Below is some beginner advice for anyone starting out in webcamming!
I find it’s pretty important to be prepared before you jump into camming and there are certain mistakes newbies make, which can be prevented, so read on!
✳ ARE YOU READY?
First off, are you mentally and emotionally ready for this job? Yes, it can be easy money (See my post on how much money top camgirls make), but it doesn’t mean that this kind of success will be possible for everyone. You need to know in your mind what your personal reasons are for doing this job. If you think you’ll be making thousands from the start and rolling in cash, I urge you to reconsider, because you’ll be very disappointed to find it harder than you thought to get members to tip and to interact and keep coming back to your room. Because camming is getting more and more mainstream, more girls are joining cam sites (and more camsites are popping up in general), so there are a lot of girls to choose from and not as many members willing to pay with free porn readily available. Some members also have the “freeloader” mentality where they don’t feel they should pay girls for talking to them and they will let others finish countdowns and just, well, freeload.
So, knowing that you’ll have to put in a LOT of time (and a bit of money from the start by buying some essential equipment like webcam, lights, laptop, etc.) you will hopefully have more reasonable expectations about camming, and that if things are slow from the start, you will still push on and not give up. It takes dedication and time to build an audience, so don’t be disappointed if your earnings are low in the beginning.
✳ MARKETING
Another mistake new camgirls make is not knowing how to market themselves. Camming is so much more than turning on your webcam and looking pretty on cam. You need to assess your skills and what you can bring to the table (without forcing it!). You need to highlight the skills, interests and hobbies that you already have, and you’ll see that guys will naturally gravitate toward that. If you’re into gaming, show it! Talk about the new game you got on Steam or even stream it on cam (some sites have restrictions about streaming outside content, so be careful). If you’re into makeup and dressing up, perfect! Make every show an experience and really show your creative side. Even if you don’t have any “interesting” hobbies, you can still show your unique personality and make your room reflect that. So, the key is be yourself, but a “bigger” version of yourself, and do not try to force yourself into the sex kitten type that you feel you need to be on cam.
On the subject of marketing, you need to decide what your marketing strategy will be. Having a Twitter is a big one, which makes it easier to interact with your fans by posting pics and talking about the day-to-day things in your life. Some girls have Tumblrs where they can write longer posts and share more of themselves. Some girls even create their own sites where they have member content and shows. Come up with some sort of strategy of how you’ll be promoting yourself online, because these days members almost expect to be able to reach you offline and see more of you outside of cam.
✳ PRIVACY
A lot of girls start out in webcamming by being employed in another job or having other responsibilities, which take up the majority of their time and make it hard to manage a consistent schedule. This ties into my Number 1 rule of camming, which is consistency. If you don’t have it, you won’t be able to build up a consistent group of regulars and your earnings will suffer. What also happens when girls first start out is they don’t have the right physical place and time to cam from. You may still be living at home, or with roommates, or have kids in the house, which is fine when having a “regular” job, but may be very difficult with camming. You may get very little privacy and be forced to work really odd hours around any of these factors, which will be detrimental to your income. There is no easy way around it. You will either have to come clean about camming to the people you’re living with, or move out, or quit your day job. It’s a hard decision for sure, but unless you have privacy and time for cam, you won’t be able to reach your full potential.
When considering privacy, are you ready for the fact that your shows will be recorded and posted online? This happens to every camgirl, sadly, and there is no way to avoid it. The only thing you can do is either ignore it or sign up with the Cam Model Protection service that will take down your pics/screencaps/videos. See my post about additional privacy tips and how to protect your content from being recorded.
All in all, patience and research are key! Being smart about it you can get a head start and succeed from the start. Good luck!
