Getting Started In Porn - Part 5: Treat It Like A Business

If you haven't already, you'll want to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 in my Getting Started In Porn series before jumping into Part 5 (this post).
Hopefully by now you've made some videos, are used to editing and uploading, and are finding that with each shoot things get a little bit easier. So now let's focus on streamlining, meeting goals, and staying focused with regular video releases. Basically, let's go over how to treat your porn business like an actual business, because it is one!

Anyone who's ever run a small business of their own knows that you have to streamline to be efficient. Well, your porn business is no different. This covers everything from pre-planning scenes to storing all of your outfits and toys properly.

Tracking Systems

Start by keeping a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets, etc) of the videos you're shooting. The first column should be the date you shot it on. Then make more columns called: Edited, Rendered, Backed Up, Upload Pornhub, Upload ManyVids, Title, Keywords, and Description.

You'll add more columns as needed. When you do a task on a video, like edit it, you'll just type an "x" in the proper cell. This will show the given task for that video is done. As you get more and more videos it is essential to be organized (and with over 120 videos I'm speaking from experience here).

For each site I use two columns which are Upload Started Pornhub and Upload Finalized Pornhub and I only check the second box once the upload is completed and the video is live on that site. In the case of Pornhub this ensures I go back and upload a thumbnail image to the video rather than using the pre-generated thumbs they provide.

If you later decide to sell your videos on another site you'll just add another column (or two) for that site and then can easily track your progress as you upload your videos.

Organization Systems

If you really want to streamline your business you'll need to organize your tools of the trade. In the case of porn those tools are things like cameras, lights, power cables and chargers, outfits, toys, lube, towels, and so on.

Keep all of your shooting outfits, bras, and panties together in a box or bin of some sort. Toys with their proper chargers in another. Lubes, condoms, etc in another. Cameras with their batteries, tripods, memory cards, cables, etc in another. Lighting in another spot.

In the beginning, writing up a simple checklist is a good idea as well. List things like Setup Lighting, Cameras on Tripods, Outfits On, Lube & Towels Out, and (of course!) Press Record. Seems simple but it's easy to forget stuff. After you've made a few films the checklist won't be necessary but in the beginning it's very handy.

Managing Huge Amounts Of Video Data

Shooting video of any kind takes up huge amounts of drive space on your computer. It's not feasible to store hundreds of videos shot in 4K on your computer forever. On top of that, every video will have the original (raw) footage along with the edited render you made.

In many cases, you'll have a high quality 4K render and then a smaller 1080p render that is under the 3Gb file limit that many sites have on uploading. We upload 4K files (often 10-30Gb) to Pornhub and then smaller 1080p files under 3Gb in size to all other sites that we sell on.

That means that every video we shoot ends up in the 10Gb to 40Gb range with all of the files that go with it. Now, one option is to delete the original footage and only keep the final rendered files. But you may want to go back to that original footage to make a compilation or who knows what. So saving it is your best bet.

Unfortunately, for every file you have you need to save it twice in two different locations. This is called redundancy. Because hard drives can and do fail, you want a backup of your backup. What I do is purchase several of these cheap backup drives. I like them because they connect over USB without needing external power. For every video you have, put all of the files that go with it into a folder named by the date it was filmed on. If you make three movies in one day then you could name them 08_24_2019 A, 08_24_2019 B, and 08_24_2019 C for example.

I have two attached to my computer and copy my backups to both drives. When the drives fill up I disconnect them and connect two new drives. The filled drives are then stored safely in two different places (labeled with start and end dates so I know which videos are on them). Ideally, store one of them off site (not at your home). But store them safely and securely! Your entire business is on those drives.

Stay Focused

Making porn sounds like fun, and it really is most of the time. But parts of it are work. Sometimes editing a video is fun. Sometimes it's boring. Shooting is almost always fun, but sometimes we're not in the mood so we skip it.

Either way, we try to keep a schedule and a buffer of videos on hand. Meaning, a video we released today was likely shot a week ago. We always have an extra 5-10 videos so that if we miss a shoot day it's no big deal and we can still release content. Then, on a day we're really horny, maybe we'll shoot two videos (hours apart so Stefano can recharge is huge load).

Don't force yourself to make a video if you're really not in the mood because your lack of interest will show in your video. Instead, just plan ahead like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter and keep a reserve of videos. That way you're always releasing videos at regular intervals. As for what those intervals are, that's your choice. I would suggest at least one video per week, ideally two. Our schedule lately is a bit more ambitious and this month we've been releasing a video pretty much daily, but that pace isn't for most people.

Speaking of those intervals, set some goals for yourself! Are you trying to get your first 1,000 views? Or maybe it's your first million. Or maybe 1,000 followers? They're all exciting goals to have and you'll get their fast by setting goals. So set your first goal of making, editing, and uploading one video per week to start and upload it the same day each week. Once you've got that down maybe try two videos per week.

Want to keep going? Then establish a website or social media account and make a point to post a photo or message to your fans every day or every other day. Be consistent and go for quality over quantity. It takes time to build a following so consistency is the key. Slow and steady wins this race.

Bookkeeping

Did you know that making and selling porn is a business? It almost certainly is in most scenarios and in most places. Not sure? Check with a lawyer or tax professional. Seriously, you need to do this. Don't worry, they don't need to know you make porn. Tell them you are a Content Producer for video sites (tell them you make nature videos for YouTube if needed) or that you sell stock video and earn royalties. Those are words they'll understand without giving away your dirty secret.

The point is, you're running a business and you should treat it like one. At the very least, you should keep track of all money you receive with a spreadsheet. For each month you'll list the income from every source. You'll also list your expenses as you may be able to deduct these later. Any time you have money coming in or going out you'll log it in your spreadsheet. At the end of the year you'll have a spreadsheet showing your exact income and expenses by month and you'll pay your taxes as needed without having to dig through a bunch of bank accounts and receipts for the last 12 months.

I'm not a lawyer or tax professional so I'm not giving you any legal advice, but I am telling you to get legal advice so you don't get bit by the IRS (our tax people in the USA) or the tax police in whatever country you live in. If you make money, your government will likely want a piece of that and you need to give them their piece. It's all part of the cost of doing business. Do your due diligence on this subject now so you're not paying penalties later.