Interview: RentedDesign.com
October 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment
I was recently spammed by an escort web designer who claimed a decade of experience. Besides the spamming (anyone who emails individuals without explicit opt-in permission violates anti-spam law), what really annoyed me was a website mock-up he provided using my photos. I called him on the copyright violation and he claimed my pictures weren’t copyrighted but he could “copyright” them for me for a fee (I think he was confusing copyright with watermark). My photographer owns the rights to my photos, the only right I have is the one to use them for my own promotion/advertising. That they aren’t copyrighted by this designer’s standards would no doubt have been unpleasant and infuriating news to my photographer. I had to be rude to get this guy to remove my mock-up from his site.
All that energy he put into creating mock-ups for every escort he spammed could have been used toward legit marketing or coming up with some beautifully-creative designs for his current clients. Using a service-provider who markets aggressively is not a bad thing. Using someone who wastes their energy in completely unproductive ways is not someone I want — I’d rather have their attention on the work they’re doing for me.
Just two days later, following escort links, I came across a gorgeous website and since the designer’s link at the bottom was unfamiliar to me, I clicked to the very attractive site of RentedDesign.com – a Canadian web design service for escorts utilizing WordPress as a CMS. Rented Design not only offers beautiful designs at reasonable rates (using WordPress!!) it is the design-boutique of G – a fellow escort. Intrigued, I asked G for an interview and she graciously offers us a look into ethical web design from the designer’s perspective.
Tell me about your web design philosophy from a designers’ point of view.
Keep it clean and simple. What I like to develop for my clients are clean and simple websites which create a convivial navigation experience for the visitors, and with an equally clean and simple back-end that makes it easy for my clients to maintain and update their site when needed.
While many Internet escorts have taken the same path as you in regards to their own websites, what made you decide to offer your design skills to other escorts?
Partly because I really enjoy coding and learning more about it with every project I do, and partly because I saw a real need for it.
From what I can see in the industry in my city, there seems to be only two choices for an escort who wants a website: either pay for a custom made site which can be quite expensive and which often doesn’t come with an integrated CMS (content management system), or use one of the “build your own website for free” platform which have very limited options in terms of design and functionality, and which usually come with unwanted advertisement.
What I offer is something in the middle: a website powered through WordPress, which provide one of the most user-friendly CMS. Rather than developing and designing the website from scratch, I use a professional theme which I customize to the needs and preferences of my client. I also take care of establishing a hosting account and installing WordPress for my client, installing and configuring all of the right plug-ins for things like spam blocking, search engine optimization, site backup, site security, analytics tracking, and coding other functionalities as needed.
The result is a professional looking website with an easy to use CMS to manage, maintain, and update the site, for a fraction of the price of a custom made website.
I want to offer my fellow sex workers the tools to run their own business professionally, at a reasonable cost. The packages rates I offer are quite low within this industry, and a fraction of what I would charge in the “mainstream” market. I believe in giving back to my community, and offering this kind of service to other sex workers is one of my way to do that.
What did you think it would be like to work for escorts? Has the reality matched your initial expectations so far?
So far, I’ve only had great experiences working for escorts.
What consistent flaws do you see in escort websites? What should an escort avoid?
Hmmm. That’s a difficult question. A lot of the flaws I see are probably simply preferences of mine, and other may not agree with me that they are flaws. But there are a few things that I would recommend a client to avoid:
- No music. One of the keyword in this industry is “discretion”. A lot of your visitors would probably prefer to keep their visit to your website secret, and the music that starts blasting as soon as they land on your site is a big deterrent to that.
- If you are “classy”, “sophisticated” and “high end”, there should be no need to state the obvious, whether in your text or in the imagery you use. Gold lettering as a sign of luxury is also over-done in my opinion, but maybe the marketing specialists will disagree with me on this.
- If you are going to have functionalities on your site that require regular updating, keep it up-to-date or get rid of it. If you’re never updating your calendar, your blog, or your Twitter feed, there’s no need to have them on your site. It gives a wrong first impression, and it could even cost you a potential client who won’t bother contacting you thinking you’re not in the business anymore.
How can an escort prepare for working with you? What homework should she do?
She should have all (or most) of her content ready: and idea of the structure of the site, her text, and her pictures in the appropriate format. She should also look around at other website (whether they are escorts website or not) and find out what she likes, and what she doesn’t. It’s always easier to get a project started on the right track when someone can give me concrete examples of what they like.
She should also have a good understanding of her business and of the clientele she’s trying to reach. Clients looking for a quick and mostly sexual encounter are typically different than clients who are looking for a romantic evening or afternoon with a companion. The same goes for clients who are looking for a “vanilla” encounter versus those who are looking for something more edgy and “kinky”.
The website should reflect the kind of experience she provides, and should cater to the expectations and preferences of her target clientele.
What makes a good web design client? What makes a bad one?
Well so far, I’ve only had good clients, so I can’t really tell!
Do you wish to grow your design business into a full-time job? Or are you happy keeping it boutique?
Yes, I’m currently working on building a portfolio and doing the research and work needed to take this side business into a full-time job, also venturing into a more “mainstream” market. I would be really happy if I could eventually make a decent living sitting at my computer and coding all day long!
Are you currently networking with local photographers or other service-people? I’m imagining a trusted referral network for your clients.
Yes, definitely. I know a few photographers who often work with escorts, and whom I can recommend to a client.
I also have a great network of fellow sex workers friends who I can recommend to someone looking for advice on how to start in the industry or how to make the jump from working with an agency to working independently. I’ve always believe in community building and solidarity among sex workers, and I’m always happy to give a recommendation or to send someone some business.
What sort of advertising/marketing techniques are you planning on using to promote your design service? What WON’T you do?
Until recently, I was mostly relying on word of mouth and on my credits on the sites I’ve build to bring me some business. But now that I made the decision to take this business a step further, I’m actually doing a lot of research and reading to better understand the market and figure out the best marketing/advertising strategy. I’m open to advice!
What sort of advice would you give any business professional who wants to provide services for escorts?
I think I’ll put my sex worker hat on to reply to this question:
Please don’t insult my intelligence, don’t assume that because I am a sex worker you can get bed me in exchange for your services, and don’t send me a business offer for a service I clearly don’t need (i.e., do your research first).
Oh, and don’t insult me thinking it will get you my business: I recently received an email from some alleged photographer who started is email by telling me that my pictures don’t look professional (they are very good and professionally done pictures) but that he could help with that. I don’t think so!
Do you think escort sites have changed much since in the past three years? Where do you see them going?
I’m seeing more and more CMS based websites. I think that’s the future of escort web design and development. A companion needs to keep in touch with her clientele, she needs to be connected to her client base and keep her clients interested and intrigued. A website that grows with her, that is part of and integrated with her social media presence, and that gives her control over her business is the perfect tool for a companion.
Just for fun, what are some of your design/artistic influences?
I’m much more a geek than an artist. But I tend to gravitate toward minimalist, pure, and clean design. White over black. While I started with a preference for sans serif, serif is winning me over these days.
PS
I was so impressed by what I saw and heard that G is currently redoing my escort site for me. Very much looking forward to the final rollout! As someone who loves WordPress but is tired of code-wrangling — Rented Design is the perfect solution.
A Week of Business Development
July 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment
There are a lot of reasons to attend the Desiree Alliance Conference in Las Vegas at the end of July — readers of this blog may be interested in looking at the Business Development track. It’s a week chock full of business info and ideas.
Today is the last day for registration, so please get your registration in! This is one Vegas trip you don’t want to miss.
Highlights from the Business Development track:
Sarah Sloane: Incorporating Kink into your Work
Al: Keeping out of Harm’s Way
William Takahashi: Disabilities and Sex Workers
Panel: Safety for Sex Workers through Personal Privacy (I’m a panelist)
Panel: Building a Safe and Sustainable Business
Allen Lichtenstein: Contracts and What to Look for
Erik Peterson: Personal Finance for Adult Industry Professionals
Sarah Sloane: Burnt and Jaded: When the Passion isn’t Passionate Anymore
Furry Girl: Solo Girl
Danielle dv8 & Vegan Vixen: Phone and Cam sex for Profit or Lights, Web Cam, Action!
Lee Harrington: On their Knees
Meeshee: Clicking with your Photographer
Cathy from Room Service 2000: The Value of Internet Advertising
Doug Bynon: A Tax Workshop for the Cash-Based Professional
Lusty Day: Working it Down Under
Kimberlee Cline: Keeping it Real: Coming Out to your Loved Ones
Panel: Screening
Megan Morgensen: The Value of Sex Work
Serpent Libertine and BeBeDoll: The Ethical Sex Worker
Jean Gray: Energetic Protection and Cleansing for Sex Workers
Roundtable: Your Girlfriend Sucks! For Money!
Baba Dez: Sex Work is Sacred Work
Lee Harrington: How Much an Hour?
Panel: Tricks, Training, and Transitions
Shawn Roop: Sessions that Heal
The rest of the conference includes:
Dr. Joycelyn Elders
Norma Jean Almodovar (personal hero of mine)
Nina Hartley
Dr. Brooke Magnanti (yes, her)
the one and only Robyn Few
Carol Leigh
plenty of other industry luminaries
moi
Vegas Vegas Vegas
the most amazing people you’ll meet having the time of their lives
lots of love, support, acceptance
Join me in Vegas in two weeks!
Linkback Issues With Free Escort Advertising Malls/Sites
August 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment
This is just one part of a very long discussion. I’m discussing actual ads, not merely a banner exchange.
Due to my travels, I’ve looked into getting free advertising as much as possible. It’s very expensive to constantly pay for ads in changing locations, not to mention all the payment headaches. The number of online advertisers has exploded (especially overseas), so there are many options – even when I try to narrow my choices to what I think will be the best for me.
Because these are free ads, advertisers also want me to link back to them and the home page has become the popular spot. Advertisers have become overly aware of SEO and want huge text links with every keyword they can think of. It junks up my site, making it look somewhat spammy to Google too — which could decrease my site’s PageRank. (Advertising on an online mall is not about SEO for the escort, it’s simply about getting seen by clients.) I understand that advertisers need to be competitive by working on their PageRank and such.
But I think it’s gone to extremes. Even very minor sites think they should get 20 keyword-heavy text links leading from the front page of my site. If I’m not getting a front page spot on their site with lots of text/pictures, how is this a fair trade? If I’m lucky, I get a photo somewhere on their site. Or maybe just a text link, buried in their pages. That’s not worth junking up my homepage for.
Paid ads sometimes requires this as well, but it’s not as bad as with free ads. No one says you must use free ads (or any ads at all), but sometimes an escort has little advertising choice due to her location or budget. A number of escorts don’t even use advertisers and have a successful business (discussion of various non-advertising-mall methods throughout Book 2: Advertising and Marketing).
My Escort Site’s Advertising Policy
My advertiser policy: If you want your link here, you must have a very well-established, high-traffic site. Your link must be a badge. If you want your link here and you’re not a major site, then my ad should be on your index page just as your badge is here. Otherwise, all advertiser links go where they belong: on my Directories and Boards page.
All escorts are welcome to start using this policy (reword as needed).
Who knows how well this policy will work? I don’t think it’s any more arbitrary than the policies advertisers often have for their free ads.
Badges can still have keywords in their alt and title tags if the advertisers want. And images won’t mess up the design of your site like their heavily-coded banners often do (another new, irritating trend with advertisers). On a personal note, I think badges just look more attractive.
The Goals of Advertising Malls
Advertisers seem to forget that SEO and attracting new advertisers are two different things. To broadly summarize the cycle of attracting new advertisers — girls always use other escort sites as research tools looking for good places to advertise, photograher references and so on. Escorts will go to sites that seem good or are used by other escorts they like. More escorts advertising will draw clients. If the site charges for advertising, it will draw more revenue with more escorts. And if the escorts are successful with the site, the site grows even more. (Advertisers should realize a good banner will likely draw more escort-attention than lots of text like “London escorts”.)
Escorts also use sites that come up in Google searches for particular terms. The escorts are trying to mimic what potential clients will search for. This is where the SEO efforts of advertisers pay off. But there is more to SEO than forcing every advertiser to have frontpage links using the same keywords. I’ve seen sites pop up in the top 5 of my Google searches that I don’t want to advertise on because they seemed scammy or didn’t seem to have any real advertisers on there. I much prefer a site that’s established and has lots of real, established escorts advertising there. High PageRank isn’t the be-all, end-all of advertising malls. They have to benefit clients and escorts fairly equally to be truly successful (or at least appear to benefit both parties).
Their Traffic to YOU
Of course, your most important consideration is the Web traffic and successful appointments an advertiser brings you. Even the nicest site is worthless if it brings 1 hit/month. Checking Web stats or simply asking where a client found you tells you all you need to know. And when it’s not those sites lounging on your front page, well, there’s not much reason to keep them around.
Which makes one of the most successful, (formerly free) advertising options of all – CraigsList – even a better deal for those girls who use it.
Writing an Escort Ad
August 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment
This is a very quick “what not to do” post.
One escort I saw online described herself as a “top chef” escort. From the context of her sentence, she wasn’t referring to her culinary abilities; instead she was comparing herself to a slightly more expensive margarita: top shelf.
I imagine her mistake came about because she drank a lot of margaritas and never clearly understood what the bartender was saying when she ordered one.
Some simple guidelines to avoid this:
- Proofread. If you never paid attention in school, find a friend who did and get them to proofread for you.
- Don’t compare yourself to food, cars, clothes, shoes, diamonds or any other inanimate object. I’d also refrain from comparing yourself to the elements. Animals and plants are iffy — they’re living creatures and many humans have similar qualities. That doesn’t always mean it needs to be in your ad, though.
- Drop the superlatives. Writing a straightforward ad about who you are as an escort is really the easiest way to go. It’s hard to mess it up (if you proofread).
The Hard Sell
There is a lot more discussion on writing your ads (and website content) in Book 2: Advertising and Marketing 
Escort Photo Options
May 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If my previous post on model releases concerned you, there are ways around it. This post is only about options for still photographs, not video.
Lying
Of course, the method many escorts will use is to just lie about their real name on the release. That’s not very smart from a legal standpoint – if you have an issue with the photographer and you lied on the model release, you probably won’t win your case. And if they have to verify your age with ID, then you can’t lie unless you have a fake ID (not something I recommend).
Even lying won’t save you if you wish to be discreet about your face, or want control over the photos to remove identifying details, like tattoos. There are other options.
Work for Hire
Different photographers may call it different things, but the basic concept is that you simply hire the photographer for a set amount of time. Not all photographers publicly offer this option, but if they’re good businesspeople, they know what their hourly rate is and can quickly give you a quote.
The purpose of buying a photographer’s time is because you need photos, but don’t want those photos appearing in their portfolio. Whatever they create for you is copyrighted to you, not them (as is normal with most model releases). And you shouldn’t have to sign a model release at all since the photos are yours and completely under your control.
This is usually a more expensive method than hiring a photographer for one of their stated packages. But if you need extreme discretion, this is an option.
Explanations of the “work for hire” concept:
legally defining “work for hire”
how “work for hire” applies in the arts
more on using “work for hire”
Memory Cards
A cheap and easy way of ensuring control of your photos is to buy a memory card for the camera the photographer will use and using only that memory card. This would work great with a “work for hire” contract. It probably won’t work with a standard model release/photo package.
It’s also a great option if you have a friend take pictures for you because you don’t have your own camera. The photos are under your complete control at all times. No question.
Friends
Though most friends won’t ask, techincally, they own the photo they’ve created unless you sign a “work for hire” contract with them. Just so you know.
Film
I’m going to sound old-fashioned, but one great way of owning your photos is to have them taken on film. There’s no way the images can be surreptitiously downloaded from the camera. While less and less photographers use film, you can find skilled amateurs and some professionals willing to use film.
It’s also a fairly inexpensive set-up if you want to take your own photos. Film cameras are dropping in price. Or it works if you have a neighbor/friend who’ll let you borrow their film camera for self-portraits. They’ll never have any idea what you used the camera for.
The caveat: you must have a professional photo lab nearby. They’ll process images with nudity and not ask questions, plus they can professionally scan the images and give you a CD. Professional film scanning costs a few dollars per image, so only scan the ones you really like. The photos CDs you get from processing in a drug store aren’t high-quality scans and won’t translate to the Web very well.
There are professional photo labs who accept mail-in rolls of film for processing, but obviously that’s a time-consuming option.
Self-Portraits
Taking your own photos automatically means you own all rights and the images are under your control from the start. The problem is that it can be difficult to take good self-portraits. Whether you use film or digital, you’ll need a tripod and a cable release (with digital cameras, you may need a “slave” or “remote”). Expect a learning curve.
I offer tips on self-portraits in Book #2, so I won’t go into that here. The important thing to remember is that you can take as many photos as you want. No one but you has to see them. This allows you to be silly, creative and make mistakes.
Purchasing a high-quality camera is imperative. Though 35mm film cameras do okay with professional scanning, you may want to invest in a 120 film camera (also known as 220 or medium-format). If using a digital camera, 6 megapixel is the lowest you should go. Less megapixels means less detail and clarity, giving your pictures a less-professional look.
You may also want to invest in Photoshop to do your own effects. It’s fun and easy to learn color balancing, play with contrast, lightly retouch or create arty effects with your photos.
Discretion
Not everyone needs to go through contortions to get their photos. Those with serious privacy concerns don’t want to waste time finding a trustworthy photographer; so some alternative options are needed.
Money and Quality
March 19, 2008 | 1 Comment
This is a great article about high-end escort work, like the Emperor’s Club agency. However, it really isn’t that different from mid-range escort work, or even from lower price ranges. The final dollar figure and the careers of some of the clients are different; otherwise everything else is a matter of intensity and degree.
Sex workers and clients have pretty much the same motivations regardless of the money spent. Sex workers all feel they’re offering a certain set of benefits and services, regardless of the money spent. Sex workers and clients all run the same social/legal/disease risk, regardless of the money spent.
I’m not saying all sex workers/clients are the same. Obviously not. But when we’re talking about human interaction – there is little change from one end of the spectrum to the other. Every sex worker – from a street worker up to a very high-end escort who charges thousands – feel they offer their clients attention, affection, entertainment, mental/emotional support and stress relief. The intensity varies, as does personal inclination, but the end result is that every sex worker wants their client to leave with the same good feelings and return to see her again. Money has no role in this essential part of sex work.
The amount of money spent seems to be the great titillation in the Spitzer scandal. Money is an aphrodisiac and who needs arousal more than a country on the brink of recession?
The more I find out about sex work from a range of sex workers, the more I realize all the issues are essentially the same – it’s a matter of degree. Money plays a role in marketing; it plays a big role in paying one’s bills. It does not play a role in the essence of sex work – the actual interaction between two people.
And money seems to be all the public is focused on.
