I first started camming back in 2012, when I had to stay home to take care of my mom and thus needed a job where I could work from home. A friend of mine suggested I check out Chaturbate, as it was a great way to be my own boss.
When I initially began, I didn't take it that seriously; however, after a few months, I started to enjoy my time online. Slowly but surely over the last few years, I have built a happy place of my own online with an amazing global community.
It’s a lifestyle when you have a camming schedule and consistently show up online, users can count on you and will continuously come back to your shows.
Today, I have over a million followers on the platform and an amazing group of friends online that always make my day better. Growing my following to this size did not happen overnight, though. It took years of hard work, consistency and dedication.
Throughout the years, I have learned some tips, tricks and specific tools that have helped me excel.
Make Your Cam Room Your Space
The key to making your cam room a success is making a space that you like and that you like to hang out in. You are the person that cultivates the attitude, mood and the community of your cam room. Make it a place you want to be in, not a place you have to be.
Don’t do things that make you feel uncomfortable just because you see other broadcasters doing them. Create a happy place where you feel free and comfortable. Fans and users will gravitate towards you if you are actually having fun and are genuine.
I have worked to cultivate my cam room to be a space where friends can just gather and talk. We hang out and chat about what everyone is up to and how our days went. We care about each other and check-in to see how everyone is doing. We tell jokes, we laugh a lot, we play trivia and just have fun.
I consistently work to keep my cam room a positive environment that users want to hang out in. There is already so much going on in the world and in people's lives, they just need a space to relax and be themselves. Every time I get online, it feels like I’m going for a drink with friends I care about.
Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
There will be a few things that are crucial for success, such as consistency and patience! Be online daily or as often as possible, and have patience because success will not happen overnight. It won't be easy, but it can be life-changing. Having an amazing community to hang out with and support you is really worth it, but you need to really, really want it.
Be consistent no matter what happens, through slow, great or exhausting days. Find that thing that drives you to be online. It took me a few years and a lot of hard work to build up the following I have today. I’m online daily for six to eight hours. It's a lifestyle. Nobody forces me to be online, it's just something that I love to do. When you have a camming schedule and consistently show up online, users can count on you and will continuously come back to your shows.
Utilize Online Tools
Platforms often have some amazing tools to help keep you engaged with your fans on and offline. When I’m online, I use a variety of apps and bots to help engage new users, showcase my goals for the show and play games with my fans. You can sometimes build and personalize your own apps so they perform specific tasks you need.
A dear friend of mine built me my own personalized apps and bots that help me moderate my room and display my tip menus. I also have a fan club on my platform of choice where I offer a free ticket to my ticket shows, free videos and photosets. I also send them a personalized thank you note for joining my fan club, and the username of fan club members appears as a different color in chat. I find that sometimes it's the little things that help your fans feel included and special. I also love shooting new content for them. At the end of the day, we are just like a little family having fun, making our days better!
Utilizing social media is also a great way to engage with my fans offline and bring them back to my live shows. I use Onlyfans, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. It can be a lot of work updating, posting and responding to comments across many different platforms; however, it's an invaluable way to communicate with your fans. In my free time, I’ll also respond to their messages to keep them engaged.
Caring for Everyone
I have so many wonderful fans, supporters and tippers, and I try to give equal attention to everyone. To get to the homepage, it’s often important to have more viewers in your room, rather than just a few big tippers. I also want everyone to feel included and like my cam room is their room, so I try to divide my attention across everyone. I try to be as respectful as humanly possible; however, I can sometimes skip questions or sentences by accident. If this happens or someone feels ignored, I ask them to just repeat what they said.
Some of my fans have been with me since the beginning, while others are newer. The lifespan of a fan can vary, but I find it's important to make everyone feel included and special. There is also a new note feature on my preferred camming platform that is perfect for remembering specific details, birthdays or wants of individual fans. This is an invaluable tool to help make everyone feel special.
For more tips and tricks on how to best engage with your fans on and off line, check out the newest podcast from Camming Life – “Sex Tales.” It is hosted by Melody Kush and Lana del Bae and takes you behind the scenes of the adult industry with some of the top performers and insiders. Tune in to the Camming Life YouTube channel or wherever you listen to podcasts for tales on sex, gossip and the wonderful world of sex work!
Caylin is a Chaturbate broadcaster and content creator. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @CaylinLive or on Chaturbate.com/Caylin.