Nick Biltons newish book ( which I have as an eBook) sets out to study what we can learn from the porn industry (among other things)
His reason? The industry always been innovative and adaptable (premium phone lives and web chats got an early boost from porn)and so they might act as a testing ground for revenue generating techniques.
He notes that the industry, like others affected by the digital revolution, has seen revenues hit hard by amateurs posting stuff/free websites and piracy. But some are innovating their way out of a corner
Some quotes
There’s one other thing I discovered the next-generation consumer will pay for online: better experiences, which often grow out of better storytelling.
Once visitors engaged in conversations on the porn sites, many of them no longer felt comfortable stealing and sharing the work of people who were trying to make a living. They simply saw them in a different light. Personal stories add one dimension, but great storytelling on the screen or the page consistently stands out.
The next generation of porn and storytelling will be hyperpersonalized, placing you almost directly in the scene. That will give you control over what you see—almost like you’re standing on a holodeck, a room that uses holographs to simulate reality.
What can writers and publishers take from this?
Personal connection reduces piracy. Makes sense- we are less likely to steal from those we know or have some kind of relationship. So authors should combine events and online to create personal connection with readers many authors hate this feeling it gets in the way of the work, especially the more literary types. But if you want to succeed you have to engage
Live reduces piracy The pirates don’t have time to pirate and the personal connection reduces the desire to steal. Hence the appeal of serialization- back to the future then
People pay more for quality production. The current eBook on amazon is a bog standard low cost production.Care, love and innovation will add value to ebooks. People will pay for a treat or a pleasureable experience- My eBook are only convenient and functional. Don’t believe people who tell you that is all they want.
Niche Marketing. The other thing that porn teaches us is the value of niche marketing-and I mean niches of niches here. Nick Bilton, being an American cannot quite cast off the mask of political correctness in order to get stuck in and analyse the porn industry’s niche marketing strategies. ( His wife – he makes sure to tell us – knew what he was up to and vetoed him meeting porn stars.)I hankered for a German or Scandinavian writer at this point who would cast a cool ,considered and unembarrassed eye over the industries innovation in niche marketing.
Definitely worth a read- only available in hardback in UK at the mo so better go for the eBook