Unlike advertising for other verticals, advertising in the adult world is not that simple. In addition to common advertising challenges, adult advertisers have their own legal, social, and technical challenges to tackle. Ads get restricted no matter how much time and effort you put into it, and the hesitancy of brands to collaborate is extremely common.
So, if you're just entering this industry to promote adult sites or businesses, there's a lot that you need to be prepared for. How can you ensure that ads don't get banned? How does your media not get restricted? We don't have a straightforward answer, but there are numerous techniques that you can apply to ensure that your promotions successfully reach the right people.
With this blog, let's explore all the challenges that are common with adult promotions and the strategies you can implement to move past them.
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The State of the Current Adult Market
Adult promotions are not a mainstream topic. However, that doesn't mean the statistics behind this industry lag in any scenario. If anything, the industry is more profitable than any other and only keeps on expanding.
- According to reports by Statista, online adult content in the United States was estimated to have a value of at least USD 977 million in 2022.
- Reports by HuffPost suggest that about 30% of all internet traffic accounts for adult sites.
- As per reports by Maximize Market Research, the entire adult market was valued at USD 172.89 billion in 2023. The total adult entertainment revenue is projected to rise at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2024 to 2030, reaching USD 248.18 billion by 2030.
As you can see that despite the challenges advertisers face, the adult market is booming. Adult entertainment and pornography are sectors that people gravitate to without needing a strong push. Amongst all this, all you need to do is stand out as a reliable contender. Moreover, the adult audience is strongly open to trying out new things, which is a plus point for you.
Common Challenges Faced By All Adult Advertisers
Legal Challenges
One of the most prominent challenges faced during adult promotions platform is navigating the legal aspects of adult promotions. Each country and GEO has a different outlook on pornography, making it complex for advertisers to know where to target their ads and where to avoid promotions.
Some countries have imposed really strong restrictions on the kind of adult ads that can run. Many limit the amount of explicitness allowed to protect the users. Age verification is also a technical complication on the part of the advertisers. It's essential to comply with all the rules to avoid any severe implications later on.
Struggle With Social Media
In a time where advertising relies heavily on social media, adult promotions are locked out of all platforms. Mainstream platforms like Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram restrict all kinds of nudity, explicit and NSFW material, and adult content. Content filters that block all sensitive content and the ability to flag content as inappropriate or uncomfortable pose a struggle for pornography accounts on social media.
Shadowbans and account suspensions are extremely common for adult advertisers. It has reached a point where even creators who mention some NSFW stuff get restricted from their accounts. This severely hampers their organic growth and ability to reach newer audiences.
Limited Advertising Channels
Another struggle that adult businesses face is the limitation on where to advertise. Google ads prohibit all kinds of adult services advertising, including pornography, sexually explicit material, and adult-oriented products and services. The only option left is to turn to other ad networks, which allow advertisers to run ads for adult promotion. Since the options are limited, it becomes difficult for advertisers to find ad networks with high traffic.
Among all the adult advertising networks, 7Search PPC performs the best. With a large inventory of ad spaces on multiple premium websites, they offer the best quality of traffic and advanced features to ease up the entire process.
Ad Blockers
Ad blocking for adult content promotions is extremely common. Nobody wants to see unsolicited porn ads ad the very first thing on their screen. Ad blockers block out all or specific ads from appearing on the user's device. These are highly common when it comes to in-page push ads or popunder ads, which is what most adult advertisers opt for. This restricts the advertisers' exposure and reach, making it hard for them to reach their target audience.
Lack of Credibility
Another hard nut to crack is to gain credibility in the adult advertising world. Just think of the number of times you have scrolled past an ad for a sex toy on adult websites. Probably a lot. Questions like 'Is the business legit?' 'Will my product be delivered?' and 'Is the payment gateway safe?' are frequent in the minds of all. This is mainly due to the number of scammers that hide behind the face of adult entertainment.
Similar is the case if you offer an adult service like escorts, VR games, and adult websites. Users might suspect that the landing page they're going to land on comes with some kind of virus. No matter how hard you try, there's always going to be a lack of trust among the audiences when it comes to adult content.
Payment Processor Crisis
For adult businesses concerned with selling a product or a service, another big hurdle is to find a payment processor. Mainstream payment processors like PayPal, Razorpay, and Stripe do not allow any kind of transactions for adult content.
This forces them to adopt other payment processors, which could be something that the target users do not. Ultimately, this creates an unnecessary gap between adult businesses and the users who want to buy.
Societal Stigma
You've probably never seen any major brand collaborating with an adult business. The reason behind this is that brands receive backlash if they are seen even remotely associating with adult content. As a result, brands opt to steer clear of it, making adult advertisers lose out any potential reach they could have received through collaborations.
Moreover, this societal stigma follows adult brands in their own advertising. Ads need to serve their purpose without being too explicit and be mindful of all the internet users.
Adult Promotion Alternatives to Look Out For
Crypto Payments:
Because of the limitations surrounding payment processors, adult businesses have now started accepting crypto as a method of payment. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc., provide users with a secure and anonymous way to make payments and transactions.
Collab with Adult Influencers:
Platforms like OnlyFans have allowed adult advertisers to collaborate with streamers and influencers. They connect adult businesses with their target audience by multiplying their reach and exposure. This further improves your reputation and credibility in the eyes of the users.
Partnering with reliable adult ad networks:
To advertise adult sites effectively, you need to partner up with a trustable ad network that is packed with high-quality traffic, premium websites, and offers advanced targeting options. It only gets better if the ad network provides an anti-ad blocker that helps you reach the correct audience.
Content Diversification:
Since adult advertisers can't be downright explicit with the content they put out, they have turned to diversifying it in multiple different forms. Usually, this content is unexplicit in nature and is meant to either entertain or educate. For instance, an adult magazine can establish its social media presence by posting about relationships and giving advice.
Social Proof:
Social proof can be a great option to win the trust of your audience and sell. It's human nature to believe the words of others in a similar situation than of a business.
Study the Market:
It's better to study the policies, rules, and restrictions of the market you are targeting. This helps you avoid all unnecessary repercussions.
Look Over Social Judgements:
If you're worried about how 'society' is going to perceive your business, try to look over them and focus on your target audience instead. The adult market is huge, and there are a lot of users with interests similar to yours. If your business is ethical and doesn't exploit anyone, then you have nothing to be ashamed of.
Conclusion
The way adult promotions are done is not something new. Every time a new restriction or rule gets imposed, adult advertisers come up with a new technique to reach their audience. Diversifying content formats to reach users organically, using social proof to stand out as a credible, crypto payment for safe transactions, and adult influencer collaborations are a few effective trending approaches nowadays.
As challenges grow, more opportunities are going to emerge. Adult industry will continue to hold a large proportion of the market in the coming years, so it's the best time to face challenges and reap benefits in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are adult promotions?
Ans: Adult promotions refer to the advertisement and promotions done for adult businesses and brands.
What are some challenges advertisers face during adult promotions?
Ans: During adult promotions, advertisers face legal challenges, societal stigma, payment processing challenges, ad blockers, social media struggles, etc.
How do advertisers tackle such challenges?
Ans: Advertisers tackle these challenges by taking up alternative approaches like using crypto payments, collaborating with adult influencers, diversifying their content, studying the policies and restrictions, and partnering with reliable ad networks.
How can I ensure my ads don't get restricted?
Ans: You can ensure your ads don't get restricted by targeting them to appropriate GEOs, not targeting minors, and using dependable ad networks.
Which is the best adult advertising network?
Ans: 7Search PPC is one of the best adult advertising networks that guarantees high-quality convertible traffic and exponential reach with the right audience.
