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This article is not meant for the experienced adult web designer or webmaster. It is meant only for those who have no experience with AVS, or knowledge of how they work. This article is meant simply to help you build your very first AVS site. It is written in very general terms in order to encompass all AVS programs.

Choosing the right host

First, of course, you need to find where you’re going to put your AVS site. A domain name is not of extreme importance for the average AVS site, but you do want your hosting to be somewhat fast and reliable. You should also avoid free hosts that place ads on your page. I would suggest never using unrelated free hosting services, but many AVS programs do offer free hosting of their own that you can use to host your site. These hosts will generally be on good, stable servers. You can also use your own premium host, of course. Don’t worry, the bandwidth costs can be high, but the conversion ratios on AVS will cover it.

Content choices...

Of course, you're going to need some good content. Before you can do this, you have to decide what kind of site you plan to build. Try to use a niche that you enjoy. Not only will you have an easier time selling it, since you’re more comfortable with the content, but you’ll also enjoy your work quite a bit more.

For the standard AVS site, quality standards aren’t extremely high, but you don’t want low-quality pictures, either. Choose content that is well within your budget, but make sure it’s not so bad that it turns away visitors. The higher the quality, the more your visitors will want to see, giving you a better chance of sending new members to your sponsors. It's hard to be enticing with low quality, grainy pictures.

For each standard AVS site, you’ll need one to three sets of pictures. Each AVS will have its own set of guidelines, but you will generally be required to display a minimum of somewhere around 30 pictures or five movies. Don’t go too much over the requirement! If you have more pictures, save them for your next site.

Many AVS’s have free content available for client sites. You’re free to use this content, but keep in mind that it’s probably already been used by a hundred other AVS webmasters. My suggestion would be to buy new content. If you just don’t have the money for content, try finding a sponsor with free content you can use. You’ll have to promote that sponsorship program, and it’ll still be somewhat saturated, but you're better off this way than by using the content provided by the AVS.

Time to begin...

Now, you have your content, and you have your web host. It’s time to start building your site. But first, you need to know the rules of the AVS you plan to use. If you haven’t already signed up for an account, go ahead and do that. The AVS will provide all the necessary instructions to get your site approved and into their links, and to get the necessary login code on your page. Review all of this information, and pay close attention to the site requirements. One AVS might require 30 pics, while another might require 40. You’re wasting your time if your site isn’t approved by the reviewers.

You're going to need to put together a tour. The effort that you put into this part of your site should be relative to what you plan to do with it. Are you planning to push traffic to this tour to try to sell visitors memberships to the AVS? If so, take a few minutes to put a little work into it. Don't devote too much of your time, but at least find a few of your best sample pics and write some compelling copy. If you don’t plan to sell memberships, however, but are just planning to use the AVS traffic to sell sponsors in your members area, don’t waste much time on your tour.

Before you begin, you should take a look at some other AVS sites. Just use the link list of the AVS you’re planning to use to browse around and get a feel for what others are doing. You should never copy someone else’s work, but this will give you an idea of what to do with your tour and your members area. You can get a sense of what the AVS is looking for. But don't follow the standards set by these sites too closely, as a lot of mistakes are made by other AVS webmasters.

Writing copy is the most difficult part, for most people. You want to be brief and concise, but you want to lure in visitors. Use bold catch phrases to get people’s attention, and use your copy to draw their eyes to some good erotic samples (censored, of course!) to tweak their curiosity. Of course, this should all be balanced, as always, with consideration for search engine spiders. Make sure your copy is keyword-rich, and you may land a few good search engine listings that will send you some free members.

The final page of your tour (or the only page, if you’re opting for 1-page tours) should contain the login script. The code for this will be provided by the AVS when you signup, and should be pasted directly into your html code in the location you want it to appear.

Now, you can start on your members area. It’s best to divide this area into multiple pages. Most AVS’s will have a rule that states you must have at least x amount of thumbs per page. Let’s say you must have 10 thumbs per page, and 30 total pics. In that case, make three pages of 10. The reason for this is to maximize revenue potential. Another rule most AVS’s have is a limitation on the number of ads you can put on each page. The more pages you squeeze in, the more ads you can also squeeze in.

So using your favorite thumbnail program, make your thumbnail galleries, and then go back and put in your advertising. This is important, because AVS traffic converts well. Don’t waste it! Sell your traffic. Don’t just randomly place banners, but rather, convince your visitors that they want to sign up at your sponsors’ sites. Use text to tell them what they’re missing if they don’t join. One well-composed ad per page will outdo three randomly placed banners every time!

Now that you’ve finished your first AVS site, it’s time to rinse and repeat. Don’t waste time doing anything else to that site. When one site is finished, move on to the next. There’s no limit to the number of AVS sites you can make, and there’s no reason not to capitalize on this!

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