How do Porn Sites Make Money When it all Seems Free?

“If something is free, you’re the product.” This comment, made by famed American artist Richard Serra back in 1973, was meant to explain that free television turned viewers into a sellable product because television delivered viewers right into the hands of advertisers and earned money from paid commercial sponsors. Porn today works much the same way, though things are a little more complex than they were in the 70s. So let’s take a look under the skin of the skin biz together.

Visible Advertising is the Obvious Revenue Stream

What many of us think of as “advertising” is just one small part of modern marketing. Different kinds of marketing are often referred to as “revenue streams,” and visible advertising is the most obvious. For example, when you go to a free porn site and see banner ads beneath the video or a popup ad on your screen, you’re keenly aware this site is trying to advertise another product, website, or service. Obviously, they aren’t doing that for altruistic reasons; they’re receiving monetary compensation for those ad spots. Often it’s a simple payment per month, sometimes it’s a payment for a specific number of clicks, or it can be part of a traffic trade where one company advertises another for an ad back to them on another site in return.

Less Visible Advertising Brings in the Most Revenue

Imagine you’re given the first dozen oranges ever discovered and are asked to sell them. A novice might think, I have 12 oranges, and all I need to do is figure out who will pay me the most for each orange. A professional looks at that same set of oranges very differently, however.

What if we could sell the scent of the oranges to a cleaning product or perfume company? How about we license the color orange to paint suppliers or fashion designers? Once we start producing and selling oranges, we can probably include advertising in each box of oranges we ship or send other goods and expand our oranges company into becoming a logistics provider. That’s the mentality every porn site operates under. There are many ways to make money, and they should be all be fully explored, so we are squeezing all the juice out of our oranges and not leaving any potential revenue on the table.

Aside from the apparent ads you see on the page, porn companies have created an ingenious set of ways to earn revenue from more subtle marketing techniques. Of course, there is much more than we can cover in one article, but here’s a quick dive into what’s out there on porn sites you visit already.

Pop-Unders:

Pop-unders are an entire category of ads that happen outside your field of view. For example, when you visit a site and see an ad pop up in your browser, you might quickly close it. Still, if that same ad was popped into another tab of your browser or a second browser window behind the one you are looking at, you may not find it until later, when you’re more receptive to what it is marketing to you.

Email Marketing:

Every site in porn or elsewhere asks for a valid email address during the registration process. Most companies keep that data private and use it for follow-up email advertising of special offers and future correspondence. Some, especially in the mainstream market, turn their mailing lists into a revenue source by selling those email addresses to other third-party advertisers. That’s why when you apply for mortgage refinancing online, you’ll often see a follow-up of insurance companies and other ancillary service providers contacting you as well.

Up-Sells:

Once you’ve joined a porn site, the marketing effort isn’t over. Ever notice “featured” videos from other sites or ads inside the member’s area asking you to check out these other great places to enjoy porn? Those are upsells designed to increase “value per acquisition.” Put simply, if a site charges you $20 to become a member but can also upsell you to another site willing to give them a referral fee, they can earn more from you signing up than they would without the upsells.

Cross-Sells:

When you visit a porn site, you’re likely sitting with your pants around your ankles, eager to get inside and see more. Take your time on the signup pages, and you may notice a series of checkboxes asking if you want to also add on membership to another site or service provider. Those are cross-sales, designed to increase value per acquisition again.

Advertorials:

The content of a site itself can also become a revenue stream. So, when you see a site blog that usually offers news and features about the content but occasionally does an article about another site, product, or service – that’s likely an advertorial paid for by that sponsor or in exchange for some kind of traffic trade.

Some Advertising is Beneficial to You

It’s important to remember that a lot of the ads you see are helpful to you. Yes, some bad actors try to do unethical things, but most are simply trying to earn an honest living from a product available to you for FREE. If they couldn’t make money on ads, and you weren’t paying them to create new porn videos – nobody would be willing to make new porn videos!

Similarly, some of the sites they recommend to you may be sites you want to join. Again, they’re picking sites based on similarity to what you’ve already shown are your own sexual interests. So there’s a strong chance that if you joined a site all about lesbian sex, the other sites they advertise for lesbian porn are likely to be ones you would enjoy.

You Can Help Get Better Porn Made

Here’s the dirty secret you need to know most. Porn sites (and all online content creators) track what gets watched, what people like most, and what’s likely to earn them more money in the future. So if a really hot video on a specific page of the site is getting a lot of clicks to the ad banner on that page, you can be sure they’ll take notice and volunteer to make more videos that fit that same style!

So when you see a video you like, click the ad! It’s the best and most direct way for you to vote to get more videos created that are made just the way you like them – free and in your favorite style. Instead of you being the product, you can become the site’s porn director, and all it takes is a few clicks between orgasms.

Why is the USA more conservative about sex than other countries?

It has long been believed that the USA is more uptight about sex than the swinging E.U. and many other countries worldwide. That may not be entirely true, and certainly not among some subcultures in the States (yes, we hear you kinksters, and we care), but there is some truth to nearly every cliché, so let’s take a look at the origins of this uptight label.

1 Right From The Start Puritans Founded The Colonies

Without a long boring history lesson, you may recall that when the colonies first started in America, it wasn’t a bunch of wild sex addicts who decided to voyage over to the new continent. Instead, many of the people who made the journey were devotedly religious and ridiculously repressed. Those social norms set in quickly and remain in many communities as remnants of colonial times.

In contrast, look at a place like Australia, which got its starting population at least in part by serving as a penal colony for wayward criminals. Let there be no doubt, criminals and miscreants know a lot more about having adventurous sex than puritans and religious sects. 

That’s why people like prudish former Attorney General John Ashcroft spend $8,000 of taxpayer money to cover up the breasts of a statue on public land. And why things like real sex education are often left out of public school curriculums even though they have been proven time and again to reduce unwanted pregnancies and curtail the spread of STIs.

2. We Like Violence More Than Vaginas

That sentiment may sound strange, but the stats seem to suggest it’s true. According to reports, the average American will see 200,000 violent acts and witness 16,000 murders on T.V. by the time they reach the age of 18. Still, if they see one nip-slip during a Superbowl halftime show, puritanical hysteria becomes immediately palpable. 

Video games like Grand Theft Auto don’t just allow violent behavior; the entire game rewards it. Yet when the studio releases a new game and wants to reach a wider audience, they are far more cautious about nudity than violence. 

3. Public Displays of Affection Are Often Shunned

Non-sexual physical contact has a profound impact on the emotional and physical well-being of every person, according to a mountain of research. Being isolated or unable to enjoy human contact can destroy a person inside and out. Just the simplest things like holding hands, a casual hug, or a kiss on the cheek cause hormonal upticks in all the chemical compounds that cause humans to feel happy – yet Americans often avoid more than just making eye contact.

Especially in the pandemic era, you hardly ever see anyone hug someone else, hello, and handshakes are often discarded in favor of less affectionate displays like a fist bump or a polite wave from across the room.

Meanwhile, Europeans are known for a double-kiss hello on each check and are fond of displaying their affection openly with others. As a result, there is far less stigma about being affectionate in public, and people wouldn’t even think twice about seeing a couple kissing passionately on a park bench.

4. The Mishandling of Abortion Issues 

Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, the idea that some common ground must exist seems pretty plain to the rest of the world. Of course, much of the world believes each person should make these kinds of decisions for themselves. Still, even in places where society is interested in steering those decisions one way or another, you aren’t seeing terrorists blowing up health care clinics and displaying massive posters with graphic photos of discarded embryos for their chilling effect.

Only in the United States have we politicized the pregnancy process to the point where most people aren’t even willing to have a civil conversation with others about it. That quiet leads to intellectual stagnation, repression and eventually seeps into all other aspects of a culture. Beyond making the unwanted pregnancy issue impossible to solve, it also has a clear impact on causing our society to be much more uptight sexually. Some would argue that is the result that some want to see the most and that abortion is just a vehicle for them to achieve that more insidious goal.

5. Our preference for circumcision.

Though male circumcision rates have declined in the U.S. over the last decade, voluntary surgery remains common, with more than one and a half million penises being clipped every year. In Europe, circumcision is rare and generally frowned upon for many reasons. Some argue uncircumcised men have more sensation in their genitalia than circumcised men, and many believe the natural look of a penis is simply more pleasurable. 

Still, the notion that your genitals require adjustment by a doctor within a week of your birth sets quite a tone for society to carry forward throughout the rest of your life as well. 

There Are Some Benefits to Sexual Repression

It wouldn’t be fair to overlook the one shining example of a silver lining when it comes to sexual repression. The mere fact that something is prohibited or frowned upon also makes it sexy in many cases. Things like BDSM, or even Anal sex, have thrived in American culture largely because many considered them taboo. Until recently, gay sex, interracial sex, and trans sex were pushed out of the mainstream, and each found a home in subcultures that turned these closed-minded views into fuel for passionate adventures. If you want proof of that, take a look at how long people have been enjoying sexual freedom on Adult FriendFinder! 

The Evolution Of The Male Pornstar Look

Pornography, in one form or another, has been around for thousands of years. In earlier centuries, pornography came in the form of crude pictures, sculptures, and higher-quality art. It continued to improve with every passing era, and we’re now at a fantastic place in its evolution. There’s evidence of more advanced pornography in cultures from many years ago, though the concept of the pornstar wasn’t recognized until much later. 

For many, the advent of home video, which came about in the 1970s and 1980s, was when people first started recognizing specific individuals for their XXX talents on the screen. Back then, what was considered attractive was far different from what it is now. Likewise, over the years, the fashion trends people have adopted changed. People found to be universally appealing in the 70s were far different from the looks of the 80s, 90s, 2000, and beyond.

Porn In The 70s

In the 1970s, pornstars had more hair, more mustaches, and in some cases, louder personalities. Many Halloween costumes and movies exaggerate male pornstar qualities from the era, which sometimes included people with more chest hair. In addition, some people think of louder clothing when they think of this XXX content, including animal prints and other patterns. In the 1970s, people also attributed gold chains and bracelets, plus larger rings with the male pornstar style. 

The 1970s era of pornography often showed people wearing colorful clothing, and many of the different genres of porn were available. This includes solo masturbation, couples’ sex, threesomes on camera, and more. With often exaggerated acting and a few over-the-top themes, the porn in the 1970s reflected a time where people were free about their sexuality, looking to enjoy watching natural sex with other people in the films they loved. Many different body types were represented, and people started gravitating towards filming men with larger dicks.

Porn In The 80s

Porn in the 80s had many distinctive elements, with the adult entertainment industry getting a grasp of what they wanted to share with the world. There was still more hair in many XXX films, though some European films featured men with less hair. Muscular men started becoming more prominent, and there were still plenty of large cocks to go around. 

Many of the great 80s porn classics had music in the background, and roleplay themes became more prominent. The 1980s also saw more video collections, with themes that spanned over multiple hours. While there were still men with hairy chests in the 80s, men with shaved chests started entering the fold at higher rates. The retro pornography from the 80s included many fashions within the 80s, moving away from colorful printed shirts and moving more towards solid colors and suits. A few prominent male pornstars went against the fold in this era, with some male XXX performers being more prolific than the majority.

Porn In The 90s

The last half-century in pornography has seen the most exciting improvements. Porn at the end of the 20th century moved towards the digital era as technology improved. With laptops, high-speed Internet, the introduction of HD quality, and other newer technology towards the end of the decade, people could bring their favorite porn movies anywhere. 

In the 90s, the adult entertainment industry wasn’t quite where it is now, though. Because of less accessibility to pornography, the competition porn businesses had was different. There were more high-end productions, and there was less gonzo porn. Instead, plot and expensive costumes and sets were more common, and there were numerous other differences between porn in the 90s and porn now.

One major change in the 90s was the increase of women watching porn, which has continued to present times. The era also saw the rise of condom use in porn, with Wicked Pictures being the most prominent company to implement safe sex into their films. 

Compared to the harrier bodies of the 1970s and 80s, the 1990s saw men with smoother chests and muscular bodies. With a focus on higher production films, male pornstars could put their personalities out there and get massive followings. 

Porn Here And Now

After the new millennia, porn evolved in a few notable ways. Now, more women and people, in general, are watching pornography. The Internet is largely responsible for this growth in viewership, increasing mobile traffic by over 1000% since 2010. A more significant percentage of women are viewing porn now, too, with over 26% of viewers worldwide being ladies. In 2014, this number was 23%. Due to the increase in women watching adult material, more porn caters to their wants, needs, and desires. 

Feminist, queer, and more artistic porn are also on the rise, with the maile talent having a more polished appearance. Outside of this, the male pornstar look evolved to cater to the dirty minds of both men and women. In the 90s, there were more high-end productions. Porn after the turn of the century started drifting more towards gonzo porn, amateur porn, and more realistic XXX content. Male pornstar fashion moved to accommodate.

As time in the new millennia went on, more performers have gone into business for themselves. People in the adult entertainment industry and beyond recognized in larger ways that people have many different turn-ons, including the aesthetic of modern pornstars. 

Androgynous men appear in pornography at a higher rate, and the number of body types in the adult entertainment industry has expanded on all levels. In the 90s, many idealized body types existed in porn, unobtainable fantasies for many people. As a result, there are many male performers today that you wouldn’t guess are pornstars in their everyday life. That said, there are still plenty of gorgeous, muscular, and fit men and the diversity found in porn has been growing each year.

Mature Porn is Hotter Than Ever. Here’s Why.

When it comes to women in porn, age is just a number. 

Many people may watch porn for the hot younger women. However, a significant portion of men, both young and old, appreciate older adult stars as well, particularly those over the age of 50. Granny porn and mature porn adult film actors attract droves of men, each seeking sexual gratification in their fashion. If you’re new to granny porn or have developed an interest, you may often wonder, “Why do some people love granny porn?” There are multiple reasons, and they may not be as apparent as you may imagine. 

Sexual Excitement Is as Diverse As It Gets 

Generally, there are several reasons why people watch porn. Some watch it for sexual excitement and gratification; others watch it for emotional gratification. Not all porn watchers are necessarily escaping trauma or childhood fears. In most cases, they turn to porn because they are looking to bring a particular fantasy to life, whether it’s as simple as a beautiful woman doing a solo masturbation scene or a hardcore BDSM clip that appeals to a specific niche. 

When it comes to sexual excitement, many things get different people in the mood. For example, some people have sexual fetishes about feet, underwear, leather, and rubber, to name a few. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that many people are turned on by mature porn. 

People Of The Same Age

Many people often forget that we all grow older- both men and women. There are people with partners over 50 years of age that are still sexually active and excited. For older men, granny porn can be sexually arousing, especially for those who want to improve things in the bedroom or excite their minds with different scenarios. 

Older women aren’t unattractive- they’re just older. Therefore, men looking to expand their sexual fantasies about older women within their age bracket are less about escape and more about arousal. After all, adult film actors can reenact scenes that are unavailable to some porn enthusiasts. 

For example, a man may want to have sex with his wife or girlfriend in a public bathroom. Both people are over 50 and aroused by the idea of risky quickies in public restrooms. Rather than risk getting arrested and embarrassed, porn is a great way to enjoy the fantasy and climax. 

Mature Porn Stars Are In Business 

A quick search of “granny porn” on PornHub quickly reveals some popular choices of women-over porn for viewers. Gang bangs, interracial pornography, orgies, blowjobs, and even paid sex are popular. Words such as cougar and granny are used to describe most of the videos. There’s also a demand for sex between older women and younger women and men and more taboo subjects like stepmother scenes. 

Perhaps it matters not so much what people use in the search pad but also what they seek to fulfill through porn. The bottom line is that if there’s a demand, supply will come up. 

People in Younger Age Brackets 

The obsession with youth dominates the media and the porn industry. People want young women and click through adult films quickly if younger people involved-both men and women. However, not all young people are attracted to or aroused by young women—some like older women and preferably old enough to be grandmothers. 

The acceptance of younger women also extends into cultural norms. Madonna, for instance, has received criticism for dating a 27-year-old man. Otherwise known as the queen of reinvention, Madge is 62, which makes a solid 35-year difference. These stories are not uncommon in the celebrity world and around us. We argue that this attraction, while not considered the norm, extends into porn. 

Often, porn actors make fantasies come true- so, if you’ve fantasized about a sexual act with an older woman, there’s a high chance it exists on a porn site. It, therefore, holds that there are multiple people with the same fetish, and that’s okay. 

Some men feel that older women are more sexually mature, experienced, and open to more experiences because they have had long sexual lives. Therefore, having sex with such women or watching their porn is an opportunity to experience their sexual prowess. Sexual dreams always start in the brain, and mature porn exists to fulfill that desire. 

Other watchers have had sexual experiences, as light as simple kisses, displays of affection, and hugs from older women, and suddenly their brains conjured up a sex scene in their minds. It can feel scary and shameful for some people, but it’s completely healthy. Older women are, after all, women- what’s to say who you get to fantasize about?

Young men can be attracted to older women in their families, outside their families, teachers, workers, bosses, and strangers. These older women may represent figures of higher authority, which is arousing for many people. Some men want to play a submissive role sexually or are attracted to the idea of sexually dominating an older woman who knows what she wants and can “force” sex upon someone. 

Others are drawn to the affectionate idea of an older woman. In contrast, others are driven by uniqueness- like eating a Mediterranean diet but going back to your usual continental cuisine. Also, for those into BDSM play, granny porn is an opportunity to be submissive, probably as a slave, humiliated, and bonded. 

Some men are also anxious about sex and looking for more secure sexual partners- this plays out in their porn use. Is this to say that older women will necessarily stay in relationships or agree to consensual sex with younger men? No. However, some young men are afraid of rejection, especially from younger women who may not find them sexually attractive or sexual gods. For such men, finding an older woman to take the sexual lead lowers their chances of rejection. 

Don’t be fooled- these older women aren’t necessarily all made up and have undergone plastic surgery. A common misconception is that people who enjoy over-50 porn want to see older women, but with boob surgeries and body enhancements. No- some people are attracted to the mature, more aging body as it is. 

Conclusion

It’s clear that men, both young and old, are attracted to older women. There are rich psychological reasons for these attractions, and none can perfectly describe the appeal.