Camming is hard a** work!
Hi ladies, I'm new to the boards (well, I've had a stripperweb account for over a year now and finally just worked up the nerve to start camming recently.
Tonight I put in a "full shift". About 4-5 hours (give or take some breaks) and I came away with $30. This was my first real night on and I had a lot of fun talking to people but that's what I felt like I was doing, mostly just entertaining people in chat. My last private was great, he stayed in for a full 20 minutes and even tipped so that gave me a little boost. He ended his session saying "There are no words" So that was great. But I am SO tired and I made so very little.
So here are the things I evaluated about myself:
1) I chat too much but I don't know what else to do. I'm being myself so I am more nerdy weirdo than sexy sex machine which some members seems to appreciate, but I know I'm not everyone piece of cake.
2) I think my sense of humor might be too aggressive. I tend to rely on my funny side in social situations but I think I need to learn to channel that into flirty instead. It's so hard!!
3) Good lord I need to learn to angle my camera better! I'm a chubby girl, there is not hiding that but there has to be better angles for my body type.
4)I have no idea how to get rid of the guys that want to talk and talk forever and waste my time.
5) Should I up my rates? Oh, I'm on streamate by the way! I'm pretty low per minutes $1.99/$2.99 exclusive
Please tell me it gets easier! Like I said, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself, I am just disappointed in my cash flow.
Thank you!
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SweetheartLalane
Should I up my rates? Oh, I'm on streamate by the way! I'm pretty low per minutes $1.99/$2.99 exclusive
Holy fuck-shit.. That's terrible.. insane. If I were you I'd raise them to AT LEAST 4.99 per min.
Sorry to be so blunt. Just, it's absolutely no wonder at all that camming has left you tired and disappointed with rates so low! D:
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
oh wow, really? I just figured since I'm new and all and not typically the hottest girl on the block, i'd shoot low
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
I'll be the first to break the bad news.... it doesn't get much easier.
You're right, camming is HARD WORK. So many people think you can just log on and the money is thrown at you. It takes a lot of deliberate effort to be successful.
It is great that you are evaluating your first night and maybe learned a thing or two. There's A LOT of great help on this forum regarding each of the areas you pointed out, so search around and do some good research before your next shift. And DEFINITELY raise your rates higher than what they are!!! I always say don't go any lower than $3.99/$4.99.
Good luck! :)
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Thank you! And for fucks sake, I can not get my avatar to load on this site. I'm so tired and hungry....
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SweetheartLalane
oh wow, really? I just figured since I'm new and all and not typically the hottest girl on the block, i'd shoot low
The cute nerdy thing can be very popular :) Plus, I'm pretty sure as long as you can hustle you can get customers even if you look like this:
Attachment 34702
Good luck!
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
haahahaa that's how i feel right now snuggled in bed too lazy to take off my eyeliner.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
I don't cam that often (maybe 10 hours a week, I don't need a lot of money right now) but I've been camming for 2 years and it HAS gotten a lot easier for me. It doesn't really get easy, in terms of you log on and men fling money at you but I know how to handle privates, brush off trolls, and to do certain well-paying fetishes. I have clearer boundaries now so I have more fun at work too.
Also, the longer you cam the easier it is to get money because you've built up regulars/your brand/people know you, etc. I agree with raising your rates. I think a good starting rate is 3.99/4.99, but feel free to charge whatever gets you your goal in a reasonable amount of time. (You don't want to charge 9.99/min if it takes you 10 hours to hit 200$, for example)
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
You are new so you are a novelty! Use that to your advantage 'til it wears off! Never EVER think that you are not attractive or hot enough so therefore you have to overcompensate. Hot girls are a dime a dozen, it's not really a rarity. Just as in real life, beautiful women still get abused and get treated horribly. Camming is not just about what you look like. Be MORE and OFFER more than just your looks!
And please no $1.99/$2.99 exclusive. At least $3.99 and over!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SweetheartLalane
oh wow, really? I just figured since I'm new and all and not typically the hottest girl on the block, i'd shoot low
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Fuck yeah it's hard work! I've had competitive white collar jobs with benefits and gym memberships and 10+ hour days and that sucked more but it was totally easier. In addition to making the most of our looks, we have to be our own lighting and tech and are often actors, psychologists (ugh), sales girls and whores in one shift. Anyone who says it's easy can suck my lady dick.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Totally agree with raising your rate!!! As for your sense of humour, I say go with who you are on that. I have a weird as hell sense of humour, and can say the goofiest most obscure thing and laughing my ass off and people are like...wtf, are you high? LoL But for some reason, the guys did like that, even if for no other reason than to see me cracking myself up and seeing me smile.
I get exhausted enough with having to be sexier than I am IRL lol if I had to change my sense of humour too, or watch what I blurt out without thinking, I think I never would have made it past my first week :D Anyway, just some motivation that you dont *have* to be someone else to do this... It anyway takes awhile to develop into your character / how much of yourself stays in or out of your character, and giving guys a change to get to know you and warm up to you to become regs. Youll do fine I bet :D
OH as for camera angles, play aroudn with that yes, but also make sure you have *great* lighting. I find that shadows in all the wrong places is what can cause some unflattering views...great lighting can do a *world* of difference for how you look on cam.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
I started out with my rates set as high as they would go. Don't under-value yourself. You are worth every penny you charge.
Your customers will act the way you let them. Last night some guy came into my room and said, "Hey Baby! How's your night going?". I responded with, "My name is Grace, not baby. Learn to read my fucking profile". He apologized and tipped me for being rude. I was floored. It was the first time I had ever really asserted myself that way, and the result was shocking. I'm not saying it will always go down this way, but keep it in mind. It's YOUR room, you make the rules.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SweetheartLalane
oh wow, really? I just figured since I'm new and all and not typically the hottest girl on the block, i'd shoot low
youre overestimating people's... palette. or mis...underestimating? idk.
Not to sound like a broken record but two things:
1. (Energy preservation) If youre introverted - reserve your energy for entertaining and retaining people in pvt. Selling in free makes sense absolutely, but dont blow your load in free if youre not naturally outgoing? Itll preserve the amount of time you can last live? Guys will pay for you to be your quirky self in private, it just takes time to find them, lure them, STOP, and then secure the sale so continuing to engage with you is incentivized. If it isnt incentivised they wont pay for it and your energy is lost, ykwim? If youre an extrovert this may not apply but I find a lot of us are introverts so just wante dto throw that out?
2. (Overestimating guy's palette) On Streamate there is one cammodel profile that is a notorious pre-recorded loop. No audio. No real interaction since her video feed is not live. Not in HD. Not in widescreen. Video clips are many years old at this point and not crisp looking. "Her" rates? 4.99. Group chat only. Again, not a real account, not a live girl, probably some dude typing all day long..... "she" is in pvt regularly and has 800+ comments. So if an automated not live feed can charge 4.99, you with your shiny interactive awesome personality for damn sure can be charging over 1.99/2.99. Her profile has a gabillion warnings in her comments that the feed is bullshit, hell sometimes "she" types when her hands are nowhere near a keyboard or mouse & the screen goes black for awhile...... guy still buy in in floods?? LOL for real. So, if youre thinking "eh Im not hot enough and im new, theyll know" seriously, unless youre only targeting super discriminating nerds who notice the most ridic minutiae ... uh, youre overestimating.................................. things, lol.
SM's maximum payout % is 35% (without the cammodel referrals), so def take that into account for your energy output, time online, risk of piracy... if you ever doubt yourself, remember #2, lol. Seriously.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
I made the same mistake my first days camming, I like to talk and had a bunch of guys who showed up everyday to just talk with me. My final ressult, I ended some days with 30 dollars. So I realize that chat too much with freeloaders wouldnt make me earn any money, so when they got into my room the next day, I wasnīt rude with them, but just answered with "yes" or "no" or not asnwer at all...This is how I learned my first lesson: "Donīt feed the freeloader" LOL (they always want more)
I agree with Sarahtime, it doesnīt get much easier, but you learn to get rid of freeloaders, what you should do in a private show, what works for you and what doesnīt, even the best angles to show, so, it does it pretty much easier than at beggining. I canīt say much more because Iīm pretty new camming, and absolutelly new in Streamate.
BTW, girls, am I charging to low in Streamate? I charge 2.99/3.99 because Iīm using wifi, so I donīt have a very good quality (I can stream in HD, but I donīt think I can run the encoder) Iīm not a top model either, Iīm not ugly but Iīm far to be perfect LOL
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
[QUOTE=roast;2525454]
2. (Overestimating guy's palette) On Streamate there is one cammodel profile that is a notorious pre-recorded loop. No audio. No real interaction since her video feed is not live. Not in HD. Not in widescreen. Video clips are many years old at this point and not crisp looking. "Her" rates? 4.99. Group chat only. Again, not a real account, not a live girl, probably some dude typing all day long..... "she" is in pvt regularly and has 800+ comments. So if an automated not live feed can charge 4.99, you with your shiny interactive awesome personality for damn sure can be charging over 1.99/2.99. Her profile has a gabillion warnings in her comments that the feed is bullshit, hell sometimes "she" types when her hands are nowhere near a keyboard or mouse & the screen goes black for awhile...... guy still buy in in floods?? LOL for real. So, if youre thinking "eh Im not hot enough and im new, theyll know" seriously, unless youre only targeting super discriminating nerds who notice the most ridic minutiae ... uh, youre overestimating.................................. things, lol. [QUOTE]
Thanks for this! I charge $3.99/$4.99 because I don't have sound, do phone or roleplay. But you're right, if they are willing to pay her with no sound or ANY interaction at all then I can def afford to raise mine. I just emailed supoort to have the option of charging more than $4.99 a minute. As soon as they do I'm raising those bitches!
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
roast
youre overestimating people's... palette. or mis...underestimating? idk.
Not to sound like a broken record but two things:
1. (Energy preservation) If youre introverted - reserve your energy for entertaining and retaining people in pvt. Selling in free makes sense absolutely, but dont blow your load in free if youre not naturally outgoing? Itll preserve the amount of time you can last live? Guys will pay for you to be your quirky self in private, it just takes time to find them, lure them, STOP, and then secure the sale so continuing to engage with you is incentivized. If it isnt incentivised they wont pay for it and your energy is lost, ykwim? If youre an extrovert this may not apply but I find a lot of us are introverts so just wante dto throw that out?
I agree with this so much! I have only been on sm for a few weeks but have been on mfc for 2 years. On mfc I talk, talk, talk and giggle to the point I am exhausted by the end of my show. That is the only way I can make any money there. On sm, I don't have to do that. I have taken a lot of advice from this forum. I only offer sound in private. Some one said only give each guy a max of 5 responses, then ignore them. That has worked like gold for me. After 5 I just look down at my phone (that is not in cam view) and I will talk to new guys in the room. The way I see it, if the guy never had intentions on spending, he will leave. The ones that do will tip gold or go private. I also use a $20 web cam that has static and fuzz, until I get a better one. I still raised my rates last night to 2.99 and I still got privates and walked away with more than I would on mfc!
I am in no way an expert on sm by any means. My whole point of this post is to agree with roast, save your energy for private (if you can) and to search this forum as much as you can to find things that work for you, like I was able to find.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
You need to become ROBO BARBIE!!!.. lol... I swear to god.. .. I have ALOT of personality but it's not appreciated.. I have completely deadened and numbed myself down more. With not much emotion, LIGHT conversation, NOT to much of anything. I make more money .. oh and don't have opinions.. Guys call you a bitch when you assert yourself and have opinions..LOL.. I am not kidding. Try to have not much personality and smile a lil , You'll see. I think it's more intriguing to them and they want more or something so they spend more money on you..
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
haha this is why i say be a RoboBarbie!
[QUOTE=PrincessLavender;2525550][QUOTE=roast;2525454]
2. (Overestimating guy's palette) On Streamate there is one cammodel profile that is a notorious pre-recorded loop. No audio. No real interaction since her video feed is not live. Not in HD. Not in widescreen. Video clips are many years old at this point and not crisp looking. "Her" rates? 4.99. Group chat only. Again, not a real account, not a live girl, probably some dude typing all day long..... "she" is in pvt regularly and has 800+ comments. So if an automated not live feed can charge 4.99, you with your shiny interactive awesome personality for damn sure can be charging over 1.99/2.99. Her profile has a gabillion warnings in her comments that the feed is bullshit, hell sometimes "she" types when her hands are nowhere near a keyboard or mouse & the screen goes black for awhile...... guy still buy in in floods?? LOL for real. So, if youre thinking "eh Im not hot enough and im new, theyll know" seriously, unless youre only targeting super discriminating nerds who notice the most ridic minutiae ... uh, youre overestimating.................................. things, lol.
Quote:
Thanks for this! I charge $3.99/$4.99 because I don't have sound, do phone or roleplay. But you're right, if they are willing to pay her with no sound or ANY interaction at all then I can def afford to raise mine. I just emailed supoort to have the option of charging more than $4.99 a minute. As soon as they do I'm raising those bitches!
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
What a treat to come home to all this awesome advice and comments! Thank you so much ladies, you have given me a lot to think about! I'm determined to set a schedule and try different things and not give up just yet! Not until I can afford to get a gold plaster version of my own pussy!
ok i was kidding about that last part. i think.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
anonymous camgirl
I have ALOT of personality but it's not appreciated...
I can relate to this really well. I've a very dry, no-nonsense personality. My humor (which I've cultivated my entire life, and love dearly) is less than ideal for camming situations. My sweet face, and my constant assertions that I'm "so wet bb" really cannot mask the fact that I am Sahara desert dry. And it does NOT make me money. I've learned it's better to smile and lick my lips a lot rather than trying to converse. These fellers just ain't get it.
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
I can relate to this as being a chubby camgirl as well.
You have 2 options.
Flaunt it, or hide it.
I hide it very well. To everyone, I look like a curvy goddess. But under these clothes, I have an unwanted beer belly that I'm desperately trying so hard to get rid of.
Stick with tight black shirts/tanks. Show off your cleavage while using the black to disguise the chubs.
Also, keep your camera right in front of you, keep your shoulders back (giving the illusion of a skinnier frame) and use your cuteness and personality to draw in clients.
Good luck to you!
Re: Camming is hard a** work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRU27gPd-RA
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LilyAnderson
I can relate to this as being a chubby camgirl as well.
You have 2 options.
Flaunt it, or hide it.
I hide it very well. To everyone, I look like a curvy goddess. But under these clothes, I have an unwanted beer belly that I'm desperately trying so hard to get rid of.
Stick with tight black shirts/tanks. Show off your cleavage while using the black to disguise the chubs.
Also, keep your camera right in front of you, keep your shoulders back (giving the illusion of a skinnier frame) and use your cuteness and personality to draw in clients.
Good luck to you!
yesssss! score with this advice