Making Videos - Worth it?

[ShinyFork]

I see a lot of models making videos. I wonder if it's worth the time/effort and if your bottom line is better or just similar to what it was before. I have a hard time stomaching the idea of making videos, editing, etc., just to sell 100 labor intensive videos for $50. I'd love to hear some first hand experience in this area (not your specific income, but if it actually went up or was otherwise worth it). Thank you.

 

[AmberCutie]

Working video sales into a live cam session increased my income quite steadily. You don't have to make pro HD masterpieces, just decent quality vids of you doing stuff your audience likes to see you doing.

I also make a pretty decent amount offline via Mfc Share, which would be pretty much 0 without having videos to sell. It helps to have some passive income generated while not live on cam.

 

[Mila_]

If you are an MFC model: mandatory

If you are a CB model: trivial

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

I have edited videos for three models and if you end up only earning $50 from 100 videos you have made some grave errors. On MFC that means you only earn on average 10 tokens per video which means something is going terribly wrong but videos are continued to be made without making any profits. In that case you need to start analyzing why the videos are not making any money before you make a 100 of them.

This advice is only for MFC Share since it is the only site I have made a spreadsheet with statistics for. If you make several videos at once stagger their release, don't release them all at once because that will make you less money. Release content regularly and try to pick a day that you release content on because then people will know that on lets say Tuesdays are new content days which can generate an extra sale or two. Releasing new content makes people more likely to also look at your old content which can result in sales. Look at what tags are popular and add them to your content if they fit what is going on in the video or picture set to increase visibility.

As far as I can tell sales are going up on MFC Share and I say it is definitely worth making videos, but you need to find an audience that is willing to pay for them so don't spend a lot of time and money making them. It doesn't matter to the audience what the video looks like along as it is decent quality. The audience that wants really high quality professionally shot and edited videos can get them for free on Pornhub anyway and is probably not going to be a paying regular unless they are already a fan of yours in which case they would probably buy it anyway. You don't want to spend too much time in creating a video if the only goal for it is to make money because after a certain amount of time spent there are other things that you could do with the time instead that could potentially earn you more. Instead of spending 10 hours on making one video that is great quality, make three that is decent quality and the time will have been better spent.

 

[AmberCutie]

Instead of spending 10 hours on making one video that is great quality, make three that is decent quality and the time will have been better spent.

This is great advice.

 

[DJ_Pioneer]

This is great advice.

Thanks it is basically me expanding on what you wrote earlier.

 

[Marceline]

The good thing about making videos is that you are not limited to just one site to sell them on. Along with uploading to MFC Share, you can also upload to Clips4Sale, Manyvids, iWantClips, etc. That way you can make even more passive income with minimal extra work involved than if you were only uploading to your cam site.

The type of content that you make also factors in on how well they are going to sell. For me, personally, fetish stuff sells way better than anything else and I also do okay with femdom. However, vanilla stuff never sold exceptionally well for me. I will say, vanilla content does do better on MFC than fetish, but more than likely it's still not going to be your bread and butter on there unless you have a bigger room/following. But, hey, extra money is extra money no matter how much it is and if you schedule a set time during the week to film and edit that doesn't interfere with camming, it won't hurt to at least test the waters with video making. Also, depending on the type of shows you do, you can record some of your shows and then sell it afterwards.

I will say this, I got serious about filming and making videos awhile back. I started making much more money selling fetish content on Clips4Sale and doing customs than I did live camming and eventually I dropped camming to focus solely on clip making, which I enjoy a lot more. One of the best decisions I've made in sw.

if you end up only earning $50 from 100 videos you have made some grave errors.

Also, this ^^^. I highly doubt there is any cam model/clip maker/sex worker that has made 100 videos and only made $50 dollars from them. Like, maybe if you film yourself with a potato camera and do exactly the same thing for each video then maybe... But most times you're going to make at least 3 dollars from just one sale (usually more) so you would only sell a fraction of your videos only once to make $50... Really really unlikely.


One last thing, when/if you decide to make content HYPE IT UP.

 

[Sansa]

You should never sell 100 videos for $50. If your videos are even somewhat of a decent quality (clear picture, decent sound), you'd be underselling yourself quite horribly. If the videos are all way too short or terrible quality, you shouldn't be selling them at all. They don't have to be top notch perfect, but they should be clear quality even if very amateur.

If I'm wrong about this, please correct me, but to my understanding Clips4Sale has one of the best business models for video pricing. The videos are typically $1/minute plus one. Of course someone can charge more, but I do not believe they can be priced any lower than that. This prevents some stores from severely undercutting to the point where the product is rendered worthless site wide.

There was a different site I was on where a lot of models would do stuff like sell a hundred videos for sometimes even as low as $15-20, 1000 pictures for $5, stuff like that. I spent some time talking to members about it. A few mentioned that those video bundles were oftentimes horrific quality and many of the videos wouldn't be longer than a few seconds. It would feel like a rip-off. Other members would be different, use a model's 100 vids for $20 deal to try to insist that another model charging $20 for one video was too much, even if her one video was much better than 100 terrible videos. They'd try to haggle to get it down to $1-2 dollars. It was very hard to sell content on there. In spite of all the terrible deals that other models would post, I did find that the vast majority of members wanted a video that was decent in quality and length (at least 5-10 minutes if not longer).

Making videos can be worth it, but you need to chose the sites where you sell them on wisely. Clips4Sale and ManyVids are generally considered the best, C4S more so for fetish content.

If you make videos as a supplement to camming, some sites it's more expected than others. On MFC you pretty much have to have them. Most members on there would rather buy a video or a bundle of videos rather than go private, even if the private would have been less expensive. On Streamate, videos are not necessary as most just want to go private. Videos are also not popular on there because a model would have to set the price really really high to get the same profit she could on a different site because SM has a much higher pay cut, models will just upload their videos for sale elsewhere.

 

[AudriTwo]

I didn't do videos for the longest time, and was a top model on streamate. I really started selling videos to help take the pressure of streaming off. It does help create passive income.

 

[Sillykitty]

I have not dipped my toe into clips, but when I first started camming I had a pretty popular ig account with generic vanilla pics, and some fetish thrown in, some gifs etc. I put moderate effort into taking the pics and editing them, and it pushed a lot of traffic to my camming page. When my ig was deleted- I was annoyed, but I had a ton of content, and nothing to do with it.

Fast forward to now- I've had to take a break from camming, but I'm active on pso sites, and I'm repurposing my old pics and gifs and they are selling. My biggest sellers are random fetish gifs (drool, shoes, feet) that arent even specifically "x-rated" as they were originally shot for ig. The quality isnt the best, but so far it hasn't hurt me. Now I know that it never hurts to have extra content laying around, and the work I put in 3 years ago is still earning me money. I'm not pulling in stacks, but the passive income is enough that I'm more than motivated to keep creating content, and will totally move into clip creation once I have more time.

I say go for it! I figured no one would buy pic sets anymore, but I felt like if I already had the content I had nothing to lose, and I'm glad I made the effort.

 

[xxlvngdedgrlxx]

Unpopular opinion but I don't make much on my videos. I seldom sell on sm or manyvids or on c4s. I have tried a quite a few different fetish clips and the only ones that ever sold were my mouth videos! I keep running into custom customers who are disappointed that I don't have a huge wardrobe to choose from.

I mean it may be me but I don't make much off of any of my videos but I do just fine live camming *shrug*

So I don't do videos much anymore and find them labor intensive for the lack of payout.

 

[SaffronBurke]

I have a hard time stomaching the idea of making videos, editing, etc., just to sell 100 labor intensive videos for $50.

You shouldn't be selling 100 videos for $50. That's waaaay tooo low, as the videos individually, assuming they're all about 5 minutes long, are worth $5 each. At that rate, I would offer a bundle deal of, say, 15 for $50 if I was doing a promo, but people are usually happy to buy individually. I once had someone ask if I would sell him 60 videos for $50, I laughed in his face and told him he must be high.

Of course someone can charge more, but I do not believe they can be priced any lower than that.

They can be priced lower after a certain point, but almost nobody does that. If a clip is 7 minutes, you can price down to $6.99 at that point, 12 minutes can go down to $10.99, 23 minutes can go down to $12.99. I'm not sure what the formula is, but I checked clips in my store that were over 7 minutes and what the lowest allowed price was. A lot of people on C4S actually end up pricing higher than the suggested price, because they figure they're worth it, and the customer base agrees.

 

[AmberCutie]

You shouldn't be selling 100 videos for $50. That's waaaay tooo low, as the videos individually, assuming they're all about 5 minutes long, are worth $5 each. At that rate, I would offer a bundle deal of, say, 15 for $50 if I was doing a promo, but people are usually happy to buy individually. I once had someone ask if I would sell him 60 videos for $50, I laughed in his face and told him he must be high.



They can be priced lower after a certain point, but almost nobody does that. If a clip is 7 minutes, you can price down to $6.99 at that point, 12 minutes can go down to $10.99, 23 minutes can go down to $12.99. I'm not sure what the formula is, but I checked clips in my store that were over 7 minutes and what the lowest allowed price was. A lot of people on C4S actually end up pricing higher than the suggested price, because they figure they're worth it, and the customer base agrees.

I'm not sure if OP is on MFC, but I feel like price per minute is less applicable to a model using videos as a means to supplement her live shows. Thinking in terms of token packages is easier in my opinion. I have plenty of vids that are only a few minutes long and they still cost 150-200 tokens which is way higher than your typical clipsite pricing structure, but it totally works for MFC and MFC Share.

 

[NotYou]

I think a big portion of it is advertising right?
I mean, have it clearly on display that you are selling videos. If you have a twitter and/or other social media, make it clear there; advertise stuff. Ask friends to retweet sales of your videos for you.
Not sure if it's an auto feature or what, but I see many ladies who use ManyVids, when a sale is had, it automatically posts (I think?) saying the video is sold.. The little things to advertise can all add up and [hopefully] increase sales.

 

[MojitosJourney]

I make 75% of my income from video sales! I sell them when I’m on cam as well as post them for sale on manyvids.com and clips4sale. I have 116 vids and most are fetish videos - pregnant and lactation videos and these do sell well for me on myfreecams.

I like selling videos because I am not a “hustle” type of girl; I don’t enjoy doing countdowns and don’t always have a tip menu. Vids just sell themselves as if people like you, they may buy them to see more.

I would just try making one to see if you enjoy it.

 

[MilaRose]

I actually swapped to filming full time and prefer the custom video scene better as it can be less of a hustle than caming.

If you don't want to put too much work into it, record your cam shows, maybe with an external camera, then all you have to do is edit out the sellable parts using a software and put the clip for sale. I recommend using Filmora as it's not too tech heavy but flexible to add watermarks and some other cool stuff with text and transitions, etc. If you are good with tech, get Final Cut Pro and if you want to heavily edit your clips video, get Davinci Resolve (free download). For the basics you do jump cuts and then you can add your PNG (transparent) watermark on a PIP layer in the bottom corner, then edit out to .mp4 as either 720p, 1080p, or 4k depending on what camera you filmed the clip with.

Once you get at least 10 clips, I highly recommend selling on multiple platforms. The best higher traffic sites include ManyVids, Clips4Sale, and IWantClips. You can enable your custom clip settings for more earnings too. Fetish clips do tend to sell better for me as well verses vanilla, just pay attention to what clips are selling and what aren't and go from there for what you post!

The greatest thing about filming custom videos is you don't have to guess whether or not getting ready to work for the day will be profitable because the clip orders have already been processed. Also know, the longer you've established yourself for selling custom clips, and clips in general, your sales will likely go up assuming you stay active with uploads, advertising on twitter and other platforms, etc.

P.S. If you want to make a big investment to filming clips, I highly recommend a Canon G7X camera and umbrella lighting for starters, otherwise a webcam and basic 3 point lighting is a temporary fix

 

[QuinnLane]

I think a big portion of it is advertising right?
I mean, have it clearly on display that you are selling videos. If you have a twitter and/or other social media, make it clear there; advertise stuff. Ask friends to retweet sales of your videos for you.
Not sure if it's an auto feature or what, but I see many ladies who use ManyVids, when a sale is had, it automatically posts (I think?) saying the video is sold.. The little things to advertise can all add up and [hopefully] increase sales.

I make the majority of my sales from on-site traffic from MV and C4S. MV's auto-posting is all kinds of fucked up lately, so definitely not reliable. I have to make my own promo posts as they stopped tweeting when you upload a clip. I have just over 1k followers on Twitter but less than 30 of those followers regularly see or interact with my content. (None are bought Twitter just hates us lmao)

I've cammed and I've made/sold clips and actually, this month has been my best ever month in terms of earnings in the 3 years I've been doing online sex work, and entirely from clips/custom clips. I was hoping to finally get back into camming this week on SM and CB but my wonderful internet modem decided to pack it in, so I'm waiting on a replacement. My net keeps dropping every 10 or so minutes during the day and it's impossible to stream like that. I know I could make $ on cam if I applied myself however spending 2-3 hours filming 3-6 videos instead of being on cam (or between breaks on cam, things like smoking or teasing) has been much more profitable for me.

So clips are 100% a good investment to make. I film on my phone and I've never had a complaint about the quality (I use a Samsung S6 though I would like a newer phone, ONLY for filming)

 

[LaceyRoyce]

The thing about videos is that they are digital products. Once made you can resell indefinitely. I'm still making money on work I did 6-7 years ago.

Those bundles u see are usually models selling off older content. Or in special cases models with such high traffic that their 100 vids for $50 deal sells so so much that they're still making bank. I do know that models I worked with who did video packs that large did get pirated a lot more.

Vids are a very flexible long term product and are way more stable than camming income. They can be used to supplement it (especially w mfc share) or to create an entirely separate rev source using clip sites.

 

[MojitosJourney]

I actually swapped to filming full time and prefer the custom video scene better as it can be less of a hustle than caming.

If you don't want to put too much work into it, record your cam shows, maybe with an external camera, then all you have to do is edit out the sellable parts using a software and put the clip for sale. I recommend using Filmora as it's not too tech heavy but flexible to add watermarks and some other cool stuff with text and transitions, etc. If you are good with tech, get Final Cut Pro and if you want to heavily edit your clips video, get Davinci Resolve (free download). For the basics you do jump cuts and then you can add your PNG (transparent) watermark on a PIP layer in the bottom corner, then edit out to .mp4 as either 720p, 1080p, or 4k depending on what camera you filmed the clip with.

Once you get at least 10 clips, I highly recommend selling on multiple platforms. The best higher traffic sites include ManyVids, Clips4Sale, and IWantClips. You can enable your custom clip settings for more earnings too. Fetish clips do tend to sell better for me as well verses vanilla, just pay attention to what clips are selling and what aren't and go from there for what you post!

The greatest thing about filming custom videos is you don't have to guess whether or not getting ready to work for the day will be profitable because the clip orders have already been processed. Also know, the longer you've established yourself for selling custom clips, and clips in general, your sales will likely go up assuming you stay active with uploads, advertising on twitter and other platforms, etc.

P.S. If you want to make a big investment to filming clips, I highly recommend a Canon G7X camera and umbrella lighting for starters, otherwise a webcam and basic 3 point lighting is a temporary fix

Hey Mila - do you know if filmora will work for recording cam shows on myfreecams? I want to record mine but I have no idea where to start in setting that up.

 

[LydiaFrost]

Hey Mila - do you know if filmora will work for recording cam shows on myfreecams? I want to record mine but I have no idea where to start in setting that up.

I don't know if you can stream using obs on mfc?
But if that is the case, obs has a pretty decent recording function. You can change the format it records in and it comes out clearer for recording than for example using the logitech software with the c920.



Another thing talking clips and time consuming stuff... When i am low on time, i use obs to film my content with my webcam and just put my watermark in obs and make sure, i don't have to edit anything out. That way i save a lot of time and just make a second format for c4s and i am basically done with the editing process.

 

[AmberCutie]

I don't know if you can stream using obs on mfc?

OBS available on MFC: HD Streaming!
More recent replies in that thread detail how to use OBS as a virtual cam if the external broadcasting option doesn't work well for you.

Record clips or full shows on OBS, then edit them in Filmora or whatever program you choose.

 

[AmberCutie]

OBS available on MFC: HD Streaming!
More recent replies in that thread detail how to use OBS as a virtual cam if the external broadcasting option doesn't work well for you.

Record clips or full shows on OBS, then edit them in Filmora or whatever program you choose.

Oops meant to also tag @MojitosJourney in this reply.

 

[MilaRose]

Hey Mila - do you know if filmora will work for recording cam shows on myfreecams? I want to record mine but I have no idea where to start in setting that up.

Filmora actually has a built in screen record that will record your desktop as well as your mic/speaker (if you turn them on in the settings). Just screenshotted it to show as an example and looks like there's an option to record from webcam, although never tried it personally. You can also use OBS to screen record, although it's much more complex to get started.

I just filmed a basic Filmora guide/tutorial that will be going up live on my Youtube channel this Friday 12pm PST for anyone interested!

 

[JoleneBrody]

Many cam also works to record your cam, but if you are going to take the time to learn something new anyway I would go the obs route

 

[MojitosJourney]

Sorry for hikacking this thread! I think l will try filmora? And i guess crop the desktop recording somehow? Would that resolution be high quality enough to sell on manyvids?

I read that if you stream via obs that you can’t do private shows on myfreecams, so I can’t really go that route right now.

 

[AmberCutie]

Sorry for hikacking this thread! I think l will try filmora? And i guess crop the desktop recording somehow? Would that resolution be high quality enough to sell on manyvids?

I read that if you stream via obs that you can’t do private shows on myfreecams, so I can’t really go that route right now.

If you use it as a virtual cam without the external broadcaster/rtmp connection you can.

 

[JoleneBrody]

If you use it as a virtual cam without the external broadcaster/rtmp connection you can.

This! But if that all feels a bit too complicated, I would suggest manycam before screen recording with filmora. It records as an mp4 and you can type text on your feed, so if your only recording the “show” part of your show, you don’t need to edit. The video file is ready to upload. It’s how I do my show recordings every night and I sell them a ton. If I had to edit it after I don’t think I would be as good at selling em

 

[AngieNoir]

This! But if that all feels a bit too complicated, I would suggest manycam before screen recording with filmora. It records as an mp4 and you can type text on your feed, so if your only recording the “show” part of your show, you don’t need to edit. The video file is ready to upload. It’s how I do my show recordings every night and I sell them a ton. If I had to edit it after I don’t think I would be as good at selling em

Is ManyCams stable on MFC (and CB too?)?? 720 or 1080 broadcasting?

 

[JoleneBrody]

Is ManyCams stable on MFC (and CB too?)?? 720 or 1080 broadcasting?

It’s stable, I only know mfc though. it lowers your resolution which is why obs is far better. You can choose your resolution but the higher resolutions never work for me.

 

[MilaRose]

Sorry for hikacking this thread! I think l will try filmora? And i guess crop the desktop recording somehow? Would that resolution be high quality enough to sell on manyvids?

I read that if you stream via obs that you can’t do private shows on myfreecams, so I can’t really go that route right now.

If you add the clip in Filmora to your PIP layer you can scale the clip to whatever you want as to remove your desktop view before exporting. However, scaling up always makes images/video quality go down. If you aren't scaling much, it's hardly noticeable!