This article was originally published in May 2020. It’s been overhauled to:

• answer people’s adult indie copywriting questions

• reflect my recent experiences of working in this niche

• delete out-of-date information.

Enjoy!

Tips for niching as an adult content writer and becoming irresistible to the businesses that need you 

You like sex. Reading about it, writing about it, and doing it. When you think about working in this industry you get tingly, which never happens when you’re turning out copy for financial companies and electricians. But is sex copywriting really a thing?

Think about it logically and you’ll realise it must be. Every business—including those dealing in dongs and sexy thongs—needs marketing copy. But until you started reading this blog you were wondering if these businesses used professional copywriters. Or if there’s enough of a market to make it worth your time.

Well, I’m here to tell you your logic is spot on. Adult content writing is a thriving niche, and I’ve been courting it my entire career. (Since 2009.) So fellow copywriters—new and experienced—if you’re interested in starting a professional relationship with the adult industries, this guide is for you. 

I’m going to share a chunk of my experience  (stopping short of overwhelming you) so you’ll have a well rounded sense of what it means to embrace this niche.

This article covers

• Who needs adult content writing? (Heads up, more businesses than you might imagine)
• Everybody’s at it—a look at who offers adult copywriting services (and my personal story)
• The pleasures, pains and myths attached to writing adult content
• 4 top tips to help you succeed in this niche
• Popping your industry cherry—how to get started (complete with downloadable spec briefs).

Who needs adult content writing?

The adult industry is an umbrella term covering lots of different businesses. 

• Lingerie and bedroom wear 
• Erotic and fetish clothing
• Sex toys and pleasure products (brands and commerce)
• Companionship and escorting (and advertising platforms)
• Adult film and entertainment
• Clubs and alternative lifestyle companies
• Professional Dominants and submissives 
• Sexual health and sexual education businesses
• Erotic art and photography
• Industry-positive mental health and support companies, communities, and charities.

Note I didn’t mention erotic literature. While adult publishing is part of the industry, writing the actual erotica wouldn’t be considered copywriting. 

What will you write?

• product descriptions 
• website copy 
• emails
• social media 
• adverts 
• event flyers 
• press releases 
• any other marketing collateral that needs copy. 

Copywriting for the adult industries is no different to copywriting in any other industry. (If, for a moment, we overlook the very particular stigmas we have to hurdle. But more on that later.) And because there’s demand for adult industry copywriting, there’s a whole lot of writers who are doing it.

Everybody’s at it. But not everyone wants to talk about it

Image: Dari Dorofeeva, Unsplash

There are more agencies and freelancers working with these businesses than you might think. But not everyone wants to share those notches in their bedpost. 

When I arrived in Australia I did some sub-contracting for marketing agencies. While these agencies were happy to promote being trusted by big DIY brands, entertainment streaming sites, and various legal firms, they kept mum about supplying content for online sex shops, adult entertainment streaming sites, and brothels. 

At first, I was irked. This ‘whisper it’ approach just fuels the stigma surroundingthe industry. But then I realised that adult industry audiences  may not have been their target market, so why would they want to pull in more of those clients? Enough said. My point is that sex copywriting is more in demand than you think, because adult industry businesses:

1. need the same kinds of marketing support as everyone else
2. are lucrative and highly competitive so there’s plenty of copywriting work to go round. 

While some agencies and freelancers desire discretion, others have built proud, decades long careers out of adult indie marketing. 

For example, the team at Little Leaf Agency have been buzzing in and around the adult industries for yonks. And We Are PS Group are rocking peer marketing services for companions.  

There are also freelance writers, designers, PRs, and developers who are open to commissions from adult businesses. To help bring writers and companies together, I created this list on X. (It’s a very makeshift directory.)   

B2B publications will show you  just how busy the world of adult is. Check out Erotic Trade Only, Xbiz, and Synergy for starters. Once you grasp how vast the industry is, it’s easy to see where adult content writers fit into the picture.

How I got into it

A question I get asked a lot is, How did you break into this niche? 

Sometimes it was luck. And sometimes it was down to working damn hard to push myself to get the roles I wanted in an industry that interests me. 

Landing an on-staff job at a UK women’s magazine was the lucky bit. While the publisher owned a lot of top shelf magazines, this one had a heavy focus on sex. Think of it as Cosmopolitan but supercharged for the noughties woman. Every day for the first few years of my career, I worked with people in and around the adult industries. 

My job took me to trade shows, connected me with PRs representing adult brands, and created opportunities to work with like minded journalists. I got to interview people from all corners of the industry. 

By the time the magazine closed, I had a strong network. And many of these people supported me when I went freelance. But I really got my hooks into sex copywriting when I pestered convinced the owners of London’s biggest sex shop to take me on as their in-house copywriter. Everything I’ve done since grew out of those two experiences.

Your path will be different. But it’s worth saying at that point in my career I had a degree in journalism (which is very different to writing marketing copy), I’d never done a copywriting course, and I was learning a lot on the job.

The pleasures, pains, and myths around writing adult content

Every job has good, bad, and weird bits. Usually we only discover these once we’ve started a role. But as I’ve been doing this for a while, here’s a head start on what to expect. 

The pleasures

• Sex is fun. (Most of the time.) And so getting to write about it, talk about it, and understand how different people do it is fun. 
• People are intrigued that I write about sex. It’s not “mainstream.” When I talk about my work I like to think that I’m doing my small bit towards destigmatising pleasure by adding to the broader positive conversation. 
• There’s no shortage of fascinating folk in the adult industries. If you’re a people person like me, you’ll love meeting these interesting people.
• The sexual revolution is still very much in motion. There’s so much to learn about how we think and feel about and ‘do’ sex.  So  there’s always something to write about. 
• Work in this stigmatised and under serviced industry rarely dries up. There are always businesses wanting to book copywriters 

The pains

• Sex stigma means not everyone I meet approves of the industries I work with. From time-to-time I get hit with shit comments. 
• The industry is heavily regulated. By governments, advertising standard authorities, and tech platforms. It’s not treated the same way as “mainstream” industries. All the extra rules can make it hard (or impossible) to get your marketing content approved, seen, heard, or read.
• Parts of the adult industry have very low profit margins. Some clients do lowball their rates and feign outrage when they learn you charge a very realistic rate. 
• Timewasters are common. 
• A minority of people assume that writing about sex makes you game for anything, so they’re entitled to send you unsolicited images or propositions. (This is not alright. It’s abuse. Call it out or report it.) 

The myths

• You get to watch porn all day. (Sometimes this is true but only in the name of research.) 
• You get sent loads of free sex toys. (Nope, that’s sex bloggers.)
• Your sex life must be amazing/you must be horny and at it all the time. (That would be exhausting.) 
• It’s easy. If you like sex and have had it, then you can write about it. (As with any topic, sex copy is most effective when you do the research and put together  a proper brief.) 

Spot the sex toy. (No prizes if you get, just a sense of satisfaction.)

A dilemma you might face 

You might find it easy to openly embrace sex copywriting. Or you might not. Remember those agencies I mentioned earlier? Don’t be afraid to sit and think about how deep you want to get into sex copywriting  or how public you want to be about it. Because unfortunately, adult content writing still comes with a taboo tag. And until that changes you may want to consider what you’re comfortable with when you enter this arena.

Honestly, I’ve struggled with this for large parts of my career. Particularly when I went freelance and felt more of the pain points.

Arriving in Australia in 2017, I thought about taking my career in a completely different direction. Perhaps it was time to hang up my handcuffs? A couple of (more experienced) marketers backed a change in direction by suggesting I keep the sex stuff in the shadows. Because it might scare off big paying, mainstream clients. (Although I wasn’t sure I wanted to work with those businesses.) 

I was afraid of being pigeon holed as ‘that sex copywriter.’  I’m a proud generalist copywriter. I like writing for all sorts of businesses. Sure, I write about sex more than anything else but I wasn’t ready to give up the ‘anything else.’

After some soul searching I realised that if I stopped writing about sex, I’d miss it. Acknowledging that allowed me to fully embrace being an adult content writer. And rather than harm my business, it’s helped it. 

Now I get a good flow of companies in my niche and referrals from other writers who spot jobs that are a good fit for me. And, an added bonus, is that I attract like minded businesses outside the adult industry who share similar open minded, open hearted values. I rarely have to deal with the shitty, client horror stories so many freelancers talk about.

Basically, if a “mainstream” company isn’t comfortable with me writing for adult businesses, then they’re not right for me. 

4 top tips for succeeding in this niche

Phew! That got heavy. Let’s lighten the mood and talk about how you’re going to make yourself irresistible to adult businesses. 

Four key attitudes and actions will set you apart from lowballing writers and clients who think any fucker can write about fucking. 

1. Relish being part of a tight community

There are lots of sectors within adult, but there’s definitely six-degrees of separation. This is my experience in the UK and in Australia. For example, ten minutes into conversations with agency owners, independent companions, commerce CEOs and fellow writers, we discover that we know the same people. Seriously. It’s a small world. Keep this in mind when networking. 

By and large the adult world is a friendly community. It has to be. There’s so much stigma and judgement from outside that working together is the best way to create change, open discussions, and take sex out of the shadows. 

2. Write responsibly 

Writing about sex means you’re writing copy that may influence someone’s personal relationships and their intimate experiences. That’s a precious honour. And yes, this is deep and I get  get emotional talking about it. I believe writing for this industry carries a hefty  responsibility. Giving wrong or even partially inaccurate information could really fuck things up for someone. As could giving purely jokey information that’s nothing more than a string of innuendos. 

So, whether you’re writing sex toy product descriptions or an in-depth article on sex worker mental health, be sensitive and aware of the situations people might be in when reading your content. 

Read more on my thoughts about this in Their Sex Lives in Your Hands.

3. Be open minded

You may not personally indulge in or understand many of the things that you write about. And that’s OK. No one expects you to try sploshing (sex with food) just because you’re writing about it. In the same way that a plumber won’t expect you to unclog a drain just because you’re writing about that. On the other hand, (and keeping point 2 in mind) reserving judgement and remaining open minded are good skills to have. 

4. Write positively

This is a  good copywriting rule —no matter what industry you’re writing for. Focus on what someone can do rather than what they can’t. But I think sex writing needs extra care. 

Negative words and phrases such as:

• bad sex 
• dirty sex 
• weird kinky sex 
• naughty sex 

have been used for too long. In some contexts, there’s a time and a place for that language—if you’re writing about domination and humiliation, for example—but don’t fall into the trap of reinforcing stigma and shame. Instead, use positive, fun, playful and sexy language to write copy that makes sex alluring and pleasurable for the reader.

Popping your industry cherry—getting started

Now you know what adult content writing is and the range of businesses that need it. You also know about some of the highs and lows of the niche. You’ve even got some pointers for success. Now it’s time to get your first adult indie commission. And it may not surprise you to know that you score gigs in this industry the same way you secure other copywriting work. 

Create some spec work

Whether or not you’re new to copywriting, your portfolio will benefit from some pieces relevant to adult. This means creating some spec work. 

Spec work is short for ‘speculative work,’ creating something without a client commission and without pay. You can make a brief up, write something for a fictional company, or imagine how you’d put something together for a business you eventually want to work with.

If your portfolio is lacking sex appeal, I’ve written some detailed briefs specifically for adult content writing. A little something to help get you started. Complete the ones that interest you, then add the work to your portfolio.

Pitch your services

Seek out agencies, brands, and businesses that you’d like to work with and then cold pitch. Before contacting them make sure:

• you understand what the business does and how that matches your skills 
• you have the name of the person you should to pitch to
• you know what service you want to offer and how it will benefit the client 
• you’ve given some thought to your rates and pricing so you’re not caught off guard when the client asks.

Cold emailing is a learned skill. If you’ve never done it before, I suggest researching how to do it before sending anything out.

Go to industry events

The industry is small. And it’s full of friendly people. If you like hobnobbing, then get out and about. Depending on where you are in the world you might want to go to:

• Eroticon (UK)
• Sexpo (Australia)
• Vibe Expo (US)

You can also search for alternative lifestyle markets held in your town or city. These will likely attract the sort of businesses you want to write for.

Join online communities

A couple of good ones where work opportunities pop up from time to time are the Xbiz forums and the P3 Facebook community. Get signed up and start networking online. 

Let people know

Assuming you’re comfortable with friends, family, and acquaintances knowing you want to write adult content then spread the word. You never know who might help land your first gig. If telling your personal network is a no-go, set up some business socials and state that you’re open to adult indie work. 

Bonus tip: know your censorship rules

Rules vary across  countries and states when it comes to sex industry marketing. Tech platforms also impose their own censorship rules. Before agreeing to any adult job, brush up on the advertising and censorship laws, rules, and terms and conditions in the country you’re working in as well as your client’s. The last thing you want is to accidently write something that could result in you or your client getting a spanking.

So, how was it for you?

I’ve unloaded a lot of information here. Plus some fairly personal thoughts and feelings about what I do, why I do it the way I do, and who I write for.

If you’re thinking of niching for the adult industry in some way, I’d love to know if you found this helpful. Or if it’s thrown up any more questions you’d like answered. 

Get in touch with your thoughts below or drop me an email if you’d rather discuss stuff privately. 

In any case, thanks for reading. This has been a fun one to write.