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Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Disclaimers
First of all... This is LONG and involves math. Sorry.
Secondly, this is a real question, not a criticism or a "Raise your Rates Challenge" thread. I'm pretty new to indy camming, and I don't have a ton of experience. Everything that follows is based purely on theory, and I'd like some perspective from ladies with more real life experience.
Finally, yes, I'm aware that indy camming pays a higher percentage. I know that there is a good reason for charging less for indy than on the Big Box sites - the customer pays less, the model keeps more of his money, everyone wins, AND hopefully over time, more guys jump on the indy camming bandwagon. Just hear me out, though.
The Comparison - CMD vs SM
I've been looking around CMD, and from what I can tell, typical pricing runs about $2-3/minute. I don't really see too many ladies priced above $3/minute.
For purposes of comparison, I'm going to use SM. If you take a look at the "Rasie Your Rates" thread, which is very SM-focused, it seems like a lot of ladies raise their rates to about $6.99-8.99/minute for exclusive. There are some that are lower and some that are WAY higher, but let's call it $6.99 as a rough median. If you have a customer account and browse around, $6.99/minute for exclusive is pretty normal, if not low, on the front pages of SM.
So, let's compare $6.99/minute on SM to $3.00/minute on CMD:
$6.99 x 35% on SM = $2.4465/minute
$3.00 x 75% at the beginning of the month on CMD = $2.25/minute
$3.00 x 80% after you've made your first $500 on CMD = $2.40/minute
With these rates, you're actually making more per paid minute on SM!
Let's also compare the amount of work done for each. I'm honestly not sure how the workload balances out, so maybe you ladies can help.
On SM, you do a certain amount of unpaid time in free chat. You can promote yourself a lot more if you choose, but it's entirely possible to make a living by just jumping online and not doing much promotion.
For indy, there's no free chat, but it seems like an indy model spends a decent chunk of time fending off freeloaders. On top of that, even if you're sort of half-assed about indy camming, there's kind of a lot of work involved behind the scenes (just writing and bumping ads seems time consuming, not to mention promoting yourself).
Questions
1) If you compare paid minutes vs unpaid minutes (free chat, freeloaders, promotions, etc.), on average, I'm guessing that a model probably has to work more unpaid minutes for each paid minute doing indy than she would doing SM. Does that sound right?
2) If so, in order to compensate for working more unpaid minutes, a model ought to earn more per paid minute doing indy than she would on SM, right?
3) So... if a model charges $6.99+ on SM, doesn't she need to charge more than $3/minute on indy to ensure that her indy income is comparable to what she could make on SM (or other BBSs)?
4) If a model is going to make less per minute doing indy, wouldn't it make more sense to take all the energy she spends on indy camming and instead put it toward working SM or promoting her CamModels link? (After all, if she directs her own traffic to SM, she'd get $6.99 x 75% = $5.2425/minute.)
5) I thought customers were actually getting a better quality experience on Skype. Is there some reason that guys will pay $6.99/minute for a model on SM, but wouldn't pay similar rates for the same model on indy? Is it just because so many indy models are charging so little?
6) I wonder if CMD looks like heaven to those guys that constantly haggle, price shop, and whine about models' rates. Do you think that the extreme price difference (typical SM rates vs typical indy rates) is encouraging a disproportionately high number of cheap guys to switch to indy models?
7) Is there anything else you can add to help explain the phenomenon of very low indy rates?
I apologize again for the extreme length. Thanks in advance to any ladies that read this, especially if you can offer some insight!
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Indy sites pay 75 percent or more so we can charge better rates. Most people charge such high rates on cam sites like SM because we are only paid 35 percent and you really have no choice if you want to make money. I also like no free chat for indy shows. They pay your price, get the show and then leave. That alone is worth lower rates to me.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Also, Cam Model Directory is a very small site. They are not able to sustain chargebacks the same way that Streamate would.
I'm on the top models list pretty often, I haven't changed my rates higher than $3/min because I don't want to shut the site down by accidentally taking a bad charge.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
^^^worrying about ruining a merchant account due to cb's shouldn't be an issue if there's a proper scrubbing system in place and cam chicas understand how to scrub their own successful bookings on top of that system.
I wasn't around back then so this is just a hunch, but I suspect the low rates stem back to the paypal days (when rates on cam sites were somewhat lower as well). Chicas keeping 100% could afford to charge less per min, and the gap between indy shows and cam site shows wasn't nearly as wide
rates def haven't risen much (or honestly, at all) since I started doing indy 5 years ago. If anything rates tend to be lower amongst new chicas, I suspect that's because with far more chicas dabbling in indy the pool of clients hasn't kept the pace and competition is much higher than it was a few years ago. For that I'm really relieved that I rely only on my own traffic, as there are def more chicas per site than there was when I started out.
It is kinda crazy when you think of it, as a niche we haven't really given ourselves a cost of living increase-ever. I price myself mid range and I also charge more per min on my 'side sites' than I do on my own site. Funny you posted this cuz I'm actually thinking about giving myself another raise, but only for shorter duration shows. My average show length is two hours, at even 4.99 per min that would be a bill of $598.80, way out of the price range most of my dudes could afford on a regular basis. Since success in indy is all about attaining and maintaining a base of regular clients, uber-high rates would discourage all but the most loaded guys, and they're a relatively small percentage of overall skype show patrons.
For me it's a balance. I want to earn what I think is fair per hour and it is true that the best clients don't choose based on price alone, but I also want to attract more new clients than I can see on any given day (so I can ignore paying dudes when they irk me); and for some huge price-differences between chicas does play a role.
I think chicas who charge the lowest rates ($1-$2 per min) do sell themselves short, pardon the pun, as they do tend to attract the most annoying and high-maintenance dudes, and that's why I instituted a per-min minimum on my site. I don't care what individual chicas charge but I don't want those types of clients visiting my site and bothering the rest of us. As to chicas charging more, props to those who can build a thriving business charging cam site rates. That said, I've honestly have never encountered one and I keep pretty on top of things in the niche. If I did I'd stalk her til I found out her secret though. :D
Interesting concept, once traffic to my listing site builds to where I want it to be maybe I should encourage higher rates or even think about raising the per min minimum.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I calculated my rates on CMD based on what I average per minute on SM, not on what I charge for privates on SM. At the moment, I charge $5.99/$7.99 for Pvt/Exc, but I average $2/min or less on SM. I charge $3/min on CMD, so I keep $2.25 the first week (or so) of the month and $2.40 the rest of the month. So I actually make more per minute on CMD.
Of course, that's not really a fair comparison. I'm counting my TOTAL for SM (including time spent in freechat) but only my in-show earnings for CMD. Overall though, I feel like it evens out. Doing shows for CMD takes a lot less out of me since I don't have to be "on" for hours at a time, and it's easy to multi-task inbetween shows. Plus I get a lot more long shows (60 minutes+) on CMD.
The effort involved in promoting myself on CMD is minimal. I bump an ad once a week, and put up a new add when I feel like it. I'll occasionally put out a tweet that takes all of 2 minutes to write. I have about 5 different ads in rotation, and I change the pics occasionally to grab more attention when I bump them. I don't have too much of an issue with freeloaders. Probably because I can spot them from a mile away and ban them without hardly thinking about it. :)
I honestly love working on both sites, and I'm really glad I have both options. It's really easy to work both sites at once, since I can schedule skype shows during downtime on SM. That's the closest to split-camming that I'll ever get! :)
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
My head is falling off at the idea of a two hour show.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I somehow missed your questions at the bottom...sorry if this is long!
Questions
1) If you compare paid minutes vs unpaid minutes (free chat, freeloaders, promotions, etc.), on average, I'm guessing that a model probably has to work more unpaid minutes for each paid minute doing indy than she would doing SM. Does that sound right?
Not necessarily. In my experience, it evens out over time. I have tons of guys who want a quick 10 minute show, pay me immediately without issue, and we're done in less than 12 minutes total. On Streamate, I have to factor in things like Gold show countdowns (at least 8-10 minutes of straight hustling), plus chatting with guys about various fetishes/show ideas/etc.
2) If so, in order to compensate for working more unpaid minutes, a model ought to earn more per paid minute doing indy than she would on SM, right?
It depends on how much the model values her time spent off cam. For me, I don't mind sitting around sending quick skype messages while I watch Netflix or eat dinner. I would MUCH rather do that than sit in free chat trying to look pretty and hustle like crazy.
3) So... if a model charges $6.99+ on SM, doesn't she need to charge more than $3/minute on indy to ensure that her indy income is comparable to what she could make on SM (or other BBSs)?
Again, it depends. I usually do skype shows when I'm either worn out from SM or I need a laid back day. My time spent on CMD isn't taking away from my SM time, so it's really just extra income on top of what I would already make.
4) If a model is going to make less per minute doing indy, wouldn't it make more sense to take all the energy she spends on indy camming and instead put it toward working SM or promoting her CamModels link? (After all, if she directs her own traffic to SM, she'd get $6.99 x 75% = $5.2425/minute.)
I think you're underestimating the amount of work it takes to get cammodels sign-ups. I have ONE. In two years of camming, that's all I've got. On the other hand, I comfortably make $400 or more per week on CMD with minimal effort. I think that's time well spent!
5) I thought customers were actually getting a better quality experience on Skype. Is there some reason that guys will pay $6.99/minute for a model on SM, but wouldn't pay similar rates for the same model on indy? Is it just because so many indy models are charging so little?
The guys who buy skype shows know that they'll get better rates. They understand the concept of big box sites taking a big cut, and they can see the competitors' pricing in their CMD ads. They were ok with paying a premium for the convenience and safety of using a big site, but once they find a model that they trust, they're more willing to "risk" going to an indy site. A LOT of guys are nervous about getting scammed. I've had to do a lot of hand holding for customers that followed me over to CMD from MFC and SM.
6) I wonder if CMD looks like heaven to those guys that constantly haggle, price shop, and whine about models' rates. Do you think that the extreme price difference (typical SM rates vs typical indy rates) is encouraging a disproportionately high number of cheap guys to switch to indy models?
Honestly, I deal with whiners, beggars and freeloaders a whole lot more on SM than I do on CMD. I'm very upfront about the fact that I don't haggle on CMD, and I'll ban anyone who gets pushy.
7) Is there anything else you can add to help explain the phenomenon of very low indy rates?
I really think it's just models trying to stay competitive and meet customer's pricing expectations.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
space_cowgirl
My head is falling off at the idea of a two hour show.
haha, sometimes at 4am it feels like it, even more so when I wake up at 7 :D
one thing I wanted to expand upon in regards to question #7 is the issue of power. I touched on it briefly above but I want to expand to fully explain myself.
I tend to read power dynamics into everything but they really do exist. I never want to feel like I have to see a certain client to reach my monetary goals, and my rates make my shows attainable to a larger pool of clients than I would have otherwise. The more guys want to book me, the more power I have in not feeling indebted to or reliant upon a small group, and for me personally that has tremendous value. The more guys want to book me, the easier it is to ignore the '20 questions' dudes who only want to spend 10 mins talking about a 10 or 20 min show. I just minimize their tiresome chatbox, get back to whatever I was doing until the next dude who values my time more arrives, and he does.
In terms of great, high spending clients: I remember one night I was camming with a regular client -a great guy- having a drink while we watched a movie, and he was kinda tipsy and made a joke about me needing him to pay my rent. Say what? I actually sent him a screenshot of my website bookings for that week (with client details removed of course) to set him straight that even though he spends large on me I'd be perfectly fine financially if he -or any dude- walked away. He was considerably chastened. That may seem petty or silly to some, but it was important to me for him to know I don't need him to earn a great living, and I think doing so helped us maintain the great, mutually respectful relationship we still have to this day.
In rereading my first post I hope I didn't come across as discouraging, know-it-all or like a warrior for the status quo. There's a first time for everything so if a chica decides she's going to build a thriving indy business charging cam site rates more power to her. Sincerely. In the same way that I'm a bit of an 'outlier' in terms of indy income at average rates, another chica could be an outlier charging far more and we'd both be doing what's right for us.
I gotta say OP, I know you've mentioned you're new to indy but your posts here on sw impress the hell out of me. It's clear you put a ton of thought into constructing your strategy for your business and that alone will take you far and help you grow, thrive and bank.
wishing everyone working skype a wicked $$$$$$ night :goodvibes
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Exactly why I don't bother much with indie other than for pocket money. I make far more on big box sites as the average indie rates are so low UK girls can't compete!
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I also feel like indy guys take advantage of the low prices they can get for Skype shows. I charge a lower rate for "basic" shows and a higher rate for "fetish" shows. They are going to pay more for more specific requests just as they do when I'm on SM. My prices are much lower on indy since I get more of the cut, but they aren't cheap.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I charge $3 a minute on indy sites and yes it honestly does come out to about the same as on streamate (at $4.99/6.99)
I've been able to pull off $300 on Indy sites a day but honestly the amount of time it took me to do it was comparable to streamate. chatting/setting up a show/waiting for payment. It all takes time. It is nice that you can wear your grandma's pajamas, pick your nose, and take a crap all while chatting to a customer setting up a show.... unlike on streamate where you are on cam being watched the whole time.
I was thinking about raising my rates doing indy. But I'm still going to have the exact same amount of time wasters contacting me. I'm at $3 a minute and guys still ask "Why should I pay more for you when there's a girl I like who only charges $2 a minute?" Seriously? You think that's expensive.... try going to streamate.
I do really enjoy the days where I can log in and do 3 shows back to back and make $100 quick and log off and enjoy the rest of my day. That's really nice, but that's only from my really good regulars who don't pester me with 100 questions and purchase a show right away.
I wish indy girls charged more :(
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Questions
1) If you compare paid minutes vs unpaid minutes (free chat, freeloaders, promotions, etc.), on average, I'm guessing that a model probably has to work more unpaid minutes for each paid minute doing indy than she would doing SM. Does that sound right?
Not necessarily. On "indy" sites that are created for indy girls and not my own, I do way less. For example; I only pay $10 a month and click once a day to get my ad on CMD bumped. Pretty easy to me and no free chat or freeloaders to deal with. 98% of the guys who message me on CMD actually buy shows. I don't do unpaid min vs. paid min. I realize that both in indy and free chat sites that I'm going to have to spend hours waiting or hustling for shows so I don't even think about the minutes I'm not being paid. I usually figure if I do an 8 hour shift I'm going to be paid $30-45 per hour. However once my indy site gets finished I of course will probably spend a lot of time promoting. But I figure why not do it while waiting for shows? I still won't count paid vs. unpaid though, instead I will continue to count by hours logged in.
3) So... if a model charges $6.99+ on SM, doesn't she need to charge more than $3/minute on indy to ensure that her indy income is comparable to what she could make on SM (or other BBSs)? That depends on the model and her goals. For me it's a yes as I actually charge $3.50-3.99 on CMD. I make $2.62-2.99 there per min. My bottom line is that I must make $2.44 per min on every site I work on unless that is impossible. For example; IML would be impossible. I'm still at 30% there and at the highest pay which is $5.80. There I only make $1.74 but I don't work that site as much either and my 5% raise is coming in a year.
4) If a model is going to make less per minute doing indy, wouldn't it make more sense to take all the energy she spends on indy camming and instead put it toward working SM or promoting her CamModels link? (After all, if she directs her own traffic to SM, she'd get $6.99 x 75% = $5.2425/minute.) Yes and no. Firstly, CM links can be a pain to promote. Just because a guy signs up under you, doesn't mean he will spend his money on you. I have two guys that come to mind on my account that I make cm link money off of weekly.
They will only come in my room to stare whilst they spend on cheaper girls yet one of them used to buy shows from me on skype (through CMD, he was a custie I recruited) with 10 min shows. They come into my room to see if I've dropped my high prices and see that I haven't so they leave and go elsewhere. I've only seen them spend money on gold shows and girls charging less than $3.99. So, she could very well promote her CM link and direct her own traffic but it can be tricky.
If you recruit a guy to SM at high prices and he knows he's signing up to play with you then or in the future then that can work. However I also know that a lot of times guys will sign up while we're offline, sleeping, etc and we never really know who it is until we've seen they spent on another girl or happen to realize we got a higher percentage than normal.
5) I thought customers were actually getting a better quality experience on Skype. Is there some reason that guys will pay $6.99/minute for a model on SM, but wouldn't pay similar rates for the same model on indy? Is it just because so many indy models are charging so little? This is another tricky one. The reason I can get away with charging so high on SM is because the pool of wealthy (or men with expendable incomes) is a lot bigger. Also, I think some guys do take into fact on indy sites that "most" girls are cheap so they expect cheap. A lot of those guys who browse indy sites intentionally will do so to find cheaper shows. They want to pay cheaper rates because they know the middle man isn't taking such a larger cut. This is why a guy on a big site will try and steer a girl away from it by asking for a skype session. When this has happened to me I tell the guys if I were to do skype I would charge the same. To me the middle man is something I deal with, and not them and is none of their business.
If a lot of men knew about the cheaper sites that we're on they would drop the bigger sites in a heartbeat unless it's their cc safety they're worried about. I find that a lot of men prefer to save a few bucks. The reason I've noticed this is because two of my regulars come to mind. I have a reg on IML that found me on sm. My IML price is $5.80 and my SM price is $7.99/6.99. This reg mentioned that I was cheaper on IML but he still purchased a show on SM after I convinced him to. The other reg found me on AW first and only likes checking to see what I am up to on SM. He has told me several times that he prefers to purchase on AW because not only am I cheaper ($5 I think) there but his cc seems to only work on AW. I think it's quite frank that I'm just cheaper there so he will log into SM if I'm not on AW to give me a clue and I will log into AW for a few shows with him.
6) I wonder if CMD looks like heaven to those guys that constantly haggle, price shop, and whine about models' rates. Do you think that the extreme price difference (typical SM rates vs typical indy rates) is encouraging a disproportionately high number of cheap guys to switch to indy models? I believe that depends on the model and what she charges. I believe guys like a value and both CMD and SM offer them. He can find models on SM that charge way less than models on CMD. I've seen models on SM charge $0.99 and he has far more options on there than he does on CMD. Now, if he actually stumbles upon a model on CMD that he knows is expensive on SM then yes, he actually might get excited but they would have to find the site first and the model. SM has been around longer and is obviously larger and much more popular than CMD so again, it could happen but doesn't happen all the time I don't think. CMD doesn't advertise the same way that SM and all of their affiliates do.
7) Is there anything else you can add to help explain the phenomenon of very low indy rates?
Comming from someone who is building her own indy sites (were prices will be in the middle range ($4.99-5.99)) I believe that you already know the answer. Most girls who work indy probably offer lower rates because the percentage is higher. They, like me probably have a minimum per min price they are willing to take their clothes off for. Also, when you advertise yourself and promote your own site you're most likely looking to get most if not all customers who stumble upon you. They probably realize that bigger sites will always bringing in many, many customers and they can afford to be more expensive. However if you're on an advertising budget and you wish to convert more sales for yourself you're probably going to go with a rate that will allow most guys to spend on you. If you can't afford to lose a sale knowing that most guys want a value, you're probably going to give them a value. I on the other hand tend to be a bit greedy. I like making more of my money than the big guys and therefore I like being expensive. I've also been in the adult industry off and on for almost 14 years, am on top of my fetishes, and am apart of quite a few niches.
I wanted to touch up on one more thing which may explain that bigger sites doesn't always mean more money per min vs. indy sites. With indy sites there is a minimum requirement for ALL shows. So, models actually can make more charging less on an indy site than they do on SM. I'll give you an example. TiraTits is an imaginary cam model that charges $2.99 on CMD and $6.99 on sm. Because she makes $2.24 per min her cut on CMD (75%) she makes no less than $22.40 every time a customer buys a show from her. On SM TiraTits just got out of an 8 min show (at $6.99) but only made $19.52. The point I'm trying to make is that unless you're in a block session (which not every gets all of the time) on SM, you never know how far that $2.44 is going to take you. Yes, the possibilities are endless but they are still on a per minute basis only. There are days you get a few shows on sm where it's slow and you make $300 your cut or more on indy sites like CMD.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I have always hated the concept that because a camgirl gets a higher percentage on a certain site she charges less. The customer should pay the same across the board. It takes away most of the advantage of working indy sites to me.
I wish prices were the same everywhere :(
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
laurielegs
I have always hated the concept that because a camgirl gets a higher percentage on a certain site she charges less. The customer should pay the same across the board. It takes away most of the advantage of working indy sites to me.
I wish prices were the same everywhere :(
I understand where you're coming from which is why I raise my prices a little higher on indy sites. However at the end of the day if a girl charges $6.99 on sm (at $2.44) and $6.99 on indy sites at $5.24 she will always make less on one of the sites. At the end of the day she is most likely still making more on her indy site. I believe the problem doesn't lie within the model, it lies within the percentage we receive from these sites. You're still going compete with 75% and 35% or less, always.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Thank you to all of you ladies for responding! I'm really pleased that this thread already includes a variety of perspectives and some very thorough and well thought out answers. Especially to Scarlett, LovesHooks, and Kortney, thank you for your very in-depth posts.
It seems like the consensus is that prices are low because models have to compete with each other, and the competitive price range for indy is just very narrow. Maybe one day there will be a "Raise Your Rates Indy Challenge" or some other way to effect a shift in typical rates. In the mean time, you guys have provided some great insights as to why a model may want to stick within the current typical range.
In addition, all your responses highlight that there are so many different ways to handle an indy business. Some of you do indy for additional income on top of the big box sites, some of you do it as your primary income, and then there's Kortney, who seems to do pretty much everything, lol! Some of you rely mostly on traffic on the indy listing sites, and some of you drive your own traffic. Some of you do a lot of short shows, and some of you do really long shows. I've always known that my business is mine, but it didn't hit me until now that I have so many ways to mold it to be unique and exactly what I want it to be. The thought is exhilarating!
@Scarlett ~ Thank you for answering so thoroughly and being so forthright with your rates, your indy work habits, and even your earnings. I appreciate your different take on comparing earnings per minute on SM vs indy. You also provided a lot of great info in terms of how much work is involved in working a listings site like CMD. It's really reassuring that you can be successful there without breaking your back to do it.
@space_cowgirl ~ LOL. I think two hour shows tend to involve different content than short shows. Once you go over an hour, it's probably going to include at least some time just hanging out or chatting. I can't imagine agreeing to more than an hour unless I knew it was a customer that would take it easy and not overwork me.
@Kortney ~ I'm really glad you posted, because I was pretty sure that you were one of the ladies I saw that had higher rates, and I wanted to hear from those models. Thank you for everything you wrote - it is jam packed with useful knowledge about quite a lot of things. I think you really understand the customers' motivations and how to market to them.
@LovesHooks ~ As always, you make great points, and there's very compelling stuff to consider there. You don't come across as discouraging at all - these are real factors that need to be taken into consideration because our livelihoods depend on working in the present moment with the status quo. Your point about power dynamics is really strong. Charging moderate rates and having a large customer pool to choose from is one answer (especially if you only do indy). I wonder if continuing to work big box sites would have a similar effect - if you have to drop an indy whale, you can always make up the income on the BBS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
loveshooks
I gotta say OP, I know you've mentioned you're new to indy but your posts here on sw impress the hell out of me. It's clear you put a ton of thought into constructing your strategy for your business and that alone will take you far and help you grow, thrive and bank.
:blush: Thanks - that's so encouraging! I kind of love the strategy element. For me, it's the implementation that's rough. I feel like every step I try to take is just agonizingly slow because there is so much stuff I don't know and so many skills I don't have yet. Hopefully this is a tortoise/hare scenario and I'll win in the end.
Anyhow... thank you all, again, and I look forward to reading anything else that gets added to the thread!
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Sm = streamate but what is CDM?... Am I right in guessing Indy sites are smaller webcamming sites that aren't whitelabels of the big sites - so little sites like glamourstarslive for example?... Do Indy sites exist in the uk?
I don't like freechat and no longer offer it - I use AW directchat for camming - as I cover the domme niche so I feel that subs should not be allowed to communicate with me for free.
I have recently been thinking of branching out into other camsites as AW has proved, recently, to be rather inconsistent but then I think this is down to traffic volume as opposed to anything else.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
inspired by Ms Hoohah I gave myself my first raise in over 2 years, and it's working out really well so far. Not a single reg has even commented on my new rates and I'm still getting new clients booking me.
thanks MH, it honestly hadn't even occurred to me that while the cost of living has gone up my rates hadn't. fuck I love being my own boss.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Cam Model Directory is CDM. It's an indy cam site. Pretty sure you can be on there no matter where your are from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MistressJP
Sm = streamate but what is CDM?... Am I right in guessing Indy sites are smaller webcamming sites that aren't whitelabels of the big sites - so little sites like glamourstarslive for example?... Do Indy sites exist in the uk?
I don't like freechat and no longer offer it - I use AW directchat for camming - as I cover the domme niche so I feel that subs should not be allowed to communicate with me for free.
I have recently been thinking of branching out into other camsites as AW has proved, recently, to be rather inconsistent but then I think this is down to traffic volume as opposed to anything else.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Can u skype from ur phone when doing this?
Sam
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
you can but I honestly wouldn't recommend it with anyone other than devoted regs who aren't finicky about things. with a phone it can be kinda difficult to angle, position the camera, granted they're not professionals but some of the guys who skype on their phones seem to spend half their time trying to set the position of the damn thing. with a really speedy and stable internet connection (a must with skype on wifi) and a way to prop up the phone it can totally be done though.
I have some info on how to set up your phone for skype video calling and cam2cam and
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MistressJP
Sm = streamate but what is CDM?
Hi, MistressJP. :) It's not CDM. It's CMD, which stands for CamModelDirectory.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
So, to update on what I decided to do... After reading everything that everyone wrote and thinking about it long and hard, I decided to adjust my pricing.
I don't charge a flat per-minute rate, so it depends how much time the customer would like. Originally, my rates had ranged between $3.33-4.00/minute. I didn't change my rates for the 10 minute block, but I made small reductions to all my other time blocks, and larger reductions to the largest blocks. So now, if they are getting less than 45 minutes, my rates range between $3-4/minute. At 45 minutes or more, my rates range from $2.50-3/minute. If I average it out, it comes to roughly $3/minute overall.
I changed my rates because, like LH mentioned, I don't want to be reliant upon a small number of high spenders. I tend to do well with guys that want fairly long shows, and I don't want to be prohibitively priced for too many of them. Also, I wanted to be able to price slightly higher on CMD than I do on LiveCamModelShows, and I didn't feel like I could up-price at all from the rates I had originally posted on LCMS.
That said, when I was thinking about pricing, I wanted to keep a price scale that would scare off the cheap guys that are just price shopping. I suspect that mostly the cheap guys are looking for short shows that are priced at a rate that's drastically lower than a BBS. By pricing my shortest blocks at around $4/minute, that's not a very large discount off the BBS. I expect that at that rate, the guys that buy a short show with me are the ones that prefer the Skype experience over the BBS experience, but aren't price shoppers. I figured that I can give a fairly low per-minute rate to guys that will spend over $100 on a show, because by definition they usually aren't cheapos.
In terms of results... I haven't really been doing this long enough to know. I've gotten shows of all lengths, and haven't heard much commentary on my rates. I got one guy that tried to trick me into doing a 10 minute show at the rate of an hour show, and when I corrected him, he said that $4/minute was too much for him. Almost directly thereafter, I got another guy that was really happy that I had "really low rates." /:O
On a side note, I was searching the forum for something, and came across some older indy threads that talked about pricing at $3/minute. They were all from... 2009 and 2010!
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
'Cause we're old school like that.
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Re: Indy Ladies - Why are Indy Rates So Low??
I think ladies should set their price to what they want to earn / how they value their time. It's seriously none of the guys business what % we earn (unless to tell them to pay one place or another) so if you wanna charge $x/min, they should expect to pay that rate everywhere. Cost of a show should be based on the model and what her show is worth. A great model should charge more than a new/less committed model. REGARDLESS of indy or BBS.
I have been mainly indy for the entirety of my camming career (6 years.) Exclusively indy for at least one after I dropped AW last year. I started out charging $3-4/min, after a few years went up to $5/min, now I usually charge $7/min. For a while I was charging $10/min. I kind of hop around to charge the most I can while still maintaining consistent sales. I keep the price pretty static for regulars though (if I like them lol.) I think most of my customers find me on clip sites, so the better I'm doing there (more frequent uploads) the higher it seems I can charge on cam because I have more people messaging me on Skype. If I'm in higher demand I can choose what shows to take and not have to do the cheaper ones that are more annoying to me.
I am pretty picky with my time and literally like can't do free cam cuz I get so flustered and bored. It's just not for me. I realized that about myself over the years so I worked myself into a niche that wouldn't require me to do all that. With the way I market myself, it allows me to keep my prices on the higher end. I do get guys every once in a while who complain about how expensive I am but I honestly don't care. Even if I do only a few shows a week at a higher rate, I am making the same or more than I would doing show after show on a more full time camming schedule.