Make Money as a Webcam Guy

To Type or to Talk, That is the Question

To type or to talk, that is the question…

Become a Cam GirlHonestly, this is an age old question for cam models. Is it better to type or to talk to your customers in your public chat space? As with most “age-old” questions, there is no obvious right answer. Most models will use some combination of both, and lean more heavily toward the option that nets them the most tips on their platform of choice.

Below I present you with some arguments for and against both. I hope they can help you decide what’s best for you and your on-cam performance.

The Tips: Talk vs. Type

  • Immersion: As a cam model, your voice is a commodity. It can be used to entice customers to tip or take you private. It can be a reward for their investment. You’re selling the fantasy of your intimate friendship, and hearing the voices of your lovers and friends can be both comforting and exciting.
  • Discretion: One thing to consider is that, though most customers want to hear your voice, not all of them can. For every viewer listening through headphones and hanging on your every word, there will be another trying to keep his or her visit to your chatroom quiet and discreet … who have to rely on the keyboard to communicate their desires out of necessity.
  • Intimacy: Even Princess Ariel, as cute as she is, had trouble landing Prince Eric when unable to talk. The voice is a vital tool in the art of seduction, especially in cam-modelling, because your customer is already deprived of their sense of touch. In steamy private sessions, communicating your approval and demonstrating your pleasure, whispering your sexy thoughts, or simply moaning will have a very positive effect on customers.
  • Glossophobia: AKA the fear of public speaking. It’s one of the most common phobias. Many of us, as cam models, are naturally introverted. The idea of rambling nervously before a live audience can be positively terrifying. Typing out a response in chat gives us more time to process the conversation and tailor our response to be sexy, witty, and enticing. All important factors for customers.
  • Multi-tasking: Even the most competent typist might have trouble tracking multiple conversations in a crowded chat room. Calling out your response to a customer’s question will allow you to satisfy them while still keeping tabs on other group or one-on-one conversations
  • Still-life: Typing is a sedentary activity. When a new customer pops into your room and sees you just sitting and typing, they may not feel engaged enough to stick around. They might just assume you won’t pay attention to them, or that you don’t speak English. Maybe they will move on.
  • Whispers: While your voice may be part of what engages a new customer’s interest, your attention is even more valuable to them. Many of the top sites have a whisper feature, allowing you to slip private chat messages to users. In a bustling public chat room, a whisper can show a new customer that they’re welcome. Like a love note, you’ve given them something “for their eyes only.” This shows they have your attention.
  • Realism: Your voice is a part of you. Using it heightens the organic quality of your public chat and private show appearances. It makes you seem more attainable and less like a beautiful body viewed through a square of protective glass.

This list is contradictory. To be honest, that is the point.

While you may prefer one method of communicating with customers over the other, you will have to strike the right balance for both, and learn when to engage in each. Both typing and talking to your customers can feel intimidating at first. After a while these skills will improve. Soon, customers will hang on your every word, no matter the format you use.

Sound good? Interested in becoming a cam model? Well, today’s your lucky day, because here are two resources (Webcam4Money and College Cam Jobs) to help you in your journey.

 

Profile Pic Flirt4Free

Profile Pics to Make Money: Training 101

Your profile picture is the best first impression that you’re going to get when it comes to webcam modeling. And that first impression happens in the blink of an eye. How a customer sees you as presented on the screen of his/her computer will either spark with that customer or not. Do your best to enhance and stylize your profile pic to show you as you wish to be seen and you’ll be doing yourself a favor. How do the best of the best do it? Top models use indoor and natural light, unique angles, and HD clarity to create inviting, attractive profile pics that fit their respective brands. Read on to see how you can use these techniques to your advantage.

First Impressions Are Everything 

Profile Pic Cam SiteFor a cam model, first impressions mean the world, and the first impression you make on a potential customer is your profile picture. Your hand-selected profile pics could mean the difference between getting more business or not. Simply said, if the picture doesn’t draw in the customer to click on your room, consider it a missed opportunity. We, at Guide to Camming, recommend using your best images. They should speak volumes about what your personal brand is all about.

Hire a Professional 

If you want the best results, go for the best in terms of photography. An experienced professional photographer can bring out your very best features, move you into complimentary color schemes, and provide you with a high standard of quality.

Further Advice

Of course, we realize that this may not be an option for everyone. So here is some advice if you plan on photographing yourself:

  1. Go HD 
    Using a camera or phone with full HD capabilities is important for viewing your photos in the best light. Another great option is to use your HD Webcam, as most will give you the option to take still images.
  2. Don’t Show Your Camera
    Candid selfies can be fun to share with your fans via social media or through a texting service like FlirtSMS. But you don’t want anything in the photograph that draws the viewers attention away from you. Invest in a portable tripod and make sure you have a camera with a countdown timer so you have the chance to strike the perfect pose before the snap.

Style Your Brand

  1. Keep the Focus on Your Body or Your Face
    Remember, you don’t want anything in the frame that could distract a potential customer from you and your look. Ensure that there’s no visible clutter, or anything else that might divert attention away from your face or body.
  2. Craft Your Look 
    Wear something that makes you feel sexy and entices customers with a lovely hint of your personality. Put on something that really makes the rest of your assets stick out, or works well with your particular fetish. Sexy outfits will attract customers and make you appear confident in what you’re selling.
  3. Focus on Angles 
    Snap a lot of test photos to discover your best side, your best positions, and your best angles. A tripod will help you position your camera to catch you at your most flattering. High-quality full-body shots of models standing or laying down tend to be the most popular on premium chat sites.

Go for the “Profile Gold”

  1. Lighting! Lighting! Lighting!
    A high-quality camera works together with clear lighting. Beach and poolside swimsuit photos might look beautiful, but the sun can be a very harsh light source. Learn how to use a screen. Ideally, multiple light sources are best for indoor photos. Remember, you won’t grab a customer’s attention if he can’t see you!
  2. Know Your Brand
    Your photos should show your body and your unique brand! If your body looks different now than it did 4 years ago, don’t use that old photograph. If your photos show you in BDSM gear but you’re not a fetish model, don’t use them. Photos that mirror your true self will attract customers who want the fantasy you’re selling. However, pictures that misrepresent you will make it difficult to establish trust with a new fan and attract visitors looking for something you don’t offer.

Profile Pic Webcam ModelingAs a model, popular webcam sites like Flirt4Free provides the option to make multiple photos available on your bio. Take advantage of this. It’s worth it. Not only will these multiple photos help draw customers into you chatroom, but a solid library of high-quality photos will help us feature you on social media like Twitter and other social media platforms. So get to it, aspiring model extraordinaire, and start snapping some pics!

You’ll be rocking your webcam career in no time!

Light Up Your Cam! Tips for Better Webcam Lighting

When a customer enters your room, YOU are the first person they see. And, they see you as framed by your webcam, set against whatever background you’ve chosen, BUT they also see you (literally) by how you’ve lit your room. Ask any top cam model and they will tell you that great lighting is a necessity if you want to attract more customers to spend time in your room. Imagine if you, as a customer, entered a model’s room and that model was poorly lit — the shadows, the darkness, the blur. How would you feel? Would you want to tip that model? Would you want to take that model to private? How does the quality of a model’s lighting effect his or her live show? In this short article, we’ll dive into the basic, but incredibly effective 3-light setup, and hopefully, get you lit up better than you’ve ever been lit up before.

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE PREVIEW!

Before you go live, really look at what you’re broadcasting. In all honesty, do you think you’re properly lit? Are your best features being accentuated? Are your lights too bright? Too dim? Sometimes, just by simply previewing yourself before you broadcast can solve the problem of poor lighting. It might be that you need one more lamp or to turn on an overhead light and your problem will be solved. Or, it could be that your light is way, way too bright against your skin. Turn it away from you. Tweak your light sources so you look just right.

THREE POINT LIGHTING, GET TO KNOW IT!  

Becoming a lighting expert is easier than you might think, but it does require a bit of thought. That said, it’s worth it. Let’s dive in.

Key Light: This light is the key that unlocks your beauty to shine. It’s your strongest light. Position it behind the camera. It faces toward you and it’s best to keep it at a 45 degree angle from you. That is, if you’re sitting facing your camera, you can place your key light in front of you and to the right. Experiment with how far it should be from you, because every light is different. Remember, key light equals BRIGHT.

Fill Light: This light “fills in” the shadows created by the key light. Position it behind your computer and to the left. That is, if you’re sitting facing the camera, you can place your fill light in front of you and to the right. Just like the key light, experiment with how far it should be from you. Every light is different. Don’t make the fill light as bright as the key light. That’s important. If you do this, there’s a good chance it’ll distort how your skin looks on cam.

Back Light: This light is best when kept behind you and out of the frame. This means, that the light should not be visible in your webcam. An overhead light would work fine. Or, a lamp on a high table. The purpose of this light is to light what’s behind you. It makes you appear more 3-D. It makes you come to life. This light should also be the dimmest of the three lights.

Test out these lighting tips in your room. Take some time to make things look and feel right. It could mean the difference between a good night and a GREAT night.

Got it? Great!

LIGHT UP YOUR CAM

Experiment with your lighting setup and you’ll reap the rewards! Truly. Proper lighting can make or break a broadcast. The better you light up your space, the more customers are going to want to step into your room and engage you in conversation. And, the better you’ll appear. Customers will want to see you. Make them want you. 

cammingOnce you find a great lighting setup that suits your broadcast space, play with it until you know it works well. Once you get to that point, you can work on experimenting with different locations around your broadcast space. Maybe you want to perform in the kitchen or in the shower. Maybe you want to do a show in the living room. Wherever you go, you’ll be able to properly get yourself lit and lit well. As broadcast possibilities expand so will your knowledge of how to light yourself.

Remember, your time on cam is a performance. You are the star and it’s important that you take the time to make your room into the best room on the site. Of course, your performance is key, but great lighting will always be “key” to making you light up like a sky full of shimmering stars.

So, onward, cam models! Keep doing what you’re doing and let’s all work to get better.

don't give up

A GREAT EXPERIENCE

Give your customers a great experience and they’ll come back for more. You definitely want to keep your regular customers close, and let them know that you see them in the room. Acknowledge them. Smile to them. But, you also probably also have new customers in the room, customers who would love to see you smile at them, would love to see what you can do, would love to hear you talk and flirt.

This is your first impression with some customers. Make it count. I can guarantee you that the customers in your room are ogling you, studying you, and hopefully loving their time with you so much that they want to tip you. A party of one is not a party.

Be inviting. Be welcoming. Be sexier than you’ve ever been, and always, always have fun.

live cam top model

Fans: How to Reconnect With Energy

What happens when you leave your fans for an extended period of time? Think about it… Ready? Well, simply said, they find someone else. That’s right. They find another muse, another gorgeous cam model (like yourself) who’ll help them get their rocks off day in and day out. And, if you’ve become their virtual companion, then they’ll be crushed… But they’ll move on. Begrudgingly. But they will.Then again, maybe some of them don’t know you’re back. Spreading the word and being professional about it is the way to succeed.

cammingAnd if you have stepped away from camming, but now are coming back, have you tried promoting yourself on social media? Have you kept a consistent schedule once you came back? Get out there on your site of choice and shout yourself out to the world. Your regular customers are probably still out there, they just don’t know that you are back. Honestly, you have to let them know. And if they don’t come back to you, build yourself up to a new base of fans. Like I said, when you broadcast, you are literally opening yourself up to the entire world. It’s a mighty big world out there. Trust me. Perform your best and people will come (literally and figuratively).

As for conversations, treat your cam time like a true-to-life show. Or, treat your cam time as time spent as if with a close friend. Tell your customers erotic stories, fantasies, dreams. Tell them jokes. Show them what you are comfortable showing them. What I’ve found is that if you make them laugh and feel good, they’ll come back for more. Tease them. Please them. Ease them back into your world. Make your world one that they want to be a part of. If you do that, you’ll have them lined up and eager to tip and take you to private shows all night.

Reconnect

So, reconnect! What do you do when your webcam becomes disconnected from your computer? Yeah, that’s right. You reconnect it. Plug back in. If you love this work, then love it. Be it. One hundred percent. Perform. Express. Dance on cam. Jump on cam. Let your positive nature bubble out of you like a warm volcano of erotic joy. You just have to do it and do it and do it.

Live it.