Although many sex workers are still getting websites built for them or DIYing it with free sites like WIX or blogs, I have heard some saying they don’t know what to do with them (“now what?”) or how to get clients (“traffic”) to go to them. So I’ve been picking the brains of one or two IT people and looking closely at how some of the sex worker success stories out there are using theirs.

One way obviously to get traffic is to link to your site in all your ads. It used to cost extra on the advertising site I use to have a banner ad. I’m not even entirely sure how effective it was but there are other reasons such as the ability to link to my site from my ad, and more which I’ll explain below. Besides ads, social media should be linking back to your site.

I use my website to promote my writing,  According to statistics, my blog is a big drawcard. Which makes sense if I keep my site fresh and updated and that will give me an excuse to promote it.

Bloggers love lots of comments on their posts!  Sex worker Maggie McNeil’s site, The Honest Courtesan, not only has amazing content, but also lots of comments on each post which makes for interesting reading – however this is not a site promoting herself as a sex worker, but rather a commentary on sex work.  Google likes popular sites, and I see Maggie has produced a lot of books of her content.

However, what if you would like a blog but don’t have time to add your own content to your website or keep updating it?  What I occasionally do is ask people to guest post for me, or accept contributions people kindly offer.  It is interesting to use another voice and writing style and a great way for contributors to get exposure to their opinions.

I’ve also seen people use their websites for major projects: a well-known domina used their domain names to host membership bulletin board-style forums which is another way to allow other users to contribute material to your site and keep it fresh. This is a great way to tell the search engines your site has substance, not to mention your own personal bragging rights about your site’s success – definitely well-earned considering the work involved. The participation of the members of the forum build its popularity on a daily basis so the effort and expense is definitely a win for the owner.  Nowadays of course, sex workers get together on Discords.

Another lady who has done the forum thing amazingly well (with altruistic intent for her industry, not to boost traffic to her site) is the owner of https://www.ambercutie.com who has been in business as a cam model since 2009. I believe her forum was started some time later and it is at https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/ and has been the one of go to places for cam models and clients since she set it up. If you’re a cam model who has been authenticated by her processes, you can promote what you do on there (and link back to your site or cam model page which helps with traffic to you: a nice payback for your contribution to the site’s popularity). You can also ask questions, get help, help others or just pass the time of day in a positive, friendly and supportive atmosphere.

From the website, about Amber Cutie’s Forum, it says: AmberCutie’s Forum (ACF) was created in 2010 to provide a helpful community for cam girls to interact with one another, as well as discuss anything and everything with their fans and members. We also created CamGirlWiki.com for aspiring cam girls to learn the basics.

When I first discovered AmberCutie, the site has had: 23,869 Discussions, 750,285 Messages and 27,853 Members. By September 2023, it had reached 42,424 Threads, 1,164,343 Messages and 62,390 Members. Phew – that is a lot of traffic and an excellent contribution to the industry by cam model, Amber Cutie.

However moderating a forum or Discord is a lot of work! It would be overkill for most sex workers given that many don’t wish to stay in the sex industry for that long, neither do they have the time to do the work required. So don’t stress if you feel “less is more” for you.  And if it seems like too much work to get visitors to your site by having a blog or discussion area on your site, lots of ladies nowadays are doing it the easy way: with social media or by choosing an search engine-friendly advertiser.

So is it worth getting a website? Yes – if you can get it to work for you. However, it is not necessarily essential – many ladies make do with being active on social media, whether that’s Twitter, onlyfans etc, and there is a lot these sites can do for you.