How to Get Your First Sales in Adult E-commerce

Launching an adult e-commerce business is exciting, yes, but the real challenge begins when it’s time to land your first sales. According to market reports, the global sex toys industry is now worth around $41.94 billion, yet many startups struggle to break through due to ad restrictions, competition, and the stigma that comes with sex toys.

If you’re wondering how to go to market quickly and start making sales, Adult Creative is here to help. We’ll walk you through the proven strategies and expert insights needed to help you turn your store into a cash-generating machine.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for new ways to tap into the market beyond e-commerce, be sure to check out our top 5 adult business ideas for some inspiration.

Step-by-Step Checklist to Get Your First Sales

1. Define Your Niche & Ideal Customers
2. Optimise Your Website for Conversions
3. Leverage SEO to Drive Traffic
4. Use Adult-Friendly Advertising & Influencer Marketing
5. Retargeting Strategies to Increase Repeat Sales

1. Define Your Niche & Ideal Customers

The adult e-commerce industry is enormous, covering everything from sex toys and lingerie to BDSM gear, fetish products, and niche kink accessories. But with so many players in the market, the fastest way to stand out and attract sales is to niche down—meaning, instead of selling everything, you focus on a specific category, audience, or unique selling proposition (otherwise known as a USP).

Why is this important?

• A specific niche means less competition and higher chances of ranking in SEO and paid ads.
• Targeted messaging is more effective—you’ll attract the right customers instead of wasting money on broad marketing.
• Niching helps build a loyal customer base that sees your brand as an expert rather than a generic store.

Step 1: Choose a Profitable Niche

When selecting your niche, ask:

• Does this niche have a strong, growing demand? (Use Google Trends, SEMrush, and Ahrefs to see search volume.)
• Can you differentiate yourself from competitors? (For example: If selling BDSM gear, can you focus on high-end handcrafted restraints instead of generic mass-produced ones?)
• Is there an engaged audience that you can market to? (Perhaps eco-conscious shoppers looking for sustainable and body-safe sex toys.)

Examples of Strong Niches in Adult E-commerce:

• Realistic & themed sex toys.
• Eco-friendly adult products.
• BDSM & fetish gear.
• Smart sex toys that sync with apps for remote fun.
• Kink-specific stores focusing on spanking, chastity, pegging, or femdom gear.

As pictured above, Hankey’s Toys is well-known for its toys catered to audiences in search of both realistic and fantasy-themed dildos. It’s quite a niche, yes, but a profitable niche nonetheless.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

Not all sex-positive customers are looking for the same thing. Your marketing and product selection need to align with who is buying your products.

• Singles vs. Couples: Singles might be looking for solo play, while couples could want toys for shared experiences.
• LGBTQ+ Market: Many adult stores miss out on serving queer audiences. Inclusive language, representation, and products designed for same-sex couples or non-binary shoppers can set you apart.
• Age Demographics: Younger shoppers (18-34) tend to buy online and engage in subscription-based sex toys or apps. Older shoppers (35+) might prioritise quality, durability, and function over novelty.

Let’s use Fleshlight as a good example, which built its success by marketing exclusively to men with ultra-realistic sex toys, rather than trying to appeal to a general audience. This targeted approach allowed them to dominate their niche and grow into a multi-million-dollar brand.

Step 3: Validate Demand & Competition

Before diving in, validate your niche by researching demand and competition:

• Google Trends – See if searches for your niche are increasing or declining.
• SEMrush & Ahrefs – Identify search volume and SEO competition for your niche.
• Amazon & Competitor Analysis – Look at best-selling products and customer reviews to identify gaps in the market.

Remember to test demand before launching! Use pre-order pages, surveys, or a small product drop to gauge interest before investing heavily. Here’s a helpful video showing you how to go about doing this:

2. Optimise Your Website for Conversions

Once you’ve defined your niche, the next step is making sure your website is optimised to convert visitors into buyers. It doesn’t matter how much traffic you get—if your site isn’t built to sell, you won’t make money. Some studies show that 39% of users leave a website if it has a poor layout or slow load time, which is a lot of potential dollars going down the drain. And in adult e-commerce, trust and discretion are even more critical.

Here’s how to build a high-converting adult e-commerce website:

Step 1: Make Your Website Fast & Mobile-Friendly

Speed is everything. A 1-second delay in load time can cause a 7% drop in conversions. Here’s how to make your store lightning fast:

• Use a High-Speed Hosting Provider: Avoid cheap hosting—use Shopify, WooCommerce + WP Engine, or BigCommerce.
• Compress & Optimise Images: Upload WebP format instead of heavy JPEGs.
• Minimise Plugins: Too many third-party apps slow your site down.

Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site speed and fix slow-loading pages. Here’s how to get started:

Step 2: Create a Trustworthy & Secure Shopping Experience

Many adult shoppers worry about discreet billing, packaging, and privacy. If you don’t make them feel safe, they won’t buy.

So, to build trust, be sure to:

• Use SSL Encryption: If your URL doesn’t start with https://, you’re losing sales.
• Offer Discreet Shipping & Billing: Clearly state that your packaging is plain and unmarked and that the credit card charge will be generic (e.g., “XYZ Retail” instead of “AdultToys.com”).
• Add Customer Reviews & Trust Badges: Display logos of secure payment options (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Klarna). Also, stores that add real customer reviews see a 270% increase in conversion rates.

Take a look at one of LoveHoney’s product pages below, which boosted its sales by highlighting its reviews, payment methods, and plain packaging policy on every product page. Customers felt safer buying, which reduced abandoned carts.

Step 3: Use High-Quality Product Images & Videos

Online shoppers can’t touch or feel your product, so visuals matter more than anything.

• Use 4-6 high-resolution images per product.
• Include product videos showing texture, size, and usage.
• Zoom-in feature to highlight details.

Step 4: Write Persuasive Product Descriptions

Your product description should sell the experience, not just list features.

Bad Example: “This vibrator is 7 inches long and waterproof.”

Good Example: “Experience toe-curling pleasure with our most popular body-safe silicone vibrator. With 7 intensity levels and a whisper-quiet motor, it’s perfect for discreet solo or couple’s play—even in the bath.”

In short, start with a hook, describe the features & benefits in a story-like way, and end with a call to action: (“Order now for discreet next-day delivery!”).

Step 5: Optimise for an Easy Checkout Process

Did you know that 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts? Well, the reason why most people are leaving is because checkout is too complicated.

Here’s how to make buying effortless:

• Enable Guest Checkout: Don’t force users to create an account.
• Offer Multiple Payment Options: Credit/debit, PayPal, Klarna, crypto (for privacy-focused users).
• Show Total Price Upfront: Unexpected fees at checkout = instant drop-off.

As you can see below, Fleshlight simplified checkout and added one-click payment options like PayPal, which helped reduce its abandoned cart rate by 20%.

3. Leverage SEO to Drive Traffic

Now that your website is optimised to convert visitors into customers, the next challenge is getting those visitors to your site in the first place.

Many new adult e-commerce businesses make the huge mistake of relying only on paid ads, but ads can be quite costly, especially in a competitive niche.

That’s why SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a must-have for adult businesses. SEO traffic is free, long-term, and highly targeted. When done right, it brings in consistent buyers without spending thousands on ads.

For further insight, read our helpful guide on why SEO is important for adult e-commerce. Otherwise, here’s how to rank on Google and get free traffic:

Step 1: Find High-Intent Keywords That Convert

SEO success starts with keywords—the search terms people use when looking for adult products.

Transactional Keywords (High purchase intent):

• “Best rabbit vibrator for beginners”
• “Waterproof sex toy for couples”
• “Where to buy BDSM collars online”

Informational Keywords (Low purchase intent but good for blog content):

• “How to clean a sex toy”
• “Beginner’s guide to impact play”
• “What is pegging and how to try it?”

Use helpful tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find keywords with high search volume and low competition.

Read our helpful guide on adult SEO keywords to learn more.

Step 2: Optimise Your Product Pages for SEO

Each product page should be optimized to rank on Google. Here’s how:

• Include your target keyword in the page title. For example, instead of “Rose Vibrator” → “Best Rose Vibrator for Women”
• Use keywords in product descriptions naturally.
• Optimise URLs for clarity. For example, yourstore.com/soft-silicone-vibrator instead of yourstore.com/product12345
• Use alt text for images… something simple like “Luxury pink G-spot vibrator for women” (Google can’t “see” images, so this helps with rankings).

Step 3: Use Content Marketing to Drive Traffic

A blog is one of the most powerful SEO tools for an adult e-commerce business. By answering common customer questions, you attract traffic before they’re ready to buy—and when they are ready, they’ll remember you.

Some blog content ideas for adult E-commerce include the likes of “Beginner’s Guide to Bondage & Restraints”, “Best Sex Toys for Long-Distance Couples”, and so on. Lovehoney dominates Google rankings by publishing detailed, sex-positive guides on toy selection, pleasure tips, and safe use. These articles bring in millions of visitors per month, many of whom convert into paying customers.

Step 4: Build High-Quality Backlinks (Google’s #1 Ranking Factor)

Backlinks = other websites linking to your store. Google sees these as votes of confidence—the more backlinks you have from relevant, high-quality sites, the higher you’ll rank.

How to Get Backlinks in the Adult Industry:

• Get Featured in Sex-Positive Blogs & Magazines: Reach out to Kinkly, Slixa, Sexual Alpha, AVN, and XBiz for features.
• Collaborate with Adult Influencers & Bloggers: Offer free products in exchange for a detailed review and backlink.
• Publish Data-Driven or Unique Content: Conduct a survey on sex toy trends and share the stats—other sites will link to your data.

Step 5: Optimise for Local SEO (If You Have a Physical Presence)

If you run a local adult store or offer discreet pickup services, Google My Business is a must.

• Create a Google Business Profile
• List Your Store on Yelp & Local Directories
• Encourage Customer Reviews (Stores with more reviews rank higher)

Want to grow your e-commerce business? Learn more about our e-commerce SEO service and arrange a meeting today. 

4. Use Adult-Friendly Advertising & Influencer Marketing

SEO is a long-term strategy—but if you want fast results, you need paid traffic and influencer marketing.

The problem is, like we mentioned earlier in this blog, platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram heavily restrict adult ads. Not only do mainstream platforms often reject sex-related promotions, but the ad costs can be high, especially in competitive niches.

But don’t worry—many adult e-commerce brands successfully run ads outside of mainstream channels.

Here’s how to run ads and use influencers without getting banned:

Step 1: Run Ads on Adult-Friendly Ad Networks

Since Google and Facebook restrict adult ads, you need to use networks that allow adult content.

Best Adult Ad Networks for E-Commerce:

• ExoClick – One of the biggest ad networks for adult products.
• TrafficJunky – Used by sites like Pornhub, XHamster, and RedTube.
• EroAdvertising – Good for geo-targeting specific countries.
• AdXpansion – Great for video ads and animated banners.

Step 2: Work with Sex-Positive Influencers

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to grow an adult e-commerce store. After all, these are people who already have engaged audiences who trust them, and so their reviews and recommendations feel more authentic than traditional ads. Also, social media restrictions are much looser for individual creators than for brands.

How to Find the Right Influencers:

• TikTok & Instagram: Look for sex educators, body-positive models, and adult wellness influencers.
• YouTube: Creators who review sex toys often have huge audiences.
• OnlyFans & Twitter: Many adult influencers cross-promote brands.

Looking to establish a loyal following? Learn more about our influencer marketing service and see what we can do to help your business. 

Step 3: Use Reddit & Twitter Ads

Two of the most adult-friendly platforms for ads are Reddit and X (Twitter).

• Reddit Ads – You can run ads in NSFW subreddits like r/sex, r/bdsmcommunity, and r/nsfwtoys.
• X (Twitter) Ads – Allows adult content if properly labeled.

Step 4: PPC Marketing

As opposed to traditional advertising, PPC marketing for adult e-commerce differs in a few ways. Instead of paying for advertising space on a website or platform, advertisers are paying for clicks. By choosing the right PPC agency – one that knows how to make ads that adhere to Google’s strict regulations – you could boost your business from a small side-hustle to the next LoveHoney.

If you’re not sure where to start, book a free consultation with our in-house PPC specialists today.

To learn what a good PPC marketing campaign can do for your business, check out our recent case study for passionbugs. 

5. Retargeting Strategies to Increase Repeat Sales

Did you know that 80% of sales come from repeat customers? So then, why is it that most businesses focus only on first-time buyers?

The truth is that most shoppers won’t buy on their first visit, and even after they do, many never return. Retargeting is how you bring them back, whether it’s to complete a purchase, buy again, or upgrade to a better product.

Here’s how to retarget past visitors and customers to maximise revenue.

Step 1: Run Retargeting Ads to Bring Back Visitors

If someone visited your store but didn’t buy, don’t let them disappear. Retargeting ads follow them around on other websites and social media.

Best Retargeting Ad Platforms for Adult E-Commerce:

• Google Display Network – Shows ads across millions of websites.
• Twitter & Reddit Ads – Adult-friendly and allows NSFW content.
• TrafficJunky & ExoClick – Works for retargeting adult website visitors.

Types of Retargeting Ads That Work Best:

• Abandoned Cart Reminders – “Still thinking it over? Here’s 10% off—grab your order now!”
• Recently Viewed Products – “The [Product Name] you loved is still available—shop now!”
• Bundle & Upsell Offers – “Complete your collection—get 20% off matching accessories.”

Step 2: Use Email & SMS to Re-Engage Old Customers

Repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers, so it’s easier to sell to someone who’s already bought from you.

Best Email & SMS Retargeting Campaigns:

• Upsell Emails – “Loved your last order? Try [Higher-Priced Product] for even better pleasure!”
• “Back-in-Stock” Alerts – “Your favorite BDSM collar is back in stock—get it before it sells out again!”
• Replenishment Reminders (For Products That Run Out) – “Time to restock? Your favorite lube is probably running low—grab another before you run out!”

Step 3: Offer Exclusive VIP Deals & Loyalty Rewards

Customers love feeling special—so reward them for coming back.

How to Keep Customers Returning:

• VIP Discount Club – “Join our VIP list & get 15% off every future purchase.”
• Loyalty Points System – Earn points with each order, review, or social media share.
• Early Access to New Products – Let past buyers shop before anyone else.

So… What’s Your Next Step?

Breaking into adult e-commerce is easier said than done, but with the right strategies, your first sales will come sooner than you think.

Need help launching your adult e-commerce store? Adult Creative specialises in designing high-converting, fully compliant adult websites. Contact us today to get started!

Still in the planning stages? Read our guide on how to start a successful adult business for some helpful insights. Looking to rub shoulders with like-minded entrepreneurs? Check out our list of adult industry events to look out for in 2025!