Chronicles of Success is an ongoing discovery of individuals and companies in adult entertainment. The following "Chronicles of Success" interview is with AWS Philip, the founder of AdultWebmasterSchool.com.

Platinum Doug:
When did Adult Webmaster School (AWS) take form?

AWS Philip:
In January 2001 I looked up an old friend from high school who lived in Berkeley. The last time I spoke to him, he was an Adult Webmaster (this must have been late 1996). To my surprise, he was still one and making a killing. With the non-Adult Internet economy the way it was, I decided that I wanted to learn more. This friend was nice enough to show me the ropes and soon I too was doing quite well. There was only one problem: in no way could I look people in the eye and tell them I was an Adult Webmaster - especially my family. To take the middle route, I decide to start teaching people how to become an Adult Webmaster. I told a few close friends and started to offer private lessons…but soon word spread. I began getting e-mails from people I didn't even know, asking how they could become an Adult Webmaster. Unable to handle the volume of inquiries, I began work on the site. In late June 2000 I opened our doors.

Platinum Doug:
What was your background before getting into adult?

AWS Philip:
I got my first computer at age five -- an Atari 800. I messed around with Basic and LOGO. Ever since that point, I was in to computers. I owned Commodore 64's, Apple II's, Apple PowerPC's, Mac's, and IBM XT's.... all at an early age. The Internet became a reality for me in 1984, when I got my first Applelink disk (now America Online). I was hooked on the Web, and started my first e-commerce business in high school. I sold book reports (that I had found online) to my friends. I started my first real dot-com my last year of college -- an Internet faxing company which I later sold to a bigger company. I created and sold two more companies, then moved to New York to invest in a huge dot-com. This company created computer facilities for the elderly. It folded due to the bubble burst in May of 2000...that's when I moved to Berkeley.

Platinum Doug:
How long did AWS take to develop, once you had the idea?

AWS Philip:
Day and night for two months straight. My success in this business stems from the fact I'm a jack of all trades. I created the concept, the site design, did the coding, wrote the HTML, produced the video tutorials and got the billing implemented.

AWS Philip:
I wanted proof of concept without spending a lot of money. If I got students, I could then spend the time polishing the concept.

Platinum Doug:
What were some of the biggest obstacles you faced during development?

AWS Philip:
The biggest obstacle anyone faces during the launch of a revolutionary new idea is the doubt of if it will work. Here I am spending two months of my life behind a computer, not making any money (and drawing on my savings!) to create a site that teaches laid-off dot-com’ers how to make money in the online Adult industry. People thought I was nuts! But when Salon.com called me the day after I launched and wanted to do an in-person interview, I knew my hard work had paid off.

Platinum Doug:
You've had some pretty good press over the years. How has this impacted your business?

AWS Philip:
There is no better form of advertising than press coverage. People are implicitly weary of "advertising." They do, however, trust the media. When CNN or The Wall Street Journal covers you, it's like someone turns on the sales tap. We have never advertised in the traditional sense. Our success derives from press coverage and word of mouth.

Platinum Doug (1:30 PM) :
I've heard people in our industry complain that they never get treated fairly by the media because of the business they work in. How was your experience?

AWS Philip:
We get our share of bad publicity. Conservative reporters will go in to an interview with a negative bias towards the business. However, the lesser well known or "independent" the publication, the higher the chance of an interview going bad. The more professional reporters reside at the bigger publications and generally provide a more informative interview versus picking one side of the other.

Platinum Doug:
You've been in the business now for a number of years - do you think there's reason for a negative view of the industry?

AWS Philip:
Let's face it, this industry is high on the list of "shady businesses." (There are) lots of deceptive practices and dishonest people. Due to the anonymity of the Web, it's easier to get away with things.

But, that's exactly why people looking to get in to the industry sign up with us. We are a trusted resource for good people and good businesses within the industry. Adult Webmaster School only deals with reputable sponsors, hosting companies and content providers. You don't know how many people have tried to go at this alone, only to have their sponsor never pay them, get charged with thousands of dollars in bandwidth overages or purchased content from some content provider that basically stole the content from some site!

Platinum Doug:
What changes has the curriculum undergone over the years? Have changes in the industry prompted altering the course?

AWS Philip:
The basic concept remains unchanged and our students are more profitable than ever. We do change who we recommend for content or hosting, and occasionally we change our primary sponsor. We have strict criteria and only go with the best. We often get confused with a "resource site." We're not one! We are a formal Adult Webmaster education institution. Resource sites with free "tutorials" are often not updated and biased. Since they are funded entirely by advertising revenue, guess who they are going to suggest you use? We don't do that. Once you pay our tuition, it's up to us to provide you with legitimate information.

Platinum Doug:
What do people sign up for AWS get in return for their $140 (USD)?

AWS Philip:
Our focus is primarily TGP gallery building and submitting. It's the easiest and least expensive way to get in to the industry. As easy as it is, you wouldn’t believe how many Adult Webmasters are doing it wrong. They promote a shady sponsor or a highly competitive niche, using terrible content, slow and expensive hosting and poorly designed galleries.

We also offer complimentary guides on many other ways to generate revenue in the business, such as AVS, free sites, building your own TGP, shooting your own content and building your own pay site.

The real strength of the school lies within our teachers. Unlike resource sites, we have live teachers ready to answer any question you may have...from the most basic topic to the most advanced topic. We've also developed a great message board only for students. It's an amazing wealth of information. But hey, we admit we don't have all the answers. Which is why Adult Webmater School also holds lectures in our chat room given by top leaders in the industry. Hear from other people how they've made their fortune.

Platinum Doug:
I'm a firm believer in letting those who'd like to learn hear it from the mouths of those who've already walked the path! ;-) How long does it take a new student to be successful after they register?

AWS Philip:
A new student will generally see sales come in anywhere between three to six weeks after enrolling, assuming they follow the course and interact with the teachers. You can't learn if you don't ask questions! Many factors contribute to his/her success. Many people go into this thinking it's easy money. It's not. This is an entirely new career and if you're serious about it and follow the course, you will make money.

Platinum Doug:
Who is the ideal candidate for success at your school? What skills to they possess?

AWS Philip:
It always helps to have some familiarity with computers. I'm not talking tech or HTML knowledge; rather, they should be familiar with how to surf the Web and check e-mail, etc. It's funny, people with too much tech or web design knowledge often take LONGER to teach. That's because they try to be too fancy with their pages or try to get complex. Success in this business has to do with something I like to call "professional amateurism." You have to design your pages like an amateur, without being an amateur. It's hard for people with formal design training to accomplish. We almost have to "reprogram" then sort of speak.

We also like our potential students to be patient and consistent. Traffic and sales take time to build. This isn't a "get rich overnight" industry.

Platinum Doug:
Why do you think amateur-looking material sells better?

AWS Philip:
The design of the page or tour (should look amateur, but not the picture/movie content you use). People are being bombarded with ads every day. They don't want to join a site that reeks of being "commercial". They want a site that was made by some teen that through a couple of her cheerleading shots up on the Web for her friends to see. Not some professionally designed cookie-cutter site with bells and whistles. Of course, there is certain marketing that needs to happen in order to entice the surfer to join, but you can accomplish this very passively and subconsciously. Hence "amateur professionalism."

Platinum Doug:
How do students interact with instructors working for you?

AWS Philip:
I'll say it time and time again, the students that succeed are the ones that ask us questions. We have a great support system made up of e-mail support, message board support and chat room support. Each one serves a different purpose so we can best respond to the questions they ask. Our teachers really make the school. Not only do they generally return e-mail in five minutes or less, they often go beyond what is required to make sure the student understands what he or she is doing. That is not to say we hold your hand every step of the way. The goal of any teacher is to help build intuition so that the student learns the tools to help solve future issues they encounter. We do that here at Adult Webmaster School.



Platinum Doug:
Have any success stories you can share?

AWS Philip:
From time to time we'll take a star graduate and one of us will teach him personally how to increase his sales. Since we invest a lot of time, we generally have them promote our (Adult Profit Network's) line of pay-sites. This one graduate we taught recently is a high school teacher by day, and when he comes home from class, builds and submits for an hour or two each night. This guy submits to about 20 TGP's a night (NOT paid listings mind you) and has been pulling in about $5000 per month for the past few months. Now it took him 6 months to get there, but it's easy work each day. He's going to reach $6000 next month. I mean $72k/year for an hour a day is something I consider a success!

We get our share of failures, don't get me wrong! Some people just aren't cut out for this. But it's always great to run in to past graduates at the conventions. Some are pay-site owners, some are content providers and some even run well-known pay-sites. It's a great way to get your foot in the door and learn about traffic, the industry and generally how the system works.

Platinum Doug:
Where do you see the school going in a year or five years down the line? Will you continue in the adult space?

AWS Philip:
We will continue to keep up with the trends and keep teaching those that want to get in to the business. More specifically, we are also working on a graduate school that should go online within a few months. This is for the students that have a shown amazing talent and/or novice adult webmasters that want to learn how to get to the next level. Maybe even include an expanded, in-depth guide on how to build a successful pay-site. You would be amazed how many current pay-site owners are doing it all wrong.

Platinum Doug:
Where can they find out more about you and the program?

AWS Philip:
More information about the program can be found at adultwebmasterschool.com or drop by one of the various newbie panels at the tradeshows. I can usually be found speaking on how to get in to the business and succeed. ;-)


You can reach AWS Philip at support@adultwebmasterschool.com.