New Tickling Video Producer... Maybe... help?

Well, I am a film/theatre student (writing and directing with some acting emphasis), and I have recently decided that I might like to try making some tickling videos. However their are two major roadblocks that I thought I would ask about since I know we have some really high quality producers on here who have been very sucessful. The first is this, is it possible to maintain any degree of annonymity when you get into this buisness. I mean obviously it woulden't nessicarily be the best thing the graduate school admitions to include a portfolio of "fetish work" though some might like it. The second is where to find models, I have a few friends I might be able to convince to work on this kind of a project, but I was wondering how to find models otherwise. I belong to a talent agency myself and I am pretty sure they do not negotiate in that kind of work, so I came to the best place for help, the all knowing TMF So if you hear my plea, be kind, give a little advice. Jeff? TIB? Tickle Central? FootParadise? Anyone? Thanks in advance. I always appriciate everyones help around here.

Finding models is usually a case of advertising. Adult magazines would probably be the best bet.

Fetish models required for wor work @ *insert fee here*

Nudity not required

might get you started. If you're at college, you might also put an advert on the notice boards, but be careful if you want to maintain anonymity.

some idea's of my own...

some idea's for ad's:

1. Wanna be tickled silly and get paid for it?

2. Are you the kind of girl who is a bit left of kinky? Like feather's? Rope's? Would you like to make some quick cash exploring the "non vanilla" side of life?

...well, I guess ya kinda have to be here ..the ol' noggin' isn't exactly in "On" mode today!!

I did have some other idea's, but they escape me at the mo..

I would put a lot of thought into such a project before even beginning to consider doing it. I learned the hard way that it's not the dream come true that many people think it is. Running a tickling video business is not at all like having casual tickling fun with friends. It's a very different experience. It can be very frustrating (especially because of the models), a LOT of work, and very expensive, much more than one might expect.

Also, while it's true that a few of the producers have had good success, they're the exceptions. In most cases it's not really possible to make any real profit doing this. The market is simply too oversaturated. Myself, I've been selling videos for nearly two years now and my debt is still almost in the 5 figures (about $9000 in the hole, if you must know). I may manage to break even one day, but will it have been worth all the trouble, work, frustration and embarassment? I don't know. Personally, if I could go back, I don't think I'd start the project at all.

But that's just my personal experience. Things might go better for you, who knows. If you're really interested in giving it a try, I can tell you that my main methods of advertisement are ads on college campus billboards and ads in newspapers. We don't have relevant local adult magazines around here. Not big enough a city.

The campus ads have had some success, but not enough. You'd think that I'd have all the models I need since it's a huge 35,000 student campus. But even with such a resource I've struggled for a long time to find decent willing models. Heck, it took me 5-6 months after my first video before I could find models for a second one, and those were people I personally knew, not college recruits.

The problem is that the main obstacle for most candidates is the context of the market. No matter if a tickling video doesn't include any nudity and is just harmless fun, the fact remains that the video is meant for an adult audience, people who, let's face it, watch them for "intimate" reasons. Most people aren't very comfortable with that, even though it's basically just tickling. And it's not like you can lie to the models about what the videos are for. You have no idea how many candidates I lost because of that issue.

People's reactions when I explain what the project is about vary (and I can tell you that explaining it to total strangers who have no idea what it's about takes some getting used to). While most aren't interested because of the fetish/adult issue, most of them still find the idea intriguing. Like they don't have a problem with it per se but wouldn't do it themselves. A few find it weird, don't get it at all and think it's a stupid idea, but otherwise are not actively against it.

Then there are some who strongly object to the project, figuring it's more or less porn. In fact, I've been threatened legally twice by callers. One called, pretending to be interested, and she even gave me her phone number (an odd move, really). A week later I called her back to ask if she was still interested, and she told me that she never was. Rather, she was just "investigating" me, even though she was just an ordinary person (a vigilante, really), to figure out what the project was about. She thought it was thoroughly disgusting. She said that it was "an abuse of women" and was considering calling the police. A laughable threat, and I actually encouraged her to do so, but it's still not a ver pleasant experience. It can be hard on one's self-esteem sometimes, even if the person on the phone is a prejudiced, misinformed idiot. Of course, I never heard from her again.

Unfortunately, also never hear again from a high percentage of people who sound genuinely interested. Not to mention all the last-minute cancelations. Candidates tend to be highly unreliable.

All this to say that while most people are ok with the project, without necessarily wanting to participate, there are always a few that disapprove. Not really to the point of causing trouble, but you never know. It only takes one idiot to get in trouble.

For instance, for the last year I've been incredibly tempted to ask some of my classmates to pose, and I imagine that while not many are likely to be interested, not many are likely to have negative reactions either. However, it would only take one intolerant stuck-up person to spread the news, making me look bad, and making my life in class rather uncomfortable for the next two years. Just too risky. But I admit this class example is a special case. Generally speaking, even though there are a few negative reactions, it's more or less harmless.

Anyway, back to advertisement, I've had some decent success with newspaper ads, but not much more than with the campus ads. And, compared to the campus ads, I tend to get more calls from people who don't have what it takes. I mean, there are some that you have to wonder if they're totally wasted junkies, and I'm never sure what to do when I get a call from, say, a 47-year-old woman. Of course, some people do like somewhat older models, but let's face it, most prefer younger one (I'm personally fine with hiring models up to their mid-30s, as long as they look nice, are ticklish enough and have a good attitude). Which is why campus would be a good place to find people if the students weren't so uptight. At least they are around here. I get the feeling things are more relaxed in other cities.

As for anonymity, it's hard to say. Obviously there's no way you can keep it totally secret. Candidates and actual models know about it, and they tell other people about it. Even my family and several of my friends know. When you post ads, you basically go public. However, would it be a problem for your future career? I've no idea. Probably not, but it's hard to tell. I've had a few candidates eventually drop out of the project because they were students in teaching, medicine, etc., or were athletes with hopes of having a career in professional sports. They realized that the market is very underground and that chances of people knowing are very slim, but they simply didn't want to take any chances. They didn't want to risk their "reputation". I don't think it's a big deal, but that's people for you. I guess the same could apply to a producer, but if you're comfortable with what you do, I see no harm.

I hope I didn't sound to negative in my post. You're perfectly free to give it a try. It's just that my experience hasn't been all that great so far, it's not something that I would recommend, and I think it's only fair to let interested people know how things could turn out. Of course, it's different from person to person, depending on the circumstances, so it might be a fun experience for you. In any case, if you do try it, I wish you good luck, good success and a lot of fun.

For what it's worth Francois, I think that was a pretty constructive post. Full of information and quite enlightening.

Francois...

after reading your post, I was quite surprised. I never would have thought Canadien's would be as up-tight as you said. I would have imagined they were much more open-minded and liberal than most, generally speaking of course.

BigJim said:

For what it's worth Francois, I think that was a pretty constructive post. Full of information and quite enlightening.

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Thank you, Jim. I have to admit, when I post something like that I'm always worried that people will think I'm being just trying to discourage more competition. I mean, considering how full the market already is, I can't honestly deny that would prefer if not too many new producers made their appearance. But that's not the reason for posts such as this one. I totally agree that anyone has the right to give it a try, no matter how I feel about it. I mean, I did it myself two years ago, after all. Didn't quite know what to expect, though.

In any case, I think it's only fair to give a realistic picture of what the experience is like for some of the producers that already exist. Like myself. I may not be the most encouraging example, with a number of producers having a more pleasant time than I do, but the thing is that I can only share my own experience. Although, having discussed the business with a few other producers in the past, I can see that I'm not totally alone in this. It's not easy, and it's not always fun. It's basically work. And you can't approach something like this as if you were having a playful tickle fight with a friend of girlfriend. You need to remain polite, respectful and professional at all times. You also need to earn the models' trust. After all, in my case, I deal with ordinary people with no fetish video experience, and I'm basically a stranger to most of them (and vice versa). It can make for delicate situations.

My post are just meant to make enthusiastic people think more and plan more before taking the jump. I realize that a project such a mine may seem like a wonderful opportunity to many people in the community. It does have the potential to be so. But it's not always the case. There's a lot of fantasy involved in the perception of any fetish, and some people may not think as realistically as they should. For instance, based on some posts on the forums, it seems that some people think that a lot of women (or men, for that matter) are as unbearably ticklish as they are pictured in ticking stories (which, in most cases, is pure fiction). And others seem to think that the tickling video producers are making a fortune while hanging around a bunch of extremely ticklish and willing models all day long (which is absurdly unrealistic). I just want potential future producers to have some feedback from someone who's already doing it so that they can be prepared for the down sides, and possibly avoid some of them.

Personally, I've had plenty of preparation. I spent long months thinking of everything, from the recruitment process, how to approach candidates, the documentation, the legal issues, the technical aspects of producing an actual video, the website, payments, etc. I also spent several more months before that on a rather down to earth photo project for a photographer friend of mine. I was in charge of recruitment. I dealt with about 200 candidates. In the end we worked with 40 models over a period of one month.

When I started planning for The Last Laugh I knew what it was like to deal with unreliable candidates. For instance, there was this one incredible day when I managed to book eight information appointments with candidates or teams of candidates (still can't believe I did that), each supposedly lasting about an hour or so (not actual shoots, you understand, just info). However, out of the eight, only one team bothered to show up. The other seven all let me down before even meeting me, even though they had official appointments. Can you imagine how frustrating and crushingly discouraging that was? And mind you, this was for a very ordinary portrait photo project, not a fetish business. Granted, that was a particularly bad day, and while I regularly had a couple of no-shows per day, it rarely was *that* bad. But it goes to show you that people tend to be unreliable. That even goes for those that are so enthusiastic at first that you're almost 100% sure they're going to make it. You never know. It's tough.

Anyway, my point is that even with this sort of experience, I still wasn't entirely prepared for the realities of running a tickling video business. I can only hope that others have an easier time that I did (and still do). I also hope that my feedback, while not very positive at first glance, can be of some help to someone.

It would be interesting to get some feedback form some of the other producers. I can only hope things are better for them, but I have a feeling that they also go through periods when they wish they could give it all up. It's a good thing that the feedback I get from customers and other people is very positive, otherwise I would indeed have given up a long time ago. Well, maybe not, since I do need to make my money back, but you know what I mean.

Re: Francois...

Faramir said:

after reading your post, I was quite surprised. I never would have thought Canadien's would be as up-tight as you said. I would have imagined they were much more open-minded and liberal than most, generally speaking of course.

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I guess attitudes vary from place to place. For instance, I'd probably have more success in Montreal, even though I'm sure there would still be down sides to such a project.

Quebec City (where I live) isn't small, but it's not that big either. We're only a few hundred thousand strong. It's also not a very "varied" city. It's not the cultural mix that other, larger cities are. Obviously, a producer in, say, Los Angeles, has access to a much more interesting and varied pool of potential models. One is bound to find a fair number of people willing to do unusual stuff for some quick cash (or just for the fun on it, in some cases). Also more resources like specialized magazines and fetish clubs, I imagine.

Still, I must admit that, at first, I was myself somewhat surprised at my lack of success. I had developed a very professional and effective approach. I thought things would go a lot more smoothly, especially with the campus as a model resource. And naturally, I compensate the models with actual cash, not just photos like the photo project I mentioned in my previous post. Didn't see that coming. Just one example of the down sides that one might not be prepared for.

In any case, I don't know about the open-mindedness of Canadians as a whole. If anything, I would have expected people in the province of Quebec to be more open-minded than in the rest of Canada (no offense to English Canada). But I hit a wall nonetheless. People here seem to be more careful than I expected, in some cases closer to paranoid.

Please note, however, that most people who contact me about the project don't have anything against the project per see. Most find it amusing. So in a way they are relatively open-minded. It's just that they're not interested in posing themselves. Let's face it, knowing that a bunch of strangers are going to, well, jerk off while watching you do silly stuff on video can be a bit of a turn off for many people, no matter how tame the activity. Again, one of the many realities that one must take into consideration.

what about Vancouver, B.C.? I've heard it's pretty wild there!

Faramir said:

what about Vancouver, B.C.? I've heard it's pretty wild there!

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That's quite possible. Vancouver is a pretty big city, and I'm sure there are people of all kinds over there. But it's really at the other end of the country, and I'm not familiar at all with people from outside of the province of Quebec (even outside of Quebec City). Not enough to judge their open-mindedness.

Thanks

Thank you so much for this post. It was very helpful. The money isnt an issue as much, because a great deal of the investment (equipment and stuff) is that I will have to make anyway as a film student. I may try this Im not sure. I dont expect it to be my main source of income or anything, but it is my love in life so.. being a filmmaker in general (though I agree 110 percent is stageringly difficult) is a dream come true. Just thinking about combining two things I love for a project or two. Im not sure, I use tickling allready in some of my work, just because I think it has many levels, it can be funny or sensual whatever. I dont know... there are a couple of things I am really worried about, one is the obvious sexual asspect. I have approched several people about doing a humorous but basicaly mainstream tickling related video and they are fine with it (some scheduling difficulties but thats about it) but in contrast I dont know how they would take it if they veiwed it as a sexual thing. We shall see. Thanks for help any one who has any more advice feel free. It has been alot of help. And if randomly a model saw this you could always respond too lol Thanks again.

Re: Thanks

MasterTT said:

Thank you so much for this post. It was very helpful.

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You're very welcome. It was my pleasure. I enjoy discussing my project. It kind of helps me get through it. Like I'm getting stuff off my chest, you know.

MasterTT said:

The money isnt an issue as much, because a great deal of the investment (equipment and stuff) is that I will have to make anyway as a film student.

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That's a good start. The film equipment was indeed a good part of the investment. But not the biggest part by far. At least in my case. I never expected so many expenses. My general expenses count for twice as much as all the video equipment (my camcorder is a Sony DCR-TRV900 that I bought three years ago, to give you an idea), and I'm not even counting the models' salaries. Apparently, I spent about $8,000 on models' salaries so far (I don't mind revealing that). Ok, so I have a lot of videos in reserve, but it's still very draining on the wallet if you want to offer the candidates a good enough incentive. Depending on the salaries you offer you models, it can take many sales just to cover the production expenses of a given video and start making a "profit" on that particular video.

I dont expect it to be my main source of income or anything, but it is my love in life so.

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That's good. Doing it with profits in mind is a big mistake. Some do manage it, but it's a big gamble. It's much better to do is mostly for the fun of it, otherwise such a project may be a totally futile endeavor.

being a filmmaker in general (though I agree 110 percent is stageringly difficult) is a dream come true. Just thinking about combining two things I love for a project or two.

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That makes perfect sense. I can see why you're interested in doing this.

Im not sure, I use tickling allready in some of my work, just because I think it has many levels, it can be funny or sensual whatever.

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That's interesting. You may have noticed the photo project I mentioned in my previous posts. Well, while the project was mostly portraits and more original yet mainstream situations, we also managed to include feet and tickling in some shots, usually with genuinely good creative and/or symbolic reasons. The project was basically meant to produce stock material for a photo agency (Retna), and we found interesting ways to use tickling and even light bondage in ads, when the models were willing. These shots were also meant to illustrate philosophical and sociological concepts, which complemented my photographer friend's PhD thesis very well.

there are a couple of things I am really worried about, one is the obvious sexual asspect.

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That can be a major issue, I agree. I personally don't feel I'm doing anything wrong. It's all in good fun. But I can't completely overlook the fact that the main purpose of the videos is sexual in nature. But the thing is that I'm not into porn and the usual sex stuff, and I don't like people thinking that. I mean, I'm not very keen on being associated with it by some people, even if I know it's not quite true. Even people who like the project may think I'm somewhat into the adult industry. They're not entirely wrong, and I admit that it sometimes makes me somewhat uncomfortable. It's a matter of reputation and what other people think of you. Now, I don't see it as something that can damage one's reputation in an significant way, but still, there are always some people who see evil and indecency in very banal stuff. I really don't like that at all. I don't want anyone to feel like what I'm doing is in some way perverted. So it does weigh on me sometimes. I'm usually ok with it, but once in a while I take a blow to my self-esteem because of it. T

he problems involved in running such a business are definitely not limited to technical issues. There are also many psychological issues. Of course, some people just don't care, being perfectly comfortable in their erotic world when dealing with models and other people. so it's no problem at all for them. But I do care. Very much. Models aren't just tools for making videos. They're people I care about, people I respect. But it's not always easy to combine respect and professionalism when dealing in fetish material, or at least to convince the models and other people that you can.

I have approched several people about doing a humorous but basicaly mainstream tickling related video and they are fine with it

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Oh, well of course. I'd have a much easier time finding willing models if it weren't for the fetish context. Many people who call me find the tickling concept itself to be a lot of fun. And I can imagine making such a video could be a lot of fun too. However...

(some scheduling difficulties but thats about it)

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Oh yeah, that's perfectly normal.

but in contrast I dont know how they would take it if they veiwed it as a sexual thing.

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...Yep, the sexual context changes everything. It doesn't matter how fun and playful and humorous it is, it doesn't change the adult context of the market. It would be great to be able to make a tickling video like you suggest and sell it without the fetish thing. Models would be relatively easy to come by and I'd have a lot more fun during shoots. The problem is that I'm not aware of such a market. Pretty much the only way to sell tickling-based videos is to offer them to the fetish crowd. And that's something one must be reasonably comfortable with, otherwise the project becomes a moral burden.

It goes without saying that if a video is shot with the intention of selling it as a fetish video, the models must be told about it right from the start. One must be totally clear about it and provide as much info as possible, including some context about the fetish world. They need to know exactly what they're getting into. Otherwise it wouldn't be honest and it might eventually cause trouble. Naturally, being this honest means losing a high percentage of otherwise interested models, but it's really the only way.

A general point that I want to make is that it's one thing to want to combine two fun things into one really cool activity, but it's a whole different thing to eventually come to dislike one or the other because of the consequences of their combination. I do enjoy tickling, but because of all the problems that my project has presented me, I'm afraid I don't see tickling in quite the same way anymore. Like I kind of associated the bad sides of the project with the concept of tickling.

Dealing with techinical issues and constantly worrying what the models are thinking during a shoot is mentally exhausting and prevents me from actually enjoying the experience as much as I should. To me it's more like stressful work. Oh, I can be pleased with the results, and there's satisfaction in that, but I don't really enjoy the actual experience in the way most people from the community would expect me to. It's not the same thing as the fantasy. Shooting a tickling video, especially with models that are basically strangers, is nothing like having some casual fun with friends. You can't act the same way. It can be a touchy situation sometimes. And there can be frictions.

Thanks for help any one who has any more advice feel free. It has been alot of help.

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My pleasure. If you have any other questions of comments, you're more than welcome to post again, or write me directly.

Francois, in light of the market moving away from physical media delivery, have you considered a move into the digital arena? The Clips$Sale people seem to rent space pretty resonably to all kind of clip sellers.

Francois...

quoting part of Francois' original reply:

"Let's face it, knowing that a bunch of strangers are going to, well, jerk off while watching you do silly stuff on video can be a bit of a turn off for many people, no matter how tame the activity. Again, one of the many realities that one must take into consideration."

Even though I'm more of a erotic/sexual 'Ler', I don't see your product in that light. Your site states right up front "Non-Nude", and even though your model's are the pretty 'girl-next-door' type (which I love most), your video's did not arouse me in a sexual way. I thought they were cute (the samples I have seen), nothing more ...so I guess my point here is that your models should realise that, and not be turned off by it. Not everyone is sitting around 'tossing off' to your girl's while they are being tickled senseless

just my $.02!

I'd be surprised, no staggered, if any guy didn't buy a tickling video and not use it as wanking material.


Of course, there may be a few guys without dicks...


Seriously though, I doubt if you'd buy a tickling video would you? Just curious. I can't thin anyone who finds them "just cute" would fork out for one.

BigJim said:

Francois, in light of the market moving away from physical media delivery, have you considered a move into the digital arena? The Clips$Sale people seem to rent space pretty resonably to all kind of clip sellers.

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That was going to be my question Francois A,
Have you thought about making "clips" of your videos...that way more people see your material.

BigJim said:

Francois, in light of the market moving away from physical media delivery, have you considered a move into the digital arena? The Clips$Sale people seem to rent space pretty resonably to all kind of clip sellers.

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I have considered that possibility, and I'm not saying that I'll never have downloadable clips for sale. But it's not that easy.

First, while Clips$Sale may be an interesting option, I promised myself (and my models) that I'll never go through other people or websites to sell my own material. I prefer to remain in total control of my work. So I'd need to do it in another way. Possibly through my website host. There may be some kind of deal we can make. I already know they create such systems for customers.

Second, if I'm to work through my website host, I may have problems with bandwidth and web space. The former isn't that big a problem, since paying more per month due to extra bandwidth use would mean having sold many clips, so it pays for itself. But web space is another matter. Clips take a LOT of space. So far I haven't been able to create small-sized clips of good quality. Even my sample clips, which are of so-so quality, are somewhat too big for my tastes. My CD-ROM clips look fairly good, but they occupy an entire CD-ROM for an hour of footage. Where can I store such huge files? And can you imagine how long it would be for most people to download such clips? Besides, if the fee is high enough, paying for web space may negate a good part of the profits I would make from selling clips.

To be perfectly honest, I personally dislike the clip format. For the quality to be good the files need to be quite big, if not huge. The frame size is small and you can't watch it on TV. Not to mention that downloadable clips are more expensive per minute than an actual video. I also tend to prefer to own a physical product, something tangible. Let's just say that, because of my feelings for the clip format, I haven't been very motivated to work very hard on the issue.

Another issue is that a pay site is a bit more complex to handle than an ordinary site. I'm not very good with web site design and stuff, and I'm afraid of running into technical problems. I've read complaints some unsatisfied customers have posted in public on the forums, not giving the vendors a chance to offer a reasonable solution. Very sad. Frankly, I'd really prefer to do without such impatient, unjustified complaints and undeserved, gratuitous bad publicity.

On the other hand, I can't deny that pay sites have become very popular. I can't really blame people for having different tastes than mine and to prefer to get their purchase immediately, even if the quality and the cost/minute ratio isn't nearly the same. So it may be advantageous for me to add that option to my online store, though I have no intention of dropping physical products.

In any case, I don't have any specific plans for downloadable clips right now, but I'll consider it.


By the way, tommytikl, I seem to have answered your question at the same time.

Re: Francois...

Faramir said:

Even though I'm more of a erotic/sexual 'Ler', I don't see your product in that light. Your site states right up front "Non-Nude"

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True, but no matter what the actual content of my videos is, my products are meant for an adult audience. I expect most of my customers to be aroused. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea (especially when dealing with models), to be perfectly honest, but that's what the market is about, and I accepted that when I started my project.

and even though your model's are the pretty 'girl-next-door' type (which I love most), your video's did not arouse me in a sexual way. I thought they were cute (the samples I have seen), nothing more

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I'm very glad that you enjoy my videos in that way. They are indeed meant to be cute and charming. However, you have to understand that people who actually buy my videos do find them erotic. I mean, that's the main incentive for buying fetish videos, isn't it?

so I guess my point here is that your models should realise that, and not be turned off by it. Not everyone is sitting around 'tossing off' to your girl's while they are being tickled senseless

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Actually that's not true. Most people who watch the actual videos do indeed do that. Of course, the average person wouldn't find my videos erotic. But those people don't really matter. It's the customers who buy and watch my videos that do. And to a lesser degree, the people who watch my sample clips and pictures. Again, it doesn't matter if the content of the videos isn't "adult" in and of itself. What matters is that the people who buy them do find it erotic, and that's actually the purpose of my videos. The fact that some people like my videos for erotic reasons isn't a side effect. It's the reason why I produce them in the first place.

Now, from the model candidate's point of view there are two basic ways of seeing this. First, there's the person who thinks "Well, I understand that people are going to do intimate stuff while watching my footage, but since the video won't contain any nudity or other adult stuff, just ordinary tickling fun, I don't mind. What the customers do with the video doesn't matter. They could be aroused by watching me scratch my elbow with my knee while touching my nose with my tongue for all I care, if that's what turns them on. As long as I'm not doing something indecent. " In this case, it's the content of the video that matters to the candidate, not what people do with it. Of course, if she started getting calls from customers and such, there would be a problem. But there's no contact between the model and the tickling community, so it's fine. Obviously, this is the kind of person I'm looking for when I advertise for models.

The other type of person thinks "Yeah, I understand that it's just tickling, with no nudity. I know that if most people saw such a video they wouldn't find it arousing at all. But it doesn't change the fact that some strangers will actually pay money to buy the video so they can wack off watching me make a fool of myself. I don't care that I'll never hear from those people, the simple thought of it is way too embarrassing. I'd feel...dirty". In this case, the person may be fine with the tickling concept, but not the idea that people will get off on watching her. Understandable, really. To tell the truth, most people see things this way. Which is why it's hard for me to find models.

So anyway, while the fact that my videos don't contain nudity is indeed somewhat advantageous for convincing people to pose (I can't imagine how hard it would for me be if I required nudity), I can't expect most people to overlook the purpose of the videos. Even without typical adult content, most customers *do* have solitary pleasure watching them. Which is perfectly normal.

BigJim said:

I'd be surprised, no staggered, if any guy didn't buy a tickling video and not use it as wanking material.

Of course, there may be a few guys without dicks...

Seriously though, I doubt if you'd buy a tickling video would you? Just curious. I can't thin anyone who finds them "just cute" would fork out for one.

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Well, normally you'd be right, Jim. I don't see why anyone who isn't at least somewhat aroused by non-nude tickling, only finding it fun and cute, would actually pay for such videos. I mean, that's the main incentive for buying them, isn't it? Either the customer isn't being totally honest with him/herself, or there are things in this world that my brain is just too weak to grasp. I can understand that some people like Faramir may enjoy my videos for reasons other than erotic. A minority maybe, but still nothing unusual about it. But actually buy them? Hard to believe. I'd certainly be curious to know who among my customers don't see my videos that way.

However, I've recently been trading emails with a person who tells me is interested in buying my videos, though more likely sometime in the future due to lack of funds. But this person claims not to be aroused by tickling (I mean tickling in general, not just non-nude tickling) and even appears to be somewhat shocked that some people feel that way (we discussed the issue a bit). This person seems to genuinely believe this. I don't know what to think. Is it really possible that someone who enjoys the fun of tickling and women's laughter would buy tickling videos even though there's nothing erotic about this interest? Or does this person just not realize the nature of said interest, for whatever reason? Go figure. Note that I have no problem with selling videos to anyone, no matter what their reasons are (besides illegal ones, of course). Each person's reasons is his/her own business. But I admit that I don't get it.

In any case, the fact remains that even though there may be some exceptions, the huge majority of people who buy my videos enjoy them for adult reasons. Pretty much in the same way the majority of people who hang around the TMF find tickling, in one form or another, to be erotic. Otherwise I seriously doubt the TMF would have been created in the first place.

Francois--- I have a question which I have wondered about before. Have you ever considered that there must be a lot of people interested in tickling that are not on the internet and have never heard of the TMF or most of the video companys. Years ago I got all the Cal Star videos and though I have not gotten one in a long time, they still send me a brocher every month. I don,t know how they could be selling enough tickle videos to make it worthwhile unless most of there customers don,t know anywhere else to get them. They are very expensive and not very good. Have you ever thought about how you could reach that market?

Larry Neal said:

Francois--- I have a question which I have wondered about before. Have you ever considered that there must be a lot of people interested in tickling that are not on the internet and have never heard of the TMF or most of the video companys. Years ago I got all the Cal Star videos and though I have not gotten one in a long time, they still send me a brocher every month. I don,t know how they could be selling enough tickle videos to make it worthwhile unless most of there customers don,t know anywhere else to get them. They are very expensive and not very good. Have you ever thought about how you could reach that market?

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Hi Larry!

To be perfectly honest I haven't really thought about reaching internet-less people. I'm sure there are many ticklephiles out there who don't have internet access, or haven't succeeded in finding what they were looking for, or just haven't bothered to look (in which case you have to wonder how interested in tickling they really are). But I really have no idea how to get those people to discover my site. Or the TMF, for that matter. There doesn't seem to be many options.

I can advertise for models in newspapers and on campus, but I can't advertise The Last Laugh per se, hoping to get customers. Wouldn't do much good, I expect. I also don't think many people would be especially happy with getting fliers in their mail. And I certainly have no intention of bothering old customers with brochures in the mail. I don't think that would be much appreciated. I vaguely remember a thread about this kind of thing some time ago.

I don't know, I just don't see what else I can do. I'd be very grateful for suggestions, but I'm afraid there isn't much I can do that would make a real difference.