For how long have you been a cam model and how has it changed you life?

[StarSpirit]

Hello everyone! I could change my name to "the curious one" I guess, because I am, indeed, really curious! But I feel like many people come to a cam site and see all those at the top, with hundreds or thousands of watchers, receiving big tips, sometimes seemingly for nothing. And that is because all they see is the money and not how the person actually got to where they are. Or that they might actually deserve the money for their hard work. Many might just assume that they all got famous and rich overnight and are living luxurious lives without really moving a finger.

So how long have you been a cam model and what is your origin story?
What were your dreams when you started and did they come true?
What were the hardships in this career? Did you think of quitting but then turned it around?
If you are a new model, what are your dreams and plans? - it would be cool to come back after a few months or a year and see how far you've come!

Feel free to write anything you feel like sharing, but of course, do not feel pressured to say what you'd rather not share.


(I have not found a thread like this, just a few replies here and there, but thought it could be cool for us all to share. I actually wrote a blog post on MV about this, but not sure if they are ever gonna publish it, lol.)

 

[StarSpirit]

So, I have been a model for only a few months. After finishing uni I felt like I have nowhere to go. I got promised a job, actually, but they made me wait 4 months, because they were moving buildings, but then did not want me anymore. So I was unemployed and sad. Decided to give camming a try after peeking in a bit. I have not yet made any dent in this world, but slowly I feel like things are going in the right direction! I cam with my bf, because we both enjoy being sexual and artistic and make people both laugh and think.

Our main dream is to be able to afford a tiny house and a big garden, to be able to grow our own food and have many dogs and cats. Then we want to continue doing adult stuff as long as possible and work on our artsy stuff - I love music and traditional and digital art, my boyfriend Jonathan loves literature and wood work.

The biggest hardship so far has been feeling extremely unmotivated. Or not really believing in myself and working hard on my dreams. I have had a pretty good start but then was unable to work consistently. But I am happy, because I feel like this way I will cherish it more and hopefully learn much more.

I am actually doing a little experiment for 2020, so I am hoping that this time next year I will come back to this thread and have some good news. But my plan for 2020 is to just be able to do this full time, be consistent, maybe get into the top 1000 on MFC and just enjoy life, because yeah, money is important in our world, and I want to do this as my job, but whether you believe that you have only one life or many, you really should not waste it!

 

[Madam_Lilith]

I'm extremely new, I've put in 6 sessions totaling 18 hrs all together... And in that I actually made over a grand it's finals week and I haven't even cammed in Dec yet (yikes) I'm hoping to get more consistent with my schedule. I'm also a single mom with 2 littles so it can be challenging but I've already made a few regulars and they're more than understanding which is awesome. Honestly I started bc I'm getting behind on bills and I'm not getting any action and thought it could be fun. My original goal was to just make $500 my first month. So now my goal for Dec is $2000. I still have so many questions. In 2020 I hope to hit top 500 I'm really curious to hear everyone's story.

 

[NynaStax]

I've been a camgirl on and off since Jan 2016. I started camming on Streamate, then went on to Naked and Chaturbate. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by chaturbate (still am kind of which is why I hardly cam there now), so I left and ended up camming on camsoda and have been there ever since although I still try to cam on chaturbate.

I initially started of imlive in 2013 when I was staying with my parents, but didnt feel comfortable until I moved out and started doing it out of my own apartment. I had a vanilla job at a call center making $9/hour and getting paid biweekly prior to camming. I got into a car accident one morning on my way to work and that resulted in me losing my job and I was in hair school at night in the midst of all of this. I got my last paycheck a week later and bought a laptop and a webcam while applying for more jobs. I cammed on Streamate and made $1000 my first week. I ultimately got excited and worked 13 hours each day which resulted in me getting burned out.

After camming for a while, I started to feel I wasn't good enough because I kept comparing myself to other women, thinking that I can't make anymore tokens than I'm already making due to me being a black woman, but thats not really the case. I became inconsistent, and thought that if I did porn, my name and bramd will increase when I cam. I did have fun doing porn and making scenes, but I love camming more because of the control I have in my room and the freedom this job allows. I don't plan on doing this forever, as I have graduated from cosmetology school and now studying to take my state board, I plan on camming for another 5 years or so.

I will say the best thing I've learned is to be consistent, especially in this day in age where the internet is oversaturated with everything, and people's attention spans are shorter than ever.

 

[Sterling Silverthorne]

I've always had an interest in SW and "Silverthorne" made her debut in January 2018. I wanted to be a stripper since I first discovered stripping, but it hasn't happened yet. But in, I think, August 2017, I discovered camming! I lurked around in the rooms of Chroniclove and KDwow on CB and after, once my partner was comfortable with the idea, Silverthorne was born on CB. I started out non-nude, but as my partner became more comfortable, eventually I became the fully-nude and fetish friendly Swer I am today.

My dreams initally were to be a camgirl on CB and make the big bucks, of course. Lol, that dream died quick af. Now, I've left CB behind (probably for good lol) and focus on achievable goals and making my own way, slowly, but steadily. I currently create content for MV and C4S and cam on SM mostly and MV occasionally; I'm very happy with these few sites. I am also finally learning pole at a local, small pole fitness studio and I love it just as much as I thought I would. I want to get a pole at home for cam and vids!

My biggest hurdle is my metal health and taking on way too much at first with unachievable initial goals. Oh, I've definitely taken quite a few hiatuses and "quit" more than once. In the end, SW wasn't the problem - I was. So, through trial and error, I'm learning to balance, love myself, and take care of my mental health. I love SW and don't have any intention on stopping anytime soon!

 

[veggiebabyy]

I've been camming since August 2019, so not too long. I started because I'm super fed up with having a "real job," and SW has always interested me. The more I learned about camming, the more it seemed like something that fits my goals and lifestyle, so I'm giving it a shot.

I'm not sure what my dreams are with camming, aside from making enough money to live a reasonably comfortable life. So far, they haven't come true. I'm still making way less than minimum wage.

I guess I'm currently in the "hardships" part. As such a new model, I'm just doing my best to be consistent and build a following of regulars, although it seems like as soon as I find a new regular, an old one disappears. It's discouraging, but I'm stubborn and don't plan to give up any time soon.

As far as my plans for the future, the aim is to just stay consistent. I cam 15-20 hours per week and have been since I started. If anything, I'd like to start camming for a little longer each session. I'm really hoping to leave my "real job" when my lease is up in February and move somewhere new, so if things are going alright, I'm aiming to start camming as a full time career then.

 

[MysAngel]

Hi everyone. I got into camming because part of me always an in interest in it but I never did it. I always thought I wasn’t good enough. Still feel that way at time but I’m working through it. I finally got the push when bills were getting difficult and I felt like I haven’t really found what I wanted to do in my life career wise. My husband joked one day that I could start camming and became the conversations and final decision of doing it. I’m happy for the support from him.

So I got verified around summer of 2019 on multiple sites. But things kept getting in the way and I kept putting it off or I feel unmotivated. I finally decided to just choose a site (CB) and just start. I researched like crazy since the beginning though. I don’t sleep much so I spent lots of time reading anything and everything.

I started my first show on Thursday and omg I felt like a hot mess. First off, my back was hurting like crazy earlier that day from the home rearranging I decided to do the day before. I had this cool wig I wanted to wear my first show and I messed up the front by trying to be my own hairdresser and cut it .

I got online for a little over 2 hours and...absolutely nothing. Not a single person. Now I know it takes time and patience and everything, but literally 2 hours and not 1 person popped in. I was dancing, moving, talking to myself. I felt discouraged. I got off.

Now, I’m not giving up. I felt like I didn’t go in with the right mind set and I am one of those that feel like you attract what you put out. And since I felt unmotivated and I was in pain, maybe that’s why. Or maybe it was just the day or maybe that’s how the beginning is. I don’t know .

So I am taking the weekend to spend with family and get myself mentally prepared and I’m gonna hit it hard on Monday . Hopefully I get a better result. After all, I do like a challenge .

So yea that’s where I am at the moment. I’m actually so happy that I found this trend cuz I just wanted to share with fellow models but I’m usually shy or nervous when I first start on a place. Thank you to everyone for all the advice I’ve been reading so far. So much information.

 

[Madam_Lilith]

Hi everyone. I got into camming because part of me always an in interest in it but I never did it. I always thought I wasn’t good enough. Still feel that way at time but I’m working through it. I finally got the push when bills were getting difficult and I felt like I haven’t really found what I wanted to do in my life career wise. My husband joked one day that I could start camming and became the conversations and final decision of doing it. I’m happy for the support from him.

So I got verified around summer of 2019 on multiple sites. But things kept getting in the way and I kept putting it off or I feel unmotivated. I finally decided to just choose a site (CB) and just start. I researched like crazy since the beginning though. I don’t sleep much so I spent lots of time reading anything and everything.

I started my first show on Thursday and omg I felt like a hot mess. First off, my back was hurting like crazy earlier that day from the home rearranging I decided to do the day before. I had this cool wig I wanted to wear my first show and I messed up the front by trying to be my own hairdresser and cut it .

I got online for a little over 2 hours and...absolutely nothing. Not a single person. Now I know it takes time and patience and everything, but literally 2 hours and not 1 person popped in. I was dancing, moving, talking to myself. I felt discouraged. I got off.

Now, I’m not giving up. I felt like I didn’t go in with the right mind set and I am one of those that feel like you attract what you put out. And since I felt unmotivated and I was in pain, maybe that’s why. Or maybe it was just the day or maybe that’s how the beginning is. I don’t know .

So I am taking the weekend to spend with family and get myself mentally prepared and I’m gonna hit it hard on Monday . Hopefully I get a better result. After all, I do like a challenge .

So yea that’s where I am at the moment. I’m actually so happy that I found this trend cuz I just wanted to share with fellow models but I’m usually shy or nervous when I first start on a place. Thank you to everyone for all the advice I’ve been reading so far. So much information.

My first experience camming was also on CB and just like you I had done all kinds of research and did more research after being verified and putting off starting out. My first show I gave up after an hour. I was also moving and dancing and so confused I knew it took time but thought I'd have some traffic and there were a few ppl that popped in and they seemed like they just wanted to take advantage of me being new. I felt very discouraged. I switched sites when I decided to give it a second go around and things went soooo much better. I made a grand in my first 5 cam sessions. I will definitely give new status part of that credit and I probably shouldn't have spent so much of my new status time in group sessions, my earnings aren't as high but I'm slowly building a following. I'm not saying leave CB a lot are very successful there, but don't let your first session beat you up too much. Best of luck

 

[MysAngel]

My first experience camming was also on CB and just like you I had done all kinds of research and did more research after being verified and putting off starting out. My first show I gave up after an hour. I was also moving and dancing and so confused I knew it took time but thought I'd have some traffic and there were a few ppl that popped in and they seemed like they just wanted to take advantage of me being new. I felt very discouraged. I switched sites when I decided to give it a second go around and things went soooo much better. I made a grand in my first 5 cam sessions. I will definitely give new status part of that credit and I probably shouldn't have spent so much of my new status time in group sessions, my earnings aren't as high but I'm slowly building a following. I'm not saying leave CB a lot are very successful there, but don't let your first session beat you up too much. Best of luck

Thank you so much for sharing that. I definitely is nice knowing someone who went through the same and a light at the end. I’m definitely going to give it another try this week and hopefully it gets better. If not, I’m probably going to try another. I know part of it is finding the site that works for the individual. Again, thank you.

 

[StarSpirit]

Thank you so much for sharing that. I definitely is nice knowing someone who went through the same and a light at the end. I’m definitely going to give it another try this week and hopefully it gets better. If not, I’m probably going to try another. I know part of it is finding the site that works for the individual. Again, thank you.

That is exactly why I created this thread! To share both the good and the bad things. And to not feel alone when things are not going our way.

When I logged onto CB for the first time I had around 10-20 people. But as solo female I had max 40. But when I first logged on with my bf, we had around 300! (but only a few tippers, so it does not really make much difference) Maybe there is something wrong with CB traffic. Especially if you are new I feel like you should attract people! Don't you perhaps have your geoblock turned on with too many countries blocked? That could be an issue.

 

[MysAngel]

That is exactly why I created this thread! To share both the good and the bad things. And to not feel alone when things are not going our way.

When I logged onto CB for the first time I had around 10-20 people. But as solo female I had max 40. But when I first logged on with my bf, we had around 300! (but only a few tippers, so it does not really make much difference) Maybe there is something wrong with CB traffic. Especially if you are new I feel like you should attract people! Don't you perhaps have your geoblock turned on with too many countries blocked? That could be an issue.

I made another post on here somewhere about the members things and I’ve been told that CB has some kind of glitch. That could be it maybe. For geoblocking, only have about 3 states blocked, not countries, so I don’t think that might be it maybe. Some are saying to create a new account so I have the new model status again but I’m been reading that it might work and it might not work.

 

[Danigirl]

I’ve been camming for 2 1/2 years. I’ve doubled income every tax return so I’m very happy with it so far. I’m a split cammer that doesn’t take privates 99% of the time (I don’t like the shady ethics of streaming on another site while someone is paying for a private) and it’s a pain to rebuild rooms. I started with my hubby -then bf- on chaturbate camming as a couple. We did ok but I felt terrible making him work after he was working all day already. So I went solo and made so much more haha. Sorry babe! He’s hot but it’s much easier solo I’ve found. I had been working in corporate full time in finance and then HR but with childcare issues, divorce and moving I worked as a server so I could take my son to preschool etc. when he started kindergarten I didn’t get to see him since I worked dinner shifts so I had to get out. I’ve always been interested in camming and mr Dani was supportive. I made enough in the first month to completely replace my server earnings and I quit. Haven’t looked at a normal job ad since. I will be adding more content so I can take more days off next year while still trying to double income again. I make more than Mr Dani now and he has a great job. I freaking love it. Tremendous ego boost and I love being in charge. I’m older (in my 30s) but everyone can find a place if they have the right mindset and determination. I plan on doing this for as long as I can.

 

[SatanJonez]

I've been camming on and off since 2008. I started because we had a toddler and zero fuckin' funds. We were the poorest of poor. But I had a webcam and an internet connection so I started Googling around about jobs. I had already tried every other scam on the internet (survey sites mostly) so I figured I didn't have a lot to lose by joining MFC & giving it a shot. Did really well the first month & went from there.

My only dreams when I started were to make some money & have it be sometime I could do for a long time. Both of those things so far have some true. Thanks to granny porn and my total lack of shame I'll easily be around at least another 10 years if I don't accidentally punch my own ticket.

Everything about this career (for me) is difficult. Coming out about it (which still happens & is still one of my least favorite things to do), failing at it often, trying to keep up with the curve of the newest cam and clip sites, trying to keep up with the curve of technology. etc. I've never actually thought about seriously quitting though. I've toyed with the idea, changed my name a couple times in hopes of a fresh start, had issues where I *couldn't* work, but never sat down and gone "Okay, here's my exit plan". It's one of the weirdest, most annoying jobs I've ever had, but also the easiest, the most fun & the best paying in regards to hours worked.

 

[Marceline]

I started camming around the summer of 2017. So, it's been about two and a half years since I first got into the industry. I had been a bartender for years, but was absolutely burnt out on it. While bartending I met a few camgirls. I remember the first cam model I met who openly talked about camming. It was a super slow day at the bar I was working at so we had time to really talk about it all and after that day I had always sort of wanted to get into it, but was too anxious to really bite the bullet and try it out. A few years later, I was still a bartender, hating my job, and so I said "fuck it" and quit out of nowhere. At that point I had to either find another bartending job or get over my anxiety and start camming, since I knew most vanilla jobs aside from bartending that I was qualified for wouldn't pay enough for me to cover my bills. So, I started camming on MFC.

I never really had any big goals or dreams going into it. For me, I was always just happy to make enough to pay my bills and live comfortably. I've never been fond of being in front of an audience, so I never wanted to be super well known or have a huge room. Anytime I had a high room count I'd get super anxious.

Consistency was always my biggest issue. Between anxiety and other health issues, I'd find ways to justify not getting on cam, which would only make it harder when I absolutely had to get on cam to make money. Finally, I started telling myself "Well, if you're not going to cam you have to do some kind of work". That's when I started getting more serious with clip making. I got lucky, because as soon as I started making quality videos I had a few make it into the top clips site wide on C4S. When I realized the earning potential with clips I started focusing more on that until I finally went over to clip making full time. That was around the beginning of this year. Although I had some really fun times on MFC, switching over to clip making was 10000% the best decision I made since entering the industry. It's much, much easier on my mental health. I can bulk film and then on days when I'm not feeling well I can just edit. Plus, ever since I was younger I had always wanted to be either a writer or a film maker. Now, I get to be both. For me, clip making is my creative outlet and I love that I get paid to do something that I love.

 

[KingMarti]

As of next week I will have been camming for 5 years. Started camming when I moved to Romania when a bar manager job went tits up and I ended up living in a hostel and then got a job in a studio. After a month in the studio and them failing to deliver on every single promise they made, I told them I was leaving, used what I made to rent an apartment and have been camming since. I first tried camming when I was 18, on Jasmin since it was recommended to me by another model, but my first broadcast was only something like 10 mins and with pretty much no idea what I was doing or how the site worked logged off and never went back online. Now I really wish I had stuck at it at 18 or maybe tried a different site but thats life I guess. I am thinking soon as I can find the traffic to make clip making full time then I am going to be making a switch to producing content full time and then having camming as more of a part time / promote my clips type gig.

Consistency has always been a huge issue with me, I am either on cam way to much (where it basically becomes the live with marti show) or I dont get on cam for weeks, taking 1 day off quickly becomes 2 days and that pattern repeats until I notice haven't logged in in 3 weeks.

My had some pretty clear goals with camming when I started, I understood that once your fanbase begins to grow then you open up more possible revenue streams (clips, fanclubs, merch, pretty much anything you can attach your brand too) and it gives you a head start on anything else you want to jump into since you already built out an audience. I never did achieve the audience needed to reach that. A lot of that comes back to consistency and the fact that I very rarely do shows in public defiantly limits the amount of traffic I get which has a knock on effect into the growth of the room. I have still pushed forward with everything, have fanclubs running, make clips, have merch comming out soon and have a KingMarti dildo available for purchase and I am currently building out an ecom site for mens underwear, so my shows in the near future could be changing to a more tip what you can rather than goal based and then hope that I can use the increase in traffic to make up the numbers on the back end of things with extra subs and sales etc. Still not completly convinced that this is the best way to do it but for now that's pretty much the best option I have found, rather than using cam to make the bulk of the $ use it for the traffic that's available and push it elsewhere to convert it.

 

[Susperia]

I've been a cam model since September of 2013 and its changed my life significantly. I used to be a writer and heavily involved in the music scene and since becoming a model I stopped writing and started going out less and less.....I've become a hermit compared to how I used to be....why....well fear of recognition and stigmas I guess....I really don't know but I've turned inward and lost a lot of friends in the process.....now sure how I feel about that. It's nearly ruined my marriage too.

Now the good part....I enjoy it immensly, I've always been a sexual person and I needed to find an outlet for that and this was perfect. I had always wanted to do some type of "porn" ever since I was young....so here I am living my dream AND I get to work from home and not deal with answering to anyone. I never thought I'd take it as far as I have and I'm proud of myself for how far I've come.