You are many things. Friend, thinker, sister, athlete, artist, and maybe even a dog momma. You are also a product.
As a cam model, your job is to connect with others looking for some form of intimate personal interaction. Though intimacy comes in endless forms, every cam model is selling essentially the same thing.
Except for you.
You are the only model selling you — your specific flavor and feel of intimacy. Your style will not appeal to everyone, but it will appeal perfectly to many. You just have to find ways to connect with those perfect people. The most effective way to do this is via a three-step process consisting of branding, marketing, and delivery.
Branding
When you think of Kim Kardashian, what comes to mind? Outdoorsy? Natural look? Chances are, probably not. This doesn’t mean that Kim K doesn’t enjoy a campfire or spend the occasional day without makeup. She may, but we don’t know — and that’s the point.
In its simplest form, a brand is a set of marketing messages and tools that work to distinguish a product, personality, or company from competitors. An effective brand creates a lasting impression in the minds of target consumers. From cars to cosmetics to public figures like Kim K and her klan, savvy folks work to develop their brand — and then they stay on-message.
There’s a lot to be learned from Kim K. As a model, it’s a good idea to create an image, and then stick to it. This doesn’t mean you have to come up with your brand before your first cam session, or even weeks down the road, but you should be thinking about it. If what you’re selling is you, who are you? More specifically, who are you on cam? Who are you to clients? Who do they see you as, and what do they get from you? What do you want to give them?
These are big questions that should be taken seriously. Lucky for you, the answers aren’t permanent, and you don’t have to figure all this out on your own. Take clues from your clients, reflect on assets and skills that’ve been pointed out to you, and consider what you’re comfortable with. Over time, like a painting done in stages, your brand will take shape.
Marketing
Once you have your brand and you know what you’re selling, you have to start marketing.
Marketing is the communication between a company and its current, as well as its potential, consumer audience. You market to the people who already know you, as well as to those who don’t. You nurture existing clients, and you look for new business by letting these groups know what you have to offer.
Every company or product you’ve ever heard of spends time and money on marketing. Every. Single. One. The good news about being a webcam model in today’s world is that many marketing tools are free. They only require the time it takes to nurture them.
Now, a savvy person will tell you time is money, and they’re completely correct. You could be waiting in public chat and trying to engage people, or you could be building up your followings on targeted social media platforms. It’s a trade-off and a balance, but the key is to spend your time positioning your brand strategically to relevant audiences on relevant platforms.
Delivering the Goods
Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination via some form of distribution. This sounds like Amazon Prime — totally irrelevant to webcam — but two key points need to attention.
First, how do you deliver you? Seriously: How do you deliver a slice of your unique brand of intimacy to a client, or even to a random person on social media, such that they feel the impact and are left wanting more? Though delivery may sound boring at first glance, it sounds challenging when you put it that way.
The most important answer to this question is communication. Can you communicate your brand effectively via your chosen marketing tactics, such that a piece of you is delivered? Consider communication at all times when interacting with people on-cam. Are your language choices reflecting what you want? Heck, are your punctuation choices on-message? Communication is one of the most important modes of delivery in webcam, and rounding out this process requires you consider how you make connections, along with your branding and marketing.
Another thing to consider in terms of delivery is access. How does your target audience access your product (you)? For cam models, this obviously is through some form of online platform, be it a network or independent service provider. But even this question about delivery is not so simple. Think about it: What does your chosen interface say about you? Consumers are aware of different networks’ various brand identities. Does your brand align with the platform’s? This will certainly have an impact on client access. If the type of customer that would be attracted to your goods is turned off by the nature of the platform you’re using, this may cause you to miss out on earnings.
Another dimension to consider is the supplementary modes of delivery you use. Do you sell your number? Do you charge for snaps, videos or worn lingerie? Do you have a wish list from which clients can buy you gifts? These are great ways to add multiple streams of income to your bank account, but make sure to consider how your brand plays on these various platforms.
In the end, though it may take long hours and even a little soul searching, figuring out who and what you are in terms of branding, marketing, and delivery is key. This also will help you to think of your web work as business, ideally giving you a little bit of cushion between your public and private lives — even if they both hang out in the same bedroom.
Just remember, you are the one person who can sell you the best. Whatever ways you choose to accomplish the task, stay savvy and aware. That’s the number one key.
