What I know now, I wish I knew then!
I'm quite the newbie, so nowhere near experienced in any way in camming. I've always been looked at as the quiet and reserved type, but I've always had this sexual exploration in my life. So, when I found out about camming I have been very excited about trying it out. I've read the pros and cons, the do's and the don'ts, and the good and bad from this site and I still find it all exciting to get into. So, I finally decided after all the trolling of many camsites to learn to just go for it! I have no idea if I'll like it or not, but really I want to give it a try. I can't just give up on somehting I want to do without trying it.
I'm downright the adventurous type ^_^.
My only thing is I'm VERY nervous about doing my first show. I know I'll probably be nervous, stage fright is common in general, but I'm so nervous it's stopping me from actually getting on ONE time. I actually got dressed and set up nicely, but couldn't bring myself to broadcast. :-[. I know I'll get over it, but I began to wonder about all you experienced cammers and when you first started.
What was your first show like?
How about...if you could go back to your first day, your first show, after all the information you've learned and been through...what would you tell yourself?
I thought this would be fun to ask as my first actual post. :)
Twixx
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
I didn't have to deal much with stage fright or anything, because I've been a live stripper for years. Online was a relief to me because I didn't have to actually deal with anyone face to face! lol. Anyway -- there's a few threads about first days already, but I like the idea of thinking about what I would tell myself if I could pop back in time. So... here's what I'd tell myself.
1. DO NOT be afraid to use that block and kick button! My first couple days camming, for some reason, I was super reluctant to block or kick anyone from my chat room. I think I felt like it was limiting my potential customer base? I don't know. But now, I am a ban happy little creature. I don't even really bother wasting my time to verbally reprimand beggars (the guys that will say "open tits bb" or "show ass bb" or "flash free bb"), I just kick them. If they come back, I ban. And anyone that abuses me in chat (saying things like "you're a hooker" or "you're too ugly/fat/stupid to cam" or "$5.99 a minute for PVT and you don't even do anal? You aren't worth that.") gets an automatic block. My block list is MASSIVE, and I have absolutely no regrets.
2. Charge what you think you're worth! This is relevant to sites like SM or NF, but it's sorta applicable to MFC and sites like it, too. I started out charging $2.99 and $3.99 for PVT and Exclusive chat, respectively; and I was selling myself SO short. On MFC, I started by charging like 50 tokens for a flash and it was totally not worth it. You get MORE freeloaders that way. On SM, I charge $5.99 and $6.99 (and I'm about to raise that by another dollar each), and I charge 200 tokens for a flash on MFC. And you know what? I GET IT.
3. TALK to the guys in your room. Just sitting there looking bored won't help anything. Actively engage your room, don't worry about looking a fool. I watched a top SM model get trashed drunk and rant about how lame Friday nights were in a bathrobe and get tipped for it. I have played rage-inducing video games on cam for laughs. I have engaged in a hours-long debates about nerd stuff. I've gotten some amazing regulars out of it. It has to be fun, or you'll burn out SUPER fast.
4. Speaking of having fun, I think the most valuable lesson I learned is that if I'm in a shitty mood, I need to just. Log. Off. Take half an hour or an hour, get a cuppa, take a bath, play with my cats, punch a pillow. WHATEVER. Just log off, sort yourself out, and THEN log back in. Being a sourpuss on cam is the fastest way to kill your income, drive customers away, and burn yourself out. It is FAR better to lose 30 minutes of work time than spend 2 hours ON cam trying to fake being in a good mood.
5. Another one that seems to go without saying, but is a lesson that was hard learned for me. If someone has a special request -- demand a tip or demand that they take you PVT or XCL or something FIRST. Don't walk away from cam and dig through your closet for 15 minutes trying to find a particular pair of heels or a certain outfit for free. It's pointless, it wastes your time, and a solid 90% of the time in my experience; the dude doesn't follow through. If he's serious, he'll pay for your time while he waits for you to get ready. Especially on a site like MFC where your camscore is related to your tips/tokens per minute -- it is NOT worth it to bail on your room.
6. HAVE LIMITS AND RESPECT YOURSELF. I don't do anal. I will never do anal. I hate anal. And no matter how many dudes beg for it, complain about it, or how many other girls who charge less or more or I think are prettier than me or uglier than me or whatever -- I will not do it. Plain and simple. I pushed my limits when I first started camming and I burned out FAST. Don't be afraid to stick to your guns and defend your comfort zones.
All in all, camming is a trial by fire. You'll rapidly figure out what works for you, what advice to take from other girls and what to ignore, and what your comfort levels are. What works for me won't necessarily work for you. Just jump in, hold your breath, and make sure you laugh at yourself. Because you WILL make a couple stupid mistakes. Don't stress it. Just have fun, do your best to make money, and if camming is something that works for you, it'll all make sense and come easily with time. Best of luck!
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
Hmmm I'd say learning to please myself & learn that even though I'm at 'a dudes' service, & the money is important, I have to be totally comfortable with plans made. I'm not a fucking willow & do not really like to bend to please others, the arrangements I make now are solely to please me, I'm not really even a dom! . . .all I'm saying is when I first showed my face on cam, like MissMynxx I didn't want to block anyone for fear of limiting traffic, I was super nice, even if I felt like someone was being a bit of a dick to me. Now I have no issue's. I just take control. Fuck every fucking boner with cash! I'm still new & don't have that much of a following, but you'll find you gain more respect being 100% true to yourself. YOU ARE NOT A WILLOW TREE EITHER! The most important thing is that I don't feel bad about camming & I enjoye it. The guys who love you the most will respect who you really are.
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
MissMynxx - Very lucky on no stage fright, I hopped on early this morning for an hour. Took a deep breath and just clicked the sucker to broadcast. Wasn't bad either. Had people come and chat and pay. I did set my pay VERY low and didn't think about raising it because of being new and etc. So, now I'd have to say from my first on cam I wouldn't do that either. Now that I've started I hope to keep to the schedule I set haha. My only probably is sticking to promised times. It is trial and error, but I'll see how my week goes! Thanks for replying.
Mercy.k - Haha I think learning to be yourself was like the first thing I read around here. Then I read it almost everywhere. Did my show this morning and I can definitely see the pressure of just doing whatever even if you don't want to. I'll hope to not fall into that, but it sooo seems tempting.
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
Congratulations on popping your cam cherry, sweetie! ;D
I know it's daunting being a newbie on cam but I'd suggest you raise your rates up. Just because you're new doesn't mean you should set your rates low. You got tits, ass and a pussy just like the rest of us, chick so go ahead and bump those prices up! :)
Guys love fresh meat too, so they WILL pay. You can even play on it with the whole "Ohh you're my first customer... please teach me oh masterful one" (or some ego boosting shit like that, lol) They'll love it. You'll get to relax and have fun while learning the ropes - win/win!
Good luck, chick! x
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
^^
I didn't think about that, at all. But my 2nd day is today so that will be nice to try and use that!
Re: What I know now, I wish I knew then!
Shit, I'm not a newbie but MM's post was so inspiring, haha. Say hi to every guy who comes into your room, have good lighting, look into the cam as much as you can (I'm guilty of this, I hate it, it makes me feel like I'm looking at them and it makes me nervous, but they love it). After a few hours on cam at a time, I change my outfit. Try to cam from two different places in your home if you can -- guys like it when it's not always the same room. Everyone is right -- raise your rates up! You'll find most guys don't complain about it. I'm 5.99/7.99 and the guys pay it! Put "new camgirl!!" in your topic -- it will be an icebreaker for guys to chat with you about being new and then, if they like that, take you pvt or tip you. You'll do fine! Good luck!