YNOT EUROPE – With the explosive growth of online social networking in recent years, porn stars now have several ways to communicate with their fans. But broadcasting the minutiae of everyday life via tweets and Facebook updates is not for everyone, stars and fans alike.

However, a ubiquitous device allows for a much more intimate form of communication. Yes, it’s back to basics folks: I’m talking about the good ol’ telephone.

By hosting multi-party conferences with their fans over lines powered by premium-rate numbers, porn stars can make money from callers, regardless whether they actually talk to each one. Here’s how it works:

The host announces a time and date when he or she will be available. A countdown clock on their website can add a sense of occasion.

When the time arrives, the host dials an 800 number, and all participants dial the specified premium-rate number.

The host is then connected 1:1 with those callers who elect to join the chat, but the virtual room can host an unlimited number of fans who don’t want to speak. These are known as eavesdroppers or lurkers, and they’re especially welcome because they pay the same rate as those who end up talking with the host. Thanks to suppression of the host’s caller line identification, there is no way anyone in the virtual chat room can know where the host is located.

Furthermore, since each fan already has a contractual relationship with his or her phone company, the porn star does not have to worry about billing. The fan’s phone company effectively acts as a cash collection agent on the porn star’s behalf. No credit card is needed.

The technology easily can be combined with a live-cam system: Give the visual feed to surfers for free either online or on their mobiles, but to hear and interact, they must call the premium-rate number. Thus, the phone is transformed into a microphone, loudspeaker and convenient billing mechanism bundled into one.

Such phone-ins are ideal platforms with which to up-sell pay site memberships. Alternatively, they can be used as a way of bonding with existing members whilst generating a brand-new revenue stream in the process. Or both.

The conference itself should be monitored by an experienced operator who acts as an interface between the host and the callers. This way, any inappropriate callers can be identified and terminated immediately.

The porn star can determine how much per minute he or she would like to charge, but must adhere to the chat guidelines set by the regulator of phone-paid services. Such conferencing is ideal for Q&A sessions, but also can be used at any time for ad-hoc 1:1 sessions with diehard fans.

In an era of increasing information overload, it is reassuring to know that celebrities within the adult space can adopt a back-to-basics approach by connecting with their fans via a device with which everyone is familiar. Correctly priced, eager callers will be only too happy to pay.

Finally, by tweeting the time and date of their phone-ins, porn stars easily can promote the event to receptive followers.

This way, porn stars can benefit from proven billing and technology mechanisms dating back to the pre-web era, whilst capitalizing on the free advertising opportunities afforded by social networks in the Internet Age.

Marc Jarrett has been a consultant and facilitator in the pay-per-call industry since 1994 and currently works with several companies within the alternative-billing space. He may be contacted by email.