(Success is as Success does. Whether you are new to iFriends, or a veteran iFriends chathost looking for ways to reinvigorate traffic to your chat room and build your popularity, read this page thoroughly; Chathosts who have studied this page, and embraced all the "tips & tricks" below, have in many cases doubled and even tripled traffic!)So, what "Success Secrets" are shared by the most popular and highly-trafficked iFriends chathosts? And how can you learn how to get the most out of your iFriends experience, too? We regularly ask the top-performing video chathosts "what works best". Here's what they say now:
- Embrace new features. There's no better way to stand out from the crowd, than to be the first on your "block" to offer new features that customers demand. The hottest new feature with iFriends users is iFriends HD. For information on how to offer iFriends HD, click here. Also new in 2004 are many additional new features, such as multi-camera-angle videochat, 3-D videochat, GetCloser telephone call-forwarding, and more. Click here for all the details.
- Be Seen! Success on iFriends is all about being seen -- across the widest possible audience. That's what this extensive resource is all about -- a step-by-step guide to making the most out of your iFriends video chatroom -- getting exposure, and getting visitors. But if you are looking to keep it simple, to reach the widest possible audience with the least amount of effort, follow these four simple rules:
- List your live video chatroom not only on iFriends, but on thousands of other internet services too.
HOW: On the Chathost Console, choose "Edit your Chathost Settings". In the "Video Chathost Block Zones" section, under "On which sites would you like to list your live Video Chat room?", select "iFriends, plus hundreds of other internet services").
- Actively manage your FanClub. More and more iFriends users are discovering an exciting new way to explore iFriends: The Live FanClub Navigator. It's the fastest-growing navigation feature on the entire iFriends website, and chathosts who feature prominently through the FC Navigator enjoy superior traffic. Many chathosts who utilize the iFriends e-commerce platform and actively manage their fanclubs report that their FanClubs have boosted their total income from iFriends by 50% to 75%. And with lots of new and interesting ways to find chathosts, the Live FanClub Navigator is quickly becoming one of the top places to "be seen" on iFriends. But the Live FanClub Navigator lists live chathosts in order of how much content they contribute to their FanClub. For example, chathosts who update their daily diaries, populate their "My Favorite Memories", and publish more archive images and videoclips appear first, while chathosts who are less actively-involved in their FanClubs appear on later pages. Why? Because users who frequent the Live FanClub Navigator expect to find decent live chathosts who have great FanClubs!
HOW: On the Chathost Console, select "FanClub Manager", and provide your VCH screenname and password.
- Publish as many archive images and archive videoclips as possible. (Two out of every three iFriends users select chathosts based on a review of archives taken within the past several minutes to to few hours. The "Hot Archives" feature, including Archive Explorer, are the most popular chathost navigation and selection tools with users. It's a simple formula: Chathosts with the most fresh archives get the most traffic!).
HOW: On the Chathost Console, choose "Edit your Chathost Settings". In the "Archive Images " section, select "Automatically take pictures every 5 minutes." (During live videochat, you can also upload additional "posed" archive images at the click of your mouse.
- Use the most current version of iFriends free "ifCam" webcam software. (Users of older versions receive less exposure across the iFriends platform, because older versions lack key marketing and distribution elements)
HOW: Go to the Free Download Center and download the current version. It's a quick download, it's a free download, and it runs on any Microsoft Windows platform.
- Experiment with the new high-performance iFriends LiveStream hosting alternatives ... A growing number of iFriends customers are on high-speed "broadband" connections, and prefer visiting hosts using RealPlayer or Windows Media Player, or what iFriends calls "LiveStream". (You'll need to have a dedicated, high-speed internet connection and a fast, top-of-the-line PC). To maximize their appeal to all iFriends visitors, regardless of whether the visitors prefer Windows Media, Real Player, or iFriends own speedy webcam system, the most enterprising and super-successful chat hosts cover all the bases by simultaneously offering all 3 at once -- ifCam, LiveStream Windows Media, and LiveStream RealPlayer. ... To do that, you'll probably need to have 3 cams and 3 PCs, and 6 hands ;)
HOW: To host using LiveStream Windows Media, click here. To host using LiveStream RealPlayer, click here.
- Support new features that visitors are buzzing about. For example, the new
CamPilotTM icon is present whenever a chathost supports iFriends' new remote-control webcam technology. (Customers love it because they can "take over" your webcam, panning, tilting and zooming in for closeups!)
HOW: Click here to learn how to support CamPilot.
- Work your Archives: Regardless of whether you publish lots of archives, just a few, or none at all, always take a great archive "snapshot" as soon as you sign in to your video chat room. Why? When a visitor considers entering your video chat room, nine times out of ten, he'll check your archives first. If he sees a fresh archive pic, indicating what's going on in your chatroom right now, and he likes what he sees, he's likely to enter. But if he sees an old stale archive pic (yesterday or older), he has no way of knowing what's going on in your chat room, and he'll move on. Don't know how to pose for your own archive? It's easy: Just beneath your video window, under the "Display Selector" graphic, click the link "Take Archive Snapshot". Hold your pose for at least 60 seconds, while the iFriends software takes the snapshot. Seconds later, the snapshot is in your live archives!
June 2001 update: With the smashing success of iFriends' new Archive Explorer "PicPost" edition, more and more chatroom visits are the direct result of a user encountering your fresh archive images in Archive Explorer, from which the user clicks directly into your videochat! To maximize your exposure in Archive Explorer, set your "Archive Images" setting to "Automatically upload pictures every X minutes" in the Chathost Console "Edit Archives" section.
- Study the pros. Visit the inspirational Chathost Success Stories area, and learn how others do it.
- 'Couples' Content: (Applies to adult-themed categories only) While there's a healthy amount of traffic in the "Couples" category on iFriends, "Women Home Alone" is the most popular area. However, many of the top-performing "Women Home Alone" hosts – particularly those with an encouraging, supportive and playful life partner – sprinkle their archives with occasional 'couples' content that includes their significant other. Why? The visuals help enhance the fantasy for videochat visitors and fans, making it easier to imagine themselves in the place of your partner. For example, there may be acts that you perform on your partner (or that your partner performs on you) that your videochat visitor/fan can only fantasize about enjoying in his/her private life. Also, these archive visuals also support assorted hosting themes, such as "My boyfriend's out of town. Want to play?" or "Just broke up with my fiancee & need some TLC", etc. (If your spouse or S.O. is shy or bashful about appearing with you in archives, no problem -- 'couples' archives featuring only his/her body parts are routine. Note – Any adult appearing for the first time in an adults-only archive category must obtain an iFriends ID-Card in advance..)
- TALK to your visitors: The most important skill to master is to engage your visitors. The most successful video chathosts are the "chattiest" hosts. Ask your visitor what he (or she) likes ... inquire about his interests ... his hobbies ... what turns him on? ... what brings him to iFriends? ... Relationships are always a good subject (ex-girlfriends, etc), which can often lead to intimate chats about fantasies and other personal subjects ... build a rapport with your visitor -- TALK to him! And don't forget to populate your "My Favorite Things" on your iFriends Profile page (Select "Edit My Video Chathost Account" on the Chathost Console) ... these are great conversation starters!
- Offer lots of "Extras": A great way to stand out from the crowd is to tell prospective visitors what kinds of "extras" you offer. Are you using a high-quality camcorder for your webcam image, instead of a cheap, low-quality cam? Say so on the Session sign-in form! (Select the
icon). As a rule, lots of customers will visit only those chathosts that host over a DSL, Cable Modem or other "high speed" connection. To identify yourself to these customers, select the
icon. Next time you log in to host your live videochat, don't forget to review the "Offer Extended Features?" section and check all those that apply.
- REMEMBER your visitors: If there's one thing that all the top iFriends chathosts have in common, it's that they remember their visitors. e.g., "Hi Harry, haven't seen you since last week. How is your uncle doing, is he still in the hospital?" When you remember your visitors, you make them feel special ... and, like all people, they come back to those who make them feel special. So the next time a visitor arrives in your chatroom, talk them up, and take lots of notes! Your best visitors are the ones that return day after day. So get to know them, and make sure they get to know *you*. Become friends. Share intimacies. Forge that special *bond* with your visitors that keeps them coming back, again and again and again
- Help your visitors REMEMBER you:: Your best visitors are the ones that return day after day. So while you are getting to know them, taking notes, so you can recognize them the next time they visit, don't forget to make sure they get to know *you*. Become friends. Share intimacies. Forge that special bond with your visitors that keeps them coming back, again and again and again (It's also a good idea to populate the "Favorite Things" on your iFriends profile, accessible via the "Modify My Account" section on the Chathost Console. This "my favorite things" list makes for great conversation starters, and help your visitors get to know you.
- Use audio/sound: The best way to talk with your visitor and hold his attention is to let him hear your voice. Make sure you're using a sound card and microphone, and advertise that you offer audio. (Click here for more details on providing audio in your IF videochat room)
- Get to know your audience: Once you've established a chatty dialog with your visitor, get to *know* him. Your best visitors are the ones that return day after day. Get to know them, and make sure they get to know *you*. Become friends. Share intimacies. Forge that special *bond* with your visitors that keeps them coming back, again and again and again.
- Keep your VideoChat fresh and new: If you're intent on building up a group of "regulars", make sure that each time you host your videochat room, there's something *new* and *different*. Videochat hosts who always wear the same dress, sit in the same chair, and present the same tired camera angles don't attract too many regulars. So keep it exciting! Adopt a different "theme" for each day ... do something unexpected, exiting and new with each videochat session ... always give your regulars a *fresh* reason to visit you!
- Urge your VideoChat visitors to vote for you (and win "iFriends Viewer Awards"). Video chathosts who win, place second or third in hundreds of different weekly award categories enjoy greater exposure on iFriends. That means greater traffic flowing into your videochat! And winning an award is easy... often, just one or two votes is enough to win a runner-up award, which is enough to get your screenname on the "winners" list. (Remember, hundreds of awards are given by iFriends viewers each week). When you get a registered iFriends visitor into your videohat (their screenname appears in green), ask him or her what they like about you. Then, ask them to vote accordingly, via the "rate this chathost" link beneath your video window! And last but not least, once you win, place second, or place third for any "iFriends Viewer Award", iFriends places a handsome award graphic on your iFriends profile page ... forever!
- Start off with a Bang: From the moment you begin your live videochat session, create an atmosphere of liveliness and action. Most viewers check out the action in Guest-chat mode first, so make sure that they perceive a vibrant and potent atmosphere. Chat up a storm! Have a friend chat with you to get the ball rolling; it's the "restaurant rule" - the busier your room looks, the more likely people are to drop in and sample the menu...
- Draw a crowd: Make your session free for the first 15 minutes. Offer a "free day", one day a week, or even just one free hour each week, where future visitors can "get to know you".
- Make your sessions *personal*: Hold up a handwritten note saying "hi" to your visitors, with your visitor's screen name on it. Find out the visitor's *real* name, and mention it often (e.g., "Steve, don't I look great in this new outfit?")
- Record your live session for later playback: If you're using the LiveStream format to host your session, you can have us record it to play back later; during your session, just click the "other options" link under your video and choose the "Record a Replay Session" link to add it to your Replay Library, so you can play it back when you're not online. iFriends does all the work of serving the replay for you, so you can turn off your PC when you sleep! (Yeah!).
- Prove that you're live: Ask your visitors "what would you like to see me do next?" And then do it. (Of course, if the visitor asks you to engage in obscenities (see VCH license agreement), *don't*.
- Best times to host videochat (busiest): The biggest viewer crowds are late weekday evenings, and all day Sat & Sun. Sundays tend to have fewer chathosts available per viewer, so it's a good time to reach plenty of viewers.
- Best times to host videochat (slowest): If you sign on weekday mornings between 6am and 2pm EST, or any time on Sunday, when the fewest chathosts are signed in, it's easier to get discovered. Weekday mornings and afternoons are also a great time to experiment, if you're just getting started.
- Put your best face forward: Edit your archives. Select only the most complimentary images for your archive material.
- Be Unique! Is there something unique about you? The way you look perhaps, or what turns you on? Emphasize it! With our super-specific search engine, it's very important to distinguish yourself from the crowd. (Think about it: If you've got long toenails, for example, and visitor John Doe has a toenail fetish, make it easy for him to find you!)
- Be Patient! Your first few video chathost sessions might draw fewer people than you hoped for. But if you stick with it, and develop some loyal "regulars" that show up night after night, your popularity will grow and grow. Also, plan to host your videochat room for at least a few hours. Video Chathosts report that the first 15 minutes are often slow, since most visitors haven't discovered you yet.
- Stay Informed: Watch the Video Chathost-only Discussion Forum to stay abreast of the latest techniques, straight from your fellow video chathosts.
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