~*~Tips for Cam Girllzzz~*~
“Send me a picture of your tits,” is not something many girls want to hear from a stranger over social media. The degradation and the multitude of dangers are usually enough for young women to know better than to send nude photos into the black hole and onto the international platform that is the Internet. But when money comes into the picture, the exchange becomes less a cry for attention and more of a business transaction.
23-year-old Ashleigh, or “warriorqueenn” online, began webcam modeling for the business. “It started with someone [from Instagram] asking to buy pictures of me naked. I was like, ‘Hmm…Why not?’” she said.
Ashleigh’s income comes almost solely from her interactive webcam masturbation. Apart from her job, she leads a normal, happy life—she has a boyfriend, a dedicated Internet following on Instagram, she loves to sing and is an up-and-coming “real” model in Toronto. Her high-pitched voice and tiny frame scream adorable.
Choosing to masturbate on camera as a profession was a no-brainer for Ashleigh—to her, everyone masturbates, so she may as well make money doing it. But there are dangers involved. “People know where I’m from. Cam models get stalked. I don’t want anyone [watching] to know where I’m from or who I am,” she says.
It may seem like easy money, but there are challenges and strategies involved in doing webcam porn. What follows is a list of do’s and don’ts for the prospective webcam models and curious cats among you.
DON’T Lose Sleep
Since most webcam porn site users go online late at night, you will be up with them. Make sure to get enough sleep. “I usually wake up around 2 p.m.,” says Ashleigh. “So I sleep a lot. Around 9:30 p.m. I get ready for cam. I’m usually on till 1 or 2 a.m.” Sleep is the key to surviving being on camera for three to five hours at a time.
DO Get Familiar With Social Media
In order to make money doing webcam porn, you need to get viewers. What better way to do this than with the ever-convenient world of social media? Ashleigh has over 22 thousand followers on Instagram, where she advertises her solo porn videos by posting sexy photos to Instagram and SnapChat. “Once someone adds me to SnapChat, I post things like, ‘Ask me for the link to my videos!’ and when they ask me, I send them the link, and I make easy money like that!”says Ashleigh. Her solo videos are posted to a commercial website where prices range from $2.99 to $99.99 per video.
DON’T Cam With People Close By
According to Ashleigh, it’s common cam girl knowledge that girls in porn get stalked. “The guys on these sites are obsessive … I mean they’re basically funding [our lives],” she says. “Most of them seem to [think they are] entitled to our information and stuff. I even have Ontario region blocked from my cam shows so no one from my area can see.” This strategy eliminates the possibility of superiors, family or friends close by to see Ashleigh’s face in her videos. “I keep my webcam modeling completely separate from my real life because it’s not something that everyone will accept,” she adds. Ashleigh has a strong sense of identity and knows that she is not the same girl these men on the Internet perceive as an object.
DO Create Strong, Trusting Relationships
Ashleigh has been in a relationship with her boyfriend Ryan for over a year. He is supportive of her career and “is happy that I’m happy,” says Ashleigh. “I mean … there aren’t very many guys out there who would be okay with their girlfriends having sex with themselves on cam for the world to see for money. Ryan loves that I’ve found my ‘thing.’” If webcam modeling is going to be your profession, it’s important that the people around you will not judge you for doing it. Surrounding yourself with strong, accepting people is crucial to maintaining self-worth in a taboo industry.
DO Acknowledge That This Is Temporary
Not many older women are webcam models. This offers motivation to find something more fulfilling and permanent for work. For Ashleigh, webcam modeling is very profitable, as shown by the weekly photos of her shopping sprees. But she knows she will have to move on eventually. “My goals are just to make as much money as I possibly can for now and move forward where life takes me. I’ll probably go back to school one day. Maybe when I’m like 30,” she laughs. “I won’t be able to do this forever, but for now, it’s what I have.”