Ep. 08: Breaking the Vice Stigma – A Real Talk with Pauline Schmiechen
What do you do when Google, Meta, TikTok, and every other ad platform shut the door in your face? You break the rules, rewrite the playbook, and scale anyway.
In this episode of Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?, I talk with Pauline Schmiechen: badass founder, consultant, and builder of multiple high-traffic adult platforms, who’s thriving in the shadows of mainstream media.
With 3 million+ users a month and zero access to traditional ad platforms, Pauline isn’t asking for permission...she’s building power in places most marketers are too afraid to look.
Here’s what we dive into:
- Why “intimacy is the new currency” in digital marketing
- How TrafficJunky, Telegram groups, and SEO still outperform when used right
- Creative campaigns like billboards, Discords, and even a plane over Coachella
- Fanblast, the WhatsApp/iMessage platform giving creators a direct line to fans (and revenue) and why Pauline’s all-in on it
- The myth that “nobody pays for porn” (they do...and, shocker, it’s billions)
- The backlash, the double standards, and why Pauline still shows up fully clothed at her laptop like every other founder you know
We also dig into the real reason OnlyFans exploded and why traditional marketing can’t handle industries built on human behavior, emotion, and connection.
This isn’t about adult content. It’s about stigma, scale, and what happens when creators and marketers get locked out of the “acceptable” world...and still thrive.
🔗 Resources & Mentions:
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Creators and Guests
Host
Adam W. Barney
Adam W. Barney is an energy coach, strategist, and author helping leaders and founders stay energized, build impact, and scale with optimism. He hosts “Is Anything Real in Paid Advertising?” to unpack what’s working (and what’s just noise) in the agency world.
