super stressed about indie lately.
the past week ive got not one single indie show. sure, ive gotten at least 7 indie inquiries a day, but they all flake on me, or tell me they cant afford my minimum (30 dollars for 10 minutes)
im getting increasingly pissed off, ive never had this issue before my prices have not changed.
the ones that piss me off the most are the ones who say they will get the show and then after that they go quiet and dont ever say anything again. i just end up blocking them.
any advice, support or anything? im doing fine on cam sites but indie has just went down the shitter for me!
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
How's your net presence? The more people who know you're there, the more people you'll have come your way and the more chance you'll have of scoring a client.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
im listed on 3 indie sites plus i promote my blog and 1700 twitter followers and i use tumblr. im also on mfc and sm but i rarely use mfc.
im on realgirlsoncam, camgirlspot and virtual xgirls. are there any other indie sites with more quality traffic? im open to suggestions becuase what im doing apparently isnt working.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Indy has been sucking for me too lately. I used to get at least a few shows on yahoo a day, now I barely even get messages! And if I do, it's timewasters. I've been putting more effort into content and free chat sites...if it keeps going this way I will have to drop indy altogether.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Same here, I used to do well on indy, but lately it seems to be more difficult to find new customers, each day I receive tons of requests and 99% are timewasters. It is bad for me since I am more indy camgirl
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
The only advice I have is market, market, market (post teaser vids in the appropriate venues, interact with similar industry people and such) and be patient. It was stated awhile back that indy is dying out because big box camsites have that market cornered with their "free and NOW" campaign, but there's hope yet.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
I wonder if the industry is starting to move away from indy with things like Yahoo messenger because less people are using messengers....
Do you have your own site? I would create a website - I wonder if some guys are preferring camsites because they feel that it is more "professional" - its obviously NOT, but these days, having a website seems to confer some kind of respectability as a business. Even if the website just links you to your indy sites and sells photosets, clips etc, it may help you out.
And maybe create some teaser vids to upload to youtube and tubesites....get your name out there more and more...
Good luck!!!
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Yeah I definitely think sites like MFC and SM have ate up most cam customers. Sucks, I wish I could have seen what camming was like in the beginning..
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Same here ^ I bet indy was awesome a few years ago! I've been doin it about a yr and a half and I've gone from averaging at least 100 a day just from yahoo, to ZERO except for the occasional regular customer.
I hate free chat, but I'd rather do free chat for 2-4 hrs and make $ then sit on yahoo/skype all damn day and maybe make 20 bucks. I promo the hell out of myself (teaser vids, twitter etc) and I'm still getting no new indy customers. I just feel like most cam custys are going to the per minute sites now...is anyone here doing indy only and still making a living?
Btw, the personal website thing sounds like a good idea. You would just need a decent amount of traffic to your personal site, and that may be hard to get if you're doing it on your own
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
I honestly don't think everyone who's in indie is 100% indie. Maybe 80% indie and 20% big box sites.
With the ebb and flow of this biz you need to have all of you eggs in multiple baskets to stay afloat. If you leave them all in one basket you will sink, imho. Especially right now.
I hope things pick back up for you guys though. Its very slow and cheap out there for us non indie girls too.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
thanks for the input guys. im not 100 percent indie i work on 2 other sites. its just rough right now i guess. it doesnt help my bf was just fired a week ago and i was working less becuase his job brought in god money so i didnt have to and i didnt have much of savings so now all the pressure is on me before the holiday. ah well. at least i got to vent a little. ill try icandycams though thanks!
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
just wanted to say indie has picked up for me lately so maybe it was just bad right before thanksgiving. i di dsign up for icandycams as well. realgirlsoncam dropped me but i dont really care, dude was wierd and wouldnt help me with my cc bill account.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
it is mostly because there private personal information is not confidential. I can see there full name, address. I just keep it under wraps but Im sure camgirls have been telling people and word spreads fast.
THey would rather have that info given to someone in greece? a third party through a third party biller? yup, because somehow they feel their info is safer with them :(
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spinnerette
The only advice I have is market, market, market (post teaser vids in the appropriate venues, interact with similar industry people and such) and be patient. It was stated awhile back that indy is dying out because big box camsites have that market cornered with their "free and NOW" campaign, but there's hope yet.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
I find I lose out on a lot of business for not accepting Paypal. i try to explain to the guys why it's risky and when I do they block me instantly.
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mz Dynamite
it is mostly because there private personal information is not confidential. I can see there full name, address. I just keep it under wraps but Im sure camgirls have been telling people and word spreads fast.
THey would rather have that info given to someone in greece? a third party through a third party biller? yup, because somehow they feel their info is safer with them :(
That is a good point - I have been getting more and more guys who are really cagey about how "confidential" it would be - even just when buying custom clips on c4s!! And with most payment processors, you can absolutely see the full name, if not address, etc etc. I can definitely see that using a big box site would feel more confidential to them.
And the issues with payment processors often fucks it up as well - most guys want paypal, so if you don't accept it, they get all weird about having to use something else...or they don't understand HOW to use something else, or think that they have to sign up for something in the same way that you sign up for paypal....I feel like unless they have already used a payment type once, and have an account/know what they are doing, by the time that they get it figured out, they have lost their hard on and give up. Whereas with the big sites, you enter your info ONCE, and from then on you just have to click and go....
Re: super stressed about indie lately.
Im indy and not giving up. MyPornProfile, FetLife, SkypeGirlsLive, CammodelDirectory and DominoDamsels of course.
I add about 200 guys a day and block about 100 per day. I do about 3 shows per day at $40 each. I dont sit at my computer and let these guys waste my time. We say hello, they ask how I am. I ask if they want to schedule a show. Like you said, many say yes then disappear. Them I don't block but the ones who try and BS me get blocked. Basically I give a guy 2 minutes, no more. If he hasnt booked by then I block him or I just refocus.
You'll get abot 2% customers of everyone you actually add so just try to add as many guys as you can and block them just as fast. I also tell guys no to PayPal then give them quick links I have bookmarked on how to set up Payoneer (my preferred method) and how to buy Amazon giftcards.
Just don't let it get to you. Its a numbers game.
Honestly Id rather spend all day looking shitty blocking guys then all day sitting in free chat rocking back and forth on my hip bones waiting for a show. When I cam, it's usually in the morning when I clean my kitchen in panties and a tube top. That's how intolerant I am to a dead room.
Being indy takes a certain personality! If you don't have the patience or dilligence to do your own networking, you're better off on a site.