Which is the better choice for a Webmaster…AVS or independently-run pay sites? What benefits would there be if you posted your adult site on an AVS? Are there advantages to remaining independent?

These are some of the many questions on the minds of webmasters who are new to the industry, and it may help you make your mind up if you think of yourself as a storeowner who is looking for a place to set up his business.Which is the better choice for a Webmaster…AVS or independently-run pay sites? What benefits would there be if you posted your adult site on an AVS? Are there advantages to remaining independent?

These are some of the many questions on the minds of webmasters who are new to the industry, and it may help you make your mind up if you think of yourself as a storeowner who is looking for a place to set up his business. For a webmaster, being associated with an AVS is comparable to a storeowner whose store is located in a shopping mall as opposed to it being located independently on a given street. The truth is that there are advantages and disadvantages to each location and making a decision between them can become easier when some of their respective benefits are listed.

The following is a list of advantages to an AVS membership:

Has a network of sites to help you support your customer’s needs;
Provides a staff to answer your questions;
Site-set-up help exists so that you may convert traffic into sales;
Webmasters enjoy supplementary traffic, which helps with the up-sell of any additional products or upgrades in regards to the customer’s membership;
Results in cost savings on hosting and bandwidth spending, because most AVS programs provide webmasters with free hosting and in some cases free domain hosting. It is usually much less expensive to start up on an AVS than it is to do it independently;
Credit card fraud protection issues: Webmasters signed up with an AVS assume no responsibility with charge-backs. The AVS can handle everything and prevent future fraud occurrences. This can be a big advantage because disputes with credit card processing companies are difficult and time consuming for an independent Webmaster to resolve;
Variety is the spice of life. Just like in a shopping mall, with an AVS, customers are given many interesting places to shop. Also, the customer has many reasons to return to your site, without you having to change the content as often as you would have to if you were independent (some AVSs such as Pro Adult’s Quantum have a content area so large that it would take a web surfer several months to browse through completely);
Content provisions: AVSs generally offer their member webmasters content that is regularly updated. This allows them to update their sites frequently;
Easy profit collecting is the norm with an AVS;
Webmasters will enjoy a user-friendly interface to keep informed of stats.

The advantages of independently run sites:

Even though you will be on your own there is information all over the web that can assist you. The best assistance you can find will be on message boards; you can get updates on the industry as soon as they happen;
You can always find someone successful in the adult industry and ask him or her to answer some questions or give you opinions. There are also resource sites popping up that can be very beneficial;
There aren’t any restrictions on advertising so you may post up any service or product. You can be the decision maker. You can decide on who will build your site and how you want it done, you can set your own standards and meet them at your discretion.

Ultimately, your decision will be based on many factors and you will decide what is best for you depending on your level of knowledge and how you want to spend your resources. There are two important things to consider: with either option you will have to work hard to make your site work so it may become profitable because there is so much competition that no one can afford to just sit back and get comfortable; and you should consider which option gives you the most support and helps you manage your risks.

ProJoey is Director of Marketing for ProAdult, a company widely regarded as one of the leading AVS operations in the adult Internet arena.