Emeritus wrote:

From time to time I check who has newly signed up using the thumbnails at the bottom of the main page.  Today, for the first time ever (that I have seen), there was a (bare) majority of models among the new members:  11 of the last 20.  It's a start . . . . .

Now if we only had an action plan to keep them here.

Yup yup

Perhaps things are on an upswing. In my opinion, and that is ONLY what it is, the ONE thing this site has going for it currently for MOST internet models (AND photographers) is the ability to house more free images here than anywhere else.

Period.

Any internet model, OR photographer for that matter, who is serious about getting exposure, hits, and job offers will NOT find this site to be a viable self marketing tool or an alternative to the monster sites OMP or MM. Or even Purestorm, or Net-models if they're UK based.

They will get more hits and job offers from those sites in a single week, IF they work their portfolios diligently and hustle, than they will get here in a year, and that's a fact. What has happened with the greater majority of the membership here is that they toss up a quick port, and rarely if ever return. From what I've seen on Model Insider, and I've been here since day one, is that there are perhaps 30-40 active participants, with the greater bulk of these being photographers playing the POTD Contests, NOT models.

Right now with the demographics being what they are, the site's name is a misnomer based on the membership percentages. Being called Photographer Insider would be a mite more accurate currently. Hopefully, this will change as time goes on.

I'd love to see OMP and MM have a real competitor within the US market, but currently there isn't a one. The models will come, participate daily, AND stay on board IF and only IF they can generate paid shoots or quality TF with the photographers here, and that is going to require a scale not achieved as of yet. Model Brigade, Paid Models, and 2k Models are dealing with this reality also, and they too had potential. As the saying goes, "Money talks and bullshit walks!"

Perhaps being the first into the pool as MM and OMP were guaranteed them the market share they currently have AND are maintaining despite their negatives. And perhaps there is room in the existing market for a third player of real consequence. It WILL take a marketing plan that will show this site high in the search engines and start to generate new hits on a massive scale. And don't think that OMP and MM aren't devoting large amounts of cash marketing their sites in order to stay where thay are -- at the top. Word of mouth alone is not going to do it effectively. That is going to require some serious capitalization to make the dent needed. Through increased hits there WILL be a capture ratio. It's just basic statistics and marketing 101.

Time will tell whether Model Insider will evolve into a real player, as this is a laptop in front of me, not a crystal ball. 

Portfolio Plus wrote:

John Rayner wrote:

Portfolio Plus wrote:

Emeritus wrote:

From time to time I check who has newly signed up using the thumbnails at the bottom of the main page.  Today, for the first time ever (that I have seen), there was a (bare) majority of models among the new members:  11 of the last 20.  It's a start . . . . .

Now if we only had an action plan to keep them here.

That is easy... Shoot...Shoot... That is what they are here for.

If "shoot" is the only action plan we will fail.

Agreed. Most of the models I work with daily are not looking to shoot, shoot. They have established, viable portfolios already on other sites. Most pay for their portfolios there. They do so because the membership on those sites is so large that they will then get job offers to make that investment a worthwhile business expense.

Professional models are looking for PAID shoots, publication tearsheets, and a bit of quality TF leading to more paid shoots and more exposure. In order for them to get that here, Model Insider MUST grow exponentially. It's basic marketing. You can have the absolute best site in the world but, if no one is aware of it....fail.

Rick, your theory as to what is needed has merit. Your basis, however, in number is inaccurate.

That said, it doesn't much matter. What matters is providing value. If a site provides you no value, you don't use it. It's that simple.

We have a plan to provide that value. The plan relies on things happening in a certain order, and we're more than halfway through that order. We think the plan is sound and will be successful. We continue to execute on that plan.

The one thing you said that has the most truth is that time will tell. Indeed.

I sure hope that the number climbs soon.. I'm in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles and there are still only two female models within 10 miles of me. That's not good.

Oh, and only nine within 20 miles.

Brooks wrote:

I sure hope that the number climbs soon.. I'm in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles and there are still only two female models within 10 miles of me. That's not good.

Oh, and only nine within 20 miles.

I set my location to Chatsworth, CA and then hit:

[]=mo&radius=50

It finds 17 models within 50 miles.

Now, that said, I agree - that sucks. The site has about 3500 member accounts right now and it's absolutely photographer-heavy.

We've also done zero marketing so far, as we want to make sure the site is 100% working and valuable before we do. We're in this for the long run, not the quick buck. I mean, it's not like we bought this site from some kid in Florida, threw more ads on it, added a shop and called it a moneymaker...

So yes, the plan is to market the site and increase the membership. Once we have everything functioning the way we want it, that leaves growing the membership as the ONLY goal (other than improvements, but those can be done as needed).

Again, we're not in this for the quick flash. We're here to stay, and we plan on doing it right.

Brooks wrote:

I don't want to sound like a bitch though. LOL

Anyway, I understand... I hadn't thought about the marketing part yet, just that it had a launch.

Believe me, we understand.  Hopefully big changes are coming soon, there's a serious gap in the market place right now with one of the 2 leaders being very hard to use & the other being frequently non-functional.  We have a few last pieces to put in play & we think we'll be well positioned to be the site that WORKS AND the site that has all the tools in a USABLE fashion. 

Marc Damon wrote:

James, I know there is value in not showing your hand and I'm not asking for any trade secrets or anything that would compromise national security.  But is there a general direction you can share with everyone so we know what's coming and when? I think there are lots of people asking how, what and most of all... when. From what I've seen, that number has grown exponentially over the last 4 days alone and is generating a decided impatience for a viable alternative to the larger sites.

We've been revamping profiles & registration to streamline them & make them easier.  Next big thing's all about finding people & being found in a simple to use & POWERFUL manner that works anywhere in the world, and then incorporating it site-wide.

When all the frustrated come from MM too here will we just have another MM?
I see some of the so called lounges here that have not been worked by the hosts for quite some time.
Maybe work on that?

SLE Photography wrote:

South Florida Studios / Rick Gordon wrote:

Any internet model, OR photographer for that matter, who is serious about getting exposure, hits, and job offers will NOT find this site to be a viable self marketing tool or an alternative to the monster sites OMP or MM. Or even Purestorm, or Net-models if they're UK based.
.

Anyone thinking of joining Purestorm probably haven't read the agreement they force you to sign when joining:

"5.1 Any communication or material you post or transmit to the Service and/or the Sites is, and will be treated as, non-confidential and non-proprietary. You assume full responsibility for anything you post or transmit, and you grant Purestorm.com and its affiliates the right to edit, copy, publish and distribute any information or content you post or transmit for any purpose.

Christer

"I only have 1 in 150 miles..."

There appear to be only two models in all of London, and seven in a radius of two thousand miles from London. I know for a fact that France, at least, has some attractive women. In its current form the site isn't much use for people outside the US.