By Marc Jarrett

YNOT EUROPE – As the internet has evolved, so have the opportunities and methods for talent within the adult entertainment industry to reach out to their fans.

Whilst useful, most social media platforms do not facilitate direct interactions with fans. If they do, more often than not there is no way to monetize the interaction. This may be a boon for the fan, but it does nothing to build the performer’s bank balance. Sure, there are cams, but the novelty of that connection method is wearing away.

In an odd turn of events, performers are finding a back-to-basics approach often stirs fans’ fires. Have you considered connecting with your followers via a device they all have — the phone?

Obviously, publishing your cell phone number on your website or blog is not the way to go. However, you easily can add a dynamic widget which will show green when you are ready to take calls. Calls then can then be routed anonymously to your landline or cell phone anywhere in the world.

As it turns out, fans are thrilled to have the opportunity to connect directly to their favorite performers in this way. And since callers need to prepay minutes using their credit card, performers can chat away safe in the knowledge they are generating per-minute revenues they’ll actually receive. The telcos don’t get a cut when porn stars utilize voice-over-internet protocol services, which are inexpensive and easy to set up.

Unlike traditional 900 numbers, there is no billing cycle associated with next-generation VoIP products, and payments can be made on your schedule, not at the providers’ whim three or four months down the road.

If you have a large following, you may find excellent revenue in hosting paid conference calls during which you talk one-on-one with selected callers and allow an unlimited number of people to listen in. The silent witnesses are known as “eavesdroppers” and pay the same rate as those who talk. This will allows the performer to make decent earnings within a relatively short timeframe.

While some callers undoubtedly will expect phone sex, others simply will be curious and want to chat. Humans crave contact with other humans, and this seems to be doubly true for celebrities whom many fans feel they already “know” from on-screen roles. Cross-promote and market your phone line and your movie or website appearances, and you can boost your bankability in both sectors.

VoIP isn’t limited to one-on-one or group teleconferences. Other applications that utilize the same underlying technology can send sexy prerecorded wake-up calls to admirers. Customers register their numbers together with the time that they would like to receive the call. Since customers pay a fee for this, performers with large fan bases are making good money for just 40 seconds work.

Thanks to the flexibility afforded by VoIP technology, you can charge what you like per minute. For sexy wake-up calls, one-off charges of $4.99 seem to be a convincing price point.

Far from killing-off pay-per-minute phone chat services, the internet has created a powerful new variant of them. And thanks to all those free social networking sites out there, you have a great advertising platform to tell the world about your new service.

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.