Dirk Hooper

September 12, 2009

The Long Whip of the Internet – Beginning SEO for Professional Dominatrix

Filed under: Articles — Tags: dirk hooper, marketing, professional dominatrix, promotion, search engine optimization — Dirk Hooper @ 7:59 pm

This is an archived section of the Dirk Hooper Photography website. Please click here to visit the new Dirk Hooper Photography site!

IMG_0851The Long Whip of the Internet
Beginning Search Engine Optimization for Professional Dominatrix

By Dirk Hooper

In 2004, Editor Chris Anderson, wrote an article for Wired magazine called “The Long Tail.”  The basic premise of “The Long Tail” describes a statistical curve that can be summarized by looking at how Amazon.com sells books, versus brick and mortar establishments like your local book store.  You local book store has a finite amount of space to sell books, so they stock the store with the 20% of the most popular  titles from Stephen King and Stephen Koontz, and that leaves very little space for the little guy.  Meanwhile, Amazon.com has no limit on shelf space so they can offer obscure titles that sell fewer copies individually, but comprise 80% of the tail.  In this example, Amazon.com succeeds famously by catering to massive clusters of smaller consumers.

The internet allows the small guy to compete against the big guy, by specializing and finding a niche audience.  What this means to a Professional Dominatrix is that you will succeed by defining what makes you different from the rest of the pack and then marketing yourself directly to the clients that desperately seek that difference.  Instead of a Long Tail, I’m proposing that Professional Dominatrix use The Long Whip to realize that difference and excel like never before.  What follows are three basic tips to indentify your place on The Long Whip.

The place to start your search engine optimization effort is to consider the phrases that potential clients will put into a search engine to find you.  It’s important to get into the mind of your clients (you’re familiar with that… right?) because what is obvious to you, may not be obvious to those who are doing the search.  Most people would reflexively say that the phrase “Professional Dominatrix” would be the first place to start, but that’s a good example of a phrase that everyone in the business is competing over.  It’s the short end of the whip, and you want to find something further down the list.

So how can you get away from the phrases that everyone is fighting over and find your niche?  It’s time for some homework.  Start thinking about what makes you unique.  You must have an online persona that separates you from the crowd.  If you try to be everything to everyone then you are wasting a good opportunity to specialize.  Is there something about your personality, or your look, or your style that stands out?  Hopefully your name is creative.  Use that to your advantage.  Grab a piece of paper and write down the things that make you unique.

The next thing you should look at is your location.  Most Dommes work out of a limited area, or several specific areas.  Your location is an important part of search engine optimization.  Write down the city you work in, use variations or abbreviations as well.  Parts of town can be used to further specify your target area.  For example, if you live in New York City, you might also use NYC, the Big Apple, Wall Street, SoHo, Brooklyn, etc.  In fact, the more specific you are the better.

Finally, take assessment of what services you provide.  Is there something you specialize in that other Professional Dominatrix might not?  Do you have a level of experience that new Dommes lack?  Are you member of the local BDSM community, or maybe even a leader?  Have you received any awards or accolades?  Write down anything you can think of that is an advantage you have over other Professional Dominatrix.

What you should have at this point is a list of thoughts and phrases that describe the attributes that make you unique.  By combining aspects of your personality, your location and your advantages, you can create a short phrase or two that you can use to optimize your website, or social networking profile.  For example, if you listed “gorgeous” from the first list, “Brooklyn” for your location and you specialize in humiliation, then your phrase might be “Gorgeous Brooklyn Humiliatrix”.  The advantage over other Professional Dominatrix located in New York is that they are all fighting over “New York Mistress” while you have separated yourself from the pack.

Put your phrase on your website in the title bar.  Use the phrase throughout the site.  Get clients or other websites to link to you using that phrase.  Make sure that phrase is on your social networking sites, on your photo or video sites and anywhere else you are on the internet and link that back to your website.  That phrase will become synonymous with you, and that’s where the power lies.  Whether people are familiar with you, or they are just searching for a “gorgeous Brooklyn dominatrix” then it will point to you.  The search engines will find you first when that phrase comes up, and that’s search engine optimization.

There’s a lot more you can do on your site, and certainly elsewhere, but that’s the basics of The Long Whip of the Dominatrix.  Search engine optimization starts with that simple process.  Do your homework and the clients will find you with greater numbers than ever before.

Dirk Hooper does Professional Dominatrix Photography through Sight Key Studios and also offers consultation and search engine optimization for Professional Dominatrix through FemDom Design.

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July 31, 2009

Why Professional Dominatrix Need Professional Photography

Filed under: Articles — Tags: dirk hooper, dommes, mistresses, photography, professional dominatrix — Dirk Hooper @ 9:51 pm

This is an archived section of the Dirk Hooper Photography website. Please click here to visit the new Dirk Hooper Photography site!

Professional Dominatrix Princess Aphrodite

Professional Dominatrix Princess Aphrodite

Why Professional Dominatrix Need Professional Photography

by Dirk Hooper

If you’re a professional dominatrix and you don’t have professional photography, then you are losing money. In many cases you have only seconds to make a first impression with a potential client. If you work in a crowded market then those precious seconds may be split among dozens of other professional dominatrix and that potential client may be lost forever.

Professional photography instantly separates you from the crowd and tells a client that you are serious. Right now, there is a proliferation of young and inexperienced dommes who see the potential to get free shoes and have their bills paid by gullible submissives. If you are a serious professional, then you need to recognize that those amateur mistresses are a threat to your business.

There are a number of ways for you to distinguish yourself from wannabes, but nothing creates a stunning solid first impression like professional photography. A lot of the photography of professional dominatrix is web cam photos, cell phone photos, pictures by friends or boyfriends with point-and-shoot cameras and student work. These photos are poor quality, hideously lighted and have terrible composition, but most importantly, they make you look bad.

Sure, web cam photos and amateur photography is cheap, but you get what you pay for. Even a professional photographer may not understand the psychology behind female domination, or understand how to create photos that appeal to the submissive psyche, but at least they can offer you photos that bring out your best features and give you photography that instantly looks superior to your competition.

A one-hour session with a professional dominatrix can be from $100 to $500 (or more). In general, the hourly rate for a professional photographer runs about the same (again, depending on the experience and prestige of the photographer). That means the cost of getting solid photography for your business will be comparable to one or two visits from your best client, and the investment in that photography will pay off immediately and for years to come.

If you are serious about your professional dominatrix business then you must take an unbiased assessment of how you present yourself to the public. Your unique look and style is the most important first asset you have for marketing to potential clients. If you don’t have professional photography, you are not living up to your potential in your dominatrix business. A professional photographer can take your business to another level. Don’t let your competitors get that advantage over you.

Dirk Hooper does Professional Dominatrix Photography through Sight Key Studios and also offers consultation and search engine optimization for Professional Dominatrix through FemDom Design.

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