Nikki Night Tells All (Part 2): ‘Where You At?’ Wednesdays

If you are — or if you’ve ever thought about being — a cam performer, then Nikki Night would like to introduce herself to you.

Night is head of performer training and development at Cam4. Previously, she was the online vixen known as Violet Night.

“I have worked at CAM4 HQ for almost four years now, and I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have a job like this,” she said.

In Part 2 of our interview, we talk about Tumblr, Wednesday workshops and why it’s sometimes helpful to put physical space between you and your computer screen.

YNOT Cam: So, every Wednesday you hold live coaching sessions. Why do models need this form of coaching?

Nikki Night: Coaching is free, offered in seven languages and happens every week. We also have private, one-on-one sessions by appointment. Performers or aspiring ones of all ages, creeds, genders or orientation are welcome to join coaching in any language, and we even have male-specific coaching offered in English, French and German. My coaching for English-speaking performers is every Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. EST (New York time).

Performers that join coaching will learn how to attract more viewers, engaging your public and private show audience, earning more tokens per show, the most effective ways to promote your show using social media, new broadcasting tech, the latest Cam4 site tools, how to keep your audience visually stimulated using simple camera tricks, how to remove your content off other sites if you’ve been recorded and uploaded elsewhere, online safety, sexual health, and techniques to help you manage your time, your shows, your audience and — above all — your self-preservation.

You can subscribe to my cam4coach_en calendar to get your local show times. All coaching is password-protected, so performers have a private place to learn and speak freely with their peers. Email nikki@cam4.com or direct message @nikki_night on Twitter for the password and join.

One thing I noticed when poking around your coaching materials was this: “Don’t take this job personally.” So many people emphasize the need to take cam seriously in order to be successful, but how is not taking it personally different from being professional?

This is a great question, and it all has to do with perception. While being professional is the cornerstone of success in any business — scheduling your shows, making that schedule consistent so fans can find you easily, being trustworthy so fans are more willing to part with their hard-earned money, etc. — taking things personally can ruin all the hard work you’ve done being professional.

It’s easy to forget that until viewers get to know us, we are just images on a screen and they don’t know a thing about us. Ask yourself: Have you ever made a negative comment about a celebrity? Tweeted or posted your opinion about this person? Well, guess what? Celebrities are people with feelings just like you, but that is easy to forget because they are just images to you. Now you are in the same situation. You work on the internet, and that means sometimes people forget you’re a person with feelings. This doesn’t mean you should put up with these nasty comments. Oh, hell no! But it does mean you should take everything with a grain of salt and realize these people don’t know you.

That’s so hard to do in daily life, Internet specters notwithstanding. What are some ways to stay focused on “professional, not personal?”

Let me give you my “Tips for Keeping Your Cool 101” list:

1. Drink water. Eighty percent of all anxiety is caused by dehydration, so drinking lots of water is key to keeping things in perspective. Just take a second and think about all the fluids you lose from talking, sweating, cumming, dancing and grinding on a dildo. Water breaks also help you keep a nice pace in your shows.

2. Create physical distance between you and your computer next time you feel things are getting tense. This will help you gain control of your room — and your emotions.

3. Take five. No one wants to jerk off to a tragedy, so take a minute. Ever notice you make more at the beginning of the month? That’s because you’ve got a full month until you have to worry about paying your bills. Taking personal time + a positive attitude = positive results.

4. Watch other cams. This is a fantastic way to get your perspective back and see who is in control. You are!

5. Remember everything on the internet is a fetish, even getting banned. Don’t Dom for free. Most viewers know a smile can be expensive, but a frown is free.

There are a lot of bells and whistles and services new models get bombarded with. In your view, what are the cornerstone “branding” steps models should take from the get-go? Which are next tier?  

We need to go back to basics. You want to know what the cornerstone of your brand is? Your cam show. I see performers spreading themselves way too thin trying to do everything and be everything at once. It’s not possible, and your shows suffer. If you want to build your brand, be online, be yourself, and when you feel comfortable and ready to start branching out, then start looking at those services. The next question is: How do you choose?

Things to look for when choosing a service:

1. Do the tools they offer get you excited?
2. What’s in it for them? Is it free? If not, is the cost worth the benefits it brings?
3. If it’s social media, how much do you like the platform? Would you use it even if it wasn’t for camming?
4. How much effort and time does it require? Is it so much that it cuts into your online time?
5. How many other performers use this service? Is it already saturated with performers?

These questions are especially important for performers who are doing everything themselves. Studios, or performers who have an assistant or partner supporting them, can be more places at once because they simply have more help.

Nikki Note: Tumblr. Do you know how much traffic comes from Tumblr? It’s free. Adult friendly. Easy. Don’t forget to put your URL in the bio.

Read Part 1 of YNOT Cam’s interview with Nikki Night right here.

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Find Nikki Night on Twitter at @NikkiNight. You can also check her out on YouTube at CAM4 Official and CamSchool. 

Check out Officer Night’s 4 Simple Ways to Make your Show Stand Out (from CamSchool).