Interview with Omar from SiteDepth.com
I recently had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Omar from SiteDepth.com. SiteDepth is an exciting new content management system that makes paysite members area management a whole lot easier on webmasters and site owners. Read on to find out more about this incredible and affordable new software product.
Muffy: Okay...first question: How and when did you get your start in the online adult business?
Omar: We started in the online adult business about 3 years ago when we were the webmasters for www.planetgirlco.com. This was one of the first non-nude teen sites.
Muffy: What is your new site, SiteDepth, all about and how did you guys come up with the concept?
Omar: We were working on PlanetGirlco.com and the collection of pictures and the numbers of updates was growing at a great speed, so we started thinking that instead of doing updates manually, maybe we should try to buy or get some sort of software that would help us out. We saw that the software that was out there was not at all advanced so we decided to produce a system ourselves to make our lives simpler. We never thought that there would be a demand for it one day, and so that is how it started.
Muffy: So, you guys have created software that makes content management easier, right? Who are you targeting with this product?
Omar: Yes, that is what we did. Basically, we are targeting any webmaster that runs a paysite or a few paysites, with pictures and videos, who does not want to spend countless hours updating their sites the old way. The advantage of SiteDepth is that all that you have to do once it is installed is upload a zip file, and the program does the rest. It copyrights, it resizes the pics for the thumbs, and you choose the day that you want your gallery to come live. It has loads of features, it is extremely user friendly, and it integrates itself in the current design of the site. We used to target "smaller" webmasters, but recently during the Phoenix Forum we noticed that there was some interest among some bigger players who were still doing it manually.
Muffy: You mentioned that you used to target "smaller" webmasters. Does this mean that the pricing for this type of software is affordable for everyone?
Muffy: That brings me to my next question. What is the competition like for this type of software?
Omar: Well, from what we have seen, it is either very amateurish, or very overpriced. Some of the people that we have sold it to have done a lot of research on the products that are out there and ended up coming to us in the end. We have sold the script to sites that get over 2,000 members a month so in that case money was no issue, but they still decided to come to us. This is something that we developed for our personal use. It was done by webmasters for webmasters, and we believe it covers everything. We are in talks with a team that has just purchased the MAS CMS, and is about to write it off because they are unsatisfied and are thinking of switching to us. Another advantage of SiteDepth is that we can add features and customize it depending on what some people want (in that case we charge a small fee).
Muffy: What methods are you using to make webmasters aware of your product?
Omar: So far we have posted on a few boards, and used word of mouth. We have not started major advertising or marketing as of yet
Muffy: How has the response been so far from those webmasters that have used your software?
Omar: The response has been fantastic. People always come to us telling us how happy they are with the product and how much time it saves them. We have one client who used a free program before, and said that his server speed has definitely increased since he started using SiteDepth. In general, people said that it will really be a useful tool to grow their business and reduce their costs.
Muffy: So, what is the next step for your website?
Omar: Well, we want to get out there and become the standard. We want every webmaster who opens a site to come to us for their content management needs. We are adding features as we speak to make it even better. Many people tell us that we should charge more, but we are in the business too and for us we are doing it as much to sell it, as we are to meet more people in this business. We are happy with the current pricing, and it will stick for now.
Muffy: Are there any obstacles that you have encountered in trying to establish SiteDepth?
Omar: The main obstacle that we encountered was skepticism. At the beginning, people were concerned that our product was not all what we promised and that it would not be able to handle their traffic. However, once they see a demo, and hear that it has been tested on sites with huge traffic without any server slow down they warm up to us.
Muffy: Well, I would like to thank you very much for speaking with me about your new software. I would like to wish you the very best with SiteDepth.com.
Omar: We started in the online adult business about 3 years ago when we were the webmasters for www.planetgirlco.com. This was one of the first non-nude teen sites.
Muffy: What is your new site, SiteDepth, all about and how did you guys come up with the concept?
Omar: We were working on PlanetGirlco.com and the collection of pictures and the numbers of updates was growing at a great speed, so we started thinking that instead of doing updates manually, maybe we should try to buy or get some sort of software that would help us out. We saw that the software that was out there was not at all advanced so we decided to produce a system ourselves to make our lives simpler. We never thought that there would be a demand for it one day, and so that is how it started.
Muffy: So, you guys have created software that makes content management easier, right? Who are you targeting with this product?
Omar: Yes, that is what we did. Basically, we are targeting any webmaster that runs a paysite or a few paysites, with pictures and videos, who does not want to spend countless hours updating their sites the old way. The advantage of SiteDepth is that all that you have to do once it is installed is upload a zip file, and the program does the rest. It copyrights, it resizes the pics for the thumbs, and you choose the day that you want your gallery to come live. It has loads of features, it is extremely user friendly, and it integrates itself in the current design of the site. We used to target "smaller" webmasters, but recently during the Phoenix Forum we noticed that there was some interest among some bigger players who were still doing it manually.
Muffy: You mentioned that you used to target "smaller" webmasters. Does this mean that the pricing for this type of software is affordable for everyone?
Omar: Its extremely affordable. We sell it for $399 per server (unlimited domains) and we charge $150 per additional server. Our closest competitor Mansion Products sells their product for almost $4,000. We have 1-800 phone numbers that lead to our cells, for support and for any information our current customers or potential clients may require.
Muffy: That brings me to my next question. What is the competition like for this type of software?
Omar: Well, from what we have seen, it is either very amateurish, or very overpriced. Some of the people that we have sold it to have done a lot of research on the products that are out there and ended up coming to us in the end. We have sold the script to sites that get over 2,000 members a month so in that case money was no issue, but they still decided to come to us. This is something that we developed for our personal use. It was done by webmasters for webmasters, and we believe it covers everything. We are in talks with a team that has just purchased the MAS CMS, and is about to write it off because they are unsatisfied and are thinking of switching to us. Another advantage of SiteDepth is that we can add features and customize it depending on what some people want (in that case we charge a small fee).
Muffy: What methods are you using to make webmasters aware of your product?
Omar: So far we have posted on a few boards, and used word of mouth. We have not started major advertising or marketing as of yet
Muffy: How has the response been so far from those webmasters that have used your software?
Omar: The response has been fantastic. People always come to us telling us how happy they are with the product and how much time it saves them. We have one client who used a free program before, and said that his server speed has definitely increased since he started using SiteDepth. In general, people said that it will really be a useful tool to grow their business and reduce their costs.
Muffy: So, what is the next step for your website?
Omar: Well, we want to get out there and become the standard. We want every webmaster who opens a site to come to us for their content management needs. We are adding features as we speak to make it even better. Many people tell us that we should charge more, but we are in the business too and for us we are doing it as much to sell it, as we are to meet more people in this business. We are happy with the current pricing, and it will stick for now.
Muffy: Are there any obstacles that you have encountered in trying to establish SiteDepth?
Omar: The main obstacle that we encountered was skepticism. At the beginning, people were concerned that our product was not all what we promised and that it would not be able to handle their traffic. However, once they see a demo, and hear that it has been tested on sites with huge traffic without any server slow down they warm up to us.
Muffy: Well, I would like to thank you very much for speaking with me about your new software. I would like to wish you the very best with SiteDepth.com.
