The secrets to marketing sex – what my years in the business have taught me
Most likely, nobody thinks sex tech marketing is a stroll in the park. If it is a stroll, then you might as well imagine it as wandering through a foreign city with a dead phone on a cold night with your shoes soaking from having stepped in a puddle and to top it off, your sock decides to slip off.
Where to even begin…
For starters, let’s address the crackdown on social media outreach.
Constant anxiety and a guessing game – which ads will be approved? And how long will the run for before the algorithm catches on? Building a marketing campaign on influencers that will be shadowbanned tomorrow, or worse yet, will blow your algorithm into the ether – simply not the most encouraging scenario.
This isn’t a joke – this uncertainty has plagued many of us, and led to a decline in revenues.
And let me tell you, for content creators, waking up to find themselves virtually invisible in terms of traffic is no fun either.It’s enough to take a serious toll on your mental well-being.
Cast the first stone if you never felt the fear of losing control taking over – when you never had the control in your hands to begin with.
No sugar-coating: All of this is unpredictable and rather sad, but most likely, these days, your ad will get down faster than you can say the word “dildo.”
This crackdown could significantly slash revenues by 2-3 times. Yes, this harsh reality is distressing. But that is beside the point.
So, what is the point?
Let’s face it: Certain products simply cannot withstand the scrutiny of meta-conversion ads, particularly those in the realm of sex work-related businesses.
This means you should emphasize the importance of planning alternative strategies right from the start.
Consider a scenario in which you have a product, some budget, and a solid grasp of your marketing essentials. Plus… some stamina, extra nerve, and determination to market your product in a censored world.
I will be brutally honest. You would still need an experienced executive to help you set up the plan. But here we go again.
Finding skilled marketing specialists who are experts in sex tech or the adult industry, is like searching for a needle in a haystack! Or an apartment in Berlin or a deep relationship on Feeld. A bit of luck will come in handy. I write this with full confidence.
Things can get even more complicated when you operate on a bootstrap budget and compete in an unbalanced market against companies with 6-digit numbers in in-house marketing and PR teams.
So, it’s all hopeless, then? Quite the contrary. We have to dig deeper for alternative ideas and solutions from the start.
Let’s get real. You’re not selling laptops or hairdryers here. You’re selling/marketing experiences.
Whether it’s a premium dildo or a subscription to a sophisticated content platform or app that’ll teach you more than your high school sex ed class ever did, it’s all about the journey.
Your core product value is all about the experience.
Imagine you’ve got a pleasure box subscription product. But what are you selling, exactly? It’s not just a box full of silicon gadgets. It is a complete sensorial and emotional experience.
Your core product value is about giving your clients an experience they hopefully won’t forget or something they won’t expect. It’s about encouraging adults to step into the shoes of their fantasies and have a bloody good time while they’re at it.
There you have it, your pleasure box isn’t just a box—it’s a whole damn experience.
Now what?
Let’s Make Sure Everyone’s in on It!
Did you know that tying your brand’s mission to wellness, health, or sex education could broaden your appeal and catch the eye of the mainstream media?
Do you really think Erika Lust gave office workers an hour off so they could masturbate while working? Would anybody seriously feel like going to the toilet (work room) for a quickie in some lame coworking space? (link)
P.S. Sorry, Erika, your office is likely not lame, but still…
Mainstream media are hungry for news that explores the spectrum of emotional and sexual components within specific social groups. And sex can offer this ideally – unless you fuck up the fun part with some boring concept like most of the pleasure product giant companies (except LELO).
By the way, Erika’s concept was great! It worked gold I am sure.
Another secret about the media is that… They are data greedy. Yeah, it turns out numbers don’t lie! Huh actually… they often do (but this is a topic for another post).
Gathering stats, pitching survey results, sharing white papers, and packaging them into a pro-exclusive media kit will be your key to impressing media professionals.
Alright, maybe „impressing” is a bit exaggerated— but let’s aim to make their lives easier instead. You want your data to be their golden ticket to a killer headline and your brand linked to the published piece.
Examples?
„Survey Reveals: 65% of Berlin Sex Club-Goers Spill the Juicy Details…” is the kind of clickbait that gets ’em going.
“Introducing a New Tech Platform to Revolutionize Club Culture” is a hope killer.
Now back to social media. Let’s face it: most people aren’t precisely posting about their sexual fantasies on Facebook or Instagram unless… They went to Klub Verboten that one time.
Meaning most folks won’t stumble upon any advice on where to snag that new clitoris simulator via their profile.
It’s a different story when it comes to ad algorithms – but let’s forget about the ads and focus on the potential of dark social channels here. Meaning the opposite of social media reaction but still building engagement.
Did you know that tapping into dark social tools can turbocharge your SEO game, boosting ratings and downloads on app stores by over 14%?
So, for serious traction, you better dive into forums, reviews, comment sections, rankings, messaging apps, and mailing campaigns immediately.
It will take some time and cost hours and it will need some extra hand of work – and yes, it is horribly boring – but at least you’ll have done some work outside of direct meta traffic.
Your SEO will thank you!
Author: Ola Miedzynska
Founder Sx Tech Eu / SXPR
