An interview with Sergey, Sales Guru at TrafficGold
How has the market evolved since you started, and what changes do you foresee in the next 5–10 years?
I will also say what probably everyone tells you – when I started, everything was simple, but now everything is complicated. Although I understand perfectly well that in the future everything will be even more complicated. When I started, I could go to any traffic exchange (yes, yes, then the place where you can buy traffic was called a “traffic exchange”), buy “something” (nobody bothered about formats and did not understand what was what) at a price of a cent per click or something like that (for US), send this traffic to an offer (even directly to paysite) and only replenish the exchange account – the money came by itself. True, this did not last long.
At that time, affiliate networks did not have vacancies for publisher managers, advertiser managers, marketers, business developers, etc. There was only support – the only one who communicated with clients, everyone else was on the other side of the moon. Also, there were no media buyers, publishers, advertisers, etc., everyone who dealt with traffic was simply called a webmaster. But that was so long ago…
The next 5-10 years… I’ll say this – everything will be decided by two things:
1. The team, that is, people – this is the main thing
2. Using automation and artificial intelligence
If you have a strong team, everyone is ready and willing to work hard without this “9-18 mentality”, and you also have investments in process automation, and the use of AI in routine tasks – you will win.
It is difficult to say how our market will look as a whole, but anyway, people will always want to look at other people, people will always want to communicate and have fun, people will always want to realize their desires. This is what any business in our industry should be based on. Also, if you occupy some narrow niche today, and continue to do it, I think in 10 years you will be fine. Since people’s preferences do not change much from year to year.
What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?
Perhaps it was when I had to write to my partner that unfortunately I would have to end our cooperation for reasons beyond my control. It’s hard, especially if you respect the person and consider him a professional. But on the other hand, your life, your professional development and future are at stake.
As for the rest, it’s hard to say, my intuition always somehow told me what decision to make, and I can’t complain about it.
Can you share a recent success story that you are particularly proud of?
There were a lot of things… on Saturday evening I had to redo tons of advertising campaigns for one client at his request, which ultimately led to the client still being with us like one of the most active clients and the volume of our cooperation constantly growing. And when in one day I connected literally dozens of new partners by using one of my search tactics, and this increased my income significantly! Study, study and study – and don’t be afraid to do any dirty work sometime, even if you think you’re not cut out for it. This is a very good strategy.
What is your strategy for staying competitive and ensuring consistent growth in this fast-paced market?
I can’t reveal all my secrets, as you understand. I will only say that you must love what you do, and you must have the same team that works not to get a salary, but because they like what they do and they see prospects in their growth and the development of the company. It’s like long-term dividend investments – a little bit from year to year, but you will succeed!
To be competitive, it is enough to simply provide the necessary services to the market that no one else provides. Or, if they are not unique, then at least provide them better than others do, with better support, with better promo and so on. Well, and the human factor, of course, our industry is not really that big in terms of companies and people. Therefore, if you want to compete and succeed, you must be friendly and build good relationships with partners, including offline, at conferences and more. I know business leaders in our industry who are friends with each other, go on yachts together, etc., and they met at conferences. Do not be grumpy and unfriendly.
What role do partnerships and collaborations play in your business model, and how do you choose your collaborators?
A very big role! And I didn’t understand it at the beginning of my career. When I first started working in the industry, I was interested to see how my senior mentors spent a lot of time on individual meetings offline, for example, and I was more focused on something else, for example, on increasing amount of users in total without any individual tactics and that’s all, so I thought if somebody made account – he will send me traffic for sure. Now I have become the same as them. And I use an individual approach.
How do I choose collaborators? It turns out that often they find me, and not I find them. In any case, I can’t say that a single person I know from the industry is bad in terms of partnership. It’s just that with some people only business relationships develop, with others they develop into friendships, and that’s okay.
Have there been any unexpected collaborations or partnerships that had a significant impact on your business?
Of course, there were times when I met someone at a conference, but we couldn’t work together at that stage. And I would just put that person’s business card in a drawer, and their name and information about them in my brain. But time passed, and a year, two, five years later, when I was already working in a slightly different role, I would remember that person, we would write to each other, and start working together.
Therefore, my advice is, if you meet someone at a conference, and that person is not suitable for you as a partner at that moment, you shouldn’t forget about them right away. Communicate, establish relationships, maybe in the future you will become good partners, or even friends!
What first attracted you to the adult industry, and what keeps you motivated?
Initially, I, probably like many readers of this, who have been working on the Internet for decades, just “pressed something on the keyboard”, was a webmaster, I was not particularly interested in verticals, I was interested in simply making money, regardless of what kind of traffic it was. It’s just that in our industry, adult traffic was always in good amounts, it was inexpensive, and it was quite easy to monetize. So, why not? Moreover, there are eternal industries, except for the adult industry, such as gambling, for example, this is finance – industries where there will always be traffic as long as humanity is alive. And the adult industry is one of them.
What motivated me? Including the friendly atmosphere, when I got to my first conference, I was pleasantly impressed by how open, positive and interesting everyone was around.
Can you share a bit about your background and how it prepared you for this career path?
I have been involved with computers since childhood, tried myself in programming, design, marketing, copywriting, and in the so-called money making, that is, making money on the Internet. Remember the times of Spedia? When you had to look at a banner in the browser, click on it periodically, and you were paid a few fractions of a cent for it. It was little money even at that time, but I liked the very realization of the fact that you can sit at home and earn money like that.
Since childhood, I have had friends who were also involved in computer activities. Yes, in our student years we not only sat in front of the screen, we liked to drink beer and not only, walk around bars, etc., which everyone did. But we also devoted a lot of time to the computer. I remember ordering a book about HTML online because I could not find it in the local bookstore. So I can say that I have a fairly large background.
Personal and Background Questions
How do you maintain a balance between your professional and personal life in such a demanding industry?
A very difficult question. And I need to work on it. Because I often adhered to a truly non-9-5 mentality, staying up until midnight, and sometimes later, working on Saturdays and Sundays. I will say this – if you are opening a new project, or doing a startup – this is normal, and I, like any goal-oriented person, am ready for such sacrifices, knowing that this is temporary. But working like this constantly, for months and years, I think is unproductive both for myself and for the company.
In any case, in the end it will come back to haunt you – either simply a loss of strength, a deterioration in performance and disappointment, or real health problems. For me, it is ideal to simply be in touch, that is, I do not adhere to the 9-5 schedule, but at the same time I can get in touch or do something in the evening or on a weekend or while traveling, there are no problems with this. For me, this is a normal regime, in which I stay for quite a long time, when I myself create my schedule and set everything up so that it is convenient and effective for me.
Moreover, we must not forget that our business is international, I have partners in Europe, the USA and Asia. Therefore, when some have day, others have night. And again, in order to work with some important partner, I need to be online, say, at 8 pm my time. And when can I do sports then? That’s right, for example, at any other time of the day, at 11 am for example. That is, again – I create my own regime.
What do you do to unwind and recharge after a busy day?
Oh, it can be anything! I love both active and passive recreation. This is what I tell all my friends who always run somewhere on weekends. I tell them – try once a month just to do nothing on the weekend, do not plan anything, do not go anywhere and do not run. Just do nothing one day – Saturday or Sunday. Free your mind. It really works! Sometimes we need days when no one wants anything from you and you do not want anything from others, but just do nothing.
Well, okay, in reality I almost never have such days, so if they happen, then it looks like a holiday. Usually, for relaxation, I like to either go somewhere on a hike, or go far away, somewhere where I have not been yet, visiting some city/village/historical place and so on, or invite friends to a party, or go to someone’s place, or just do routine household chores that I did not have time or desire to do during the week, or study something new, I have quite a lot of different interests in different areas, from business and investments to art and cinema… or yes – work – you heard right, I sometimes work on weekends (when most normal people take a break from work)!
Are there any mentors or figures who have inspired you throughout your journey?
Of course there are, from our industry! But I won’t name names, because I’m afraid that if I don’t name someone, they will be offended by me. But I can say that yes, I have learned a lot from my colleagues and bosses, partners and just people from our business, whose life path cannot but inspire! We have many very smart people! By the way, for example, you, Roland, are one of the people who inspire me, whom I respect and who I want to look up to, as a veteran of our industry!
What’s a book, film, or piece of art that has had a significant influence on your life or work?
I don’t even know, it’s hard to say… I don’t want to list different films and books, since I have quite diverse tastes. Moreover, I noticed that my tastes change over time. 20 years ago I liked one kind of music, 10 years ago another, now a third. I will say that I don’t see the point in wasting my time on meaningless films that you watched today and forgot about tomorrow. Therefore, before watching something, I prefer to google the film and read at least roughly the script. As for literature, I once had a large library on such topics as philosophy, psychology, NLP, all sorts of personal growth, etc. But that was a long time ago.
How do you feel about the public’s perception of the adult industry, and what do you wish more people understood about it?
I don’t know, maybe I just happen to be in such places and communicate with such people, but I don’t see a problem with it. We are all people, and most of us have encountered such products at least once. Therefore, regarding perception, it seems to me that most people have a normal perception. Especially if we are talking about the capitalistic world. If it brings you money and pleasure – you are obliged to do it! Moreover, in most countries, all this has long been in the legal field. We have gone through the stages of condemnation or something like that a long time ago. It’s just a business, like any other. By the way, I will note that people in this business, in my opinion, are much kinder and nicer than in other verticals of affiliate marketing, but then again, maybe I just came across such people.
What’s one misconception about your work that you’d like to clear up? If any.
Regarding me personally? Or the industry as a whole? I will answer two questions.
Regarding the industry, perhaps ordinary people think that all industry workers do is have fun. But this is far from true. It is very difficult both physically and mentally. And not everyone could do something like this.
Regarding my personal life, times have changed now. And now seeing a person working with a laptop anywhere is nothing new. Even if it is some remote village. And before, yes, most of my friends did not fully understand how it is possible to sit at home like this, pressing buttons and living like this. After all, you need to go to work in the office, preferably in some understandable job, for example, in the civil service or in a bank. But all this pressing buttons at home is something not serious. But such times are long gone, of course. By the way, I always liked the phrase, I don’t remember who said it – Guys in suits and ties will work for guys in Hawaiian shirts and shorts.
What advice would you give someone just starting in the adult business industry?
Depends on what you are going to do? Do you want to find a job with an affiliate program or an advertising network? Or do you want to become a producer? Or do you want to become a talent? Or do you want to become a technical specialist? This industry is no different from any other, so, for example, it does not make much difference whether you are setting up a server for adult content or a server for cartoons or showing films for children. From the technical side, it is all work, and the more professional you are, the more successful you will be at it.
If we are talking about working with traffic, be it an affiliate program, an advertising network, or paysite or something like that – if you are just starting out in this business, try to communicate more, meet people at conferences, etc. Do not just sit on the couch and wait for someone to approach you – take the initiative right away. Yes, I know, it can be hard, especially if you are an introvert by nature. But overcome yourself! Understand – most people at conferences are friendly and they are also looking for potential cooperation. I have attended dozens of conferences. I do not remember a single time when I was sent to hell if I was the first to approach the person. And I met hundreds of people at each conference. Let’s draw conclusions.
Are there any key skills or traits that you believe are essential for success in this field?
I can’t say anything about models, producers, or anything like that. Yes, I have connections in this area, but I’ve never done anything like they do by myself. So I can only talk about traffic things.
Skills or character traits?
Probably it’s determination, love for what you do, thirst for money – where would we be without it, as well as openness to new acquaintances and meetings. Perseverance won’t hurt either, but again, these are nuances. And of course, you’ll need computer and Internet skills. Agree, applying for the role of affiliate manager and not knowing what HTML is or at least the basics of a Java script, or what a token is, or not having an understanding of the types of traffic – it’s a bit strange. Yes, there are people who come to this area from outside the computer world, but still, it’s rare. And for the employer, investing in training such a person is not always profitable. Especially if it is a small team.
And you should also be polite, and value the time and personal space of another person. Yes, it is important to be assertive, but in moderation. You need to learn to understand when you are told “okay, I’ll look later” because the person is not interested or is really busy. This comes with experience.
What’s next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or goals you’re particularly excited about?
At the time of this interview, my goal is to grow the company’s profits, increase the number of active clients, and also increase brand awareness, and, of course, make sure that everyone is happy. We are a small team, so there is still a lot to do. By the way, regarding teams, I do not have a single opinion on what is better – a small team or a large company. It so happened that for all my more than 20 years of career, I have worked in small teams, sometimes there were 2-3 of us, and it was very effective.
But I have nothing against large companies with a vertical structure, all sorts of personal growth training, etc. This is also cool, I know large companies in our industry that are quite successful and have been operating for decades. But at the same time, I know small companies with up to 10 people, and which have also been operating for decades.
How do you envision the legacy you’d like to leave in the adult industry?
I know many people who wanted to leave this industry but still came back, it’s like a magnet! Moreover, it seems to me that many of my peers will continue to do all this as long as they have the physical ability, it doesn’t work here that you retire and go to rest haha. In any case, I would like to leave something positive, at least memories, when someone will remember that guy over there who pestered me at the conference every time haha!
Wanna know more about TrafficGold? Website: https://trafficgold.com/
