State of the industry (2026): So many Ads, not enough hits

[JB_Studio38]

On 7/21/2026 at 10:33 AM, maninsoma said:

I assume escorting is like lots of other businesses in many respects, but there is one major difference.  No one cares if their plumber is 30 years old or 60 years old, but plenty of men hiring escorts would choose a 30 year old but never hire a 60 year old, regardless of how they look.  I'm only raising this point because I assume that working as an escort is especially difficult as a long-term career.  I'm assuming (but don't have any data to back this assumption up) that the men who remain successful escorts for decades have long-term/repeat clients as well as a generally positive reputation that draws at least some newcomers to them.  I'd also like to point out that like many other businesses, sometimes you can be highly in demand and then your business dwindles.  I've seen so many restaurants decline in popularity over the years, ultimately leading to their closure.  Not every successful business remains open long-term.  I know some guys still advertise on Rentmen after being in the business for 25+ years, but I have no idea what their income is now versus 25 years ago.

You make an accurate point. However, it’s hard to tell whether the “restaurant” is the escort advertising, or the advertising platform itself. I’m leaning on the fact that it’s moreso the advertising platforms themselves that go out of fashion, versus the individual escort (as we’ve seen over the years with Men4rent, Backpage, HourBoy, Rentboy, Adam4Adam, etc ).

I recently spent 2 weeks in a city going to the bars almost every other night. I can definitely say I haven’t lost my edge, considering all the compliments and phone numbers I was getting. But the issue is; the sex work game online is very different these days. It’s ultra packed, everybody and their brother is trying to be a content creator. And I can almost imagine certain Rent Men ads are just trying to drive content sales versus being escorts.

 

On 7/21/2026 at 9:39 AM, Colton said:

No, clients don't need to understand how RM advertising works.  Thats not their expertise and its unreasonable to expect that.  

All professionals, whether they are plumbers, lawyers, bankers or anything else, have to do business development.  It sucks that BD is unpaid, because sometimes it can be more time consuming than actual engagements, and not every BD effort will turn into a paid engagement, but that is true across the board.

I don't know nor care how plumbers advertise, so I should not need to know nor care how you advertise.  

But you do. You do need to know. Because so many clients contacting from RM (and you guys here on the forum) make assumptions about what I’m doing, what city I’m in, how many clients I’m seeing, what time of day I’m cumming, cross examining why I need more than 1 hours notice to meet etc etc.

So if anyone is going to assume, it’s probably a good idea to first understand what’s actually going on. And unfortunately, the RentMen platform does bare minimum to direct clients on how to make plans with an escort in a way that’s conducive and not counterproductive. Therein lies my job, which I try to convey on the 350 characters allowed in my auto reply/my website/my text introductory message: which apparently some guys seem to “ignore and move on”, thus remaining IGNORant. 
 

On 7/21/2026 at 10:55 AM, ACluelessGent said:

Why do you always have to write such a long essay? Get to the point...

 

You really think all this can be accurately solved in 2 sentences 😂 You can always read other material if this is too advanced level for you. Here’s the door  🥾 🚪 
 

19 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

I think @JB_Studio38 vents his frustration here sometimes. I try to see things from his perspective (after all I am doing similar work, so feel that I can empathise with a little more gravitas than some commentators who seem to know a lot about sex work without actually having done it…).

There are a lot of frustrations with the work: the marginal legality (in some jurisdictions), the very flaky clients, the variability of income, the lack of structure, the dealing with the public (there are some very stupid people out there…it’s astonishing sometimes). But on the other hand there’s great benefits to doing the work; flexibility, meeting fantastic people, great experiences, the money, the feeling one gets when someone says to you that you just delivered one of their all time fantasies (only sex workers will be able to understand that). And you can manage and structure your business to mitigate for all the drawbacks I mentioned above. 

The biggest challenge though is that there’s so few people to talk to about the work because only those who do it can really understand how you feel. It can be very isolating. I think this is where he is coming from.

And I’ll add you can make decent income from Onlyfans (I do) but it’s not without a lot of work. It’s not quite as simple as it looks. 
 

Well said 👏🏽 

And it’s about more than venting. Like I said above, these things aren’t being facilitated on our ads. The stuff I talk about here, I can’t have in a discussion with a client. I’m not embarrassed or shamed to talk about it here. It’s a forum, with clients and escorts participating. We should all be adult and mature enough to talk about it without feeling dismissed or put down.

And yes, I understand it can be long winded and not sexy to talk about sometimes but: that’s the reality. People want to act like everything is peachy creamy, and it is at times BUT, it’s currently not.

I just got back from a 2 week trip, meaning away from home. I only had 2 clients and 2 “promotionals” (I say because I accepted 2 offers from folks on a hookup app, but it was not my actual rate. But, it was preferable to meeting for free).

 

However, 2 clients in 2 weeks is completely unacceptable. Meanwhile, I was sifting thru inquiry after inquiry on the RentMen messenger, texts from MoFos who stopped replying or flaked out, people offering impossible rates (like $100).

It’s a mess out here in many cities. That’s why now, I don’t go anywhere without confirmed bookings. And like I told @Colton, people do need to understand that if I don’t advertise ahead of arriving to a city, I am not willing to take the risk to just “show up”. People see my ad in a city the moment I move it there, and think “oh you’re here now?” I’ve traveled all over the country (US) and know from experience it’s never wise to go to a city with no planning, and hoping for clients to show up. Because it’s too many other escorts in the industry these days, and most clients have no idea about pricing.

And closing of Craigslist back in 2010, there used to be an understanding that sites like Rentboy and Men4Rent had more upscale priced providers. Now, it seems anybody and everybody is on it and half the time they have no idea that $150/$200 doesn’t work for every appointment 16 years later. 

[+ Jamie21]

On 7/22/2026 at 12:28 PM, Mark_fl said:

I guess this forum can be a double-edged sword. There isn't exactly a place where providers can get together and vent, and compare notes, free from clients. 

There’s WhatsApp and Telegram groups that I’m in which are provider only (and venting does happen in there!!!) plus I’m friends with other sex workers and we talk about common challenges. Sometimes though one wants to speak to a wider audience, especially an audience that is interested in the work and that buys the services. 

[jonasfoleson]

On 7/22/2026 at 10:19 AM, ACluelessGent said:

True, but I assume his posts are intended for other members to read. If he is writing only for his own benefit, it enters the realm of psychiatry.

Mental Illness is assuming others care about your whims and needs. Or youR attitudes or views. I personally don’t care how long a post is. I’m not affected. Thus the question is why people who are strangers be bound to adhere to whatever subjective whim or expectation you hold. 

[Rod Hagen]

On 7/21/2026 at 8:33 AM, maninsoma said:

I assume escorting is like lots of other businesses in many respects, but there is one major difference.  No one cares if their plumber is 30 years old or 60 years old, but plenty of men hiring escorts would choose a 30 year old but never hire a 60 year old, regardless of how they look. 

When this forum started in 1999, plenty of posters would have categorized an escort in his 30s as being over the hill.  I remember frequent poster and reviewer Marc Anthony calling escorting after 25:  Stunted Development.  So, there's been some Progress.

[+ newatthis]

On 7/29/2026 at 9:29 AM, Rod Hagen said:

frequent poster and reviewer Marc Anthony calling escorting after 25:  Stunted Development

IIRC Marc considered 22 pushing it 😋

[SecretProvider]

The only thing I will add here is this: 

I was genuinely shocked when I looked at the stats of how many people view my add, to then compare it with how many sent me a message, to then how many actually made a booking.  The conversion rate was shockingly low in comparison. Despite the way I bite back here, I am always polite, prompt and friendly to my inquires, and I have a almost 1.5 % conversion rate. 

And I am not without work, we all have busy and quiet moments, but work always averages out in a steady pace.

I did a bit of quick AI research and was pleased to see 1% is actually not bad at all.  Note - These stats are from VIEWS not rehires from regulars (which is where the bread and butter clients come from) 

Edited 12 hours ago by SecretProvider

[mike carey]

Interesting stats @SecretProvider. As I read it my initial thought was that the 'return per view' metric is more complicated than it appears to be being portrayed. Things like how readers are channelled to an advertisement may have an effect. How many steps are there from opening a browser or an index page to the actual ad? How do you reach an ad for a dental practice compared with an ad for an escort? Is an ad on rentmen the same as one on your own web site? 

An example, not to say it's comparable, but just to consider the process. Say I need a new suitcase. I search either with a search engine or find a site that links to relevant retailers. Or I go to a retailer and search their site to see if they sell luggage. If I go to a retailer's ad, is that the point where they should do their evaluation of views to sales? If I'm on that retailer's site, they show a page of links to a range of cases. How much weight should they put on how many of the cases I click on to check them out?

As I said, your post is food for thought. Anyone who understands how a market with choices rather than monopolies works know that advertising is to attract potential and actual clients. I check airline fares and award options a lot, some might say obsessively although I do not, with no intention of buying immediately or perhaps even soon. I also check ads for men who are discussed here, knowing that I'm unlikely to be in the same city as many of them in the near future. But both for them and for air tickets I am content to read what is advertised to understand the possibilities.

[SecretProvider]

55 minutes ago, mike carey said:

Interesting stats @SecretProvider. As I read it my initial thought was that the 'return per view' metric is more complicated than it appears to be being portrayed. Things like how readers are channelled to an advertisement may have an effect. How many steps are there from opening a browser or an index page to the actual ad? How do you reach an ad for a dental practice compared with an ad for an escort? Is an ad on rentmen the same as one on your own web site? 

An example, not to say it's comparable, but just to consider the process. Say I need a new suitcase. I search either with a search engine or find a site that links to relevant retailers. Or I go to a retailer and search their site to see if they sell luggage. If I go to a retailer's ad, is that the point where they should do their evaluation of views to sales? If I'm on that retailer's site, they show a page of links to a range of cases. How much weight should they put on how many of the cases I click on to check them out?

As I said, your post is food for thought. Anyone who understands how a market with choices rather than monopolies works know that advertising is to attract potential and actual clients. I check airline fares and award options a lot, some might say obsessively although I do not, with no intention of buying immediately or perhaps even soon. I also check ads for men who are discussed here, knowing that I'm unlikely to be in the same city as many of them in the near future. But both for them and for air tickets I am content to read what is advertised to understand the possibilities.

I think the biggest difference is when you are checking out websites to buy a suitcase you are not ( i am assuming) jerking off and messaging the store to ask about how the suitcase feels, does it like to be put in cabin or the hold, asking them for more pics of it...

 

Which is a playful way for me to say our numbers are going to be harder because there is a (larger than you all think) portion of the client base who is perfectly satisfied by browsing and interaction without ever an intention to purchase than most other products. There really is no comparison, but we make do with the information we have best we can!