How Do I Get More Privates?
Recruiters tell you how much you can make, but what they don't tell you is how. All they care about is signing up as many people as they can and hoping one of the several hundred actually make it. Web cam modeling is work. You have to invest in it and understand how it works.
When you first log into your account, you have to make sure you set everything up right away. Your profile, your bio, your pictures. It has to be all in place. I have discussed setting up your profile in a previous post and explained how I completely failed in making any money with it. You start at a discounted rate. I thought it was ridiculous and I wanted to make the big money right away. So I stayed off the site pretty much until my "New Performer" pricing was over. That way I could jack my price up and make more. I also didn't have a profile picture up right away. If you choose to model, get your picture up and spend as much time online as you can when you are in your "New Performer" sale period. This is where you get the most visitors because you are on sale. If you can get those visitors to like you and go into privates with you as many times as possible in that period, they will become regulars when you can raise your rates. You also remember that being at a discounted price you will get more customers then at regular price. So even at a sale rate, higher traffic to your room overall means more money in the long run.
I have had several people go online and tell me they aren't making anything. When I ask them how long they were on line they say "About an hour last night" or "On and off for a little bit." Really? You think popping on and off is going to get you any customers? How are customers supposed to connect with you if you are just popping on and off? And an hour online when you are starting? It takes some time. You have to prove to customers you are available. You have to be there to build relationships with you. Buying credits to spend time with someone on a web cam is really, really expensive. So people are not going to just spend money foolishly (well - I shouldn't say that. I have had customers at work - CEO's - who came into privates with me while they were working and just kept me in private for 3 - 4 hours while they were on conference calls and stuff). When you first log on you may get a lot more privates because of the discounted price. But when you go onto a site like F4F customers pay even more to go private and are very cautious about where they spend their money. They want someone they can return to. They want to see you are online the same time they are. They want to see you have a consistent schedule. They want to see you are there and not just popping in and out. You have to invest time on camera to get the payoff. When I first started on F4F I spent about 2 - 5 hours online just building relationships. Talking to people, showing them my personality. If you are looking for immediate pay, then webcam modeling is not for you. If you understand that the first week may be a struggle, but can deal with it to receive thousand dollar checks once you ar established, then you will go far.
Lighting is a key factor in a webcam show. Once you set your webcam up, look closely at yourself. Are there shadows on your body? Is the only light on you coming from the computer monitor? A good webcam model uses two lights. One overhear or behind, and one in front. It doesn't have to be glaring, just bright enough that your face and body can be seen when you are in private. I personally have incandescent lights overhead, and a $6 worklight I got from Lowes that I sit on a shelf about 12 feet from me that gives a soft glow. Recently however the work light burned out and I have been too lazy to go get a new bulb. But, the incandescent ceiling lights haven't caused any problems and I am so well established that my customers couldn't care less about the lighting. You'll get there though too :)
What are you wearing? Slutty does not necessarily do well. Sexy does. But it has to be a convincing sexy. Actually cute is even better then sexy. The reason web cam models are successful is because they bring a realistic interaction between the customer and the model. If customers wanted fantasy, they could watch porn. They want something more real. The more real you are, the better you will do. Look cute - not overdone. And what you may think are imperfections in yourself, you will customers to completely disagree. I have said this before, but I'll say it again. I don't look like a model. I'm not toned or a size 6. I don't have the face of a model. I am someone you would see at the grocery store. I am someone who could be next door. I am a real person. And when I started doing this I was insecure beyond belief. I thought I was going to be humiliated when I logged on. Customers actually turned out to be the most complimentary people ever. Once I got going, I felt so good about myself every time I got off camera. Many times I thought "Why can't people I know treat me this good." My point here is you don't have to buy fancy clothes and slutty outfits. Be you. Be real. Sometimes I even have my best days when I'm wearing sweats and a sports bra, or shorts with a men's button up shirt.
What are you doing while you are online? Are you surfing the web. If you are, get off the webcam immediately. There is nothing more obnoxious then a web cam model who is surfing the web. It is disrespectful to customers. I can not even tell you how many times I have checked out other models (I'll tell you why in a minute) and watched them play online or surf the net while customers were trying to chat with them. If you are typing away while the camera is on and not even looking at your guests, they will not only leave your room, but they will tell other members in other rooms to not even bother going to your room. A good model who makes money focuses on the web cam. There may be slow times, or there may only be non-paying guests in your room, but if you are on cam, you give them every bit of your attention. Talk to anyone whether they are paying you or not. The more you chat, the more people will stick around to be part of the conversation. The more people sticking around and liking your chatting, the more privates you will get and in turn more money. I can not stress this enough. If customers go into your room and try chatting with you, but you are feverishly working on a paper or paying bills, giving them absolutely no response or any indication you even see them, then you are essentially destroying your image online. If it were up to me all models who do this would be banned. It happens a lot and it is ridiculous. Although because I don't do that I have managed to grow a large audience because people know I interact and like that.
Does your room look inviting? A messy room will get you nowhere. People don't want to talk to or see a slob on camera. Make sure whatever area you use is clean and neat looking. A bed, futon or couch is your best platform. Somewhere where you look relaxed and comfortable. If they can see your whole body that is a plus. You may have to play around with camera angles and positioning. I had to do this a little bit too to see what worked best.
I told you earlier I go into other models rooms. You should do this. If you are not doing well, look at the top models and see what they are doing right. I did this a lot in the beginning. You can see how they move when they are slow. What brings people into their rooms, what they type as messages, how their room is laid out, their lighting. You can really learn a lot from other models. F4F even has forums where models talk to each other and ask for help or advice. It is fantastic and by far the best site in the sense that they give you complete direction and strive for you to do well. You aren't just sitting on cam hoping you are doing things right, you are given tools to tell you what you can do to make sure you are doing it right.
SMILE. SMILE. SMILE. One more time. SMILE. If you are not smiling you will make nothing. When you are looking at other models online, look at who makes privates and who doesn't. Models who look bored, tired or frustrated make nothing. The models who have the highest sales are smiling. This says to the customer "I am happy. I am fun." In turn the customer says "That model looks fun. I want to spend my time with them." SMILE.
Overall, you should really start earning money after a week. Here is my first week on F4F.
I wasn't able to go back that far with them on the system to show you my initial beginning there. I can assure you it was pitiful. Much, much worse then what you see above. I can't tell you how close I was to giving up. I know a lot of people do give up. Again it goes with the expectations set by recruiters that you can make $5,000 to $20,000 on a web cam right away. And again, you can do that - but it doesn't happen overnight. So in the above graph (and F4F has an amazing system to track everything from time to sales) you can see it took me 7 days to get to a day over $100. So when I started on F4F I knew I had to strike up some conversations and win me some regular customers. And once I got them I was golden. I can know pull in over $100 in 30 minutes, and I am pretty much guaranteed privates anytime I log on. You just have to be patient and build that base.
Once you get that base, you only make more money. More customers can see you as you get ranked higher the longer you are in private. Plus, when customers see you are in private for long periods of time they know you have something to offer and they want to be part of it - so they become customers. It's just like building a business. You can't expect it to just happen overnight. It takes a little bit of managing. But when you get there - and you will, don't give up or slow down. You can see when I started there was a day I made only $1.26. There was even a day I made $0. But once a customer has a private with you, everything will change. You just have to think about that check and all the money that is out there waiting to be spent on you. For me, I take my credit card bills and use them to drive me to work. Everytime I rack one up I say "OK. This bill is $800. I need it paid off now." With F4F and InternetModeling combined, I can easily have that worked off in a week. You can do it to.
Web cam modeling can and does make people money. You just have to be able to do everything I mentioned above. Smile, pay attention, talk to people and have fun. If you have a personality you are already the perfect candidate :)
