Camming is a type of performance that has the uniqueness of taking place over the internet. It often has an adult theme and involves a borderline personal relationship with viewers. It is a relatively new industry and thus is very beginner friendly, it is also incredibly flexible and remote, which makes it a great option for people who cannot work around the clock or work with fixed schedules.
The goal of camming, however, is to build a large and loyal audience, while offering sustainable and sometimes relatable content. While this might seem like a daunting task, our set of guidelines will be teaching exactly how to make your show engaging and unique!
Identifying Your Target Audience
Before you decide what to create, it is important that you know for whom you are creating. Researching your target audience is therefore the first and arguably the most important step in creating an engaging show.
Viewers have a vast range of interests that often varies based on age groups, gender and more. It is impossible to make content that caters to everybody, so to optimize, it is better to identify a particular demographic to whom you want your show to appeal to. Once this demographic has been decided, research follows on their interests and preferences.
This also includes determining what websites you would like to create on. Some are more explicit and contain wilder content, while some cater to regular and milder content. It is important that this step be thorough, as it provides the baseline for the rest of the process that goes into creating a unique show.
Deciding ‘What’ To Create
After identifying a target audience, you can now use that information to tailor what content to create and how your content should be presented.
Your content should:
Directly cater to your audience. Your audience should be directly interested in your content. It could be for entertainment, learning or the feeling of intimacy, but whatever it is, it should satisfy at least one of their needs.
Be sustainable and Consistent. Whatever you center your content on, you should be able to maintain that niche for an extended period of time. Building an audience is long and sometimes tedious work, and thus, longevity is in high demand!
However, while you’re trying to be sustainable, don’t let your content become monotonous. Present it in different ways or add special twists every now and then to keep things fresh and interesting for your audience. This ensures that your audience trusts your content, doesn’t find it boring, and they can count on you to deliver.
Play into your personal strengths, talents and or skills. It would be difficult for you to continually create content that you aren’t proficient at, so when deciding what to create, it is very important that you are very familiar with how your body works and then work around that! It is important that you make this as easy for yourself as possible, because it is easy to get burnt out or frustrated in the camming industry. Find the balance between making readily consumed content and not putting too much of a strain on yourself.
Be Different. Being different has always been advertised as a good way to stand out, and that’s truer than ever in the world of camming! Research other creators that cater to a similar demographic as you plan to, check out their work and consider how you can make new and improved content to stay on top of the game. A little personalization also plays a long way in attracting viewers to your show. For example, you can add surprising twists, reward systems for viewers and make collaborations with others in the industry. This is sure to make your content different for viewers.
Performing
Once we have gotten through the rudimentary processes of deciding what and for whom to create, we now have to perform. Performance is an art and should be treated as such; remember, the beauty is in the details.
Here are the important details for crafting a fun, engaging and unique show!
High Streaming Quality
Given the nature of this industry, it is important that your audience can see your work in high quality. No matter how good your video is, nobody wants to watch videos that have bad quality.
Consider this an investment, and get the highest quality camera you can afford, HD quality preferably. Pair this with a strong internet connection and you’ve made a solid head start.
Just as important as the quality is the lighting: no flickering lights and dark shadows – unless strategically placed.
It’s important that both lighting and streaming quality be optimal as these make your videos aesthetically pleasing to the viewers.
Physical Appearance and Presentation
In the camming business, you are the product being marketed, and thus it’s important you stay in tip-top condition and invest in your appearance. Skincare, body care and personal hygiene are all things you must be very mindful of.
In addition, relate with viewers with an upbeat and positive personality. Being friendly is a trait that is of high importance in this industry as most viewers are not attracted by gloomy personalities or evident discomfort. You need to make your show as lively, effortless and fun as you can.
Backdrops
Having your background/recording space set up is extremely important. You may choose to have a constant backdrop or to continually switch locations based on content, but some elements must be present in your background whether it is constant or changing.
First and foremost, your background must be clean and tidy. You may decide to spruce it up with some items and/or colors, but a clean and arranged space makes you and your content seem very put together and personable.
Viewer Engagement
As mentioned earlier, the goal of camming is to build a large and loyal audience, and everything we have discussed so far eventually leads to this point. Camming often takes a personal twist, and so, quite a bit of your personality needs to shine through in your content.
It’s important that you relate with your audience with some level of familiarity. Let them relate with you on a level that is more intimate than watching or communicating with a stranger on a screen. You might have conversations with some of your viewers and overall transform their experience into something fun and friendly. This will also be an easy watch for viewers that are not looking to engage but still want to view your content.
At the same time there will be some unpleasant viewers or internet trolls amongst the audience, so, you should be able to defuse situations to avoid conflict without discouraging your other viewers. Luckily most of these webcamming sites have the ‘block’ option which enables you to prevent a particular viewer from accessing your streaming sessions.
Rewatch Value
It’s one thing to stumble on a show that ‘seems like fun’ and another thing to come back for more. How do we ensure that your viewers keep coming back to see more of your work?
Well, this can be achieved in a number of ways. One of them is the tested and proven theory of ‘teasers’. Before wrapping up any session, you may let slip some vague information about what you have planned for the next session, just enough information to make the viewer excited to come back and see what you would do next.
An alternative method includes switching up your content every now and then. You may invite someone to perform with you, bring in some special props, introduce costuming and different sets to enhance the interest of your viewer in returning to your show.
Having props to assist you with your performance is always a welcome idea. They can come in all forms, and a way to optimize this and make your show more engaging is to ask your viewers what they would like to see in your shows and allow them to suggest props/costumes for you to use. This gives them some creative control but has the very important effect of giving them a sense of involvement and thus, they will come back for more.
Audio Stimulation
Most webcammers focus on the visual aspect that they forget about the audio. What your viewers can hear is almost as important as what they can see. For starters, you must ensure that your location is free of background noises that could be discouraging to your viewers.
Once that is taken care of, you can play with elements like some background music or make your own voice the center stage. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that total silence is very likely to bore your viewers and thus should be avoided.
Conclusion
Camming, like every other industry, requires a fair share of hard work and consistency for success to be achieved. Optimize your audience and your content with the tips we have provided above, and you are well on your way to creating a unique and engaging show that will attract a stable audience and thus generate a steady income.
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