IN THE SPOTLIGHT

www.eroticaempire.com

Rainey is the founder and president of Detour Interactive. Previously with WebSideStory where she ran the site’s adult business for three years, Rainey purchased WebSideStory’s adult entities, including the adult HitBox counters.IN THE SPOTLIGHT

www.eroticaempire.com

Rainey is the founder and president of Detour Interactive. Previously with WebSideStory where she ran the site’s adult business for three years, Rainey purchased WebSideStory’s adult entities, including the adult HitBox counters. Currently, 40,000 web sites are displaying these counters. Rainey now runs www.eroticaempire.com, which is similar to the former Adult10000.com.

Most adult webmasters remember HitBox and Adult10000.com from the early days in the industry. Rainey’s staff works diligently to bring back the quality of service that WebSideStory once offered the adult webmaster community, with EroticaEmpire.com and www.empirestats.com.

Rainey’s company offers webmasters more than 300 stats, available in real-time. The counter is free. In exchange, webmasters display a standard counter-sized button on their site. In addition to the free stats, webmasters are linked and ranked at EroticaEmpire.com.

YNOT: What drew you to the industry?
Rainey: My adventures in the online world started 17 years ago on an Apple 2c and a compuserve account. Back then, usage was limited, but it prepared me for life in this wonderful world of online marketing and traffic analysis. My professional career began in mainstream banner ad sales in 1995. A couple of years later, I was introduced to WebSideStory, who at the time was heavily involved with the adult industry. Right from the start, it amazed me how much further the adult industry had taken advantage of what the Internet truly had to offer. I knew then that if I wanted to stay ahead technology-wise, the adult industry was the place to be. In 4 years, it hasn’t proven me wrong.

YNOT: What type of work were you doing before you started in the biz?
Rainey: Prior to 1995 when my online sales career began, I was a journalist. I started out at a daily newspaper and then moved into magazine writing.

YNOT: What types of sites and/or targeted business did you start with?
Rainey: Initially I have always worked with advertising and traffic analysis tools. That has been my specialty. I’ve worked in both mainstream and the adult, and besides the reasons stated above, the adult is just a helluva [sic] lot more fun!

YNOT: Did you already have friends in the business?
Rainey: Not when I joined WebSideStory, no.

YNOT: Give us your thoughts on how easy or difficult it was for you to get started.
Rainey: Getting EroticaEmpire.com started was pretty easy. It was time consuming, but as I stated before, I had a lot of people in the industry supporting me and willing to lend me a hand where I needed it. We’re still “getting started.” Detour Interactive will bring the adult industry much more in the coming months, and my staff and I are looking forward to being part of the fun again.

YNOT: Where did you begin gathering info about the business?
Rainey: Most everything I’ve learned about the business, I’ve learned hands on. Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune of working with some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. My policy has always been to be as fair and ethical as possible, and when I went into business for myself, it paid off. I have some wonderful people in this business who are doing a lot to help me get the ball rolling. I still continue to gather information about this business. It’s an ever-changing world and that’s what makes it so exciting.

YNOT: What changes would you like to see made in the adult Internet industry?
Rainey: I’d like to see less politics. There are a lot of people who have been in this business a long time and have a lot to offer each other. I think if we work together, we will only make the industry stronger. Back in the “old” days there were counter wars and things like that. That’s not what I’m about. I’m looking forward to working with my competitors to help strengthen the industry. I truly believe that’s the best way to keep things moving forward in a positive way.

YNOT: What do you love about the adult Internet industry?
Rainey: I love that adult webmasters take full advantage of what the Internet has to offer. They are always ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to online technology. Though, like every industry, there are a few bad apples, most of the people are still professional and ethical but know how to have a good time. I love this industry because it’s an opportunity for people like ourselves to make a decent living on the Internet, but not have to deal with corporate infrastructures. I love the fact that it changes every day, and the rules and guidelines are still being established.

YNOT: What do you dislike?
Rainey: Again, the politics, the in-fighting. As I said before, I believe if we work together, the industry as a whole will be happier and healthier and in the end, more profitable.

YNOT: Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years?
Rainey: In this industry it’s hard to predict where anyone will be in 1 to 5 years. I know that Detour Interactive is expanding and will continue to grow. We strive to offer the best possible products and customer service that we can to our clients. We are still working to re-establish relationships, but are already seeing the positive affects of the changes we are making. We hope to get more involved in the community to help it become stronger and more profitable for everyone.

YNOT: What are your thoughts on the future of the adult Internet industry?
Rainey: I think the adult industry will continue to flourish. People will always have a need for the services this industry offers, and as long as we are fair and ethical, we will continue to grow and provide more intense technology and better services to adult surfers and webmasters.

YNOT: If you had one bit advice you could offer new Webmasters, what would it be?
Rainey: Use a counter! Many people slap up some html code for a counter, watch their daily traffic, but that’s it. Using a real-time counter can greatly increase the profitability of a site. You’ll hear me rant more about this in my new YNOT column (see page one) because I truly believe that it’s an underused tool webmasters have available to them, whether it’s my counter or someone else’s. Another piece of advice is “don’t try and re-invent the wheel.” Make yourself stand out. Offer something different. There’s a lot of competition out there that have been doing this from the beginning. Form alliances, treat your clients well, and make yourself stand out.