Google Play: Ebooks Now Activated in More Countries

I just now visited my account to sell ebooks in Google Play and noticed that activation in Brazil, India, and Russia is now available. I have activated all books for sale in all countries listed. I do apologize if you looked for my books in the Google Play store and were unable to find any on a search in these countries, but I rarely visit this area of my account.

To find Blueprint for an Escort Service, you may need to click the link herein or in the blog sidebar. The reason it is not findable in a search in the Google Play store is related to my allowing Google to assign an ISBN. I think that if you are in another country, say Russia, and you click the included link to the US store, you will be automatically redirected to the Russia Play store. Please advise if this is not the situation.

I have noted many visitors to this blog from Russia, India, and Brazil this past week and now I understand why. Please do inform me if you have any trouble finding a book - comment anonymously (or not) to this post and I will respond. I do ask that you do not include links to any adult websites that have nudity. We are more censored in the US than most people believe. I certainly have no issue with nudity or porn, but the blog would no longer be included in relevant search results with these type of links.

If you purchase The Complete Blueprint for an Escort Service, you will need to read the Blueprint Updates on my website as the book was published in May of 2010. If you purchase Blueprint for an Escort Service, this is not as important as it was recently updated (February of 2012), and most of the updates on the website are included. I will be updating each page this week and always note the date and time of the last update at the bottom of the page.

This is the main page for the updates on the website: Blueprint Updates

These are the topic pages for updates:

Websites and Hosting

Focus on Local

Advertising

Business Models

I wish you the best in your entrepreneurial pursuits!


Vicky Gallas

The Worst Ad Ever for Backpage

There are many reasons that potential clients should not be dialing sex workers on Backpage, but I have never found a reason as valid as this story. There were 40 people arrested in Saint Cloud, Florida over the last few days in a sting operation. Now Saint Cloud is in Osceola County, which is at Disney's back gate. In other words, cops called ads in Orlando Backpage and booked sex workers.

See the images - all 40 of them. Collectively this group looks like a bunch of drug abusers, though there may be a few not on drugs:

40 Arrested in Saint Cloud Prostitution Bust (link no longer works, so no reason for post, but it was too much)


Have you ever seen a worst ad for Backpage? I can't even believe these people have the audacity to post an ad, but I really wonder what sort of images each used in the ads; obviously not their own.

I never post stuff like this, but I about fell out of my chair laughing...

Escort Services and Google Places

Many of you have experienced your Google Places escort service listings being deleted in the last 6 months. I discussed this previously a few posts back. However, if you have followed the guidelines stated back in March and again in July 2012, and checked the box to "hide your address" - your Places listing should show. All listings that were deleted should be reinstated.

A search for "Miami escorts" (substitute any city) today shows a bunch of absolutely irrelevant listings. For example, a financial planner, armed security services, animal control, a photography design studio, a magician, a university, a high school, a law firm etc... How absurd, right? These people have literally ruined Places. The good news is that now you can make them repair it by resubmitting your listing..

It was indeed a couple of renegade Map Makers that have caused all these troubles. They would have someone higher in the group that despised escort services as they did approve the delete while claiming that it was the rule. It was never the rule as I stated back in July. Escort Services are allowed listings in Places. This has been, once again, confirmed by Google. Push it as far as you must and keep resubmitting the listing until it shows.

This is the statement made by Google on a thread in the Map Makers forum in relation to escort services:

Update on Escorts and SABs (announcement is dated 16 August)

An excerpt (the forum link is to the July discussion):

We have been hearing various concerns on forum about redirecting mappers to Google Places for certain listings that are Service Area Businesses (SABs). Here are the details,

Why mappers adding Service Area Businesses are redirected to Places?

• Google Places carries out specific verification process to verify the physical location of businesses and SABs in particular.
• Google Places also gets in touch with the owner of the SAB in order to get specific details and verify them to avoid spam.
• Map Maker currently does not have this facility
• There have been higher instances of spam in SABs
• Its advisable for mappers adding SABs, to add them through Google Places to ensure correct business verification

So it is not Google's fault, except in that they were of no assistance to anyone that suffered a deleted listing. Apparently enough of you complained and they have made the policy clear. Do not allow these renegade Map Makers to get away with deleting your listings. Let's repair Places. Just make sure that you follow the Google Places guidelines for Service Area Businesses (SABs).

Thanks to Debb for emailing me this information! My health is not great and I can't fight the world anymore. If you care about your Places listings, push until it is reinstated.

Operating an Escort Service in the Sunshine

In Florida we have what is referred to as Sunshine Law. This is a reference to open government and providing public access to government records and meetings . Often this law is not enforced or government agencies find ways around it via the use of exemptions. This is not much different than the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) at the federal level, though the feds do make serious use of a list of many exemptions and more often than not, you will not receive the information requested. Yes, they state differently on the linked website, but I'm offering the reality perspective here.

In many ways your escort business operation is similar in relation to managing information. If you are in the US or the UK, you should already be aware that you and your fellow citizens are being tracked and it would take agents of the government less than an entire day to slap together a full picture of you that includes contacts, Facebook pals, work history, telephone numbers past and present, internet access devices and methods, bank and financial statements, relatives, neighbors, and friends etc.... Hopefully you get the picture here.

So to go through life and business expecting any level of privacy today is not much different than burying your head in the sand. All that you do is easily tracked by government agents in the US and the UK. Everything you say and do could be replayed for judge or jury should these agents decide to target you. If you doubt what I am saying or would prefer to think of me as paranoid, I ask that you take less than 30 minutes of your time and read this for starters:

The NSA is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) by James Bamford.

If you would like to take it an additional step, purchase all of James Bamford's books and start reading. I first started reading Bamford's books back in 2001. The first I read was Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency, and I purchased the hardcover; still have it. A more recent title of importance is The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to Eavesdropping on America. Read it. I guarantee that no matter how much you think you know about government surveillance, you'll find it enlightening.


So how does this relate to the escort business and my escort service?

The connection should be obvious for you, but I will elaborate. Any information they want to gather about you, your escort service, its clients, and the escorts is right at their fingertips. In the US there is a Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, but trust me; that won't stop them. Few law enforcement agencies in the US pay any attention whatsoever to the Fourth Amendment. I am not clear on related or similar protections for citizens in the UK, but I hear the surveillance is even worse there, if that is possible.

If I want to go somewhere and I do not want anyone to know where I'm going, I use a vehicle that I do not own and I leave my telephone at home. Sounds dreadfully primitive, right? It is what it is. I do take such an excursion a few times a year, but I will leave it to your imagination as to where and why. Hint: It has no relation to the escort business at all.

If I want to have a conversation and I want to be as sure as possible that it is private, I have it in-person and with someone that I know and trust. There is no such thing as a secure telephone. There is no such thing, for the most part, as secure email. This short assessment includes the use of throwaway phones, which may indeed be secure for one conversation, but that's it. If you can afford $30-50 to have one conversation and the other party can also, then go for it; however, this has no connection to the escort business. As you should be aware, you have many conversations daily with many people in the course of operating your escort service or entertainment company.

Think you are placing ads for your escort business anonymously? Think again. You are tracked in all that you do and if someone decides to gather all of the information, they'll be aware of any posting you have made anywhere using any name, if they want to be.

If you have read my Blueprint book, you know that I scoff at verification services, TER reviews, use of credit cards, and anything that gives another party a list of escorts or clients. I feel that we are all entitled to privacy and that was always something I enforced whether anyone wanted it or not. The good thing about running your own business is that you can do it your way. Nevermind the ignorant potential clients that want to use credit cards or the escorts that do not care if their face is splattered all over the internet or not. You could also learn this much about my business philosphy by reading my blogs.


So how do I operate my escort service in the sunshine then?

If you have followed my advice and are operating with any and all required licenses and paperwork filings, you're off to a good start. If you have followed my advice in relation to touring escorts (!), verification services, online reviews etc... you may not be as publicly visible as your competition that ignored the advice, but you are a hell of a lot safer. Intelligent clients will find you. Serious and intelligent escorts will appreciate you and find you when the time is right.

I have had far too many questionable emails lately from alleged readers that want to know how to "recruit" escorts. Never, in any book, have I ever used the phrase "recruit escorts" and I feel that these questionable emails are from people that did not read the book and seek free information or some government agency or another.

I realize that some of you consider yourselves to be tech-intelligent and make use of many online marketing tools. I ask you to realize that most of these online marketing tools were certainly available to me back in 2000-2001, but I passed on using them. My arrest in the malicious prosecution did include some postings on Big Doggie website sent by prosecutors in discovery; however, these posting were my attempts to stop anyone from discussing or reviewing my agency. You can read about it in Memoirs if you care. The party soliciting reviews was indeed an agent and I was correct.

Do you think I am so outdated that there were no touring escorts when I was in business? I must lol at that. Consider Miami Companions or Apres Vous or various others that base their business on touring escorts. They were all around during the late years of my business in Orlando. Miami Companions operators all pled guilty to various counts and the company no longer exists, but the problems were a result of touring escorts and credit cards.

The other outfit named has indeed had plenty of arrests in past. If there is no visible federal case, that's only because it is invisible and they opted to remain open. I closed my agency almost three months before I was arrested. Yes, I knew that agents were speaking to an informant escort that worked with me briefly more than two years earlier and was operating her own agency when caught-up in a credit card mess prosecution. That escort service owner continued operating her service too and her damn telephone was ringing in her purse as she testified in my trial. She also had escorts that worked with her business in the hallways during the first four days of my trial, at the request of agents, no doubt.

You could also look at the more recent case of Classy DC Escorts and DMV Indies. What did these people do that you should not be doing? Well, plenty really and if you read my book you'd know that, but for the sake of this conversation, they offered touring escorts and posted frequently on TER. Not intending to pick-on TER here and there are other similar outfits that many of you are aware of that are no different. One thing (among many) that they all share in common is the explicit reviews systems.

So keep on posting on TER and offering escorts on tours if you want, but realize that often prosecutions are a game of musical chairs and someone involved will take the deal. That is a fact that you could take to your fact bank. More recently I have heard that TER is hosted outside the US and this is a main reason that the many participants feel safe and secure. As if the US government has no reach outside the US, right? Incredibly laughable to me.

So operate your escort service or entertainment company in the sunshine, but at the same time realize why privacy does matter and keep your client and escort lists to yourself. After all is said and done, you are sending out sexy escorts by the hour for companionship and not escorts for sex. Realize that any conversation you have with anyone could one day be replayed for that jury of your peers. All of your conversations should be in the sunshine and with expectation that someone somewhere may be listening.

We are all tracked in America, and in the UK, though I am unsure of relevant laws there. Doubt me? Search for the term "Carnivore" and "ECHELON" if you are young or have forgotten what your government is capable of.

Edit on 2 September @5:45PM to add an important link: 

There is an interesting PBS Frontline show titled, "Spying on the Home Front," first released in May of 2007. You read and click on chapters to watch the videos:

Spying on the Home Front

Whether you are aware or not, your government considers you and everyone to be a suspect. Suspected of what? Anything; it doesn't matter, but they'll usually use the terror investigation card to get the ball rolling. It's not much different than the philosphy that guides all cops: If you're not a cop, you're a perp.

Escort Services on the Internet: The Future

 Very important update! 

EDIT - 9 July 2012 @5pm:

When that other thread was locked, Deb started a new thread requesting clarification from Google on the policy relatng to Places / Maps listings and escort services. An actual Google employee responded:

We treat escort services like any other service area business - if the address is faked or isn't marked as hidden, the listing will be removed.

Locking this thread to discourage further negativity about this topic.

The thread is here:

Hi Jade saw you locked the escort service thread can you please clarify the issue?

So obviously it was the renegade Map Makers with a mission. Make sure to check the box to "hide your address" in your Places dashboard as no customers come to your business location if you have an escort service.

End of edit.

Anyone that has an escort service today needs to pay attention to the outlook for adult businesses on the internet in the US. There is a disturbing element of censorship that becomes more pronounced every day and it's only going to get worse in the future. There are ways around it though.

EDIT on 7 July 2012 @1:45am EST:

I have completely updated two of the Blueprint Updates pages on my website with help around the Maps / Places issue and advertising and marketing ideas and thoughts:

Focus on Local

Advertising

For those of you that read this blog and the Accused Madam Blog regularly, this should not be news. I have often written about the censorship experienced in Orlando for many years and my belief that Orlando is a test city to see what works and what doesn't. They want to know what level of censorship the general public will tolerate and how to work around it. Well, now I see that they've found new ways to bypass the First Amendment using government contracts with big business.

I did edit my last post several times as I had new information to add and I won't be editing it again. The first link in that post is: Listing Removed from Maps Due toTechnical Issue. The link is to a Google help forum for those having various issues, including problems with Maps and Places listings. Read the entire thread. I guarantee it is enlightening.

After my last post on that help forum, I did conduct due diligence. My short time spent on research revealed the following and it is not good news if you own an escort service, a stripper service, or even a strip club. Make no mistake: The agenda is to censor anything and everything that is adult on the internet.

I actually had telephone conversations with close to 10 people in adult business early this morning. Most were positive about the situation and sort of shrugged their shoulders on it as they all recalled what we did before Google existed. Yes, these people were all long-term adult business owners and not people that purchased my books to open a service in the last few years. A few thought that it would be to their advantage when the industry is shoved back in time to print ads. Perhaps they are correct because knocking 100s of thousands of independent escorts out of the picture can't be bad for escort services.

You see, print ads – especially the yellow pages – eliminate much of the competition. No more free or cheap advertising would be available. As one man stated to me, he needed $10K to $15K to get into the yellow pages with decent sized ads and compete. If you've read my book, make sure you've followed all of the advice and not just Google Maps/Places advice. That advice included yellow pages ads, though I did advise you to go light and use services available free or cheap on the internet. Start saving everything you're making now, because you're going to need a yellow pages presence in the future and they usually want substantial down payments.

We already know how hard law enforcement is working to get rid of Backpage, so I won't get into that here. You should also know my thoughts on The Erotic Review (TER). Every federal case that I have researched and posted about in relation to escort services on the Accused Madam Blog has involved TER because their forums are entrenched with agents. Ignore what I'm saying and be a part of a future federal case.

What my research today revealed

If you have placed all of your eggs in the Google basket, you have seriously screwed-up. Fix it right now, before it is too late. I searched for the keyword phrases “escorts” and “escort service” preceded by the city. In other words, “orlando escorts” and “orlando escort service” or “boston escorts” and “boston escort service” etc... Map Makers with an Agenda have already been working hard to remove Maps and Places listings for escort services and entertainment businesses that are adult (i.e. stripper and bachelor party listings) in cities around the US.

Another part of this trend relates to Google updating web search results. About two months or so ago, my two websites that I used for research were completely removed from natural search results when both had been on the top of the first page of results for a long time – one for several years and the other for a year. At the time, I tried guessing why, but none of it really made sense. Anyway, no skin off my ass because I was not actually operating a service. I recently deleted both sites from my hosting account.

More recently I noticed that two services that had operated in Orlando for many years had also been removed from search results. One has been in business since 1992, and the other since 2000. Both are now the disappeared. Thank goodness for Yahoo and Bing, but then we all know that few searchers use either in comparison to the almighty Google.

On a positive note, Apple is working on a local listing service and we will have to watch and see what the future brings on that. Now for the bad news. My research revealed:

All Maps and Places removed in the following cities, but some have popped-up again and then disappeared again, but usually one or two reappeared where there were many before:

Orlando

New Orleans

Boston

Philadelphia

Cincinnati

Louisville

Omaha

San Antonio

Tulsa

Atlanta

Baltimore

Bangor, Maine

Indianapolis

Detroit

Albuquerque

St. Louis

Kansas City

Washington DC

Fort Myers, Florida

Milwaukee

Quebec

Paris, France (yes, you read that correctly)

The following list of cities has most Maps/Places listings removed and only 1 or 2 remain.

Seattle

San Francisco

Pensacola

Reno

Buffalo

Chicago

Fort Lauderdale

These city lists are by no means comprehensive. I didn't search for every city in the country or the world, obviously. If you do not see what I saw, be really happy because it may mean that someone took the censorship power away over at Google. It is hard to imagine that the order to remove all adult businesses came from the top or anywhere close to the top, but you never know.

The other disturbing trend involving escort service websites disappearing from natural search results benefited the following list of ad and listing websites:

EROS

TER

City of Love

City Search

Open Adult Directory

Yellow Pages

Dex Knows

Manta

Naughty Reviews

Map Quest

Backpage

Date Check

EZ Local

Local.com

City Vibe

Insider Pages

Many US cities have few or zero actual escort service websites in the natural search results now. I always thought that search results were supposed to index the most relevant websites first, but obviously something has seriously changed. Watch all of this closely in the future.

Social Media and the Escort Business

I admit to making little use of social media to sell my books or for any other reason. I'm not really a social person, I am wary of anyone following me, and I consider a major company collecting large amounts of information suspect to say the least. Clearly I am not the best advocate for using social media to promote your escort service or entertainment company.

The online world has experienced serious change since I first had an escort service website in 1993. Back then I had the second escort service on the internet. I have little doubt that there were other escort businesses promoting on BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems) and in chat rooms, but I never really had an interest in BBS or IRC in relation to the escort business. Remember – back then we had dial-up. I didn't get ADSL until 1998, and I was one of the first in Orlando to have it. Bellsouth sent four network techs to my house to install it. Can you imagine?

If you're interested in what IRC, BBS, and early ADSL was all about back then, read:

Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)

IRC History by Jarkko Oikarinen

Bulletin Board System (BBS)

Fast Forward to Today

Most of you are already aware that your tweets with Twitter are archived and housed in the Library of Congress. Your websites probably will be included in the Internet Archive project, which started in 1996. Facebook does archive messages and posts. I am not yet clear on Google Plus archiving practices, but we should assume they archive everything.

So how does this help the adult business owner? The truth is that it doesn't. This is not the sort of business that you want everyone to connect in. I would skip Facebook and Twitter entirely and focus on Google Plus. On the other hand, if you have a stripper-gram or a bachelor party only type of business, you should be using all of these mediums to promote.

I think that anyone with any type of business can make good use of Google Plus though. The best use includes Google + Pages which is really targeted to businesses. Definitely read through these links to develop a better understanding of how you can use it for your escort service or entertainment company:

Google Plus Business Pages

Google + for Business

This will actually be tied to a Google Places listing in an account. I have not made any sort of use of it yet and only recently signed-up for Google +, but if you use your imagination, you will realize that the possibilities are endless for your business. You can also use Google + Hangouts to have conversations with a specific circle of people. Make sure to read about Hangouts!

I will take it an additional step here. If you join Google + and follow me, I will follow you back. You would be in my “Adult Business” circle. You can have many circles with Google + and use Hangouts to have discussion with specific people in circles. Really a wonderful concept! My Google Plus Profile - Please do excuse the 2008 photo. I look the same except that I stopped coloring my hair and it is gray, which is why you will see that same photo for a long time.

You won't be able to create a bunch of aliases though. Google does allow a person an alias, but read the article and the names policy before you begin:

Google Relaxes Real Name Requirements on Google Plus

Google + Page and Profile Names

Do read the policies on names carefully. If you screw-up it can indeed cost you your Google account. They want your real, identifiable name and if you lie and create the account using an alias, you will be booted. I know that you can arrange it and make it work. If you read my book, you are operating your business correctly and are licensed to operate. This is really important for your business. 

Where to Open an Escort Service

The location most often searched in relation to opening an escort business is Las Vegas and it would be my number one choice for the experienced and the mentally strong. Vegas is truly for the hardcore. It's a legally safe place to open as an “outcall promoter,” but it is also highly competitive and you would need to create a niche service or at least target niche markets.

In my opinion, you are almost better off practicing somewhere else for two or three years and then tackling Vegas in the future. A beginner should not start in Vegas, though many of you do have related knowledge and are indeed qualified – only you know the answer to that. If I were to open an escort service today, I'd be on the next flight to Las Vegas, but then I do have many years of experience.

Miami can also be competitive; however, a person new to the business certainly can create a thriving, successful business there. Any readers here that have read my Blueprint books know that they are based on opening an escort service in Miami-Dade County, Florida. To be specific, the license you need there states, “dating and escort services” and doing it all the correct way is not that complicated in Miami.

Let's discuss Miami for a few minutes

I love Miami. Miami is a beautiful city that is also an adult playground. Orlando is for children and Miami is for adults and they are vastly different locations. If you watch the YouTube at the head of this blog, you will learn something about the layout of Miami and if you have any intention of moving there to start an escort business, I'd suggest that you watch the video and then study the layout of Miami-Dade County and its many municipalities. I promise it is not as complicated as it looks at first glance.

I lived in Miami from some time in 1983 through the end of 1987, and then went to college there in 2007-2008. Of course I have visited often over the years – sometimes for one day and other times for weeks. I love Miami. Yes, I know I have already stated that. When I first lived in Miami, I lived in Coconut Grove and then I later (1986) moved down south to the Cutler Ridge area off Old Cutler Road and SW 190^th Street. I would live in Miami right now, except for my personal obligations that keep me in central Florida.

Coconut Grove in the 1980s was one crazy place. Life was a party. Hell, Miami was a crazy place so it wasn't only the Grove area. A flood of memories come to mind with that statement... enough for a book. My Memoirs book is all about my former business in Orlando, so it may be time for one about the business in Miami. That would be a different type of Memoir for sure.

With world attention on that crazy story last week – the one with the crazed man eating the other man's face next to the MacArthur Causeway in Miami – I feel that a discussion of Miami is in order. Miami has always been a crazy place, but that guy had to be on serious synthetic drugs and he must have snapped from the heat. The autopsy will hopefully reveal specifically what he was on.

When I lived in Coconut Grove something as crazy happened not far from my back porch. It was late one night (like 4am-5am) in 1985 and we could see the Metrorail from our door. We were awake, but many people were awake at that hour back then... The way the lights by the Metrorail shined we could actually see the figure of a man swinging around a woman's head by her hair. Apparently he had chopped her head off. At the time we thought it was religion/voodoo related. Next thing we knew there were what seemed like hundreds of cops, sirens screaming and blue/red lights flashing everywhere. The lunatic actually threw her head at at cop. Just crazy.

During this era in Miami, beautiful South Beach did not exist. Have you ever seen the movie Scarface? Watch it and you will see how south Miami Beach was back in the 80s and how Miami was in general. Today Miami is a relatively safe place to live and a beautiful city. Yes, it is still on the crazy side, but it sure beats living in theme park land up here.

Second-Tier and Third-Tier Cities worthy of consideration

In Blueprint 2, I discuss what are referred to as second-tier cities. You will find it easier to open and operate an escort service in almost any one of these cities than in a major metropolitan area. A main reason for this is the lack of serious, skilled competition and this is actually a good way to learn the business without so much pressure. Hopefully you understand why opening a service in a second-tier city like Tampa, Florida or St. Louis, Missouri will be easier for the beginner and equally as profitable as a major metropolitan city area.

Third-tier cities can also be equally as profitable. The country is filled with third-tier cities. I would also consider Cincinnati and Cleveland to be third-tier along with Charlotte, North Carolina and San Diego, California. There is some debate on what makes a second-tier or a third-tier city and my opinions have evolved over time and may differ from the opinions of others. I haven't decided if Hartford, Connecticut is third-tier or fourth-tier, but similar areas are also a great place to start.

Understand that it is not necessary to jump into business in a major metropolitan area to make great money and it would actually be easier for you to at least start elsewhere and then work your way up to a major escort business area like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, NYC, Miami etc... in the future.

Beyond this discussion, I want to remind anyone purchasing The Complete Blueprint for an Escort Service and anyone that purchased Blueprint for an Escort Service prior to mid-February 2012, to read all of the Blueprint Updates on my website. The link is to the main updates page, but there are 4 additional pages to read at the time of this posting.

All the best in your entrepreneurial pursuits! 

 

When it is Time for a Vacation

You should know that it is time for a vacation when your telephone lines are being pounded with odd and questionable calls from numbers all over the country. At least one major city in the southwest US is currently under siege. I do not need to name that city as anyone in the escort business there is already aware of the current dire situation.

What the rest of you need to know is that the totally independent escorts in that southwest US city that book their own calls are being charged with the usual misdemeanor soliciting AND felony promoting prostitution. The felony count is for booking the call and the bond has been reported as $50,000 in each case. This is in line with what I have always stated that any independent escort that markets and books calls is her own business and they are not immune. Still, it is unusual.

In my opinion, it is all related to the Classy DC Escorts indictment fallout. There are numerous informant independents walking around seeking work; take a vacation and do not meet, interview, or work with any unknowingly.

When the telephone lines are under siege as they are in this southwest US city, it's time to take that long-needed vacation. Need more money first? No, you need to have a business when you return instead of a messy legal case. If you have little money socked away for such surprise vacations, think back to before you entered the escort business: Take a cheap extended vacation, but definitely take one.

What is a cheap vacation?

We used to go down to the Keys, like south of Marathon Key. There are wonderful campgrounds in this area where you can go diving, fishing and party for a month without missing the rest of the world. You can actually catch your dinner. Do not forget to bring a shrimp net and a lantern along with your coolers and camping gear.

Las Vegas can be a cheap vacation too. Check the rates at Circus Circus and Motel 6 on East Tropicana. Usually that Motel 6 has nightly rates of $32 if you book online and it's actually a choice place to stay if you choose the recently remodeled non-smoking section. There are all sorts of coupons available for buffets and even gambling... Check Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor for deals.

Perhaps camping on a lake in Kentucky or Tennessee mountains is more your style. While you're there stop by the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg for a tour. Remember what it was like before you had to deal with ringing phones and idiots all night.

Wherever you choose to go on your extended cheap vacation, leave the business phones at home. Contact your wireless service provider or the local telco and have the lines put on vacation too. Well, you may want to keep one line on so that you can see how fast and furious the calls come in when you leave and cannot be reached. Suddenly people that you never knew cared are desperately dialing you to get the 411. Just do not pick-up the phone.

When you return you may have to start all over again with escorts as many will not understand any need for such a vacation and will opt to work elsewhere, get arrested, and turn into the next informant. You will need to do your due diligence on the escorts prior to meeting with any when you return.

Give it a month and then check the atmosphere again. If it is still as it was when you left, leave again. No amount of money is worth a felony criminal case and the end of your business. Wait them out, because eventually they will find something better to do and go away.

How to Start an Escort Service

One thing about it - You will need to know more than how to start an escort service to be successful. You will need a Complete Blueprint for success in the escort business. There are many aspects of marketing that do not apply to escort services.

You will find that discretion is far more important than selling techniques when it comes to how to start an escort service and keep it operating.

My name is Vicky Gallas and I have been around the escort business for a long time. All of my research is current and updated. I want you to know who I am and that I owned the second escort service in the world that was online. My service first went online back in 1993, when there were fewer than 25,000 websites listed in Yahoo and Google did not exist.

The Internet Archive started in 1996, so you can actually see this for yourself - I am not a mystery marketer - if you read and follow instructions here: My Former Business

You do not want to be charged in the latest indictment or become the next target du jour of local, state, or federal law enforcement. Be discreet with your escort service and do not throw market copy in their faces just because you can and it will be a successful business.

I am the only escort service owner in the US to be acquitted (found not guilty) by a jury on organized crime charges. Google my name and see for yourself. I am a real person that has survived the worst type of prosecution.

I have had one connection or another to escort services since the mid-1980s and actually started out as a booker for an escort agency in Miami, the ultimate adult playground. I owned services for an entire decade in Orlando, the most conservative market that an escort business can exist in. My latest research of the escort business was in Las Vegas, Orlando, and Miami - three entirely different markets.

If Las Vegas is your interest, I can tell you that there are no licensed escort services there - only entertainment companies that hold "outcall promoter" licenses in Clark County, Nevada. Vegas is the big time, the city that never sleeps and packs the conventions in daily. The costs of opening an entertainment company and obtaining an "outcall promoter" license in Vegas are not prohibitive, but also not for the shoestring budget crowd.The rules in Vegas are different than the rest of the country.

Make no mistake, there is money to be made in the escort business, but you will not become a millionaire no matter what anyone tells you, if you do it all correctly. It is create-a-job and it also involves serious work and a free schedule. It is not something that you can do in your spare time. Starting an escort business is not fun and it is also not sexy. As a matter of fact, sexy will never enter your mind in relation to your business. It is a business.

The most up-to-date book that you will ever find on the topic of how to open an escort service and operate it is Blueprint for an Escort Service. The original edition was published in July of 2009, but I have recently (February of 2012) updated that book as technology and how we use it has certainly evolved since. This book is all that you will ever need.

I published The Complete Blueprint for an Escort Service in May of 2010. Rather than update the few technology issues that have since changed, I chose to offer the Blueprint Updates on my website. The reason for this is that more people purchase my paperbacks than my ebooks and none should be required to buy a new book to read the latest. I update that section of my website often. This book offers additional helpful details on how to open an escort business.

Understand how important it is to know who the person is that offers information on how to open an escort service. Realize that opening is only the beginning and it is the operation that counts.

My paperbacks are available from Amazon and can be ordered from any bookstore. My ebooks are available in the Google Play store, Amazon Kindle store, and in the Barnes and Noble Nook store. To find "Blueprint for an Escort Service" in Google Play, you will need to click the link because no matter what I have tried, it is not listed by title or by my name in Play and will look like it is not for sale. It is for sale in Play. The other books are easily found by a title or author search.

Vilifying the Escort Service Owner

The vilification of escort business owners is something that I have seen often in the last 20 years, but more recently it has escalated with each indictment or arrests that involved owners and operators. The high number of people (mainly independent escorts) voicing a hatred of escort service owners in online forums most recently is a result of the Classy DC Escorts indictment and the inclusion of the gun/violence charge.

The truth about the use of a gun and threats by the owner of Classy DC Escorts (if it even happened), is that these people were robbing him. The escorts he allegedly threatened and the driver/booker that he allegedly beat while “brandishing a gun” were stealing from him and the business – the thievery is a fact. If it is all true then he needs an anger management class – no one was actually shot or anything – and to learn to walk away from thieves that rip his wallet from his pocket. As hard as it is to do this, walking away is the only choice.

As I visited various forums shortly after the indictment was handed down, the vicious nature of the posts and clear hatred of escort service owners was all too obvious. I didn't say a word as I do not know anyone connected to Classy DC. Back when Jeane Palfrey (the former DC Madam) was arrested, convicted, and then committed suicide, the posters were 90% vicious bitches from hell. Many were considering her suicide to be reason for celebration. I couldn't hold my tongue and I let them have it – Jeane often caught and said goodbye to thieves. I haven't posted on the TER or Big Doggie forums since.

The bottom line is that if these independents didn't like working with the service, all each had to do was leave, exit, open their own damn business. Just as there is no real excuse for “brandishing a gun” in attempt to retrieve stolen money, there is also no excuse for the thieves. One crime is no better than the other! (actually as long as no one was really shot, I consider brandishing a gun to be the lesser offense)

There will be many independents that cross your path and steal your fees at every opportunity. I still have one that I refer to as “the Christmas thief,” but really it was my fault that she got away with as much as she did. If I had been paying attention as I should have been, the most she could have stolen was a fee or two. As angry as I was at the time, mainly due to my misplaced trust, I knew that my only option was to walk away. That was what I did.

I wonder how they'd feel if any owned a restaurant and an employee was stealing from the register on a nightly basis. Would they blame the party that threatened or even hit the thief? The restaurant owner has the option of dialing the police, but the escort service owner really does not.

Some anonymous party posted a wild and unprovable allegation against the owner of Classy DC on my other blog a couple of days ago, but I deleted it in minutes. I figure that he was in the business since 2006-07, and the feds were investigating from around the middle of 2009, so if such a crazy accusation was not included in the indictment, it has to be entirely baseless and the anonymous poster probably plays a part in the case (like informant).

Every time a newspaper comes out with a story about an underage prostitute being pimped on Backpage, the same crowd lays the blame on the existence of escort services. Only a complete moron would blame the entire escort industry because some idiot commits such crimes. But isn't that exactly what they're all doing by demanding the removal of the “adult services” and “escorts” categories on Backpage? Everyone is supposed to pay for the crimes of a few. Not in this lifetime. I hope that Backpage holds its ground.

Anytime an escort business owner is arrested or indicted many blame the entire industry, as if we all had some hand in the party's business or do everything as they did. A main rule here is that all escort services are not created equal. No two services operate exactly the same. I do not know about everyone else in the biz, but I am sick and effing tired of being called a pimp by idiots and thieves. If the escorts didn't want to be escorts, they wouldn't be. Don't let these people pull your leg – they all want the damn money.

[End of rant, for now anyway] 

The Escort Business: Reflections and Thoughts

I hope that the readers of this blog are having a happy new year, or at least are on the road to a better future. Many of you arrive at this blog by typing the phrase how to open an escort service so I must imagine that this is your intention.

This blog actually gets more reads than my Accused Madam Blog, unless I am blogging about topics of interest to many people, like trials in the news or well-known cases like the Miami Companions case or the Southwest Companions arrests. I never intentionally ignore this blog – it's just that there isn't much that has changed in the escort business, so what is there to say?

When I offered two of my books free through Amazon Kindle store at the end of 2011, the downloads overwhelmingly (4 to 1) favored my “Memoirs” book and not the “Blueprint” book. I considered this odd as I sell so few copies of Memoirs in comparison to any of the Blueprint books. If you missed the free offer I am sorry, but it's available at a low price for anyone actually interested in opening an escort service.

The tech aspect of opening and operating an escort service is always evolving, but the rest of it stays the same. As the internet and search indexing change so do the businesses seeking clients online. I found no solid reasoning to publish a new edition of “Blueprint” over tech stuff as I am not an expert on that topic anyway. Just build a website viewable and findable on smartphones and laptops alike and do not forget the new focus on local and you'll do fine.

State and federal law enforcement agencies have not paid anymore attention to the escort business than they always have and often this is dependent on the area you choose to operate in and the level of acceptance. Always take the safe and consistent side and realize that all money is not good money. Learn to walk away. Realize that you owe no one an explanation for anything that you do. When people start questioning me, I start making up stuff. No random stranger or old acquaintance appearing out of nowhere should ever be questioning you and if it happens, head the other direction quick.

A person that I have posted an article about on both blogs long ago (Doug Ketcher of the former Sweethearts Escorts of South Florida) dropped by to comment as he was recently released from prison. I am sure that his ordeal is not anything that any of you ever want to go through and I implore you to pay attention to what I have stated in the book. I feel for Mr. Ketcher, but at the same time, I didn't have his party and neither should you. Acceptance of credit cards for your business and pretending the IRS doesn't exist as you rake in the big$$$s could place you in harm's way and it is never “worth it” as Mr. Ketcher stated in the comment.

And then there is the New York High Class case.... There were drugs involved in the case and it is not just an escort service prosecution. I have no clue if the many defendants are guilty of anything or not, but according to the indictment, the case involved drug delivery to clients. A similar set-up of the infamous Jason Itzler (of NY Confidential fame) took place a couple of months later in the same jurisdiction. Just skip the drugs and you won't have the sort of problems that any of these defendants currently do. Your mommy should have taught you that much, but if she didn't then take heed of the warning now.

Realize that most of the YouTube videos posted on my blogs have significance to me in one area of life or another. I have never just posted random videos. Not that it matters to you... I'm just sayin'....

If you have attempted to post a short comment and link to your escort website here in past, please realize that if I allowed all comments with adult business links to go through, this blog would be finished in short time. I like my blogs and the US is a censored country, no matter what they tell you, so the comments won't be posted.

On a rare occasion I will let a comment and link to a conservative site go through, but I check that link later to make sure it hasn't evolved into a porn site. One semi-intelligent poster dropped his real comment with a profile link on my other blog long ago and the profile was nothing that mattered at that time, but soon readers were flocking to this seemingly unimportant article. Yes, his profile link became a XXX explicit porn advertisement. It was deleted.

I recently changed my consultation policy on my website to accommodate the small group of people that asked everything from..., well, you have the idea, I'm sure. In the books I do advise that you are welcome to contact me with a question or two and you still are, but if it reaches the point of exasperation and is too time consuming for me, I'll be responding with a link to the consultant page of my website. The one party that actually paid for email consults actually turned out to be really nice and just wants to make damn sure everything is correct. That is something I do understand. Just realize that I cannot hold your hand through the set-up and opening of a business as it places me in jeopardy.

Realize that I do not allow anyone to place me in legal jeopardy. This is something that I learned form my many years in the business and my subsequent prosecution and acquittal by jury. Yes, people have tried – one too recently for comfort. If I even suspect that your goal is to throw me under a bus for your own prosecution, well, I react different ways. Sometimes I ignore the party and other times I just start making stuff up, but whichever route I choose, realize that you are no match for me, at least not in anything even remotely related to the escort business.

Last, but not least, please do not bother downloading my titles for free on one of those illegal file sharing websites. Realize that I can't be in the business because of my past and I barely survive. I don't think $8-10 is too much to pay for a book that could help you make hundreds of thousands of $s legally and safely, do you?

Stay safe and prosper!

Vicky Gallas

Announcement: Blueprint Updates

In the near future, all Blueprint updates will be in the Blueprint Updates section of my website. I decided not to publish any future editions of any Blueprint books because there really isn’t that much to update with the exception of tech-related information.

All information in relation to website hosting and design is found on the Websites page. Working with WordPress websites is simple once you do it once and it doesn’t take too much effort to learn. These days a local presence is absolutely necessary and all updated information is found on the Focus on Local page. Any important updates related to advertising your business, including both print and online, is located on the Advertising page. Last, but not least, if using a variation of the business model in the books is of interest to you, visit the Business Models page for ideas and information.

A main theme that I will be focusing on is reaching your audience that is online via a mobile device, tablet, or smartphone. My recent research has revealed that this is how the great majority of clients and customers are searching and your website(s) and ads should be targeting this market more than any other.

Some information from the Blueprint Updates on this blog is repeated as it is still current, but there will be much new information on the above noted pages also.

I expect to be finished with this section of the website by the day after Christmas. I have been ill and am not able to do much each day or it would already be completed. I do intend to continue blogging here in the future, but not in reference to Blueprint updates.

Opening an Escort Service: Yes or No

One statement that I make in my Blueprint books is that the escort business is not for everyone. Many will consider the option of opening an escort service, read the book, and then opt to pass on it. I tried to not glamourize the business and clearly state that it is highly unlikely that you will ever make $millions as some people claim.

Over the course of the last year I have received numerous emails from interested people that ask if I would do it all over again as they try to decide their own paths in life. I give you no hype on the topic, but yes, if the circumstances were the same, I'd do it all over again. I state this even though I ended-up arrested, in trial, and acquitted by jury.

Yes, I lost everything that I had as a result of the criminal case and I had more than most people (law enforcement and prosecutors) seem to think as I had invested everything in gold and silver bullion and equities. I studied the gold and silver market for almost two years and bought back when gold was $250-$280 an ounce and silver was $3.50-$5. Because of the many costs involved in my arrest and case, I also sold it all as I went along and by the time I reached trial there was little remaining. As the dealer that I sold to stated, I should consider myself lucky that I had it all to sell and cover expenses. Yes, I cried on more than one occasion over it – it was my retirement and my son's future. Who doesn't want to buy their child a new car etc... and offer financial security?

I was left with no retirement and no financial security whatsoever, gold recently passed $1800 an ounce, and silver was around $40, but it was the equities (stocks) that I really lost on. Back then I could have told you anything about any gold or silver mine in North America, South America, or South Africa. I learned much about a topic that doesn't matter at all anymore.

I decided that after knowing for fact that agents broke into my Orlando house without a court order or warrant, I never wanted to own property in the US again. I also used to have perfect credit, but really who gives a shit about credit anyway? So make no mistake here – I exited the business with less than I had when I started it in 1992. However, I was able to spend my son's years of growing-up with him instead of working all the time and we had the money to take trips to NYC, the Bahamas, on a cruise, shopping etc... all the stuff that never would have happened without that escort business.

One recent email I received:

If you had to do it all over again, would you? I've been presented with an opportunity to enter this realm, however, I am unsure if the risks are outweighed by the rewards.

Thanks for listening.

My response to that email:

Well, it was not presented as an opportunity to me - I was attempting to support myself and my child on an $8 per hour job with no health insurance and we both had health issues. So yes, I would do it again - my son and I had fun as he grew-up, we did things and had the money to. Otherwise I would have never seen him as I would have been too busy working.

If your life is already good, I wouldn't get involved in the escort business. If you are unemployed or barely surviving on a low wage job, you may want to consider it.

You also must analyze the person(s) providing the opportunity. I advise in my book that one should only have a partner if they're married or know the party really well. You can go into business on your own - you do not need an "opportunity" or a partner. Be careful - there are treacherous people involved in the escort business.

Hope that helps.

The response to my response:

Thank you Vicky. That is exactly what I needed to hear.

I assume that the emailer chose to pass on getting into the business. Many of you that read the Blueprint book may do the same. Keep the book in case your circumstances change and you decide to go ahead with the project in the future as we never know what tomorrow will bring. Also keep it because you never know when I will decided to stop selling it – yes, there has been some pressure in recent days and I admit that it is a consideration, albeit a small one.

If you are already in a dire financial situation or have similar reasons as my own for entering the escort business, plan carefully and proceed with caution. Analyze all that you say and do before you speak or do it and you'll be fine. I used to pretend that a jury was listening to every telephone conversation and everything stated to every escort; the sad part is that I still must do this because they are sore losers that never, ever go away.

So I won, but I also lost and you need to clearly understand that. I have serious enemies. Caveat Emptor.

Registration Begins on XXX Domains

Today begins registration for the new .xxx domain names. I found an excellent article in the International Business Times that explains the registrations schedule far better than I could and it includes a chart: .XXX Domain Registration: A Cheat Sheet for the Sunrise

I do not care for the segregation aspect of .xxx and feel that it will make blocking all adult websites, no matter how conservative in design, much easier for ISPs, hotels, and anyone else that so desires. However, if you already have a TLD (top level domain), you really do need to buy the matching .xxx if nothing else.

Censored by PayPal

I awoke today to read the following email from PayPal:

We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy regarding your sales / offers of an ebook about escort services on blueprintforanescortservice.blogspot.com.

Therefore, your account has been permanently limited.

Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for certain sexually oriented materials or services or for items that could be considered obscene.

It is a trick statement as all of my books are “about escort services” including Memoirs. All are also sold on my website, The Accused Madam. I only had funds from the last three sales in the account so the balance is $30 after PayPal took its fees on the three sales and adding the previous balance of $2.

The censors at PayPal must not want anything sold that isn't for children. Does Disney own PayPal or a piece of the company?

Nothing in any book I have written could possibly be considered “obscene” or “sexually oriented material”. My books are all intended for an adult audience, but if they were rated they would all be PG or at worst R. There is nothing sexual in any book I have written.

Screw the censors at PayPal.

When I login to my PayPal account I see the following notification:

Why is my account access limited?
Your account access has been limited for the following reason(s):

• Jul 10, 2011: When you signed up for your PayPal account, you agreed to our User Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy. Because some of your recent transactions violated this policy, we've had to permanently limit your account.
  
  Please remove any references to PayPal from your website.
  
  You'll be able to withdraw any money in your account 180 days after your last transaction. We'll email you when it's ready to be withdrawn.
  

My email response to aup@paypal.com:

Nothing in any book that I have written could possibly be considered "obscene" or "sexually oriented material". While the intended audience for my books is adult, if anyone were to read and rate any of my books they would each be a PG or at most an R. There is nothing sexual in any book.

What you are doing here is incorrect, but this is the US and I respect your right as a company to not do business with anyone you choose. Welcome to Amerika, the new Disney, where everything is for children and adults do not exist except in relation to children.

Screw PayPal's censorship of me and my books. So you manage to stop me from selling ebooks that are available from Google ebooks and in Amazon's US, UK, and Canada Kindle stores and as paperbacks through any bookstore. Thanks a bunch and screw you.

Vicky Gallas

Advice for Escort Business Owners and Clients

This could turn into a complicated post if I allow it to; I will try not to go that direction herein. Anyone that has read any of my books is aware that I discuss the blocks on escort business telephone numbers and websites during conventions in Orlando. Memoirs is all about the blocking and the Blueprint books mention it more than once. I have also posted occasionally on the topic on the Accused Madam Blog.

There are always ways around such blocking. First, what do I mean by blocks during conventions?

When there are large conventions in your city you may notice that you receive few calls, if any at all. This is obvious in Orlando, at least to me. This was obvious to several operators in Las Vegas for years and civil suits were filed over the problem. In past I heard from operators in Los Angeles that it was clearly happening there as well. Now I am hearing that the practice has become all too obvious in New Orleans.

Check the conventions in your area. I cannot define “large” in relation to the number of attendees at a convention, but I have seen it with a convention of 45,000 and with a convention of 1000. Today I was asked: “What are the chances that nobody at all calls during a convention with 45,000 attendees?”

I asked what specific convention was being referenced and the answer was Rotary International. Well, the chances in Orlando that no one will call are 100%. No one at all called during the Golf Merchandise show here back in late January and 45,000 people came here for it. Imagine how many hotels fill in New Orleans when that many people come in town for a convention. Yet, not a single call. This owner had his eyes on the situation because previous large conventions brought zero calls and he has great placement in search engines.

One trend that you will notice is that you receive calls immediately before the convention and immediately after it from people there for that specific convention. Some people do arrive early or stay a day or two extra in a convention city. You may even hear from a random caller there for the convention – I try to question on how he found the website and what device he is using to dial me.

Up until mid-January, people using some advanced smartphones were able to view the site and call without issue, but something changed by the end of January 2011. I do not have a grasp on it yet and can only research and make educated guesses. When I figure it out, I'll post about it.

One thing you may notice is that your websites are still receiving high visitor numbers from unique IP addresses and the numbers get higher during the huge conventions. So is it believable that not one person from that huge convention will call to ask a question? No way in hell, especially when considering that it rings off the hook when there isn't a sizable convention in town or from outside areas when there is.

Let's consider possible solutions for the escort business

Plaster your email address on top and bottom of every page on your website. Announce on the main page that interested clients should save your email address – the blockers sure as hell cannot block your email. Include a short statement on the main page of your site that if an interested client is coming to the area for a convention they may find escort service websites blocked and may not be able to get through on the telephone. Assure them that you will respond quickly to email and instruct all to save your email address and/or book an advance appointment.

This is a plug for the adult business forums and sites that offer ads to adult business and are at the top or near the top in the keyword phrases that matter: Place ads on a few of these sites that will run before, during, and after that big convention. Use a new telephone number in any of those ads. Your number on the website may be blocked by the blockers; mine is. Repeat this, always getting a new telephone and number, for all large conventions. You decide what large is, but to me it is 10,000+.

The most known site with great ad prices is EROS. Bigdoggie.net is another well-known site that has been around for a while, but their ad prices are high. You can also post in the forums on these sites. One more to look at is World Escort Guide – they have great prices and are somewhat high in search rankings in the cities they operate in, but they are not in that many US cities.

While you are at it, grab your netbook and wireless modem (all major wireless companies have them) and head out to the hotels during one of the larger conventions. Sit in the lobby and see if you can search for and click on your own website using the wireless modem you brought with you. Dial your own telephone numbers from different wireless phones. Now, go online using the hotel's Wifi if at all possible. If at all possible, use the hotel's ISP for a cable connection in a hotel room reserved by a convention attendee. What worked and what didn't?

Encourage clients that visit your website from elsewhere prior to visiting for the convention to book advance appointments. To do this you would want accurate photos of escorts on the website and know each escort's schedule of availability. You may want to offer a decent discount for appointments booked in advance. You may also want to aim your marketing at other areas and try to grab potential client's attention before they come to your city. If you are in Las Vegas there are many options that are not online.


Possible solutions for clients

If you have any idea that you might be interested in seeing an escort when you attend a major convention, search in advance for the websites. Save the telephone number and the email address. Consider booking in advance or at least calling and making sure that the business will respond quickly to an email when you are ready to make an appointment.

Remember that a Google or Yahoo or Hotmail address cannot be blocked by the hotel. Never use AOL because they have always been known for blocking issues – in email and in search results. Businesses are going to need to adapt to responding immediately to emails – no more 24 notice by email stuff.

This may not be happening in your area at all, but as long as I have been aware of the problems (since 1992), I have known that a major connector is a hospitality industry entity that works closely with conventions in most major cities. The situation has evolved over time, but the convention and hospitality industry connection to the problem has never changed.

Open an Escort Business Anywhere

My Blueprint books are really more easily applied in the US, but they do have information that is useful anywhere in the world too. I must imagine that most areas of the globe have zoning rules and licenses to enter any type of business. Interacting with the escorts and answering the telephone is similar anywhere – in some areas you can be more open than in others. How to answer a telephone and collect your money would also be more the same than different in any geographical location.

There are some areas of the planet I which a person would go about many aspects of the business differently, even within the US, and certainly between the US and Canada, for example. Really it all comes down to the level of acceptance for adult business on an outcall basis. It is the level of acceptance in any geographical area that will ultimately determine how you operate and the type of license that you will want.

Another disparity will be communications: You must advertise and market in the way that is most accepted in the area you choose. It does no good to market your business entirely online if potential clients in the area look at local newspapers. It also won't help to place a print ad if all the clients are online. Every geographical area has its own unique attributes and it is your responsibility to research for the area that you intend to open the escort business.

There are some areas that are truly unique. In the US, Las Vegas is one of them. This of course relates to the level of acceptance and adult business has always been welcome in Vegas. At the same time, Vegas is a highly competitive area and starting an escort service on a small budget is not really possible.

Search Indexing and Advertising for Adult Business

Where your website would show in Google, Yahoo! and Bing used to be somewhat predictable over a period of time, but it isn't anymore. In case you haven't noticed or wonder why your telephones stopped ringing, Google has a new and mostly unpredictable algorithm. Yahoo! and Bing often take so long to index websites that hopefully you have not isolated your attempts to get websites indexed with Google alone.

Advertising for adult businesses – escort services and party or stripper entertainment businesses that serve adults only – on the internet has become extremely complicated lately. I admit that I resent this as we are not all 10 years old and the parents of the 10 year-old (or whatever age) should be responsible for the non-adult's internet access and not the rest of the damn world. I am not sure about the rest of the world, but it seems that in the US everything is being optimized for children. It has always been that way in Orlando because of Disney so I am used to it, but I imagine the rest of the country is surprised. Welcome to my censored world.

This new obscure algorithm will soon be implemented throughout the world, so don't get too happy if you're in another country. In all that I have read recently I understand this is a really serious issue in Germany too. This surprises me – no adult ads in Google, Yahoo! and Bing in Germany? What happened that I missed? Germany has undergone serious changes since I lived there. There is a list of countries that have been affected by these new rules concerning adult content so it isn't only Germany.


Focus on Local

I think we all realized the importance of the local focus a while back. Google Maps was really great for all while it lasted, but it has changed (see previous posts) and Places is not so great. If you read through the help forums for Places you will see what I mean. If you already had a listing before the major change then you may be okay, or not. Now they are even rejecting many that use a mailing address instead of a physical location, but that is far from the only problem. It isn't only adult businesses that are having problems with Places – it is all types of business, but you could forget about phone verification as the rules have changed. Read through the Places Help Forums

People are actually changing their websites in attempt to conform to Places demands and get a listing. Now that is crazy – the website is what it is and if you delete all the keyword phrases that matter, well, your website will be worthless anyway.

A while back I had a couple of websites that were refused by Yahoo! Local. The email stated that there was no way to appeal this so don't bother trying. Please keep in mind that I have never designed and submitted any website that even had nudity! Not even a breast! Any website I have ever submitted could easily be considered general audience, but focusing only on adults. Bing Local has always been out – Microsoft has never been keen on anything adult, which is ironic as the first escort service website in the world was in Seattle, Washington (Microsoft territory). Now Bing and Yahoo! are together.

Yet you see escort businesses with listings in Google Places, Yahoo! Local, and Bing Local. So how do they get there? One way to get in Yahoo! Local is through Express Update or through City Search as both feed Yahoo! Local. City Search looks far too expensive, but I admit that I haven't read thoroughly and am not exactly clear on what you get for your $s. Express Update has a free listing option.

I am not clear on Bing Local yet – supposedly they're mailing a few postcards out so I will post when I see what happens next. Perhaps they have changed, or not.


The New Algorithm

Google's new algorithm is supposed to use a secret formula and thus far it is a secret kept from all. I am getting mixed messages between Google, Yahoo! And Bing. Yahoo! appreciates the keywords in the domain name and this will give your website higher ranking with those keywords. Read the section on Domain Implementations in this Yahoo! Advertising guide. I do not believe that Google appreciates this anymore though, and it may serve to lower your Google ranking – I have seen evidence of this in the new algorithm.

Perhaps you must have one website optimized for Google and one optimized for Yahoo! and Bing. It has all become confusing. It used to be that you simply had one website that said what your business did and offered information, and then the SEO (search engine optimization) people came along and changed that – your website needed SEO or it would sink in rankings. Now the SEO craze seems to be over, except that everyone is attempting to figure out and master the new algorithm. Read through the ongoing discussion on Webmaster World.

As an example, my site that I use for research has been lost at times and research is not really possible as the phone doesn't ring anymore, except periodically (I will get to that issue). Websites that do not relate to the keyword phrase at all have a better rank now, including one that has a couple of sentences and a telephone number and otherwise several blank pages. What the hell? Somehow I do not believe that deleting all information from my website will help it get back the better ranking. I do not get it.

I sometimes check ranking on that site from different IP addresses – easily done by checking from a Blackberry, an Android, and a PC or laptop. Well, the results are astonishing to me: Using the same keyword phrase it will not show at all (I only check up to page 5 of search results) at times, it will show on page 1 at times, and on page 2 at other times. There is no formula possible here except a rotation of some sort. There is no way to optimize with that algorithm and perhaps that is the idea, except that when it doesn't show some total garbage websites do show – and what good is that to the searcher? What good is it to the business? It is just screwed-up and nothing more.


What about PPC (pay per click)?

This is also confusing. You will certainly see PPC ads at the top and side of search results for adult business websites; however, Google has been suspending accounts of adult business sites using AdWords and Yahoo/Bing are anything but clear on adult content ads in their advertising program. Still, you see ads on all three that are wild in comparison to your mild content and images, right?

Want to be confused? Read Microsoft Advertising's Adult Content Guidelines and the Google AdWords Help forum to start. Apparently the rules do not apply to all of us.


Final Thoughts

My advice is to have at least two websites that are different and use different keyword phrases. One domain should make use of the most important keyword phrase in the URL and the other should not. They have decided to confuse us all to death. Use confusion to your advantage and have 10 different websites and watch and see which websites make it in which search engines. Now that is time consuming!