Opening new adult venue. Any ideas?

[MadamePuqe]

Hey all!

So let me introduce myself quickly. I'm fairly new to Second Life compared to the majority, but I have been diving real deep to explore the adult side of SL. So I 've started an escorting career, had some fun but decided I wanted to dip my legs even deeper and open my own venue for escorts called Maddox Escort Lounge. The idea came to mind as I really felt like I could offer something new to the industry, and a lot of the places are just filled with AFK girls. I understand that the market may be a little saturated, but I also believe that I can do a lot better than most venues do in the industry. I know the whole idea is ambitious but so am I. I want the venue not only to be for hookups and clients to find a quick f, but I also want it to be a social environment for people to come and enjoy their time and their company. So upscale gent's club where u can also hire an escort.

Was wondering if any of you have similar experiences and maybe could share them with me as I feel like I ran into a small bump in the road - exposure. I have collected a handful of really awesome and fairly experienced girls. All of them are very social, fun, friendly.. i could go on and on how awesome they are with the ocassional guest that pops in.

So here are the things i've done so far. I placed ads in other venues, I told every single person I know in SL about the venue, I encourage the girls to bring their regulars (and they do). I have a flckr page set up for it, host an occasional event with DJ's. I subtly hint to every male who possibly might be interested into this kind of stuff "Hey i own this venue, wanna come check it out?" kinda thing but not so obvious lol. I know traffic and regulars doesnt come over night, but it still baffles me sometimes when on search I see my venue have higher traffic than other popular escorting venues, yet nobody really comes in. I'm pretty much sat there all day with other girls greeting and welcoming anyone that pops in, but the seem to poof without even what seems properly rezzing in.

 

So to summarise this whole thing, would you have any other ideas/experiences to share on how I could improve?

[Antonioo Giano]

I dislike this "escort" trend on SL. Not that I'm against "fun/adult" situations in SL but I do prefer to do not pay

Anyway.. You seem to be already aware of how many places like this there are, the point is that every new club, bar, escort place etc.. When they open thinks to be better than others, the reality is that they aren't.
I mean, they can even be better but is so hard in SL to start a new thing, people like to stick to their usual places. You go in places like Club 511 that are very well known, nothing in particular is happening there, but is always packed even with an anti afk system. People just like the place even if is small and doesn't offer anything in particular, but is there from long time. Even if we are in a virtual world which is itself "technology" I think that in SL the thing that work most is the old fashioned word of mouth. With everything. Land rentals, clubs, escort places etc.. And it takes lots of time and effort to make it.
To push a bit yours you could try to speak with some "influencers" but I would stick more with those on youtube with an audience of at least 1000 viewers and not flickr "bloggers" or things like this because in SL everyone is a "blogger" and when everyone does something is like none is doing it.

Good luck!

[MadamePuqe]

5 minutes ago, Antonioo Giano said:

I dislike this "escort" trend on SL. Not that I'm against "fun/adult" situations in SL but I do prefer to do not pay

Anyway.. You seem to be already aware of how many places like this there are, the point is that every new club, bar, escort place etc.. When they open thinks to be better than others, the reality is that they aren't.
I mean, they can even be better but is so hard in SL to start a new thing, people like to stick to their usual places. You go in places like Club 511 that are very well known, nothing in particular is happening there, but is always packed even with an anti afk system. People just like the place even if is small and doesn't offer anything in particular, but is there from long time. Even if we are in a virtual world which is itself "technology" I think that in SL the thing that work most is the old fashioned word of mouth. With everything. Land rentals, clubs, escort places etc.. And it takes lots of time and effort to make it.
To push a bit yours you could try to speak with some "influencers" but I would stick more with those on youtube with an audience of at least 1000 viewers and not flickr "bloggers" or things like this because in SL everyone is a "blogger" and when everyone does something is like none is doing it.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your quick response Antonio. Really appreciate your opinion and isnight! 

I understand paying for/hiring an escort is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, hence why I'm also focusing on creating the social part to the venue thus having social and friendly girls to meet guests, dancing on poles and of course make it appealing to the eye  

I'm glad you brought up 511 as I was always wondering what was special about the venue and how did they manage to stand out amongst others, but I guess they just withstood the sands of time? chuckles

I haven't thought about the SL influencers so that's definitely something to look into it, thanks so much for the advice, but yeah word of mouth seems to be the case to go with. I guess time will tell and im ready to arm up with iron patience  

[Katherine Heartsong]

I'll add my $0.02 if you don't mind, as someone who has been in and out of SL for longer than my avatar shows.

I think that the hey-day of escorting and strip/escort clubs is in the past now in SL. That's not to say new venues won't pop up, or if your ambitious like you sound like you are to try, but I think you'll find it a tough go. The few established places don't get as much traffic as they used to, and only have a few regulars popping in from time to time. The more fetish and focused places will have some decent crowds (calling out places like Breathe, Spa Senuelle, Blindfolds, etc) but even they run the risk of collapse and failure, sometimes not due to lack of customers, but simply the owners giving up. Add on top of that places that cater to guys with specific tastes ... babygirls at places like Lolitas or Tiki, sexual subs at any of the misogynistic places, the "grandpas" seeking whatever weirdness they are after, etc) ... they aren't your clients either.

For example, The Lusthouse, one of the most popular sex places in SL, simply vanished yesterday with a posting from the Manager saying the owner is RL not able anymore (or so it's rumoured, who knows?). It was literally there two days ago, 40+ people in there, and gone completely today. Thousands of folks in it's group, and usually dozens of folks there at the popular times.

I have one friend in SL who used to be in that line of work, and both danced, escorted, and even managed a few of the popular places. She's a RL professional dancer (not stripper, dancer dancer) simply gave up on them as the hours put in and the money out wasn't worth it. She made it clear that in some of the places, the girls available outnumber the guys 20:1. Who wants to fight for the attention of one guy like that?

Hiring/paying for sex, not an issue. Promoting that and getting known? If you're serious, plan on being in it for the long haul and losing money until that critical mass (luckily) happens.

Good luck!

Edited July 27, 2022 by Katherine Heartsong

[Rowan Amore]

The appeal of any place is the ability to meet new and interesting people, IMO.  There are plenty of people, male and female, with nice looking avatars and great emoting skills that are up for just about anything with anyone.  An escort club is not someplace I'd visit.  Men want to meet women.  Women who aren't going to charge them for sex.  Men go where women are.  Women interested in SLex (free) do not go to escort clubs.   Therefore, men looking for women (not looking to pay) don't go to escort clubs to meet them.

There is a small, in my estimation, number of men in the pool using escorts.  The number of escort clubs and escorts is astronomical in comparison.  

There is one SL influencer with a very popular YouTube channel.  She also owns an escort club.  I did pop in to check it out a few times.  Plenty of girls and some bots on a platform but no clients.  

[Antonioo Giano]

39 minutes ago, MadamePuqe said:

Thanks so much for your quick response Antonio. Really appreciate your opinion and isnight! 

I understand paying for/hiring an escort is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, hence why I'm also focusing on creating the social part to the venue thus having social and friendly girls to meet guests, dancing on poles and of course make it appealing to the eye  

I'm glad you brought up 511 as I was always wondering what was special about the venue and how did they manage to stand out amongst others, but I guess they just withstood the sands of time? chuckles

I haven't thought about the SL influencers so that's definitely something to look into it, thanks so much for the advice, but yeah word of mouth seems to be the case to go with. I guess time will tell and im ready to arm up with iron patience  

Can give you just a feeling of a "user" since I never ever even thought to open anything in SL apart from a short period where I managed (successfully) my small land business but this was during the "peak" of covid and I sold and liquidated everything once the lockdown started to slow down.. Now I prefer to collaborate with bigger rental businesses which are around for 10+ yrs instead of being a competitor since I can't just compete with them, there isn't enough demand. I can be a best seller than them, but they have something I can't have: People going directly to check their lands, in my case was always me getting people in, even offering the best deals. And this is what happens also to club and any other place in SL.

As a simple user of places like Club 511, Peak, Breathe Spa etc.. Is all there. I go, I see there are people, i kinda "like" the place, and I decide to stay. I don't ask myself how long the place is there, why people go there etc. As a simple user, I just want a nice environment and some people around to don't "stand" alone. This is what lots of people do (at least those that likes to stay in busy places). After a while you get "used" to it, is like you enter in a comfort zone, people do this also RL in their own city where you tend to go to the same bar, to the same restaurant, to the same pub, to the same club etc.. because you are used to it, you know how is it etc.. More than creating a good-looking place the hardest part is to create that. Escorts are often if not always money focused so I don't know how good or how much they care about making a "community/chat" hotspot because if they don't earn enough they just move somewhere else.
Another thing that sometimes works is to work on "exclusivity" people always like that, some places apply an high fee to just join the group and enter the land and for some reason are busy, I'm not personally a fan of that either, I did it just once with Breathe SPA (and it's kinda meeh) but lots of people to don't have bots/fake account around often are willing to do it, but then they expect something "more".

[Katherine Heartsong]

1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said:

The appeal of any place is the ability to meet new and interesting people, IMO.  There are plenty of people, male and female, with nice looking avatars and great emoting skills that are up for just about anything with anyone.  An escort club is not someplace I'd visit.  Men want to meet women.  Women who aren't going to charge them for sex.  Men go where women are.  Women interested in SLex (free) do not go to escort clubs.   Therefore, men looking for women (not looking to pay) don't go to escort clubs to meet them.

This is very true, and what I was suggesting about the various fetish/niche places and even the popular music clubs.

Men and women looking to hook up for free playtime are all over and there really isn't much need to pay for SLex. In some sims, it'd take a guy less than a minute to find a willing partner. There are even groups into erotic literate type RP who can emote better than 80% of the escorts anyway, and as long as you can keep up and a partner engaged, Lindens are not required. Furthermore, many of us can ERP very realistically with the right, connected partner, no Ls required.

And as @Rowan Amore points out, I think the pool of men in SL willing to pay for escorts is a very small % of the men in SL looking for horizontal play. That's kind of a fantasy RP since you know that the person on the other end is just RPing an escort to enjoy themselves for and with you.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Katherine Heartsong

[CassieSu]

On 7/27/2022 at 10:57 AM, Katherine Heartsong said:

I'll add my $0.02 if you don't mind, as someone who has been in and out of SL for longer than my avatar shows.

I think that the hey-day of escorting and strip/escort clubs is in the past now in SL. That's not to say new venues won't pop up, or if your ambitious like you sound like you are to try, but I think you'll find it a tough go. The few established places don't get as much traffic as they used to, and only have a few regulars popping in from time to time. The more fetish and focused places will have some decent crowds (calling out places like Breathe, Spa Senuelle, Blindfolds, etc) but even they run the risk of collapse and failure, sometimes not due to lack of customers, but simply the owners giving up. Add on top of that places that cater to guys with specific tastes ... babygirls at places like Lolitas or Tiki, sexual subs at any of the misogynistic places, the "grandpas" seeking whatever weirdness they are after, etc) ... they aren't your clients either.

For example, The Lusthouse, one of the most popular sex places in SL, simply vanished yesterday with a posting from the Manager saying the owner is RL not able anymore (or so it's rumoured, who knows?). It was literally there two days ago, 40+ people in there, and gone completely today. Thousands of folks in it's group, and usually dozens of folks there at the popular times.

I have one friend in SL who used to be in that line of work, and both danced, escorted, and even managed a few of the popular places. She's a RL professional dancer (not stripper, dancer dancer) simply gave up on them as the hours put in and the money out wasn't worth it. She made it clear that in some of the places, the girls available outnumber the guys 20:1. Who wants to fight for the attention of one guy like that?

Hiring/paying for sex, not an issue. Promoting that and getting known? If you're serious, plan on being in it for the long haul and losing money until that critical mass (luckily) happens.

Good luck!

The true Original Lusthouse (Monica's Lusthouse) Has been gone since about mid 2019.  Had to be replaced unfortunately. Same for it's original group (One Girl Multiple Bulls). Zoey, may have been in a severe accident ( she took over LH one my sim after Monica passed in Real Life.) If she was truly injured as  folks have been informed she will need a very LONG recovery. I am hoping she heals and regains who she was.  The original sim that LH was started on still exists, and has a club that still maintains the original atmosphere, and feel that both Monica and Zoey built. With Monica's original rules. Be respectful, and Have fun.  With LH closing though MANY other places have added Lusthouse to their keywords. 

Look for Cassie's Playland, or Monica's Lounge. Venture the sim outside the club, you will find an inside spot for Original Lusties on the ground, as well as Monica's Garden which is home to a Memorial honoring Monica the one and original Lustie, a notecard is in the stone telling you about her. We also have here F* It's Friday Freaky F* Fest.

 

Also no group fee to join us, no AFK kicks.

[Rowan Amore]

@CassieSuKind of rude to promote your own club in someone else's thread about THEIR club.

[blissfulbreeze]

Most of the men that I know feel it's an insult to get asked to pay for sex. They want to feel genuinely desired. 

However, there are some out there with kinks and fetishes that would be willing to pay for their cravings. So, best to go with a fetish/kink club. It'll still be hard to get regular traffic though. So many have this problem. Also, some don't want others to see them in this type of club, they'd probably prefer private meetings. 

Maybe offer on call services instead of a club building? 

[CassieSu]

22 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

@CassieSuKind of rude to promote your own club in someone else's thread about THEIR club.

Apologies. I was replying to the piece on Lusthouse vanishing. I will edit/remove when I am able. Again my apologies to Madame Puqe. 

 

What I can say about opening your own place you can try and pull aspects from the most popular places in SL. Or work on something yhat you like. Make it unique and stand out from the crowd. Venture around and you will find that MANY clubs are similar in their layouts. Most adult Sims have a landing, then a bunch of shops/ads to walk through before you get to the main spot.  Watch your prims and collisions and scripts as you build. The more compact your space is with more texture and graphics the harder hit you can end up with lag. 

[colleen Criss]

How about a place that offer like real girlfriend or boyfriend experiences. Like they plan the dates, actual date with one another and that experience is paid for to the venue. Profit splits and may or may not include a sexual experience .

[Paul Hexem]

The truth of SL is, if you can put together a place where women want to hang out and be social for free, men will show up and not care about what kind of place it is, really. If paying for escorts isn't the focus, then it becomes good conversation, which appeals to everybody.

It doesn't even need to be adult, but adult will promote more activity.

[Extrude Ragu]

This might just be me but like, sims that are made for sex/sex themed don't turn me on, actually I find it a bit grotesque

I think there should be more adult sims in SL where there are normal day to day roles and life, the sort of place where things would otherwise seem like the normal world, it could be the utterly mundane like an office environment but I think that is actually what makes it exciting, you're not supposed to do those things there, it feels like you and your partner are very naughty people in a innocent environment which makes it exciting, it's taboo, there's risk of getting caught. Sims where people just dress like hookers, treat themselves as 'escorts' and there's porn everywhere is actually a big turn off for me personally.

Take me away to another world where I can get up to naughty things in mundane life, don't put me in another brothel!

[animats]

8 hours ago, Extrude Ragu said:

I think there should be more adult sims in SL where there are normal day to day roles and life, the sort of place where things would otherwise seem like the normal world, it could be the utterly mundane like an office environment but I think that is actually what makes it exciting, you're not supposed to do those things there

Ethereal City. Luxura. Paradise City. All three are elaborate full-region areas for roleplay that may or may not include sex.

They're mostly empty. Nice rentals, though.

[Rowan Amore]

9 hours ago, Extrude Ragu said:

This might just be me but like, sims that are made for sex/sex themed don't turn me on, actually I find it a bit grotesque

I think there should be more adult sims in SL where there are normal day to day roles and life, the sort of place where things would otherwise seem like the normal world, it could be the utterly mundane like an office environment but I think that is actually what makes it exciting, you're not supposed to do those things there, it feels like you and your partner are very naughty people in a innocent environment which makes it exciting, it's taboo, there's risk of getting caught. Sims where people just dress like hookers, treat themselves as 'escorts' and there's porn everywhere is actually a big turn off for me personally.

Take me away to another world where I can get up to naughty things in mundane life, don't put me in another brothel!

Horizons is a large adult neighborhood.