I fancy myself by thinking you miss me when I’m not around. In truth, I know you’re quite happy my ramblings have ceased. Well, I’m back!!

As you know, the site is growing. We’re averaging 700+ new visits a day. Daniel, Greg, and my SEO guys have been pressuring me to sale ad space. I don’t like flashy banners and ad pop-ups because it looks porn-ish and cheesy. Well, advertisers are beating down the door again.

Why are advertisers beating down your door, Tracy?

Good question. Let’s break down:

According to studies, the average person spends 5secs on a site. Thanks to my SEO guys and big pimping Google, my average visits last over 5mins. This doesn’t seem like a long time to you and I, however, in marketing terms, it huge. This is why advertisers are vying for slots....they want their stuff seen by my readers.


Here’s the drill over the past three years:
SEO streamline site
Google likey, move Tracy to the top of the search pages, more invisibility
More visitors staying a long time
Long time gets advertisers attention, they want in, contact Tracy
Tracy says ‘No thank you’
Advertisers wait a month, contact Tracy again
Tracy says ‘Beat it!’
Advertisers show Greg and Daniel the $$$, tell Tracy she’s sitting on a goldmine
Tracy gives everyone the finger and closes negotiations.


I don’t like blinking banners, sparkling ads and music playing. There’s nothing wrong with it—it’s simply not my taste. Several site use ads to generate money but I’m not in it for the money. But I can’t speak for everyone else. So last year, I asked my fellow Nut Bunchers how they felt about ads and/or switching to paid membership only.

You guessed it! They hated the idea mainly because it put pressure on them to constantly produce new work and most of them have other demands. Yay! By sticking to my guns, I’d made the right decision for both myself and my authors.
 


Erotica Republic, an erotic story submission site, opened its door shortly after me. January 31st they closed their doors. No warning, just gone. The upkeep on the site was continuing to take more time and effort, but due to other obligations they could not give it the proper attention it deserves. They sold a lot of ad space and there are a million reasons why advertisers pulled out pull out.

I don’t want that to happen to my site. InterracialErotica.net is my baby. I’ve nursed her from birth. I’ve watched her grow from a sapling to the beast she is today. She can’t be bought for any amount of money. I won’t allow advertisers or anyone else dictated how I rear my child.

Still, I’m willing to compromise for her betterment. The guys and I are meeting with web designers—gotcha give IRE a facelift. I’ve also offered to create a links page to house the sites/businesses I frequent….think ‘Tracy’s Picks’ or “Tracy’s favorite things”. Navigating to the page lies in your hands. I won’t have any banners or ads on my landing page…Ever!

Yesterday, we met with four design teams. We weren’t impressed. Let’s hope today’s teams are better.  Wish us luck!

*UPDATE*

Damn folks! After 100+ emails, I guess I should pick better titles. Just to be clear: We're NOT closing. We're NOT going anywthere. The 'Notice of Closure' was in reference to Erotica Republic NOT IRE.net. I only meant to say that my absence was due to me doing battle with my camp and that IRE.net doesn't need advertising dollars. Greg pays for everything. We're NOT going anywhere however the site will be getting a facelift.

Sorry the title freaked you out. Holy crap! You should see the emails pouring in. I love you guys so much, really I do.