Speaking To Bruce Friedman of Adult Site Broker

Bruce Friedman is the owner of Adult B2B Marketing and Adult Site Broker, as well as the host of the Adult Site Broker Talk podcast. In the business of adult businesses for a quarter of a century and coming up on the 300th episode of his podcast, Bruce has seen trends, sold sites, and been in the pink trenches of all that is adult with his sensibilities always on being the "ethical broker" as many of his clients have called him.

What does Adult Site Broker do?

We broker websites and companies in the adult space. We are the premier broker in adult. We've gotten the moniker "The Ethical Broker" since so many of our clients have called us that.

Can you give us a truncated run-through of your history, how a "nice guy like you got here" and all that?

I've been in the adult industry for over 25 years. I started out with some pay-sites. I can't say they were really successful—I was just stubbing my toe and getting started. After a couple of years, I saw a need for good, creative marketing in the space, so I formed Adult B2B Marketing. I still have the company to this day.

Being in marketing, you meet many people with many needs. I saw a need for general consulting, especially for people new in the adult industry, so I formed Adult Business Consulting. The next need I uncovered was the need for a competent and ethical person to help people buy and sell adult websites and companies. I actually did a deal for a client and said, "I'm good at this." So I formed Adult Site Broker. I've been doing it for about eighteen years and it's going very well—to the point where this is the business I devote most of my time and energy to.

Is there one thing that makes an adult business successful, and is that different from what makes a mainstream business successful?

It is a very different industry. But like any other industry, companies that present their products or services in a unique way will always win.

What is the process when somebody reaches out to you looking to sell a scene clip site or a dildo supplier?

First, I assess if the company is marketable for my purposes. It has to be profitable, and it helps if it's growing rather than declining.

I gather some preliminary numbers to vet the prospect.

If the numbers look good, we proceed to make a valuation, and if the client accepts it, we proceed to sign a broker agreement and then promote the site or company using our many forms of marketing: email, online ads, social media, direct contacts, events, etc. We probably have the most multi-versed marketing plan around.

Your Adult Site Broker Talk podcast is very popular. How and why did you begin it?

I started it for two reasons. One, as a promotional vehicle for Adult Site Broker, and it's worked very well for that. Two, as a former sportscaster, I needed a creative outlet. This is something I really enjoy doing.

How much time do you find you devote to the podcast and also to social media in general?

Fortunately, website brokering isn't too time-intensive, except when major deals are going down. Then I spend a lot of time getting them closed. So I probably spend more time on the podcast than I do my primary business.

Seeing as you come from a different side of the adult business than a content producer, porn star, or toy manufacturer, in your specific and unique perspective, what is the biggest change you have seen come to the adult business over your years in it?

First, I was never a porn star. You don't want to see me naked, lol.

The first major change was the appearance of tube sites. That put a lot of small operators out of business, and honestly, most of those were people who didn't have the resources to do it well. People now could surf porn for free—why pay, right?

Sites started to use the tubes as a promotional vehicle and things got a bit better. Of course, there have been many recent issues for tube sites.

The second major change was the growth of live streaming sites, or cam sites. People like things live and they enjoy the interaction. Cam sites have prospered, often at the expense of the old membership site model. Then came the OnlyFans revolution. It really hit during the pandemic when many potential creators were not working. What to do? How about open an OnlyFans account and make money by creating content.

OnlyFans has, of course, exploded and so has the creator economy.

Many other OF-type sites have appeared and now there's a glut of them, just like what previously happened with cam sites. Of course, the strong survive and there's been a weeding out of creator platforms.

Along with OnlyFans has come many industries that they helped create. The advent of CRMs for creators has been big. So has the OnlyFans agency market. Just like everything before, that's starting to become oversaturated.

Any time people see what they think is "easy money," a lot of people try it. It's not that easy.

Chat companies have also sprung up to help creators chat with their customers 24/7. Now AI chat is getting popular.

And the most recent revolution is AI content, with AI girlfriends booming online. This is a slippery slope and has caused some ethical and other concerns in the world.

Bruce's Socials:

• Twitter: @ASB_Bruce

• Instagram: @adult.site.broker.talk