Can I earn a living drawing porn? Part 2

Ok, so let’s talk about getting paid. Here’s a mistake that most artists make, whether you’re an entrepreneur or a freelancer, you still need to approach this like a business. That build it and they will come crap that led to the dot com burst in the 90’s just doesn’t fly anymore.  You need to realize that almost every new business in the world has one problem in common, obscurity.  When you finally start your site, blog, etc., no one knows who the hell you are, or why they should care.  It does help if you can draw like Tom Bancroft or paint like Art Germ, but the problem is the same.  No one knows who the hell you are.

Step 1, get a web site.

I recommend getting your own URL first (e.g. idrawbigtitblondes.com, mypornalias.com, etc.).  I think this is important because you need full control of your content and brand, and if your only site is a free one, you may lose some flexibility.  For example Blogger is owned by Google but in the beginning the original owners had more liberal content policies.  A few years ago Google started cracking down on  adult related blogs and this year they were going to shut down all blogs dealing with porn.  They changed their mind for some reason but learn the lesson, don’t build your future on rented land.

Step 2, get a social media site.  Some people go crazy and get several, but the main thing is having at least one.  Since we want to draw porn, it only makes sense to use a site like Hentai Foundry, or one that specializes in adult art.  Yes, you can get a deviant art, or Facebook page but you should want to show your dirty work. If you can’t find an adult social site, I suggest getting a blog.  Tumblr.com comes to mind.  Tumblr is great because they seem to not mind the filthy stuff and it’s very easy to share content (especially photos) so your site can grow fast in Tumblr’s system. Twitter isn’t a bad idea either.

Freelancer Business Model examples

Keep in mind your business model could be virtually anything [legal, ahem…] but I’ll give a few examples here.

1.  Commissions.  Once you start posting on your site or social media page, sooner or later someone will probably commission you.  Why?  Because you have a big ass sign on your blog that says, hey, I do commissions.  How much do you charge?  Charge whatever you want, but listen to the market.  If you charge $80 a sketch but no one’s buying, you may need to drop the price.  On the flip side if you’re doing $20 sketches and maintain a waiting list, up your prices.

2.  Free.  Everybody likes free, right?  Let’s say you start a web comic or post images regularly, you could get a “donation” button so people could donate intermittently.  Many artists may not take this path seriously but I’ve  seen sites that make thousands of dollars a month from donations.  If people like what you do, some of them will donate.  Keep in mind Paypal (and many others) prohibits adult content so be careful if you try to use them.

3.  Crowdfunding.  Crowdfunding freaked a lot of people out at first, but now everyone from big businesses to every day people use it.  KickStarter.com is the most popular one, but like Paypal, adult content is prohibited.  I’ve seen campaigns dance around the rules, but why bother.  Go to OffBeatr.com or another site and use a platform that will support you.

4.  Patreon.  A year ago I barely knew what Patreon was, now A LOT of artists I know are on there.  Patreon.com is a way to get regular monthly support from people who choose to support you.  For example you can set up weekly or monthly pledge amounts of $1 (on up) based on what you plan to draw.  For example, if someone pledges $1 a month that may give them access to three sketches a month.  But for someone who pledges $10, that may give them access to the three sketches, and a finished drawing.  It’s very similar to the pledge system in Kickstarter.  For a sample of a Patreon, look at Doxy’s: www.patreon.com/doxydoo  Right now, he has 320 people donating to his Patreon.

5.  Advertising.  It’s tough starting out with this model because as we discussed, no one comes to your blog.  Kinda tough to monetize zero traffic…  You can use  programs like www.adultsense.com, or sell your own ads that you place on your site.

6.  Freelancing.  Find a publisher you want to work for and show them your work.  My tip here is this, make sure you show them what they want.   If they post a need for a comic artist, don’t go give them seven pages of pinups.  Follow the guidelines as much as possible.

Entrepreneur Business Model examples

I’ll start by saying that you can do 1, 2, and 3 from the freelancer list, but the most common way to make income will be from your personal site or blog.

1.  Free Site.  If you make your site “free” you can  use ads (pop-ups, pop-unders, display ads) to make money when someone buys someone else’s content.  For example, if your site is interracial, it may behoove you to get into an affiliate program of another site (e.g. JohnPersons.com) and market it in hopes of creating revenue.  You can market anything, but I recommend staying close to your niche.  You can use one or 100 different affiliates.  My advice is to pick good ones.  If you point people to lousy content, you’ll lose credibility.

2.  Pay Site.  By pay site I mean you are selling access to your art, or memberships, at let’s say, $10 a month.  In exchange you produce new content.   In addition to selling content, you can also have your own affiliate programs.   Things reverse here. Instead of marketing for others, after you start an affiliate program, THEY promote and sell YOU.  Again, you can’t have a crappy uninteresting looking site, or no one will want to promote you.  There’s tons of free sites compared to pay ones, and most those free site owners want to make money, so give them something to promote and you all win.

In part three I’ll go into more details about getting started.

-Moose