The Camgirl Guide - Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Webcam Performer?

DEALING WITH ANNOYING AND ABUSIVE CLIENTS

What most aspiring cam models don't realize is that "camming" is a customer service job like any other. While you decide when you do it, how you do it and who you do it with, good customer service is crucial for your business. But no matter how well you treat your viewers and depending on who you advertise and where you advertise you WILL get a couple of rude clients a week.

You have to learn how to not let it get into your head and remember it's nothing personal, these people have to make other people feel bad in order to feel good about themselves. They will pick that little thing you feel the most self-conscious about and use that to try and kick your self-esteem to the curb. That's why god gave us the block button. Just remember, there are always two nice guys for every nasty one!

FAMILY AND FRIENDS FINDING OUT

Other important thing to consider is what happens when your friends/family/co-workers find out what you do. Yes, it is more likely to be "when they find out" than "if they find out". In most cases the clients come from the same country you live in, and you will be advertising on the same internet your loved ones surf every day. Almost every household has an internet connection these days, and you can bet someone you know surfs for porn. It might be your dad, your brother, your brother's friend, that guy from work or someone you went to school with.

There are things you can do to minimize the possibility of someone finding out, such as block your country/state/zip code from accessing your website or your profile, or not showing your face in any of the pictures in your profiles.

If you think there is a big chance that someone will find out anyway, one option is to tell them yourself. It is not nearly as scary as it sounds, and as an adult, you have the right do make your own decisions. Plus it won't sound as bad when it's coming from you as it would sound when someone else tells your family, "by the way, I saw your daughter naked on the internet, I didn't know she was a porn star!", or sticks your images on your dad's car window (has happened before).

If you don't know if you are ready for an adult webcam career is to ask yourself a question: "Would I be embarrassed if someone found out what I do?" If you answered yes, you should take some time to think if you really are mentally ready and comfortable with what you're doing. After all, once you upload your first explicit image or do your first camshow, your images will be on the internet forever.

FREEBIE AND PREVIEW HUNTERS

We all love free stuff. However, the constant begging for a free camshow will get on your nerves most days - especially if you are an independent cam girl. You are trying to work and some people will try every trick in the book to get a freebie. "It's my birthday, how about a free show", "Give us a preview, I want to know what I'm getting", or the most common excuse: "I need to see you on cam first to know you're real". It is perfectly understandable that a client is afraid of scammers (there are plenty), but unfortunately freebie hunters have realized this is an excellent way to get a flash of the girl without paying a penny.

There is nothing wrong with giving a free show for a regular, trusted client on his birthday, but falling for every excuse will end up losing you money. You are better off using that time and energy on a paying client. Unfortunately, there are little to no ways of knowing who is serious about paying for a show, but when you gain a little experience, you will soon develop a so called "radar" for freebie hunters.

ZERO PROFIT DAYS

It is known that the first couple of weeks are the best for a cam girl's business. It's called "the new girls luck". It's fun while it lasts, but that might also make a newbie cam girl think that every day will bring in hundreds of dollars, and fall into desperation when the luck is over and they get their first zero profit day. No matter now hard you try, no-one seems to be interested, there is a bunch of newer girls around, and you have just wasted a whole day sitting on your computer waiting and waiting.

This can be very frustrating at times. Sometimes even an experienced cam girl needs to remind herself that good times always follow the bad times. It's a cycle like everything else in life - but here's a tip: in the camworld, this cycle often seems to follow the cycle of paychecks in the 'real' world ;-)

HAVING YOUR IMAGES ONLINE FOREVER

As mentioned above, the minute you upload your first naked picture, you will be naked on the internet forever. It doesn't matter where it is or if you delete it when you decide to quit your online career, there is always someone who saved it on their computer and posted it somewhere else. Same goes for camshows. You might think it's impossible to record certain types of live feeds/videos, but there is always a way.

In most cases these images will never come back and haunt you, but there have been numerous cases where girls have graduated, tried to apply for a certain job and someone has found out they have been an internet cam model in the past.

People have been unable to get a job at a kindergarten, as a police officer and even at the fire department because of their past. I'm sure you have heard at least the story of a teacher who used to make extra money by posing as a nude model for artists and got fired when people found out.

I think we all agree, it should be classed as discrimination when this happens, but it will take time for the world to change. In the meantime, everyone who wants to get into the adult business should think hard what price they are prepared to pay.

MESSED UP SLEEP CYCLE

This is probably the most insignificant downside of the job, but if you have a day job, you should remember, that most people will surf for porn / buy camshows after the rest of the family has gone to bed. There are always exceptions for the rule, but most cam models will agree that evenings and nights are the busiest times of the day. Soon you will find yourself staying up longer and longer, "just getting the last show" and putting your greed before your sleep!

FINAL WORDS

While some of the cases above are an every day nuisance, most of them are worst case scenarios. Don't let them put you off if you have a genuine interest in making money off the online camming industry. After all, there are thousands of cam girls, and only a fraction has ever had anything disastrous happen to them. And if you decide to join the cam girl community, you will soon notice that the pros outnumber the cons. Good luck!

HAVE YOUR SAY

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