The Best Alternatives to EdenFantasys Affiliate Program

June 7th, 2013

While this isn’t my job, I make a few dollars here and there, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that I’ve found. If you want to be a reviewer, blogger or affiliate shop owner and don’t know where to stop, then this post is for you!

My most profitable affiliate programs are SexToy.com, Babeland and Good Vibes — in that order. I also use Adam and Eve and PinkCherry (Canadian).

  1. Babeland offers 20% commissions, a full product feed, text and banner links and the website has a limited but high-quality product selection. You must sign up at PepperJam and join the Babeland advertiser campaign. If your site isn’t approved, you can contact Samantha, the affiliate team leader.
  2. SexToy.com has been my most successful affiliate endeavor, and this is likely due to the fact that the prices are drop-dead cheap and you get to have your own store. Mine’s located on a subdomain on my domain, which is pretty awesome. You can customize to your heart’s content, offer coupons to entice visitors — right now, you can save $25 off $100 to celebrate my birthday! — and commissions up to 25% are available based on performance. There’s no referral sign up, but this link will get you started.
  3. GoodVibes has rebooted their affiliate program a time or two but despite minimal effort, sales always trickle in for me. GoodVibes is also one of the few affiliate programs that still offers sex toys for review to bloggers like myself. Like Babeland, GoodVibes has a smaller selection than EF or, say, Amazon, but I enjoy their own branded items, and they have frequent sales. Sign up here.

Adam and Eve and Pinkcherry’s affiliate programs actually use the same software, which makes it easy to see your stats at a glance. The stores could potentially provide incentives, but neither utilizes this option to the full potential. It’s not as easy to create links (by just adding on a code), but the system will save every incoming link that you create.

Adam and Eve has the benefit of having many more products with a full product feed to link to any of them and better search options. There’s more links and banners to choose from, too. I’m currently earning 30% on sales there, which is the highest amount on this list. You’ll also earn 5% for referrals. There’s only a $25 payout, too. The only reason my earnings aren’t higher is because I prefer to link to a lot of specific products that A&E doesn’t necessarily carry.

Still, Pinkcherry is located in Canada, which means  your customers might prefer a store that offers more reasonable shipping fees if they’re from the great white north. PinkCherry’s affiliate program has a $100 payout minimum.

Finally, I’d like to mention Amazon here. If you already have an associates accountwith them, it’s easy to add another tracking ID like I did. There’s about 14,000 sex toys on the site, which makes linking convenient. Not ever toy you’ll want to showcase is on it, however. Still, you’ve got options for your aStore and widgets, which are handy. I use Amazon far less frequently because there’s so many restrictions, but it is an option. Just don’t rely on it alone.

I have earned hundreds of dollars through a combination of programs and, often, the one I use has more to do with which stores carry products I’m linking to at the best price because I know that’s what my readers want. Find a program or three that works for you, and get to know it well.

Now, plenty of my fellow bloggers have had success with other programs, and I encourage them to leave comments if they’d like to leave a link, but these affiliate programs have worked well for me without all the stress induced by EdenFantasys.

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Dildo: The Sex Toy Acclaimed World Wide, Now in Videos

February 25th, 2013

This guest post brought to you by World Nowadays, the trend of searching for porn videos has greatly increased. Even children have see porn, and they know the categories, too. Sex toys, of which dildos are now the most familiar, are used in all parts of the world. People use dildos to give more excitement and pleasure as it offers a more seductive feeling. So by viewing toys online, consumers can imagine these things in real life, and that’s the reason behind the popularity of sex toy videos. Some people are very much acquainted with dildos, but there are others without knowledge about using dildos in the most effective way. For them, viewing videos online and searching for sex toy videos by group is helpful to fulfill sexual desire.

DildoPeople use dildos with suction to increase the pleasure, but if someone doesn’t know how to use it, then these videos are really helpful to get to that stage of sexual pleasure. While seeing that a woman is riding above the dildo just like she might with a partner — without any support — can increase the viewer’s pleasure, the performers also receive pleasure from insertable sex toys. These videos offer a vantage into sexual desires and hands-free sex ride thanks to suction cup dildos.

Some dildos have a contoured head and bulges on the shaft. These all are safe to insert, and the person who uses a dildo can feel it while watching videos of playing with sex toys. Many high-quality dildos offer functional storage aside from pleasure, but for the person who is unfamiliar, dildos in videos is helpful. If you search for sex toy videos, then World Sex is one of the better site where you will find the high-quality porn videos from Anal to 69, amateur to mature, hand jobs to gay sex, group sex to dildos and toys among others. All are available there.

Inside world sex videos, you will find a variety of sex toys in use — by girls and guys who are all all having fun. Dildos are becoming more popular day by day, and not only that, but dildo or sex toy videos are gaining more visitors, too. Some people find these videos are the best ones to watch while masturbating, and on World Sex, you will find both short, between 4 and 5 minutes, as well as long videos. This site is popular among porn sites as this site contains sex toy videos featuring a variety of techniques. Just log on and watch sex toys videos on World Sex. Search by category to find motivation to go wild with your own dildo. You could surely have an erotic experience.

 

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Babeland

2012: Best Of

December 30th, 2012

I did a “Best of” last year. It really covered more than a single year, but I wanted to continue the trend into 2012. 2012 hasn’t seen as many reviews as other years. My love life also didn’t pick up until about a week ago, so that’s okay. Unfortunately, some really cool reviews won’t come until after the first of the year, but that’s also okay. If you didn’t notice, the world didn’t end, which means there is a 2013 coming to an Earth near you. I think it will be pretty good.

As for 2012, I’ve seen worse. Some of the items on this list were revamps of toys I’d already liked. In many ways, this felt a little uninspired. A good toy probably isn’t going to get worse. This is how I felt about the Lelo Mona 2. However,  the G4 Big Boss was larger than life in a lot of ways. I actually haven’t used it since I moved, but I know how I’ll fell when I do:

By the time I got anything inserted, I felt like I’d used an entire bottle of lube. It was only like 1/4 but, you know, I was all sorts of slippery. This was a freakin’ masturbation adventure, and who doesn’t like adventures?! The countoured head of this and a little lube and my clit is, like, the best adventure I’ve ever been on.

Trojan Midnight Collection Multi-position

On the other hand, some toys really surprised me. I mean, the Trojan Midnight Collection Multi-position Vibrator? It’s by a company that most people would write off. It doesn’t seem particularly awesome when you look at it, but I liked it enough to say “The first setting is lackluster so I turned it up a few times and found the sweet spot that make me squirt and squirt and squirt. It took me by surprise.” Babeland has dropped the price $20, too, which means I recommend the Midnight Collection vibe that much more.

I also gushed — pun intended — about the 24K Double Pleasure. It’s a gorgeous dildo. It feels nice. It photographs well. I would ask it to marry me if it had cuddly arms.

I reviewed a variety of bath and body products on of Sex and Love. I don’t know if y’all really like them, but I do, so you just have to put up with them, okay? I tried a whole bunch of the Pink Cupcake scented products from Classic Erotica, but it was the body mist that really stood out. In fact, I’ve been trying to get other stores to carry Wanna Be Sexy Flirty Body Mist, but they just won’t listen. Their loss, I guess?

Red Velvet and AbsintheI didn’t do as much erotic reading this year, but I was really impressed with one of the volumes that make it on my shelf: Red Velvet and Absinthe. This book has really set the standard as to what I want to see in my clit lit: sex, creativity, unusual settings, paranormal activity. It made me write werewolf erotica. Can you give it a higher recommendation that that? It wasn’t the only book I liked, though. “Crazy Little Thing” might not get you off, but it sure will open your eyes.

Not everything that I tried was on of Sex and Love, however. I recently posted about the strongest vibe I’ve ever tried that doesn’t plug in — the Form 6 G3.  After losing the cord to my Delight, I also bought a new one, and I fuckin’ love it:

This it the type of toy that I really get into. I find myself moaning without thinking about it. The experience is whole-body and wholly primal. Sometimes I just want to get off quickly, and sometimes I want to forget about the world around me. The Delight provides the latter

milk made nourishing bath & shower bubblesI also finally found a product that helps with shaving issues. Unfortunately, it isn’t the end all and be all of shaving. I still managed to get a follicle infection. Ugh. But it’s nice, and seems to be lasting much better than my previous aftershave products.

Only two pieces of lingerie makes this list, but they’re nice enough that I don’t really care that everything else failed miserably.  Coquette’s Holiday ruffled garter belt  is feminine, comfortable and practical to wear. While Baci’s sizing is weird, the lace boyshort is super cute. I like the way it feels on me, and my shrinking ass means it fits better now than when I first got it. Can’t complain.

And now, the last for least. I fuckin’ love Cake Beauty, and I will forever buy Milk Made body wash and shower products until I die.

Like I said, I already know that 2013 will bring with it some positive reviews. I hope to try more new things. I am hoping new romance means more content for this blog. I’ve missed it. I miss all of you. I want to be better, but I’m not quite as happy with or ready to review any ol’ dildo that comes across my doorstep. That’s a good things in terms of my overall satisfaction and the quality of my time spent, but it means less blog fodder, too.

So, what were your favorite products of 2012? Which of my reviews did you like best? Do you have anything to say about anything else I did on this blog or could do in the future? Let me know in the comments!

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5 Weird Things People Do During Sex

December 19th, 2012

This post has been in the works for a while. I kept getting distracted, which is kind of funny, because that’s something you shouldn’t do during sex. I guess it’s okay for bloggers to be weird. At best, I can make you uncomfortable and you’ll leave. On the other hand, you can’t sneak out unnoticed when you’re in the middle of sex and your partner does one of these things.

  1. Announce Orgasm
    As soon as I mentioned this one to a friend, she laughed because we — that’s us women — have all been there. So many men have to announce “I’m cumming” right before they do. Do they think maybe we won’t notice? Or they should get a cookie? I don’t know, man. I already spread my legs. What more do you want?
  2. Work on the To-Do List
    Okay, this isn’t weird per se, unless you’re one of those people who always gets into sex 100%. It’s actually pretty common for men and women to think about what needs to get fixed, cleaned, bought and otherwise done in the coming days and weeks while in the middle of sex. Two birds, one stone, right?
  3. Count the Squares/Dots on the Ceiling
    I’ve never done this, thank God. I’ve always tried to at least enjoy having sex or to make it known that now isn’t the right time, but some people would rather have sex so their partners stop asking or some other reason. They grin and bear it. They count out invisible things or focus on the ceiling above them, memorizing tiles, spots, cracks and other “features.” I would never want to waste my time doing this, so it’s weird to me.
  4. Talk on the Phone
    Bitch, pay attention to the person who has his penis inside you or the dude who’s got your dick in his mouth. It’s common fucking courtesy. If you’re talking, texting or playing God damned angry birds, you can’t really be wanting sex at that moment. Do everyone in the room a favor and say “No” if you mean no. There will be other times to have sex. I promise. However, there are exceptions. If you’re foolin’ around just a little bit and get a phone call only to have your fiance start fucking you while on the phone to see if you can keep a straight, er, face, it’s pretty funny. Still weird, though.
  5. Give a Play By Play
    You know what? If you’re going to announce everything you’re doing in bed, I’d rather you talk on the phone. It’s bad enough if you tell me you’re going to orgasm, but that shouldn’t be a followup to every other thing you’ve done that night. Otherwise, I’m going to say “Growing annoyed with you now.”

So, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve done during sex? Guilty of anything on this list? Have you had a partner who’s done something that makes these things all look paltry? Sound off in the comments.

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PinkCherry Sex Toys

The Rules

December 11th, 2012

I try not to have “rules” when it comes to dating. I want to find you attractive. I want to hold a conversation. We need to be able to laugh and you’ve got to have your shit together, which is an umbrella phrase that covers a lot of things:

  • You’re mentally and emotionally stable — I’m not your mommy. I won’t fix you.
  • You’re completely available. No married folks, sorry.
  • You can support yourself. There’s leeway if you’re living with your folks or temporarily unemployed, but if you need to date someone to make sure you have a place to live or don’t have a single possession or cent to your name, you’re out.

Really, I want this to be a functional relationships, and that’s what these guidelines add up to.  Of course, everything else is pretty much open, but certain things definitely mean that it’s more likely you’ll fit the criteria. For example, if you’ve got a similar sense of humor or we have overlapping interests, we’ll probably be able to hold a conversation. If you’re a hot geek type, then I’ll probably be attracted to you, so I gravitate toward the things that I know I already like, but that’s not a rule.

I don’t want to be one of those Jerry Seinfeld types, finding something tiny wrong with everyone and sending them away for silly reasons. I just expect a stable foundation, a strong connection.  This, I feel, is not too much to ask. Rationally, I know this is a good thing to look for. This isn’t a post about why the rational isn’t happening, though. That just happens to be semi-related.

No, this is about rules. I don’t care about superficial things about the job or car you have. How much money you make isn’t my business or something I care about. Imperfections can be overlooked.  Others have rules that I would find ridiculous however. They don’t care if you treat them well or are stable in any way as long as you have money. Some don’t mind being the third wheel if the sex is good. The list goes on, of course. Others have rules that I find absolutely ridiculous. But others have rules that, while they wouldn’t make sense to me, make sense to others.

There’s other types of rules, too. For example, some people wait a certain number of dates to have sex. Some have requirements for meeting someone’s parents, calling after a date or sex, dating multiple people at once and every other thing you can’t imagine.

The thing about rules that people fail to understand, however, is  that they don’t exist as a metric for finding potential matches. I’ve met plenty of people who more or less meet the requirements, but we just didn’t click. Really, I’m not so much looking for someone who will fit within the guidelines. The opposite is true. I want someone who will make me break all my rules. I want someone who makes me want to have sex the first night, skip out on planned dates, do crazy things and otherwise throw caution to the wind.

I don’t know if others are like this, but my rules don’t exist to weed out the wrong people. They’re there, instead, to help highlight the right person.

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Categories: Articles, Dating

How FeedBurner Outed Me, Twice

September 16th, 2012

A while back, I decided to burn my feed to give readers more ways to subscribe (email being the big one) and let me track those subscriptions more easily for giveaways. FeedBurner was the obvious solution, and I’d already used it with other blogs. I don’t personally subscribe to any feeds via email and few feeds at all. I check on Google Reader or my phone’s RSS app, but I prefer to stay up-to-date with blogs that I read by actually visiting them. I’m old school like so.

So when I burned the feed for of Sex and Love to to normal FeedBurner account, I thought nothing of it. I didn’t realize that you could actually see a link to my Google+ profile and that FeedBurner used my email address as the sender’s. One of my readers notified me. We joked a bit, and then I quickly set out to rectify the situation. Feedburner includes a handy option to permanently transfer ownership, so I did. I thought all was well and good.

I was wrong. I signed in to my normal Gmail, which I rarely use, to see a kind message from someone who enjoyed my reviews and followed them via FeedBurner. I knew something was wrong, but the actual copy of the blog post to which she was replying didn’t show my photo or email address at all. It took some Google-fu to figure out that, despite having switched ownership, to sender email had remained the same for my feed.

I headed back to FeedBurner once more, but couldn’t find the location to change this for the life of me. I was feeling frustrated, because FeedBurner’s navigation and layout is overly complex. There was also no location where I could preview exactly how email updates would look to my readers. I eventually found the solution (Publicize > Email > Communication Prefs) and changed my sender’s email. Now, all my email subscribers will see messages from Adriana @ of Sex and Love, like it should’ve been when I permanently switched ownership. That seems like something Google should do for you.

Regardless, I never expected this to be a problem. Judging from the reactions of my Twitter friends, neither did they. At least one person changed her information after talking with me.  Google has really been the bane of my existence when it comes to (trying to) blog anonymously. I don’t have much to lose, but others do.

The moral of the story is, ultimately, to avoid mixing any accounts or emails between your identities even if you think that there’s no way it could be a problem. Setup PayPal with additional email addresses. Use an address specifically for your sex blog/reviewing identity. Create separate instant messaging accounts. Sign up for Disqus twice. Anonymity, like freedom, requires you to plan for it.

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Categories: Articles, internet

Make Money

What Every Online Sex Toy Store Needs To Have

September 9th, 2012

I’m surprised I haven’t written an article like this in the past, but I feel qualified to write one. If you run a store, if you want to, if you work with a sex toy retailer, run social media for one or are otherwise associated, take heed.

  • New Additions

    Listen, I’ve been around the block a time or two, so I know what’s already out there. What I want to know, especially if I’ve been a loyal customer of yours, is what’s new. You need to let me organize your categories by data added, at the very least. What I really prefer, however, is a “recent additions” page, or something similar. Plus, this makes your website look updated, which it should be.

  • Social Media

    Let’s talk about updates. When you’re on Facebook or Twitter, you can tell us what’s new. Furthermore, you can tell me exactly what I want to see. Social media gives you the opportunity to build relationships and bill yourself as personal, a face behind the company. Give us coupons on Twitter, and we’ll shop at your site. Tell us when something’s on sale, and we’ll love you forever. Social media isn’t rocket science, but it does take time.

  • Review System

    Now, if no sex toy store had a review system, I’d be okay. After all, that’s sort of why this blog exists? And plenty of people don’t use on-site review systems to get their reviews, or they supplement them with reviews from sites like Of Sex and Love. But if you put those reviews right on your site, you provide extra reason for consumers to use your website. You provide a form of interaction the cements your store in the customer’s mind. It gives you a good idea of products that are worth selling and putting on sale and those that you should drop. Reviews: you can’t go wrong with them.

  • People Skills

    One of the websites that has frustrated me the both does so because the staff lack people skills. There’s no understanding. There’s no polite asking. There’s only demanding and dictatorships. There’s strict rules that change on a whim and a total breakdown of communication. You do not want to be that person.

  • Sex Toy Knowledge

    A lot of etailers have taken the time to remove China shrinking creams and toys with phthalates. First, they had to have the knowledge of what toys could potentially be harmful. Without this, you might sell too many toys or too few or toys that are potentially bad for someone’s health. My personal favorite? Toys described as for anal play that obviously aren’t safe for the backdoor. When you know about toys, and aren’t simply trying to make a quick buck, you know how to categorize them, can pass on bad toys and can better answer customer questions. Win-win, right?

  • Basic and Luxury Toys

    I don’t always recommend a luxury toy. After all, I’ve tried plenty of Lelo and Jimmyjane toys that just didn’t do it. My favorite bullet isn’t luxury, and we don’t all have deep pockets or sugar daddies, but some people do. Some live in crappy apartments but splurge on sex toys. Some people save up all year. Other comb the Internet for sales. If you only focus on the super cheap or the amazingly expensive, you’re missing out on a large demographic. You’re making consumers go to other retailers to meet their needs. You’re doing yourself no good.

  • Updated Stock

    Just like I wanted to see what’s new, I want there to simply be new things. Add new toys, remove those that are no longer in production. If you have the resources, give us a system that lets us set alerts. Tell us how many are in stock. Nothing’s worse than ordering from a company only to find out that the product doesn’t exist. Except, maybe, seeing-ten-year old toys that you know aren’t actually available on a site.

  • A God-damned Search Feature

    Please let me search your every page with a little form on your every page.

So you want to know which shops do these things? SheVibe, Good Vibes and PinkCherry.

This is, by no means, a definitive list. There are plenty of things that a sex toy store should have. There are even more things that a store should have–and plenty of things it shouldn’t—if it also wants to run a successful community. What would you add to the list?

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5 Things I Don’t Need to See in Your Dating Profile Pictures

July 6th, 2012

1. Fish

I get it. We’re in Wisconsin. Fishing is big, and maybe you like the outdoors. I’m glad you like it, even though it’s not my thing, but how do you think it sells you on a dating website?

2. A picture of your boat, 4-wheeler, snowmobile or tractor.. without you.

People on PlentyofFish seem to do this more than any other site. Hey dude, I want to know if you’re good looking or possibly fun. I’d rather see you on that piece of machinery or fixing it or.. catching a freakin’ fish wish it. It ads absolutely zero value to your profile.

3. More than one picture of you and your car.

I can tell exactly how much of an asshole you are by your car. C’mon, try me. What’s more, anyone who takes pictures with his cars is 99% guaranteed to be more of an asshole than I’ll date. Multiple pictures moves that up to 100%.

Bad Photoshopping4. Bad Photoshop erasing of the ex.

Exes, we all have them. It sucks, right? Maybe you took some good pictures together, but these don’t need to be on your profile. Lie and tell me she’s your sister. Don’t do the world’s shittiest editing to scratch her out like some creepy stalker. Don’t physically rip the photo and scan it. Don’t black out her eyes. If you don’t have any other good photo of you, make one. This is what you do, guys: call your buddy, your sister, your mom, anyone who is willing to take some photos. Put on your best shirt, find a nice outdoor spot and take some God damned pictures until you look good.

5. Anything that makes you look like an alcoholic

Again, this is Wisconsin. Our beer is cheap and there are only two people who don’t like it, yours truly included. I don’t care if you like to drink or go out (actually, I do. We’d have incompatible lifestyles), and I’ve seen a lot of fun pictures where people were obviously enjoying themselves at night, on the town, but here’s a few suggestions to make sure your drinkin’ pics are safe:

  • For every drinking pic, put up two without alcohol
  • Don’t post any picture drunk
  • Don’t post any picture where you’re wearing something intended to drink beer
  • Only one beer in the hand at any time
  • Clear away all the empty bottles
  • Don’t take pictures of empty beer bottle collections
  • I don’t want to see what your friends did after you got that drunk
  • Keep your damned clothes on

 

Runners Up

  • Abs — because nothing says “I have no interests” like having a six pack
  • Pics of you with other girls hanging all over you. If you were that hot, why you so single, dude?
  • Pictures of you mid-chew. Swallow, guy.

 

What turns you off when browsing dating website photos?

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Categories: Articles

PinkCherry Sex Toys

What Sex Bloggers Need to Know About Web Hosting

June 4th, 2012

A while back, I posted about the WordPress database. It’s a must-read if you’re using WordPress, moving to WordPress or just want to know how the script works. While there are many, many outlets that shed a little light about hosting, domain names and installing blog scripts, but I’ve noticed that many of my peers feel more comfortable finding this information from someone within this group. I am more than happy to supply the information I know, and I hope it helps.

Today’s topic is web hosting:–the what, when, how, how much and why of it–and how any of that applies to us, as sex bloggers.

What is Web Hosting?

If you use the free version of Blogger or WordPress, then your host is technically Blogger or WordPress, respectively. These companies save your website content and data to their servers in a way that is accessible to any Joe Schmoe on the Internet.

How Does It Work With My Domain?

This depends. A lot of registrars now allow you to buy domains and hosting, which means you’re pretty much set right off the bat, without a lot of effort on your own part. I use a separate host and registrar, because that’s how it was done when I got into this scene. If you do that, then you’ll register an account with each company and enter the nameserver data, which you can find in the control panel of your host, into the DNS area in your registrar’s control panel. Either way, your domain will take up to 72 hours to propagate, that is, for the Internet indices to update with the new information about your domain name and which server it should point to.

Why Would I Need a Host As a sex bloggers, there’s pretty much only two reasons why you need a host:

  1. Your current host will no longer allow adult content
  2. You want more space or freedom to alter your website directly with HTML, PHP, CSS et cetera

What Do I Need to Know When Shopping for Web Hosting?

You need to know which hosts allow adult content. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Terms of service may not adequately explain what content is permitted. If you’re unsure, you should absolutely call or email the company and ask. A host might allow you to get away with some sex toy reviews, erotic pictures or porn, but then your host might suddenly deactivate your account and offer no help when it comes to downloading all your content. That’s pretty much the best case scenario. If you don’t already have a backup, you could stand to lost all your hard work, which has already happened to a few sex bloggers and toy reviewers who used Blogger (others have just been forcibly placed behind the warning page).

You need to know what you’re going to do. For example, maybe you’ll just install WordPress and use that to do everything. That’s fine. All you really need, then, is a host with PHP and MySQL support, and that’s pretty much every host out there. In fact, many hosts make it super easier to install WordPress with installer suites like Fantastico; although, the basic installation is so easy I could do it in my sleep!

On the other hand, if you want to run several websites across multiple domains, with a variety of scripts, then you’ll need more–more domain support, more allowed databases, more bandwidth (data transfer) and more hosting space. You’ll see that all types of hosting, including shared, resellers, dedicated servers and virtual privates servers (VPS), offer tiered plans. Essentially, the hosting plans offer more features for more money, so if you need to add more domains, the best plan for you might cost more than the sex blogger who only wants to run a single domain. Similarly, if you plan to upload many photos or videos, you may need more space and bandwidth:

Adriana’s recommendation: Most sex bloggers need no more than 500-megabytes of space. In fact, it’s what I host most of my sites on, and I’m only using a little more than half of that. If your prospective host offers hosting plans catering specifically toward blogs or WordPress, there’s probably less space than “regular” plans, but you might not even notice.

Finally, hosts offer hosting on different server platforms. Again, for a blog, you probably don’t need support specifically for ASP or the .NET Framework. Most hosts default to Linux because it’s stable, and your host’s operating system has nothing to do with the operating system on your personal computers. I have always used Linux, and some users report that WordPress runs a bit more quickly on this OS.

Is There Anything Else You’d Like to Say About Hosting?

Yes. Let me impart you with a few tips:

  • Many hosts offer discounts with promo codes that you can find on sites like RetailMeNot
  • Some hosts offer automatic backup services, and will restore files should a server glitch, hatch or user error occur.
  • If you’re using WordPress, you can install many nifty plug-ins to automatically email yourself a copy of the database or upload a copy to your host’s server for redundancy
  • You can upload files to your host’s server through WordPress, the control panel (cPanel is so ubiquitous that its name has become synonymous for all hosting control panels, regardless of actual software name) or FTP. File transfer protocol programs are the way to go, because it’s ridiculously easy to upload, download or edit multiple files simultaneously. Adriana recommends Filezilla.
  • If you start out with a smaller plan, your host will show your data and space usage, allowing you to determine if you should move up the tier of hosting plans.

Do you have any hosting-related questions that I haven’t covered? Sound off in the comments!

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Want to Advertise on a Sex Toy Review Blog? Read This First

May 22nd, 2012

I am so incredibly grateful for the retailers, communities, video sites and other advertisers who have decided to purchase text or banner links on my website. It really helps pay the bills and let me have a few extra dollars of expendable cash. However, sometimes the process of working with an advertiser can be pretty frustrating and awkwardly drawn out. I know that my fellow bloggers feel the same, and sometimes this is only because advertisers may not be familiar with working with individual bloggers like myself. Sometimes your offer is just not worth my time and effort for the money, and I think that says a lot. While I am grateful for your money, my time is valuable to me, too.

If you’re thinking about buying advertising for me, it’ll go a lot more smoothly if you keep these things in mind.

Negotiating Prices

  • My rates are listed, under that pretty obvious banner on the sidebar. If you ask me for them, I will send you directly to that page. They’re flat rates, for the most part. A year is equal to 12 times the price per month for your location or type of link. If you sent me an email using the form on this page, then you already know the rates. Period.
  • We expect a little bit of negotiating, but don’t be rude. Our space and time is important, and you shouldn’t pit us against other bloggers. It’s, quite simply, disgusting.
  • When it comes to prices, know how much you want to spend before you contact us. If we absolutely can’t agree on a price, stop wasting our time and let us know (see above).

Communicating

  • If you want us to trust you, use an actual company email address.
  • Be courteous in your messages and reply on time. We know that things come up, but everyone should act like a professional. If we have to send multiple emails, we’re going to be annoyed. You would be, too.
  • Do not tell us you’ll get back to us “within a day” and not come through with it. You look like someone who can’t do his job properly.
  • Don’t give us the runaround about how you have to contact so-and-so. Just do it and then get back to us with the pertinent information.

Provide Appropriate Content and Anchor Text

  • When it comes to reading, take the time to read our blogs. Sure, I’ve listed a few anchors that aren’t exactly sex toys, but there are some topics that just don’t make sense for me to be writing about or linking to on Of Sex and Love.
  • Consider something other than “sex toys” as the anchor text. I understand the SEO value; at least, I did before Google released Penguin. Now, more than ever, you want relevant links like your store or website name.

Payment

  • Pay in a timely manner, whether it’s a one-time payment or a recurring plan. We shouldn’t have to nag you like a child.
  • Bloggers don’t typically fill out W9s. Period. If you ask, you’ll only come off as a scam artist.
  • Don’t send payment for renewed advertising if we haven’t agreed on it.

Miscellaneous

  • Even if your “sex toys” link makes perfect sense on my blog, you might not get links or sales. This isn’t my fault. You’re not paying for a landing page, just a link.
  • On that note, just because a blogger offers a sidebar link, doesn’t mean he will do sponsored posts. I do, but I may be the exception and not the rule.
  • As a blogger, we’re happy to talk about advertising. If you’re a sex toy shop, you might wonder if we also want to review. Please ask us before sending us toys. We may not want to review for you. Advertising and reviewing are two separate business interactions.

I may not own The New York Times, but I obviously have something to offer, if you’re interested in advertising. Be kind, be polite and consider how you’d feel if you were in my shoes. A little courtesy always goes a long way.

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