Last year, we decided to highlight noteworthy taboo themes. These were the categories specifically targeted by aggregators in the recent content restrictions. This year, Lot’s Cave would like to expand the way you look at taboo themes. For authors writing the taboo content readers want, there’s very little information out there. How do you predict what your customers will realistically want? Is there a way to best market your story regardless? These questions do indeed have answers, answers that are surprisingly simple. The best place to currently look for data regarding the taboo is… Pornhub.
10 Noteworthy Trends From Pornhub’s Year In Review
1. Top Categories Are Clear For Taboo Authors
If you take a look at the Pornhub survey, the top categories, overall, are quite clear. These consist of Lesbian, MILF, Ebony, Hentai, Japanese, Anal, Mature, Big Tits, Threesome, and Big Dick. What do these top ten categories tell us? Well, quite a bit actually. If you’re writing taboo themes, your best bet is a Mother pairing of some sort. This is where it gets less clear. Who should your Mature Older Woman MILF be pairing with? The best options according to just these categories seem to be a daughter/younger woman, son/younger man, or a combination of the two! Also, take note, the more well-endowed or curvy your characters are… the better!
2. Sub-Categories Are Less Clear But Manageable
Added to the main categories are, of course, sub-categories. These turned out to be Cuckold, Japanese, Indian, Cosplay, Korean, Transgender, Creampie, Gangbang, French and Cartoon. Out of this odd assortment of options, we start to notice a few worthy kinks to work into the taboo content of our stories. Some of these sub-categories will depend on the overall category you choose, naturally. However, some kinks are also easily worked into an overall story idea. Consider the Cuckolding niche, again, with that main MILF/Mom category. How easy would it be to cuckold the husband or even son with the daughter or sister? This, when done correctly, can make your story appealing to multiple customer bases.
3. Consider Your Customer Base By Gender
Above all else, gender plays a large role in what kinks a person searches out. In terms of the data, women are more likely to search for Lesbian, Threesome, or Rough Sex categories. Men on the other hand are more likely to search for Mom, Sister, or Lesbian. Clearly the Lesbian kink is a crossover niche, but in terms of men, the numbers are vastly skewed. The number of men that enjoy the Lesbian kink are similar to the number of men that enjoy the Anal niche. This means that, if you’re writing Lesbian kinks, your audience is more than likely to be female. Prepare accordingly! Likewise, if your audience is male, consider Mother/Son/Daughter your ‘go-to’ niche.
4. Consider The Age Of Your Customer Base
While this may not seem as important, your catalog will thank you. When writing taboo themes for profit, authors often have to think long term. This means writing for the current market, while also investing in future niches. Age plays a role in these decisions. According to Pornhub’s survey, the kinks between age groups is quite startling. For example, those in their twenties are more interested in Double Penetration or Lesbian. Those in their forties are more interested in Anal or Transgender. Likewise, those in their sixties are more interested in Handjob or Mature kinks. Consider this when writing those sub-categories. You can make your book appealing to that growing audience, while still tapping into the vastly wider current market. The emphasis you place on the book will simply change over time.
5. Holiday Themes Aren’t Worth It
Lot’s Cave sees a lot of authors looking to maximize sales around certain holidays, mainly Christmas and Halloween. If the sales traffic matches that of porn traffic, well, then the investment simply isn’t worth it. According to Pornhub, its traffic dropped on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, and Halloween (Lot’s Cave confirms that holiday themed erotica does not sell well). Likewise, there were a few increases in traffic on Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, and Good Friday. These days are probably best explained by the ‘days off’ they fall on in anticipation of a holiday. But, there isn’t a connection to a sudden kink filled frenzy. The one holiday that might be recommended to embrace is Valentine’s Day… but for taboo content… that’s a difficult sell. Although, we might like to see if any author can pull this off!
6. Lesbian Sex Is For Younger Women
Okay, this is kind of specific, but it is important. According to a Pornhub’s Women Searching for Women, the rate in which women are interested in Lesbian Sex goes down with age. Why is this important to you as an author? Well, it means your characters should fit certain criteria. Stories told from a younger woman perspective might speak better to a customer than stories featuring an older woman. Likewise, female readers might specifically relate more to college settings, new town settling in themes, or even returning home to their family for a little taboo twist. While this data doesn’t seem so important, it can, in fact, have a big impact on your sales in the long term.
7. Gay Themes Have Their Own Market
What we mean by this is well, look at this article. Gay porn has so much data to navigate that we could almost write a whole list just for this topic. If you’re a taboo author looking to write Gay themes exclusively, take time to invest in market research. While it might surprise many, 37% of Pornhub’s traffic for Gay porn was… women! This means there are vastly different kinks and customer bases within this category, making it more a distinct market in its own right. Likewise, Gay porn viewers can’t seem to agree on which kinks they enjoy best… at least by age. This makes it even more important to consider things like gender audience, age of customers, and corresponding kinks and sub-categories. Yes, the difference really is that vast!
8. Experimentation Seems To Increase With Age
This isn’t a data point we can show stated anywhere, but we couldn’t help but notice it. At least right now, the older you are… the more you like to experiment. However, this does seem to be a trend in men more than women. When writing a taboo themed story, especially one where experimentation is key, age really does matter. Stories that feature older characters should probably have them initiating the experimentation. Younger characters can wonder about it, watch porn about it, but are probably less likely to go out and try it. This probably has more to do with confidence with age, but who really knows. As an author, you can excuse it any way you like! Again though, watch out for that Lesbian and Gay market… this rule may not always ring true.
9. The Younger Generation Has Strange Interests
Yes, we’re calling the kettle black on this one, but hear us out. According to Pornhub’s survey, those in the 18-24 range tend to look up some odd porn. What does this mean for authors? Well, we’re not really sure. The younger generation seems intrigued by mixes of porn with popular trends. What do we mean? Well, one of the stranger categories watched by 18-24 year olds was fidget spinner porn. Could an author find a way to incorporate some of these odd trends in their books? Probably. The question is if it would pay off in the long run. It probably wouldn’t, but if you have that strange kink… you might try it if you have an audience that’s well… into fidget spinner porn. We’re intrigued, so let us know if this actually works for you!
10. Country Specific Niches Are A Thing
Alright, this one is last because it’s interesting but full of cautions. At times, certain countries seem to like their own country best. If you’re writing a book about Japanese women, you might consider highlighting it in the title. This doesn’t work for every country, and you will have to do your research, but it might be worth it for certain authors. Keep in mind, kinks do vary by country… as what is taboo varies by country. You may want to consider this before writing your book as there are plenty of smaller niche categories to highlight. Who knew the Japanese had such a fetish for piss play? Well, I guess if you read the survey…
To Conclude
Lot’s Cave likes to go through data, and we suspect some of you do as well. We recognize however that not every author likes to write ‘according to the data’. This is alright. There’s nothing wrong with writing for the enjoyment of writing. But, if you’re interested in boosting your book that little extra bit, why not try some of these options?
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