Priceless Advice 💡

[Lola_Lace]

Hello lovelies,

Is there anything that springs to mind when I ask:

What do you know now, that you wish someone had told you when you were starting out? This could include:

Beauty & Wellbeing
Ideas, Tips & Tricks
Must Have Products
Encouragement to Continue
Do's and Donts

Just anything really ‍♀

 

[ava1992]

Hi!
Here are my opinions on what
I wish people had told me when I was starting out as a new cam model .

I started in April 2020 so I am still learning myself.
So this is by no means even advice, just my thoughts lol.
I have copied and pasted to try to keep it organized.

Keep in mind that every model is different! And that's totally ok



Beauty

-Honestly, working on my self-esteem
has been more the focus than physical appearance.
If you love yourself, it shows up in everything you do.
When I focused on my self-confidence, and believing in myself, it started to show more on camera.
I repeat positive affirmations, such as "you are beautiful."
I actually made my screen name 'pretty' so I could remind myself that I was beautiful in my own eyes.

As far as beauty tips, I say to find what inspires you. Makeup and fashion are two of my favorite art forms,
so I always try to incorporate those into my shows. It makes me happy.

Some guides to camming online will say don't wear makeup and wear a tank top.
I followed that advice trying to succeed at first, but I realized it wasn't my style.

I love matching lingerie, my hair done, shoes, and dramatic makeup.
It's good to do your own unique style! It shows when YOU are happy with your show

Lately for makeup,
I like to do a brown eyeshadow blend with lashes,
straight hair, (I have curly hair so it is an interesting visual change for me)
a big winged eyeliner, and a lot of highlighter to catch the light.
It's basically stripper makeup/hair but designed to catch light.
I check my hair and makeup in the webcam preview before actually going live
and then adjust as needed.


Having fun is key! My favorite part of getting ready for cam is doing my hair and makeup.
I listen to music that puts me in a good mood, and try to show up feeling the best I can!


& Wellbeing

Remember that with camming, you are 100% in control.
It is your room & your rules.
If people are disrespectful, don't hesitate to kick/ban.

I make sure to always come to my shows in a good mental state.
I use "the law of attraction" to visualize and manifest the type of room/customers I want,
although I know not everybody will agree with that.
I believe that having a mindset of wealth, generosity, and optimism will attract similar.

I go in thinking "I am going to REACH THIS GOAL AND THEN SOME! People are going
to love my show and tip me big today. My customers are going to be respectful and
fun to talk to." And lately? It's been true!

Changing my thoughts really did change camming for me, as "hippie ish" as that sounds lol.


Ideas,

-Camming is improvising. We talk "back and forth" with people a lot. At first, I used
to be afraid to joke around or show my sense of humor. It's ok to! You can be yourself on camera.
A boss isn't going to just pop out of the screen and fire you, lol.

I was so used to customer
service type environments where you had to be like a perfect robot almost.
Camming isn't that!
You don't
have to be polished, doting, and polite 100% of the time. You can comment back if a troll
says something. You can laugh at the (VERY!) funny things that they say.
That actually gets the room moving for me sometimes! Decent guys know you aren't going
to do the most for a token. I worried about scaring tippers away with my jokes, but they actually like it !

Guy: I tipped 1token did you [ ] ?
Me: ooooh Yes, that HUGE 1-token tip made me explode with the most powerful pleasure! (sarcasm)

I was thinking a lot of funny things that I held back
because I thought it would be rude or "not sexy" to say them. Obviously be nice to your
customers lol, but it's a relaxed environment and you can joke too.


-Apps and bots are great, and help keep things moving.

-Camming for me is my own TV show with no script. You can make it anything you want it to be.
I get inspired a lot by film as well. It very much is cinematography.



Tips & Tricks

-The thumbnail (visual) is what gets people to click. I try to think "if I were choosing a thumbnail for this
as a video to sell, what would it be?" and do that til people come in.

-I didn't have my tip menu set up on my first day camming. Everybody kept saying "tipmenu ? tip menu?
pm ? pm? I pm'd you. "

So I would say to decide on your tipmenu, PM rate, and what to do in PM scenarios (will you reply when it's busy?).
as well as goal countdowns, BEFORE streaming.

I was so overwhelmed my first time camming. I "winged it. " ended up typing PM's for like an hour and made no tips.

I wish I had my tip menu and PM policy decided. You
can see my early thread about my struggle with this, it took months for me to really have it down.

(This forum helped me so much, and to those here who helped me when I was new- thank you )
I appreciate you all so much and want to give credit for what I learned from you.

There are so many good threads
both here and in models only which I highly recommend!)

I decided on 18 tokens per PM or fan club for unlimited (the guys who join my club have so far
been super respectful and NOT overwhelmed my pm.)

Believe it or not , tipping viewers want a show.
They KNOW you can't just type all day.
And they don't want to watch models sitting/typing!
The ones that expect a lot of PM and quickly, seem to have been the more
time wasting types from my experience.

I mean the ones like "oh I tipped for 1pm an hour ago. Why aren't you replying to my dirty talk essay in a room full of tipping viewers
when the goal show just got reached??"

Most viewers really do know we have a room to run and can't just type all day.
I feel like some tried to take advantage of my newness with it actually, as now I barely get aggressive "PM NOW" types.

Guy: PM??
Me: (outloud!) Yes, I would love to, it's on the tipmenu!
Most of them leave. Those that do tip for PM have been very understanding about the fact that I have to perform
and can't just sit there typing.

When "PM me!" types try, that's when I learned to ask them to go private for their detailed request.
Many will do private if asked,
but they will absolutely let new models give them all their time for free too.
It's like at a club. The guys will either go to VIP to chat (if sold on it) or just talk for free all day.

The difference?
The dancer who gets the VIP is the one who wasn't afraid to ask for it.


A common response is "but your private price is too expensive"
You can charge any rate you want, even being new.
and even at lower rates, guys still say things like that.

For me, showing that I am not afraid to walk away has helped.
I would rather one private a day with a quality customer
than several privates with cheap types who expect the most for less than a dollar.
And that attracts the quality customers!

Guys with extra money to spend do not care how much things cost. If they want you, they want YOU.

I charged 90 right away, even with a BAD laptop camera, no items, and no lighting.
I still do 90, going up to 150 later this year.

When I get the 'expensive ' line, I say
"yes, but I'm sexy and worth every token!"
Surprisingly? Even with my awful camera, some would still do private.
The confidence, almost cockiness,
is sexy to them. They like that I can't be manipulated by their 'negging.'

Now I have a 'tier' private rate where they can turn spying on.
When I get the "expensive" (negging) line, I hit the negging back with an UPSELL.

"Aww too bad! I'm definitely worth it!

Just so you know, it's not the only rate available. That's if you want it to be just you and I
with no spying. You can see my bio for different rates, including special rates for fan club!"

Note: I know he won't go private at that point, but somebody else might.





Must Have Products

The ability to connect with people will get you so much further than any item.
Some aspects of camming are sales.
Knowing how to close a sale helps.

I got a lot more tips and privates when I stopped trying to be nice and hoping people would tip
and started actively asking for what I wanted.

I try to make every viewer feel good, as people do remember how we make them feel.

That being said, the items that have helped me profit more were lighting and a webcam.

When I upgraded to a Logitech Brio from my laptop webcam,
things really started getting improving for me.
Guys seemed more willing to tip more than a token. However, that could also be because I started feeling more confident.
I think my self-confidence made more of a difference than any item could.

I learned about "three point lighting" and added some fun neon lights too.
My viewers started to go up around this point so I think it was what made the difference.
I still do not have the fastest stream because of my wi-fi, but it looks a lot better with the webcam I have now.

That being said, many models do like the "tip items" (Lovense/Ohmibod.)
I think it's up to the model. I did my first month or so without them and it went well, I still do shows without them too.


I still got customers because they liked my attitude and energy.

Audience engagement matters more than having any "thing."
I try to stay off my phone and be present in the moment.
A big tipper could be watching anonymously and thinking about coming to me, so even if nobody is spending
I try to engage with "the audience" and chat, show my personality etc.


Encouragement to Continue

We all have slow days and cheap people sometimes. Every model. It is completely normal to have free loaders. When we look at them in a different light (opportunities
to pitch the room or say something witty) they become easier to deal with. The spenders will come and they will spend. They don't
need to be convinced.

If it's nobody tipping or talking, I just talk to myself. Then eventually somebody will join!

If it's really that empty and I have a few extra tokens, I use the "promote your room" feature on the site I'm on
Then I hold an interesting position for that promoted time, and the people come in.
That feature has saved several of my days. I know many do not agree with this, but I recommend it if it's really empty.
I look at it like this : successful businesses spend on advertising! There's nothing wrong with doing so too.

I went an hour with no tips before having my best day of all time on camera. So it totally happens.

You can do it, and I believe in you! This community is amazing and there's so many good posts here.


Do's and Donts

Do: Enjoy your time camming!

Don't : Fall victim to common scams.


Learn the rules of the site you are on,
and common scams that happen on there
before going live.

My first day somebody told me if I put the password in his room
I would get tokens automatically (not true and a common scam)
I told him to please do private through the site and he left.
Had I not known that, I could have been ripped off.

Tokens MAKE A SOUND on Chaturbate
and tokens on Chaturbate do show up in your token balance (top right of the screen) right away
so if it doesn't show up there and under "token stats" asap and doesn't make a sound
they are using a gif and not a real tip- kick them out!

People will try to get anything they can for free. They push, I push back. Some of them thumbs down.
I used to care so much about my satisfaction score but it really doesn't matter.
The viewers who like you won't care about some person's random thumbs down.

hope this helps! Sorry to go so into detail lol.

Ava

 

[Lola_Lace]

Hi!
Here are my opinions on what
I wish people had told me when I was starting out as a new cam model .

I started in April 2020 so I am still learning myself.
So this is by no means even advice, just my thoughts lol.

Keep in mind that every model is different! And that's totally ok



Beauty

-Honestly, working on my self-esteem
has been more the focus than physical appearance.
If you love yourself, it shows up in everything you do.
When I focused on my self-confidence, and believing in myself, it started to show more on camera.
I repeat positive affirmations, such as "you are beautiful."
I actually made my screen name 'pretty' so I could remind myself that I was beautiful in my own eyes.

As far as beauty tips, I say to find what inspires you. Makeup and fashion are two of my favorite art forms,
so I always try to incorporate those into my shows. It makes me happy.

Some guides to camming online will say don't wear makeup and wear a tank top.
I followed that advice trying to succeed at first, but I realized it wasn't my style.

I love matching lingerie, my hair done, shoes, and dramatic makeup.
It's good to do your own unique style! It shows when YOU are happy with your show

Lately for makeup,
I like to do a brown eyeshadow blend with lashes,
straight hair, (I have curly hair so it is an interesting visual change for me)
a big winged eyeliner, and a lot of highlighter to catch the light.
It's basically stripper makeup/hair but designed to catch light.
I check my hair and makeup in the webcam preview before actually going live
and then adjust as needed.


Having fun is key! My favorite part of getting ready for cam is doing my hair and makeup.
I listen to music that puts me in a good mood, and try to show up feeling the best I can!


& Wellbeing

Remember that with camming, you are 100% in control.
It is your room & your rules.
If people are disrespectful, don't hesitate to kick/ban.

I make sure to always come to my shows in a good mental state.
I use "the law of attraction" to visualize and manifest the type of room/customers I want,
although I know not everybody will agree with that.
I believe that having a mindset of wealth, generosity, and optimism will attract similar.

I go in thinking "I am going to REACH THIS GOAL AND THEN SOME! People are going
to love my show and tip me big today. My customers are going to be respectful and
fun to talk to." And lately? It's been true!

Changing my thoughts really did change camming for me, as "hippie ish" as that sounds lol.


Ideas,

-Camming is improvising. We talk "back and forth" with people a lot. At first, I used
to be afraid to joke around or show my sense of humor. It's ok to! You can be yourself on camera.
A boss isn't going to just pop out of the screen and fire you, lol.

I was so used to customer
service type environments where you had to be like a perfect robot almost.
Camming isn't that!
You don't
have to be polished, doting, and polite 100% of the time. You can comment back if a troll
says something. You can laugh at the (VERY!) funny things that they say.
That actually gets the room moving for me sometimes! Decent guys know you aren't going
to do the most for a token. I worried about scaring tippers away with my jokes, but they actually like it !

Guy: I tipped 1token did you [ ] ?
Me: ooooh Yes, that HUGE 1-token tip made me explode with the most powerful pleasure! (sarcasm)

I was thinking a lot of funny things that I held back
because I thought it would be rude or "not sexy" to say them. Obviously be nice to your
customers lol, but it's a relaxed environment and you can joke too.


-Apps and bots are great, and help keep things moving.

-Camming for me is my own TV show with no script. You can make it anything you want it to be.
I get inspired a lot by film as well. It very much is cinematography.



Tips & Tricks

-The thumbnail (visual) is what gets people to click. I try to think "if I were choosing a thumbnail for this
as a video to sell, what would it be?" and do that til people come in.

-I didn't have my tip menu set up on my first day camming. Everybody kept saying "tipmenu ? tip menu?
pm ? pm? I pm'd you. "

So I would say to decide on your tipmenu, PM rate, and what to do in PM scenarios (will you reply when it's busy?).
as well as goal countdowns, BEFORE streaming.

I was so overwhelmed my first time camming. I "winged it. " ended up typing PM's for like an hour and made no tips.

I wish I had my tip menu and PM policy decided. You
can see my early thread about my struggle with this, it took months for me to really have it down.

(This forum helped me so much, and to those here who helped me when I was new- thank you )
I appreciate you all so much and want to give credit for what I learned from you.

There are so many good threads
both here and in models only which I highly recommend!)

I decided on 18 tokens per PM or fan club for unlimited (the guys who join my club have so far
been super respectful and NOT overwhelmed my pm.)

Believe it or not , tipping viewers want a show.
They KNOW you can't just type all day.
And they don't want to watch models sitting/typing!
The ones that expect a lot of PM and quickly, seem to have been the more
time wasting types from my experience.

I mean the ones like "oh I tipped for 1pm an hour ago. Why aren't you replying to my dirty talk essay in a room full of tipping viewers
when the goal show just got reached??"

Most viewers really do know we have a room to run and can't just type all day.
I feel like some tried to take advantage of my newness with it actually, as now I barely get aggressive "PM NOW" types.

Guy: PM??
Me: (outloud!) Yes, I would love to, it's on the tipmenu!
Most of them leave. Those that do tip for PM have been very understanding about the fact that I have to perform
and can't just sit there typing.

When "PM me!" types try, that's when I learned to ask them to go private for their detailed request.
Many will do private if asked,
but they will absolutely let new models give them all their time for free too.
It's like at a club. The guys will either go to VIP to chat (if sold on it) or just talk for free all day.

The difference?
The dancer who gets the VIP is the one who wasn't afraid to ask for it.


A common response is "but your private price is too expensive"
You can charge any rate you want, even being new.
and even at lower rates, guys still say things like that.

For me, showing that I am not afraid to walk away has helped.
I would rather one private a day with a quality customer
than several privates with cheap types who expect the most for less than a dollar.
And that attracts the quality customers!

Guys with extra money to spend do not care how much things cost. If they want you, they want YOU.

I charged 90 right away, even with a BAD laptop camera, no items, and no lighting.
I still do 90, going up to 150 later this year.

When I get the 'expensive ' line, I say
"yes, but I'm sexy and worth every token!"
Surprisingly? Even with my awful camera, some would still do private.
The confidence, almost cockiness,
is sexy to them. They like that I can't be manipulated by their 'negging.'

Now I have a 'tier' private rate where they can turn spying on.
When I get the "expensive" (negging) line, I hit the negging back with an UPSELL.

"Aww too bad! I'm definitely worth it!

Just so you know, it's not the only rate available. That's if you want it to be just you and I
with no spying. You can see my bio for different rates, including special rates for fan club!"

Note: I know he won't go private at that point, but somebody else might.





Must Have Products

The ability to connect with people will get you so much further than any item.
Some aspects of camming are sales.
Knowing how to close a sale helps.

I got a lot more tips and privates when I stopped trying to be nice and hoping people would tip
and started actively asking for what I wanted.

I try to make every viewer feel good, as people do remember how we make them feel.

That being said, the items that have helped me profit more were lighting and a webcam.

When I upgraded to a Logitech Brio from my laptop webcam,
things really started getting improving for me.
Guys seemed more willing to tip more than a token. However, that could also be because I started feeling more confident.
I think my self-confidence made more of a difference than any item could.

I learned about "three point lighting" and added some fun neon lights too.
My viewers started to go up around this point so I think it was what made the difference.
I still do not have the fastest stream because of my wi-fi, but it looks a lot better with the webcam I have now.

That being said, many models do like the "tip items" (Lovense/Ohmibod.)
I think it's up to the model. I did my first month or so without them and it went well, I still do shows without them too.


I still got customers because they liked my attitude and energy.

Audience engagement matters more than having any "thing."
I try to stay off my phone and be present in the moment.
A big tipper could be watching anonymously and thinking about coming to me, so even if nobody is spending
I try to engage with "the audience" and chat, show my personality etc.


Encouragement to Continue

We all have slow days and cheap people sometimes. Every model. It is completely normal to have free loaders. When we look at them in a different light (opportunities
to pitch the room or say something witty) they become easier to deal with. The spenders will come and they will spend. They don't
need to be convinced.

If it's nobody tipping or talking, I just talk to myself. Then eventually somebody will join!

If it's really that empty and I have a few extra tokens, I use the "promote your room" feature on the site I'm on
Then I hold an interesting position for that promoted time, and the people come in.
That feature has saved several of my days. I know many do not agree with this, but I recommend it if it's really empty.
I look at it like this : successful businesses spend on advertising! There's nothing wrong with doing so too.

I went an hour with no tips before having my best day of all time on camera. So it totally happens.

You can do it, and I believe in you! This community is amazing and there's so many good posts here.


Do's and Donts

Do: Enjoy your time camming!

Don't : Fall victim to common scams.


Learn the rules of the site you are on,
and common scams that happen on there
before going live.

My first day somebody told me if I put the password in his room
I would get tokens automatically (not true and a common scam)
I told him to please do private through the site and he left.
Had I not known that, I could have been ripped off.

Tokens MAKE A SOUND on Chaturbate
and tokens on Chaturbate do show up in your token balance (top right of the screen) right away
so if it doesn't show up there and under "token stats" asap and doesn't make a sound
they are using a gif and not a real tip- kick them out!

People will try to get anything they can for free. They push, I push back. Some of them thumbs down.
I used to care so much about my satisfaction score but it really doesn't matter.
The viewers who like you won't care about some person's random thumbs down.

hope this helps! Sorry to go so into detail lol.

Ava

Thanks Ava you really hit the nail on the head with the 'priceless' bit. Your advise is really great and I'm so glad you took the time to type it out. I really connected with the part about regular hospitality as that is what I'm trained in so I'm fearful of being cheeky or rude.

 

[ava1992]

Thank you so much!!

 

[bamdicted]

Hi!
Here are my opinions on what
I wish people had told me when I was starting out as a new cam model .

I started in April 2020 so I am still learning myself.
So this is by no means even advice, just my thoughts lol.
I have copied and pasted to try to keep it organized.

Keep in mind that every model is different! And that's totally ok

This reply deserves to be stickied and read by all new and struggling models

 

[ava1992]

This reply deserves to be stickied and read by all new and struggling models

Aww thank you so much I struggled SO HARD before things started going well. I owe so much of my improvement to this forum. That's why I try to answer questions, because people did for me and it really helped.

 

[AmberCutie]

This reply deserves to be stickied and read by all new and struggling models

Aww thank you so much I struggled SO HARD before things started going well. I owe so much of my improvement to this forum. That's why I try to answer questions, because people did for me and it really helped.

We have a stickied "Advice for new models" thread that it could be copied into if you feel like it.

https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/threads/advice-for-new-models.14554/

 

[ava1992]

We have a stickied "Advice for new models" thread that it could be copied into if you feel like it.

https://www.ambercutie.com/forums/threads/advice-for-new-models.14554/

Thank you so much! I would love that

 

[AmberCutie]

Thank you so much! I would love that

Feel free to post it there, then

 

[Deleted member 57885]

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:
Unfortunately, I'm a member only, so I can only answer from a member's perspective -- observing chat, PMing with model and their experiences. Thus, take whatever I say with a huge grain of salt, since I only see things from a limited perspective. I also realize there is absolutely NO WAY I could follow up to @prettyartist1992 's post, because that was pretty great lol. I was actually deciding whether or not to post something, but figured I'd make more of a positive impact posting than not posting, so here I go

From a member's perspective...
1.) Stay true to yourself and take a mental reflection to ask yourself if you're comfortable before doing something. Personally define your boundaries early on, because especially when you start out, there will be people left and right trying both in public chat and PM trying to get you to break them. I'd advise not ever falling into a pitfall of 'if it's only once for XXX tips' because A.) you may only do something once, but members/bots record like crazy and share it amongst the internet (or at least say, "Hey, this model did ___ for me for XXX tokens') and B.) human behavior is such that we naturally inch towards the extreme. You are always stuck with yourself, at the end of the day My general perspective I encourage: If you share something on the internet, assume it's all over the internet. This will reduce anxiety as well, since you won't be concerned about something leaking. Being a model surely requires a thick skin, but even the thickest skin starts to get chipped away after time if no self-care is done. If you decide you feel comfortable doing something you didn't before and want to do it on cam, that's perfectly ok too. I'm not saying to never change, but rather, make sure you always give yourself an honest moment of reflection before doing something.

2.) Watch out for all trolls, but especially neggers. No need to feed them. I mention neggers specifically, since I've seen models have the most trouble with them. Arguably, they can be often harder to detect than a blatant troll. For those who don't know, a negger is a person who negs, or uses compliments mixed with put-downs in order to undermine the self-confidence of a person to make them drop their guard. There are also sometimes several other subtle forms . It's up to the model how to react to that, but know that there are manipulative people out there who experts at negging, and responding to them to deny their minor accusations is playing into their game. Sometimes people appear really nice by all means, but are subtly digging at you. After awhile of playing into the trap, it can really drain your self-esteem, and arguments in pub chat can often snow-ball more than necessary to kill the vibe of the room too.

3.) People can't look at the future, but we do see the past and present. Obvious, right? However, it's important to realize the implications here. That means if things have been going downhill lately, whether mentally/financially/physically/etc., we start to assume predictions that it'll continue to go downhill. Being realistic is one thing, but know that assuming the worst can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies at times. I know this from a depressive standpoint. If you see that 'well, last month sucked, so tomorrow will suck too' then you look less for opportunities and you start choosing negative actions. The hardest thing in the world to keep is hope, but such positivity is the very thing that lets us choose better paths in life. There are bad times, but know that the bad times do not define your life.

4.) If you are ever struggling mentally, don't go about it alone. Modeling (from its weird taboo in a lot of social circles) is something that may seemingly encourage behavior of isolation, but there are still resources out there. If you don't have financial means or whatnot to see a therapist if you are struggling, find a place to vent at the very least. Talk to a close friend, talk on an online vent site, or hell-- PM someone on an advice forum like ACF or wherever. If you are absolutely set on going about it alone though, you can also freewrite. Don't wait until things are 'too bad' to start looking for help. Things don't always work themselves out naturally, but we're all human, and having negative feelings are natural too. Despite all the memes about 'safe spaces' I've seen, we really do all need a safe space somewhere. A small tidbit of personal advice I can give on safe spaces as well is that if you are streaming from some place in your home/apartment, I advise having a separate spot to lounge around in, and if possible, sleep in. Trying to relax in the same place you work at can lead to associating the two together and ultimately up your stress levels by feeling like you're constantly working. It's nice to keep them separate when possible.

5.) Set aside a daily 'zen' time that is completely unrelated to modeling is purely for relaxation. This applies not only to modeling really, but work in general. My job is software development, so I started setting aside an hour a day off my computer and offline to write music, read, or study a language. That mental break that clearly defines you as somewhere away from work can be invaluable, and I'd highly recommend it. Especially in modeling, where hours can vary greatly, it's easy to fall into a trap of feeling like you're constantly working, and that will build up stress overtime.

6.) This is something I've figured out from PMing with people on this subject: You and your mental health matter incomparably more than any tip someone can throw your way. Why? Well, you are priceless. For instance, if someone is starting privates with you, but you feel horrible after each one, it's important to ask yourself if it really is worth it. Don't let yourself get into a form of a pseudo-abusive relationship with a member. You are coming back to yourself at the end of the day. Having a positive attitude can also affect the room and make people happier to tip too, so being genuinely happy helps too

Well, that's all I can think of at the top of my head. Again, I'm not a model, but hopefully there are tidbits in there that can help at least a little

 

[mike_aussie]

Don't put too much pressure on yourself when you start. Unless you have prior sex work/modelling experience it's probably going to feel awkward being on cam. Over time you will likely gain more confidence and be more comfortable. That's when you start to really shine on stream and more people will respond positively to you (except for the disrespectful twats that aren't worth spending any mental energy on).

 

[Lola_Lace]

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:
Unfortunately, I'm a member only, so I can only answer from a member's perspective -- observing chat, PMing with model and their experiences. Thus, take whatever I say with a huge grain of salt, since I only see things from a limited perspective. I also realize there is absolutely NO WAY I could follow up to @prettyartist1992 's post, because that was pretty great lol. I was actually deciding whether or not to post something, but figured I'd make more of a positive impact posting than not posting, so here I go

From a member's perspective...
1.) Stay true to yourself and take a mental reflection to ask yourself if you're comfortable before doing something. Personally define your boundaries early on, because especially when you start out, there will be people left and right trying both in public chat and PM trying to get you to break them. I'd advise not ever falling into a pitfall of 'if it's only once for XXX tips' because A.) you may only do something once, but members/bots record like crazy and share it amongst the internet (or at least say, "Hey, this model did ___ for me for XXX tokens') and B.) human behavior is such that we naturally inch towards the extreme. You are always stuck with yourself, at the end of the day My general perspective I encourage: If you share something on the internet, assume it's all over the internet. This will reduce anxiety as well, since you won't be concerned about something leaking. Being a model surely requires a thick skin, but even the thickest skin starts to get chipped away after time if no self-care is done. If you decide you feel comfortable doing something you didn't before and want to do it on cam, that's perfectly ok too. I'm not saying to never change, but rather, make sure you always give yourself an honest moment of reflection before doing something.

2.) Watch out for all trolls, but especially neggers. No need to feed them. I mention neggers specifically, since I've seen models have the most trouble with them. Arguably, they can be often harder to detect than a blatant troll. For those who don't know, a negger is a person who negs, or uses compliments mixed with put-downs in order to undermine the self-confidence of a person to make them drop their guard. There are also sometimes several other subtle forms . It's up to the model how to react to that, but know that there are manipulative people out there who experts at negging, and responding to them to deny their minor accusations is playing into their game. Sometimes people appear really nice by all means, but are subtly digging at you. After awhile of playing into the trap, it can really drain your self-esteem, and arguments in pub chat can often snow-ball more than necessary to kill the vibe of the room too.

3.) People can't look at the future, but we do see the past and present. Obvious, right? However, it's important to realize the implications here. That means if things have been going downhill lately, whether mentally/financially/physically/etc., we start to assume predictions that it'll continue to go downhill. Being realistic is one thing, but know that assuming the worst can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies at times. I know this from a depressive standpoint. If you see that 'well, last month sucked, so tomorrow will suck too' then you look less for opportunities and you start choosing negative actions. The hardest thing in the world to keep is hope, but such positivity is the very thing that lets us choose better paths in life. There are bad times, but know that the bad times do not define your life.

4.) If you are ever struggling mentally, don't go about it alone. Modeling (from its weird taboo in a lot of social circles) is something that may seemingly encourage behavior of isolation, but there are still resources out there. If you don't have financial means or whatnot to see a therapist if you are struggling, find a place to vent at the very least. Talk to a close friend, talk on an online vent site, or hell-- PM someone on an advice forum like ACF or wherever. If you are absolutely set on going about it alone though, you can also freewrite. Don't wait until things are 'too bad' to start looking for help. Things don't always work themselves out naturally, but we're all human, and having negative feelings are natural too. Despite all the memes about 'safe spaces' I've seen, we really do all need a safe space somewhere. A small tidbit of personal advice I can give on safe spaces as well is that if you are streaming from some place in your home/apartment, I advise having a separate spot to lounge around in, and if possible, sleep in. Trying to relax in the same place you work at can lead to associating the two together and ultimately up your stress levels by feeling like you're constantly working. It's nice to keep them separate when possible.

5.) Set aside a daily 'zen' time that is completely unrelated to modeling is purely for relaxation. This applies not only to modeling really, but work in general. My job is software development, so I started setting aside an hour a day off my computer and offline to write music, read, or study a language. That mental break that clearly defines you as somewhere away from work can be invaluable, and I'd highly recommend it. Especially in modeling, where hours can vary greatly, it's easy to fall into a trap of feeling like you're constantly working, and that will build up stress overtime.

6.) This is something I've figured out from PMing with people on this subject: You and your mental health matter incomparably more than any tip someone can throw your way. Why? Well, you are priceless. For instance, if someone is starting privates with you, but you feel horrible after each one, it's important to ask yourself if it really is worth it. Don't let yourself get into a form of a pseudo-abusive relationship with a member. You are coming back to yourself at the end of the day. Having a positive attitude can also affect the room and make people happier to tip too, so being genuinely happy helps too

Well, that's all I can think of at the top of my head. Again, I'm not a model, but hopefully there are tidbits in there that can help at least a little

This is such great advice as well! I'm so glad I asked now because this advice really is invaluable. Are the bots some of the anonymous users? We always have users in our room from the word go.

Thank you for taking the time to reflect on your experience xxx

 

[Lola_Lace]

Don't put too much pressure on yourself when you start. Unless you have prior sex work/modelling experience it's probably going to feel awkward being on cam. Over time you will likely gain more confidence and be more comfortable. That's when you start to really shine on stream and more people will respond positively to you (except for the disrespectful twats that aren't worth spending any mental energy on).

To be honest I'm totally guilty of that, especially the first couple of weeks I was totally grumpy because i had read all this advice and wanted to make the most out of the new broadcaster tag on chaturbate, which made it less enjoyable. I'm a perfectionist and that is something I have to let to a little so I dont hold impossible standards that are difficult to achieve.

 

[Deleted member 57885]

This is such great advice as well! I'm so glad I asked now because this advice really is invaluable. Are the bots some of the anonymous users? We always have users in our room from the word go.

Thank you for taking the time to reflect on your experience xxx

Not necessarily the anonymous users, but I presume they are anons. There are bots that automatically record public rooms of the vast majority of CB and MFC models. (I know of some of the notorious sites where they're uploaded, but I'm not publicly linking them here to avoid publicizing them. If you want the names to try for DMCA purposes or whatnot, let me know.) From what I've read, the bots auto record rooms starting after 3 minutes have passed. There is actually a bot out there to prevent this, but to my knowledge, I've never seen any room I've been in use it, so I would not know how well it works.

Granted, even without the auto-recording bots, there are likely several members recording the screen in one way or another in privates/hidden/public. Only a small percentage of these members recording are sharing them, but it's still a good idea I imagine to be aware of this all happening.

 

[ava1992]

Feel free to post it there, then

I copied it in there. : )

New models: check out that thread for sure : ) It helped me a lot too and I still love to re-read it.
I have to say that A LOT of what I know I have to credit to this forum!

The things I'm telling you I mostly learned here just through reading. Really I can't say it enough,
thank you again to everybody who took the time to help me when I was new to this. All credit goes to you guys

I hope I can "gift it forward " and help others too. As cam models, we are a community and I'm always here for you.

Anybody reading this, I'm happy to answer your ?'s or link you to a thread that might help you! There are so many
topics with great responses!!


One thing I like is the "search" feature for specific questions. Models Only is amazing too , and I highly recommend it!
I am so grateful that there's a community like this out there.

Thank you Amber for creating this site!

 

[Lola_Lace]

Somebody else just paid it forward to me recently also so I'm now in debt and need to find a way to pay it back..........

*starts new thread 'ideas to pay it forward'*

Sorry about all the new threads too... I'm a little eager ‍ I'm trying to control myself!


Also the bot chat actually has really worried me and I will be reviewing what we do publicly and what we do in private. Is onlyfans the same? Perhaps I could use CB as a device to lead customers to the onlyfans content? Therefore not showing so much in public or private shows... is this what customers get when they sign up to your OF?

It's nice to have people to talk to... I live very remotely in Scotland, UK so it can get kind of lonely!

 

[Deleted member 57885]

Also the bot chat actually has really worried me and I will be reviewing what we do publicly and what we do in private. Is onlyfans the same? Perhaps I could use CB as a device to lead customers to the onlyfans content? Therefore not showing so much in public or private shows... is this what customers get when they sign up to your OF?

Well, I also don't want to fear monger, because arguably speaking, if someone is heading out onto those sketchy sites or using google-fu to scout for stolen content, there is a good chance they're not the type of person to tip/pay for your stream content in the first place. At the end of the day, it's your perspective on the matter. At some point, whether now or later, there is an incredibly high (if not a 100%) chance that something you post on the internet will spread to someplace you don't want it to... but how much should this really affect your course going forward?

I imagine your regular customers are not only paying for whatever sexual acts, but they're also paying for the personality and personalization of the content. It's also arguably said that pretty much all models are affected by this-- it's all one big trade off. You could prevent content getting leaked to an extent, but being too heavy handed could also affect your bottom line with your regulars / honest tippers.
I think a route a decent amount of models go that is relatively accepted by tipping members as well is doing extra in private (i.e. show face, full nude, etc. etc.) but keeping public pretty tame. The thing is, if someone pays for something, like a private, they're less likely to share it willy-nilly, so the content often doesn't spread as fast as some free public thing a rando anon could record. Hence, higher prices = less shares, but also it means less purchases in the first place. It all depends how you want to run your stream and/or manage your content.

Regarding "is onlyfans the same..." well, not quite. I was also discussing OF with a model whose room I very regularly visit, so I looked into it a bit. To my knowledge, there aren't bots that automatically rip the site content like public chat on MFC / CB. However, there are sub-communities amongst the internet that do share OF content illegally. For instance, there was a big leak about a year ago. That was 1.5 TB then, and it has only gotten worse since. Google doesn't exactly make it hard to find the leaks, considering they often put pages that advertise leaks as higher priority than the OF page themselves on search results. That being said, as far as I know, OF is pretty good about DMCA takedown help with getting illegal content removed. (That's just what I heard, don't flame me y'all. I'm just repeating lol.) It's just where there are unfortunately 1.) sites that try and skirt around DMCA laws by saying 'they don't host the videos themselves, they just link to it.' That's why Openload being taken down some months ago was a big deal. 2.) There are very persistent spreaders. These spreaders are hosting said content on redirecting sites that generate ad-revenue for them, hence they keep posting links to the content, even when it is being constantly removed.

That being said, regarding OF, I believe the videos ripped tend to be ones you get from subscription only, as opposed to subscription + paying extra. Likewise, I think less people illegally rip ManyVids / pay-per-video content than OF, since OF rips tend to be en masse. Don't get me wrong-- they're still ripped... they're just ripped less. That's just how crazy it all has gotten.

Again, if you (or anyone else) wants additional details on what I found for clarity or DMCA purposes (i.e. sites, etc.), let me know. I just don't want to post the links publicly and inadvertently publicize them.

 

[Lola_Lace]

Well, I also don't want to fear monger, because arguably speaking, if someone is heading out onto those sketchy sites or using google-fu to scout for stolen content, there is a good chance they're not the type of person to tip/pay for your stream content in the first place. At the end of the day, it's your perspective on the matter. At some point, whether now or later, there is an incredibly high (if not a 100%) chance that something you post on the internet will spread to someplace you don't want it to... but how much should this really affect your course going forward?

I imagine your regular customers are not only paying for whatever sexual acts, but they're also paying for the personality and personalization of the content. It's also arguably said that pretty much all models are affected by this-- it's all one big trade off. You could prevent content getting leaked to an extent, but being too heavy handed could also affect your bottom line with your regulars / honest tippers.
I think a route a decent amount of models go that is relatively accepted by tipping members as well is doing extra in private (i.e. show face, full nude, etc. etc.) but keeping public pretty tame. The thing is, if someone pays for something, like a private, they're less likely to share it willy-nilly, so the content often doesn't spread as fast as some free public thing a rando anon could record. Hence, higher prices = less shares, but also it means less purchases in the first place. It all depends how you want to run your stream and/or manage your content.

Regarding "is onlyfans the same..." well, not quite. I was also discussing OF with a model whose room I very regularly visit, so I looked into it a bit. To my knowledge, there aren't bots that automatically rip the site content like public chat on MFC / CB. However, there are sub-communities amongst the internet that do share OF content illegally. For instance, there was a big leak about a year ago. That was 1.5 TB then, and it has only gotten worse since. Google doesn't exactly make it hard to find the leaks, considering they often put pages that advertise leaks as higher priority than the OF page themselves on search results. That being said, as far as I know, OF is pretty good about DMCA takedown help with getting illegal content removed. (That's just what I heard, don't flame me y'all. I'm just repeating lol.) It's just where there are unfortunately 1.) sites that try and skirt around DMCA laws by saying 'they don't host the videos themselves, they just link to it.' That's why Openload being taken down some months ago was a big deal. 2.) There are very persistent spreaders. These spreaders are hosting said content on redirecting sites that generate ad-revenue for them, hence they keep posting links to the content, even when it is being constantly removed.

That being said, regarding OF, I believe the videos ripped tend to be ones you get from subscription only, as opposed to subscription + paying extra. Likewise, I think less people illegally rip ManyVids / pay-per-video content than OF, since OF rips tend to be en masse. Don't get me wrong-- they're still ripped... they're just ripped less. That's just how crazy it all has gotten.

Again, if you (or anyone else) wants additional details on what I found for clarity or DMCA purposes (i.e. sites, etc.), let me know. I just don't want to post the links publicly and inadvertently publicize them.

Yes I'd very much appreciate the extra knowledge you have

 

[Deleted member 57885]

Yes I'd very much appreciate the extra knowledge you have

Sent a conversation message thingy. If anyone else wants to be added, let me know

 

[ForumPoster]

I think the best advice I heard was, Don't give up. It takes time to get followers and you can only do that by being online and there to do so. More people watch, more tokens come as you grow.

 

[Lola_Lace]

I think the best advice I heard was, Don't give up. It takes time to get followers and you can only do that by being online and there to do so. More people watch, more tokens come as you grow.

I hope so thanks so much for your reply