene@yahoo.com 
Provided by James Neusom


Models, photographer and webmasters have been trying to create
successful pay sites of years now! I've been observing this Internet
model phenomena since early 2001. Just going through my old favorites
list is for sure a reality check of how fickle this 'net modeling business
really is! Link after link is a dead one, often after 4 months or
less. In my opinion, it is more useful to focus on what causes those
few websites to be successful rather than what causes most to fail.
There are five keys to having a successful modeling website in my
opinion. Those are; Talent, Consistency, Involvement, Business
Ethics, and Networking!

TALENT
Attractiveness is subjective. One can look physically
attractive, yet it's not enough if critical areas which make the
whole package are lacking. Talent is much more than looking good!
Talent means playing up your strongest features and having a knack
for getting your personality across in your images, writing, videos,
and sometimes in personal appearances. Just looking good does not
complete the whole picture. It takes talent to visualize your website
and make it something that attracts people to you! That takes
talent!

Certain "looks" might be more popular, but the people who buy
subscriptions to model websites and online publications are very
diverse. So there is room for models of many shapes, sizes, ages, and
ethnicities. It really depends on imagination and targeting the
correct market for ones look. Being able to act, dance or have
artistic ability can greatly help a model. It is the combination of
ones look, ability, knowledge and creative energy that bring together
the talent needed to succeed.

CONSISTENCY
Do things in a timely manner. Updates should be done as
scheduled on the website. Customer service should also be consistent
and timely. Customers do expect things to be there when scheduled or
else they may grow impatient and move on.

The sets of photos, videos, and any other product offered should be
at a certain quality level that customers can expect to be consistent
with the website. If quality fluctuates, then the customers will
have doubts as to the worth of the site. Certainly the quality should
be kept at the highest level of production in which the website
production team can stay at. So set a quality level and schedule then
stick to it!

INVOLVEMENT
Most people who are going to join model websites don't
care about the photographer, or the process of creating the content.
They are there for the models! Any model website must have
involvement from the model to be successful. The more involved the
model is in the website, the closer the customers feel to that
model. In other words, personality counts!

There is no need to give personal information on the website, but
having a message board or forum in which the model drops in to post
on a regular basis helps. Giving the members some information as to
hobbies, likes, and dislikes can also help. Some members would like
to send birthday greetings or buy presents. However models do need to
take precautions against stalkers or scary obsessive people. Set
limits of involvement and stick to it.

BUSINESS ETHICS
Run the website like a business! So many websites
are started by models, photographers and webmasters with stars in
their eyes. They think it's a "get rich quick and easy" sort of
scheme, but it's not. They give up after a few months because they
didn't realize how much hard work it takes to build and keep a
successful website going.

Don't outright lie to the customers. They will not be happy about
being lied to and will not come back! Don't start in this model
website business unless the commitment is strong. It takes
commitment and business sense to keep the website going longer than 6
months. If the honesty and commitment are not there, then the
business ethics won't be there either.

NETWORKING
It is absolutely critical to network and market! It is
how the members or fan base is built. Doing banner exchanges with
other sites, getting in affiliate programs, and feeding the search
engines with meta tags are important to the success of a website.
Advertising and person to person promotions are also a part of
networking too!

It's important to have a business plan on paper or at least in mind
with web hosting and billing worked out. The web server and billing
are also a component of the networking. Without good hosting, the
website might crash or not be online all the time like it should.
Without reliable billing, then the money might not be there. It's
better to have a business plan that includes the leasing or purchase
of servers, but at least get a strong hosting plan. Get a merchant
account if possible. Third party biller can be very expensive!

Bring this all together with careful planning and that is what makes
a successful model pay-site! One that can last for years running as
a legitimate business!