ATTENTION, PEOPLE: Many of you have asked for one comprehensive megaguide on how to make bank as a webcam model, so I put together this BAD ASS tutorial to guide you to the camming promised land. I cover just about everything in here, including some ridiculously effective advanced tips that you probably never heard of.
Put some coffee on, take a few rips from that bong, and strap yourself in, cuz uncle Buttler is about to teach you the “Way of The Cam!“
Okay, so, webcam modeling can be a highly lucrative line of work. That’s no secret. Everybody’s heard about the eye-popping five-figure monthly earnings that many models are making (more on that further down in this post). It’s all true, and the online booty-shaking business is getting even more lucrative all the time, if you can believe it.
But this biz also very frequently misunderstood. Being a webcam model isn’t just about getting naked, shaking that booty, and watching the flood of cam girl money pour in.
That monetary deluge IS something that could be waiting for you – and truth be told, it’s more easily accessed in this industry than in most others. But you have to understand the business, and how to make it work for you.
Let me start with the very basics, because frankly, I don’t know what you already know or don’t, so I want to make sure we’re clear on all the essentials. Then, I’ll lay down some more advanced tricks that I’m almost certain you DON’T know.
BTW, If you’re in a hurry, check out my Guide To Becoming a Webcam Model Quickly here…
Starting as a New Webcam Model
In webcam modeling, you sign up to perform on one of the many “cam sites” on the web. This isn’t really like applying for a job because, so long as you’re 18 years of age or older and can prove it, you’re very likely to be approved.
The cam site doesn’t need to limit its number of webcam models, and in fact it wants to have as many as possible. That’s because the site isn’t paying you a wage or salary based on a schedule it gives you; instead, you set your own schedule, going on or offline to broadcast whenever you like.
Later In This Post: A close look at the JAW-DROPPING earnings that webcam models are currently making.
On most cam site platforms, you won’t be behind any sort of paywall that requires members to spend money to watch you or chat with you. This is the industry’s “free cam site” business model, and it’s now the dominant one after most of the “premium cam site” networks declined in popularity over the last several years.
FACTOID: Most of the money in webcam modeling is made on “free cams” sites, like Chaturbate and MFC, where tipping is the primary revenue source.
But, of course, both you and the cam site can still make money – a lot of it. Members of a free cam site always have the option of purchasing digital “tokens” that can be used to pay for extra perks. Those perks don’t include simply sitting in your public chatroom and watching you perform (which are free), but they DO cover things like private shows with you, special content you may offer such as video clips, and – very importantly – tipping.
Tips are your primary income source as a webcam model, but don’t let that throw you into doubt. The fact that you work for tips is the reason why the sky’s the limit for you in this business. Tipping can be MASSIVE on cam sites.
The Major Cam Sites
In the cam site world, there are three major players that you should know about: MyFreeCams (which people usually just call MFC), Chaturbate, and LiveJasmin. MFC and Chaturbate are really similar to each other in a lot of ways, not only because they both use the “free cams” business model, but also because they’re huge and attract a lot of “Tier 1” traffic.
That means they’re popular with users from wealthy areas of the world, like North America, which is important because people who live in those places have more money to spend.
MFC, however, uses a “camscore” system to rank room listings of its webcam models on the site, and the algorithm favors girls who receive more and bigger tips. This means that established camgirls who already have large, loyal followings are at a significant advantage compared to newcomers. So, while MFC is a great cam site, beginner models should graduate to it, rather than start from scratch there.
FACTOID: Chaturbate has risen to become the most visited cam site on the internet, regularly ranking in the “Top 50 Sites” listing on SimilarWeb.
Meanwhile, LiveJasmin is unique among the big players in that, unlike the other two, any explicit interaction with models requires a member to spend money (LJ follows the “premium cams” model). This usually means that a model will get more “private shows” but far less in tips.
You should also be aware of a relatively recent up and comer in the industry called CamSoda. This is still a pretty small site compared to the big three, but it’s been growing like the legal weed business since it started. It also has a high members-to-models ratio, meaning each individual webcam model should theoretically have an easier time earning tips.
COMING UP: How to get high-tipping REGULARS! (Keep reading)
It doesn’t always work that way, though, because CamSoda also tends to attract a lot of porn stars, and being known for your work in porn is a HUGE bonus in this business. All in all, Chaturbate is the best bet for newbie webcam models; if you really want to start off right in this industry, you should sign up there. Take a minute to sign up now before continuing, it may take them a day or two to approve you.
The Technical Requirements of Webcam Modeling
To get started camming from home, there are really only a few technical requirements. You’ll need a webcam, obviously, but most laptops these days come with one built in. Usually, this is a pretty crappy camera with hardly the best resolution, but it’s fine to start with until you can afford to upgrade to an HD cam.
As for your internet connection, broadband is a must. Cable or fiber-optic is preferred, but you can use DSL if that’s what’s available (again, pay for better when you’re able; it shouldn’t take long). Regardless, you should try to avoid using Wi-Fi if possible, cuz it sucks some major donkey nuts. Run an ethernet cable directly from the modem to your computer, if you can. If WiFi is all you can do, then run with it and see how it goes.
If your computer was made within the last 5 years, then it’s probably good to go for camming purposes. Remember, though, that this is ultimately a business, which means that it’s what’s going to put that food on the table and that scratch in your pocketbook. Invest in your equipment and take this seriously, because your life can completely change if you succeed.
The Essential Role of “Regulars”
Webcam modeling is a pretty bipolar industry in terms of its income distribution. There are a lot of big earning models, while many simply quit after only a few days. The good news is, the vast majority of those who washout like that do so because they didn’t know what they were doing, and failed to follow a few simple basic strategies. We’ll get into those over the course of this guide, but the first and most important one for us to discuss is patience.
You probably won’t make much money in your first few sessions as a webcam model. That’s just an unfortunate fact of the industry. Vast numbers of newbies make the mistake of blaming themselves for this, and assuming they’re no good at the job. That’s why so many throw in the towel so quickly.
FACTOID: When just starting out, a new cam model lacks fans, which means that her earnings will be limited. As she continues to go on cam, however, followers begin to build and her revenues can skyrocket.
But the truth is, the most elite cam queen in the world with her million-dollar-plus annual income had to go through the same phase. It happens to everyone. Don’t sweat it, just use that time to lay your groundwork for success.
And that groundwork is regulars. As the name suggests, regulars are fans who come to the site to see you regularly. As a webcam model, regulars are your lifeblood, and you simply can’t make the big bucks without them.
COMING UP: How to run your chat room correctly! (Keep reading)
Your regulars don’t just like you as someone they enjoy watching on cam; eventually, they come to care about you personally, and to see you as a friend. The time will come that they’ll be tipping you just because they want to help you make a living, not because they feel like they have to pay you for something.
FACTOID: Many webcam models have been given ridiculously expensive gifts by their regulars, including jewelry, designer clothes, and even cars.
Early on, your attention should be laser-focused on cultivating these regulars, and building that relationship with them. Some of the process for doing this is pretty straightforward: Be friendly, talk to your audience, and invite them to engage with you. But a key part of it isn’t always obvious to newcomers, and it has to do with your schedule.
In webcam modeling, you can work whenever you want, for as long (or as short) a time as you want. It’s one of the job’s perks. When you’re first starting out, though, it’s absolutely critical that you set a schedule, share it in your chatroom, and stick to it! This schedule should include camming most days of the week, even if you can only put in an hour or two on some of those days.
The reason for this is all about regulars: A guy who sees you and starts to like you today simply must be able to find you again tomorrow. If he can’t, he’ll forget about you, and those feelings of fondness that were starting to build will die quickly. But when he’s exposed to you regularly over time, you seal the deal, and a regular is born.
Don’t ignore this piece of advice; set your schedule and cam consistently! Stay at it, and DO NOT QUIT!!
Alright, so from this point forward, I’m going to assume that you’ve already signed up with Chaturbate to get the ball rolling on your approval. As I’ve mentioned, there are certainly other options, but for reasons we’ve covered, Chaturbate is the best option for someone starting out as a webcam model.
Anyway, all of the advice I’ll be giving in the remainder of this guide applies equally to other sites as it does to Chaturbate, so you should be covered no matter where you ultimately decide to go. Just sign up sooner rather than later; like I said, there may be a wait for approval.
The Webcam Model’s Chatroom
So, let’s talk about your chatroom. Think of it as your own personal kingdom on Chaturbate. Members see you listed on the main page, and can enter your room when they want to check out your show.
You’re the freaking Queen here. You can kick out any troublemakers, decide who to tap as your “room moderator,” and edit the “room topic” header that viewers see as they watch you. This room topic function is a powerful tool for a webcam model, and it’s an important part of running your chatroom well.
Admittedly, you can put pretty much anything you want in the topic. But smart webcam models use them to set tipping goals for those who visit the channel, with a promised reward of nudity or doing something sexual once a particular number is reached. You should also advertise your public Snapchat channel in the topic, but I’ll get into that further down in the guide. Let’s stick to token goals for now.
So, you might write in the topic that when combined tips reach 250 tokens (for example), you’ll get naked or remove a particular piece of clothing. At 500, you’ll apply the “Hitachi” to the naughty place. 1,000, and you break out the foot-long Godzilla-dong — you get the idea.
You might also say that anyone who tips 50 tokens in one shot gets a flash while you’re still clothed. Chaturbate offers programs called apps and bots that can make these games much easier to keep track of and play.
FACTOID: Webcam models who use escalating tip goals end up earning significantly more tokens per session than models who do not.
Imagination is helpful when you’re setting tip goals. You want to make them as fun and attractive as possible. For instance, I once saw a girl set a tipping level that made her “shut up” anytime someone met it by themselves. She would then not be allowed to say a word (and she made a show of this driving her crazy), until someone “flipped the switch” back by tipping her the same amount again. Be creative!
All of this does more than simply give viewers a reason to tip you. It creates activity in the channel, which encourages those flipping through the channels to stay on yours. You should also generate activity by keeping a conversation going, so the channel is never quiet and boring.
COMING UP: How to use a simple toy to BOOST your TOKEN TIPS! (Keep reading)
You can talk about anything that the audience members (or the good tippers in the audience) are interested in, but your romantic and sex life are surefire ways to keep people engaged.
When you’re just getting started as a webcam model and don’t yet have many regulars, it’s best to keep your tipping goals on the low side. This gets you naked and performing sooner, and gives the casually interested viewers a reason to watch you instead of one of the more well-established girls.
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that dudes are visual creatures, and they’re attracted to naughty shows. Early on, you should be accommodating about that to get your channel viewership numbers up. Later on, when you’re in a stronger position, you can start making it more expensive to see all the good stuff.
How To Boost Your Camming Money
You can also draw more eyes by having other people on camera with you. This is always a huge hit. Chaturbate allows not only single models, but same-sex and mixed-sex couples, so you can pretty much go nuts with anyone who’s willing to perform with you. Just be sure you get them registered with the site before you go live.
COMING UP: How to grow your Snapchat followers quickly! (Keep reading)
As soon as you’re able, invest in the Lovense Lush vibrator. This is a sex toy that fits inside you, and has Bluetooth capability so it can be remote-controlled over great distances. It’s popular with webcam models because it can be set to work with Chaturbate via an app, so that it vibrates when you receive a tip.
These things are ridiculously popular with members (and the models say they’re a lot of fun), so get one when you can. This is an amazing way to encourage tipping and keep things interesting in your chatroom.
FACTOID: The Lovense Lush sex toy is now heavily used by experienced cam girls, due mostly to its unique ability to generate tipping. Many webcam girls see a DOUBLING of their revenues.
On Chaturbate, members on your screen are color-coded by whether they’ve purchased the on-site tokens, and how recently. Names appearing in purple belong to people who have tokens, while those in blue have just bought some not too long ago. This is important information, because it helps you decide the level of attention you want to give someone before they’ve even spent anything on you.
Pay attention to anyone in your channel with a purple or blue name. Don’t call them out specifically, but respond to anything they say, laugh at their jokes, and prioritize conversations with them over other members. When someone does finally tip you, thank them personally (by using their name).
If it was a substantial tip, considering sending them a private message (PM) and trying to get to know them better. Showing them attention like this can cause them to warm up to you further, and can lead to them becoming regulars.
Using Public Snapchat To Warm-Up Fans
Now, let’s get back to those “public Snapchat” accounts I briefly mentioned earlier. A public Snapchat account is simply a Snapchat presence that you set up specifically for your work as a webcam model. It’s an important part of building your “brand” beyond Chaturbate. Once you set one up, which you should do as soon as or before you begin camming, you should promote it heavily in your channel.
COMING UP: The SECRETS of how to use social media to suck in fans! (Keep reading)
Put it in your topic as I said, but don’t be afraid to mention it on cam and post links to the channel. No one will mind you doing this, since you aren’t actually trying to sell them something; it’s just a Snapchat, and it’s totally free. In fact, cam site members LOVE public Snapchats for that reason; push it often, and they’ll check it out.
FACTOID: Using a public Snapchat account as a marketing tool can substantially increase the number of fans that become tippers. It’s all about “warming up” your fans.
This Snapchat account should be all about you, personally. Post pictures and videos of your daily life, and talk about the various mundane issues you deal with as part of your routine. Don’t be shy here about the fact that you’re a webcam model; remember, that’s what this is for. Mention your work, and direct people to your chat room or profile page.
Do NOT, however, post any nudity or explicit content. That’ll get you banned from Snapchat, and we don’t want that.
What we’re trying to do with this account is to give viewers on Chaturbate an easy, free way to get to know you, better than they ever could by just watching you for an hour. Getting to know you makes you human in their eyes — something more than a sex object — and it causes them to start to care about you.
The Snapchat account itself won’t produce any money directly, but it warms members up to tipping you down the line (and buying your content). This is a powerful, indispensable tactic. Use Snapchat, people, it’s marketing gold!
Social Media 101 For Webcam Modeling
It isn’t just about Snapchat, though. Social media and networking in general are crazy important for webcam models to take advantage of. Do NOT ignore the power of branching out beyond Chaturbate. The webcam modeling business is about more than just enticing a few random guys to tip you in your chat room.
As I’ve stressed to the point of groin hernias many times before, you need to build a brand and a devoted fan following. That’s what makes the big money numbers happen.
Twitter For Cam Models
Twitter has become the headquarters for everything adult on social media. This platform is easily one of the biggest ways for webcam models to keep in touch with each other, and you want and need those connections, trust me. As with all social media, you’ll want to create a dedicated Twitter account for your webcam model persona.
Nurture it early and often; follow as many other cam girls and guys as you can possibly find, concentrating on newer models and those with follower numbers under 5,000 to 10,000 to begin with. Most webcam models who aren’t huge yet know how important networking is, so they will almost always follow you back and retweet a lot of what you post related to the business.
FACTOID: Connecting with other webcam models on Twitter can substantially increase your fan following through collabs and other forms of exposure.
Just take care that they know you’re a real person, because sometimes unrelated individuals use bots to try to capitalize on this community. Fill out a detailed bio about yourself that mentions your camming activities, and be sure to share plenty of pictures and videos. The more content, the better. And of course, link frequently to your public Chaturbate profile.
When other webcam models follow and retweet you, they’ll be exposing you to their own fan base, and many of those guys will want to check out your live streams as well. This can bring you a huge and very helpful early boost when you’re getting started, so don’t wait on setting up the Twitter account. Do it pronto.
Premium Snapchat Accounts
You also want to make sure that you’re fully and properly utilizing Snapchat. We’ve already talked about using a public Snapchat account, and how you should pump it in your channel to warm up your fans. Like I said, that account won’t make you any money by itself, but you can use it to sell a “premium” Snapchat account for cold cash, if you choose.
COMING UP: The secrets of banking on OnlyFans! (Keep going!)
But even if you don’t sell anything on your Snapchat, it’s still immensely valuable for the purpose of creating human relationships with your fans that can turn into massive spending later on.
Remember when I told you to be careful not to post any nudity or explicit content on your free Snapchat account? You can put it on your premium account, instead. This is a private account where paying customers can go to see all your naughty content, made exclusively for Snapchat.
FACTOID: Few other social platforms allow for the kind of bonding with fans that Snapchat does. Warming up potential customers this way can be invaluable to a model’s business.
Premium accounts are usually sold either on a monthly subscription basis, or for a single payment that buys lifetime access. The monthly subscription model requires a bit of management, as you’ll need to keep track of those who aren’t paying to renew and pull their access, but it’s worth it for how much more money you’ll be making.
Anyway, there are management services specifically for this kind of thing, like FanCentro, which you should use. They do take a percentage of each transaction, but they make your life way easier. Most established models are using these services because it just makes sense.
Premium Snapchat subscriptions typically go for as little as $10 per month for new webcam models who haven’t yet built a name, all the way up to $50 and above for well-known models and big pornstars. And since you’re doing something wrong if you don’t have dozens or even hundreds of unique subscribers after awhile, this can be a serious income stream.
By the way, don’t worry about your premium account getting banned for all the hot stuff that’s going to be posted there. This WILL happen, from time to time, but that’s another reason you want to use FanCentro or something similar.
Among other things, those subscription services automate the process of notifying your subscribers when an account gets zapped, and directing them to the new one you’ll create to replace it.
OnlyFans Accounts For Webcam Models
In addition to your premium Snapchat account (or in place of it), you can use a platform called OnlyFans. This is a social media app that’s very similar to Twitter, except that it’s unusually (for social media) tolerant of adult content. In fact, it was made for it, originally.
The system allows you to charge a monthly subscription at a price you set, and the numbers there will be similar to premium Snapchat ($10 – $50 per month). Then you post your content, preferably in a steady stream to keep your members interested. OnlyFans also allows users to tip you, and you have the option of charging them to receive private messages from you.
FACTOID: OnlyFans has recently exploded in popularity and allows adult models to monetize their fans in ways never before possible.
On top of keeping the pics and videos coming, you should do frequent livestreams with your subscribers, which OnlyFans also allows. This is another awesome opportunity to bond with the fan base, so that they see you as a friend, rather than as a model. This works just as well on OnlyFans as it does on Chaturbate (and just about everywhere else). Never forget to bond, it’s freaking critical!
Collabs With Established Models
When you’re able, you should seriously consider traveling to attend an adult convention. These are just what they sound like: Events like the infamous Comic-con, but specifically for performers and fans of the adult industry. AVN Expo and Exxxotica are the best ones, and draw the most webcam models.
This is helpful to furthering adult careers because these conventions not only give you a chance to meet with your biggest fans in person; they’re a huge networking opportunity. Twitter is great, but it can only go so far. Nothing beats schmoozing with the big names in the industry, and hopefully, making some connected friends that might be able to give you some serious “leg-up” type help.
COMING UP: I reveal the truth about EXACTLY how much money webcam models are earning! (Read on!)
The best thing that could possibly happen to you at one of these conventions would be to hit it off with a top webcam model, and get her to agree to do a collaboration or “collab” with you. Collabs are basically just joint shows, where one of you appears on the other’s stream (and performs on her webcam) with her.
Getting joint shows with a big name cam girl is HUGE. It means that her enormous horde of followers will get to see you on camera, and many of them will want to follow up by visiting you when you’re streaming alone. There’s simply no overstating how helpful this can be.
Using Porn Tube Exposure
I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the porn tube tactic for generating exposure quickly. Many successful webcam models make use of the porn tubes, like PornHub and Xvideos, to expand their reach and suck in new followers. You can upload your content to these sites for free, and to encourage you, they’ll even offer “ad share” programs in which they share a portion of the advertising revenue that you help generate.
FACTOID: Porn tubes like PornHub and XVideos now command vast amounts of traffic that regularly land these sites on the “most visited” lists from SimilarWeb, and other web traffic trackers. Tubes get you seen.
This is usually only significant if your videos goes viral, which definitely happens, but even if it doesn’t, putting yourself on the tubes is a smart move. These are literally some of the most highly-trafficked sites on the entire web, bar none, and being present there gives you an opportunity to be seen by that traffic.
Naturally, you’re going to advertise your public Snapchat in your videos (you can watermark your Snapchat account name on the videos), which could lead to tons of viewers checking out your primary social media presence. From there you’ll reap tippers in your Chaturbate broadcasts, subscribers to premium Snapchat and OnlyFans, and on and on.
Just be sure to emphasize that your public Snapchat account is free. Porn surfers, like webcam viewers, run to content like a hippie to a weed stash when it’s offered at no cost. Don’t sweat it; you have plenty of mechanisms for monetizing them later.
The Numbers – Webcam Model Earnings
Finally, we’ve just got to talk a bit about how much money webcam models make these days, and I suspect you’re going to like the information I have for you here. It’s no secret that the top cam models are making ridic bank, but exact numbers have been hard to come by.
Well, we can now piece together the earnings figures of the top models in the biz, thanks to a data leak at a major cam site.
Back in the fall of 2015, there was a data glitch on the MyFreeCams website which revealed the token amounts that had been earned by the Top 250 models on the platform. It turned out that the top model had earned more than $100,000 for that month! Yeah, six figures in just one month!
The Top 100 models on MFC were all making at least solid 5-figure sums of moolah MONTHLY. When this data got out, there was pretty much unrestrained shock throughout the camming community, both among models and viewers. People just had no idea how much money was being made in this industry.
And keep in mind that while MyFreeCams is certainly a top cam site, its traffic numbers pale in comparison to Chaturbate’s. In fact, Chaturbate now receives so much Tier 1 traffic (the highest-spending kind) that it’s consistently ranked in the top 50 sites in North America (up there with all the major mainstream sites like Reddit, Tumblr, etc).
FACTOID: It’s now generally known that many well-established models in the webcam modeling industry are making six-figure annual incomes.
Chaturbate is known to be home to some of the biggest spenders in the camming universe. In fact, one of the site’s top webcam models named “ChronicLove” was once tipped over 250,000 tokens in a single tip bomb! That’s a cash value to the model of over $12,000!!
So, clearly, the webcam modeling industry holds enormous potential to produce a life-changing income for models willing to reach for the stars and go for it. And given how simple it is to get started, you have very few excuses to not jump in with both feet and grab your share of the pie!
Life is short, people, and struggling sucks…plus, the need for weed money is real, amirite?? Get started TODAY by registering to be a webcam model broadcaster at Chaturbate!
And if you need a thorough, take-you-by-the-hand course on how to make bank as a webcam model, check out my Uber Fans Magnet Webcam Modeling Course here!