In the past I have had individuals steal my pictures, graphics, text…one guy downloaded my whole site! Whenever something like this happened I would contact the owner of the domain, make them aware that they have my content on their website and politely ask them to remove it. Sometimes they would not (at least not as quickly as I would have liked) then I turned the matter over to my attorneys…something about copyrights, trademarks, etc. and profiting from my intellectual property. Well, it happened again! Someone thought is would be cool to steal from my site and set themselves up under a different number. NOT COOL.
Fortunately for me the owner of the company is extremely cool and a true professional. She obviously did not know about the incident, and when she was made aware of the situation, she removed my content ASAP. VERY COOL.
Now your parents probably told you this and I remember this lesson in Sunday School, stealing is a sin and in our law crazy society a crime. Frankly, I have grown tired of contacting people about having my intellectual property on their site(s). So starting today, if you take anything from this site, you won’t hear from me, you’ll hear from my attorneys and they will be seeking compensation for my damages. Take a good look at the copyright notice. The fees are explained in detail. Also rest assured that your host will not only be contacted but forced to remove your site immediately and you may be in danger of losing your merchant account or whatever third party biller you are using.
If you think I’m talking out of my ass, ask around. Anyone who has been in this business long enough will tell you that not only have I taken such actions in the past, I will do so in the future.
So, if you want to be a phone sex operator or start off on your own, here are a few tips:
1. Always follow the rules. If you are not going to use your own pictures, purchase licensed photos and make certain that the license states implicitly that you can use them on a phone sex site. Personally, I think it’s ALWAYS best to use your own photos. If you don’t want your Mom and Dad to see you “nekkid”, build a site with no photos and e-mail cute snapshots of yourself to your regular callers. If you a really savvy you could create a password protected area with photos and videos of you doing the nasty. With digital cameras and web cams, it’s a cake walk to set-up.
2. So now you have your content as we call it in the business. Use an Adult Host. Do not be an idiot and set up your site on a free host. If you really want to be in this business, get a paid hosting account with a host THAT ACCEPTS adult businesses. If you are caught on a host that does not allow adult content, and believe me the minute you try to submit your site to a link list or newsgroup, you will be found out, you will lose your site and have to pay a hefty fee. Plus all the hard work you did up till now promoting that thing is going to the host! Get a fucking paid account that hosts adult sites. Don’t get the biggest plan you “think” you can afford, start with the smallest. Something around ten bucks per month sounds about right.
Oh, and make sure the host is reliable. The first host I had went down for two weeks in December. I fired them and hired another company whose technicians talked to me like I was a “pretty little girl”. Notwithstanding the fact that I am damn fine I didn’t appreciate being talked to in such a manner. So I fired them. Ask around and chose a host that makes YOU feel comfortable.
3. Domain Name My suggestion is chose something simple. One word domains are the best. They are hard to come by, but there are still a few out there and some poor souls lost theirs because they forgot to renew. I spent a weekend just looking for one word domains, and I have to tell you it’s worth the time.
4. OK, so you have your content, your host and domain name, what’s next? A couple of things. First let’s talk about site design. Do not pay 100s of dollars getting someone to build your site for you. And please do not enter into one of those deals where they provide you a complete package of site design, hosting, domain registration, etc. First of all, learn html if you don’t already. Otherwise you will continue to pay out the ass until you do. There are hundreds of HTML tutorials, free, all over the internet. You can build your own site, and when you do it will be ten times better than some of this canned stuff I have been seeing of late. If you want to create a really jazzy site, hire a graphic artist from a local college. They are haven’t been corrupted by the establishment – yet. So, you’ll probably get something creative and affordable.
5. Telephone Number. Have at least two lines. On your phone sex line make sure it is unlisted, and connect your toll-free number to the unlisted number. I knew a woman who connected her toll-free number to her local line, and when she moved the operator gave out her new number. Well, anyone could do a reverse look-up and figure out exactly where she lived. For your own safety have your number unlisted. You can decide if you want to advertise your local number or toll-free number or both.
6. Money. If you are going to be in this business you need a merchant account. A merchant account is a line of credit from the issusing bank that allows you to accept credit cards. Adult businesses especially phone sex businesses have an extremely hard time getting a merchant account and must pay a high-risk fee. Right now the high-risk fee is about $2000. I have seen someone lady services use a third party biller like ccbill or ibill to process credit cards. If I were starting today I would signup with all the third-party billers that accept phone sex services, get a corporate PayPal account and signup with a check service. Also, have a PO Box to accept money orders. If someone wants to talk to you, you should give them every opportunity in a way they feel comfortable to pay you.
7. I think that’s everything. Except perhaps marketing, and I don’t share my marketing tips with anyone. The only advice I’ll give on the matter is don’t spam the search engines. If you do, it will bite you on the ass later.
If you leave here with one thing today, remember to always play by the rules. This is a VERY small community with a long memory. It’s almost incestuous. Just do the right thing EVERY time, and you’ll be ok.
Phone is ringing. Later.
Added January 20, 2004. Do not ask me how to get into the business. If you send me an e-mail, I will laugh hysterically and then promptly delete it. If you call, I will laugh hysterically and then promptly hang up. If you steal my stuff, I will laugh hysterically … all the way to the bank and cash your check. Got it? There are tons of places that are now available where you can get that information. This is not one of them.