My first day on webcam was April 3, 2014. I had six people in my room, made 125 tokens, had a 1,000-point cam score and twelve Twitter followers.
Fast forward to March 2017, six months after working for my seventh camming site. My room count hits 500, my cam score is rocking 99 percent, I have 30,000 social media followers and three monthly crowns.
Being a webcam model has been the most tiresome, rigorous, draining, stressful job I have ever had, and I love every damn bit of it. -Vera Sky @VeraSkyLive
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard someone tell you “it gets better” at least a million times in your life. I am here to tell you it does.
Being a webcam model has been the most tiresome, rigorous, draining, stressful job I have ever had, and I love every damn bit of it. When I first discovered live camming three years ago, I was so naïve and yet so in love with it.
“So, you’re just telling me I can sit at home, not leave bed, put on a push up bra and make hundreds of dollars a night?” I mused. Little did I know… the road to camming success is rarely so simple.
Like many others who first discover cam sites, I instantly went to the most popular models’ rooms to watch. That was my first mistake; it gave me an unrealistic expectation of what live cam work would be like for me personally. I was an amateur, and this girl I was watching had been in the business for years.
I hopped my butt online less than a week later, and you’ll never guess what happened. I did terrible. Eventually, I had used up my new model tag and kept telling myself the reason I was doing so bad was because I had no experience, I was an amateur, so once I learned the tricks of the trade, the tokens would be rolling in, right?! Wrong.
For two years, I worked on six different websites; I had done solo shows, girl/girl shows, boy/girl shows, girl/girl/girl shows and boy/girl/girl shows. But, I could hardly bring in $50 a night. I was making below minimum wage. I could barely pay bills. I didn’t have anything!
Everyone kept telling me to quit and find a “real” job. But, I just couldn’t. I loved this industry too much to quit, even after two years of nothing but failure. I loved the community, even though it was not loving me back at the time.
One day, I said, “Enough!” I sat back and thought, “Okay Vera, what the hell are you doing wrong?” So, I planned, and then I executed. I spent the entire summer of 2016 studying what I like to call “The Art of Webcamming.” I spent day and night reading about every damn post on webcamming forums, messaged and emailed hundreds of top models asking for advice, and even watched silly little YouTube videos on webcamming tips and tricks.
I studied things down to which of my outfits, makeup looks, hairstyles and backgrounds made customers react the most. I spent days dying my hair different colors, taking photos for social media until three in the morning and filming new videos. I wanted this. The slow nights always made me work harder and longer.
Now, I know what you’re thinking... why would I do all of that? Well, because I was desperate for it to go well. I needed to make this work. And guess what?
It did.
Sept. 16, 2016, I submitted my application to a new website, and cammed the next week. I was one happy little cam girl, because my first day online I placed in the daily contest.
I have now been camming successfully ever since, and am happy to say that I am one of the top models. It brings tears to my eyes writing this because I have never been more proud of myself; I’ve never been more in love with life.
I know what it is like to be a small model and to not have anyone to turn to for advice. I know what it’s like to feel alone, and feel like you’re the only one doing badly online. Let the space from where you were when you first started… and where you are now… inspire you. Find what it is that you think will make you successful and give it a try. Fail? Try again. It may take you years (like it does for most of us), but if your heart truly wants something, you just won’t stop. Remember, when you hit rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up.
You all are so incredibly strong, your work is impeccable and you all just radiate nothing but love. To you extremely hard working ladies, and gents, I see you, and you better keep on keeping on, because you’re doing so great!
Vera Sky is a cam model, columnist and XBIZ Cam Award nominee for Best Female Cam Model of North America. She can be followed @VeraSkyLive on Twitter and @VeraRoseSky on Instagram.
