For some, this article will be a rehash of the last few shows of The Porn Professors; for those who did not follow the show, we recently did a TGP workshop to help those who wanted to own and operate a TGP of their own. In this article I want to focus primarily on the different programs available to automate your site. Though these scripts are meant to manage TGPs, they are more than capable of maintaining, managing and operating other kind of sites as well.There was a day when I swore I would never use anything that automated my work. I would not use templates or programs that assisted me in creating AVS sites, for example. But as time has gone by and this industry has evolved to what it is today, I realized that if one wishes to be a prominent and successful person in this industry, one must work smarter and not harder. Scripts are one of the tools that will allow you to do just that.

Instead of talking about specific scripts, I will talk in generalities about scripts and the different uses for them. The first thing to know is that there are tons of scripts available, and as with other types of software, many are great, some are okay, and some are just plain lousy. When you are looking for scripts, don’t forget to use the webmaster chat boards. Tell people what you need to accomplish and ask for suggestions. If you are considering a certain script, go to the boards and ask for input from other webmasters who have used it. People will be glad to share their experiences with you, and it could very well save a lot of time, effort and money. Boards are a great resource that should be used for much more than they are. They are not just a place to shoot the crap or run a sig; they can be one of the best tools you have at your disposal if used appropriately and wisely.

You have probably heard me talk a lot about Hubs and how important they are to your network and to routing its traffic – well, scripts could easily be implemented to make your job so much easier. Look at the Hub and the principles behind it; we say that it has to have a lot of free content, has to updated often (if not daily), and must properly filter your traffic. I have told you (as have others) that you need to set up traffic trades with other adult sites in your niche, and to constantly monitor your traffic and sales stats for ways to increase productivity and profitability. All of this can be done manually – I have done it that way for years – but each of the tasks I have just listed can also be done with a script. With scripts handling all of the mundane but essential tasks, just imagine how much more time you will have to promote your Hub, build galleries and free sites, and in general concentrate on making money.

Starting with updating, there are plenty of great scripts to handle this task for you. Almost all scripts designed for TGPs and Link Lists will work to handle this task. If you are planning on using free-hosted galleries for a big part of the content on your Hub then be sure that the script you get allows for bulk importing. Your site could go from zero galleries to thousands within minutes. In addition to the benefit of being able to rotate your galleries often so that surfers see new content all the time (thus bookmarking your site), these scripts can also prove an easy way to turn a Hub into a public Link List or TGP site – just by turning on submissions and allowing others to send you their galleries and free sites. For those that listened to The Porn Professors on YNOT Radio a couple of weeks ago, you heard us talking with Six Zeros, Owner of Comus Thumbs. This is a seriously powerful script that I highly recommend for those wanting to run a TGP or automate a Hub with the option to open it up for public submissions at some point in the future. ATO Scripts also has some scripts that allow for rotation of galleries; well worth checking out for those looking at smaller hubs in general.

ATO Scripts also has a couple of innovative scripts that can help you build picture and video galleries for your Hub. You provide the script with a bunch of images and templates; every time someone clicks on a link it builds a gallery for him or her to view. With a load of images and templates, the odds that a surfer would see the same gallery more than once is highly unlikely. This is a great tool for improving customer retention. The whole idea of getting surfers to return is to keep them happy. You work hard to get them to your site and you need to do all you can to get them to bookmark your site and come back later.

Another important script to have included in your arsenal of tools is a traffic trade script. These babies are a godsend. They allow people to sign up to trade traffic with you; they also allow you to monitor the productivity of any trades – how much traffic they are sending you, and how much you are sending back. Some scripts will allow you to force traffic, which is a great way to get trades going. Hard links can be managed with a trade script as well so that you will know whether the traffic trade is a benefit or just a drain. If you have a hard link to someone’s site on your Hub and you send a bunch of traffic his or her way, would it not be nice to know just how much he or she is sending back? One-sided trades do nothing for the growth of your site or the profits you make; let the scripts give you the information you need to make educated and sound trade decisions.

We all have banners and text links on our Hubs; after all, we do hope that we have done our jobs correctly and the surfers really need to buy something to complete their tasks. Do you think that your advertising would be more effective if every time surfers came to your site they were presented with different banners and text links? I hope you answered yes, and scripts are available to automate this feat. If you have done your job and operate a regularly updated site that keeps surfers happy then the odds of selling them something are increased if your ads regularly rotate. The more you can do to keep different things in front of the surfer, the higher the chance of a sale; plain and simple.

How about a double opt-in newsletter? Yup, run by a script. In this day and age of anti-spam laws, a great way to protect yourself and your reputation is to have a double opt-in email list. Surfers opt-in when they put their email address in the box and click submit, and then have to click on a link sent to their email address to confirm the subscription. Now you know that the person you are sending an email to once a day (or week or month) actually wanted to receive your newsletter. Who do you think you have a better chance of selling something to, the poor gay guy who got boobs in his email, or the guy that gave you his email and then confirmed his request by clicking on the link? The answer is easy, the guy who wanted the mail in the first place.

So for those like myself who have held out automating for years, the time has come to get with the times and work smarter, not harder. Scripts can be a godsend for your business, but as with all things, you need to do your homework. Make sure the script you are getting has a good reputation. If you are not a technical person then make sure there are good support services, paid or free, but make sure they are there. Talk to the owner of the script, post on the boards for input, and make sure you know what you need the script to accomplish. Talk to your hosting company and make sure that your server will actually support the script you are buying – and then, when you have done all of that, install the script, get it working for you, and then spend your time growing your business, not your workload.

As always I wish you all continued success in your endeavors. I look forward to your comments on the boards and in private. Until next week, may the profits roll in, and remember, the time has come to work smarter, not harder.