Tag: Camgirl

Camming Scams to Watch Out For

CamgirlMFC 1 Comment

scams camming
 
Although scams happen on both sides of the camming equation – from members AND models, I will focus on the ways you can be scammed as a camgirl, and ways to prevent it, because unfortunately there are a lot of people wanting to take advantage of newbie and inexperienced models who are just entering the industry.

AGENCIES/STUDIOS/PROMOTERS

There is NO need for anyone starting out in camming to be signing up with an agency or a studio. Please remember this very important tip! You should be signing up with the cam sites directly, without anyone else’s interference, as these studios bind you to a contract and take a percentage of your earnings, for supposed “promotion” and assistance. You can do your OWN promotion on OnlyFans, Twitter, Instagram, Manyvids, etc. There are a ton of avenues to bring in traffic, and none should include an agency or a promoter. You may also encounter some Twitter promoters who will ask you for naked photos or even free Skype shows(!) in order to promote you online. Don’t fall for this tactic and don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Be completely independent. Take a look at this post to try out some sites and sign up with them directly and read up on some beginners guides to get started. Studios cannot give you any extra advice that you won’t find yourself online.

MEMBERS WHO SCAM

Unfortunately, there are a lot of members who frequent cam sites who are just looking for a freebie and have no desire to pay for your services, ever. At best, they will be merely annoying and ask for a free show, but at worst, they will promise to tip you or pay you with Amazon gift card or PayPal after you’ve done a show and never do, or will retract that payment. You should approach anyone offering to pay you *too* much for a Skype show with skepticism. It will almost always be over Skype, since they want to take you away from a cam site that would require them to tip for a show. They will always promise to tip you right after the show and then disappear and block you. OR they may pretend that they’ve sent a payment (such as sending a fake Amazon gift card email) or sending money through PayPal. With PayPal, that payment can always be reversed, so please only accept it from a member that you’ve known for a long time and one you trust.

The bottom line is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are so many stories of girls being scammed this way: by giving a long, explicit show and never getting the payment. So, be very careful with Skype and only accept to do a show once the tokens have been deposited to your account, as that is the best method to ensure you’ll get paid.

MEMBERS WHO STALK

There is another type of member who will become enamored with you (in an unhealthy way) and try to get as much information from you as he can by pretending to be your friend. This can be done in a few ways. They can straight up ask you about things like where you live, what sort of events you go to in your city, etc. by acting friendly and curious. Be vigilant about answering these types of questions, as you don’t know how this information can be used and by whom. Read my post about camming safety and security for specific tips. What these members can also do is send you links to supposed funny images or videos that will lead them to get your specific IP address, which will reveal your city and potentially your approximate location in the city. They can then put these pieces of information together to find out who you are and then harass, blackmail, or stalk you.

Being a cam girl is not the easiest job in the world, because it comes with challenges like these and people who will want to take advantage of your inexperience. Be extra careful and use common sense, and when situations feel weird, never be afraid to say No.

⋆ OnlyFans Review: Best App for Camgirls to Make Extra Cash!

CamgirlMFC 4 Comments

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Camgirls, forget Snapchat! (or at least, consider something else for a minute). There is a new app on the market that makes it incredibly easy to make some passive cash.

**How to Get Started on OnlyFans Post is Up!**

About OnlyFans

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Unlike Snapchat that doesn’t have a built-in option for you to receive payments from members (leaving you to organize it all yourself through offline tips, google wallet, etc), OnlyFans is created to be the better version of Snapchat and Periscope in one!

You can send photos, interact with PAID members (Hallelujah! No more “fans” who don’t support your work), stream video and receive additional tips! YOU set the price of your monthly membership ($10, $20? More?) and OnlyFans will do the billing work for you without you having to think about, and you get 80% of the profit, which is a really great payout percentage.

Additionally, if you refer other camgirls, you will get 5% of their LIFETIME income! That is a very generous referral perk! Another great feature of OnlyFans is that they do daily payouts, which is amazing considering how few adult sites do. The income potential is truly endless and depends on how many fans/members you have and how much you are wiling to promote it on twitter or on cam. Check out a some examples from a few models:

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Snapchat vs OnlyFans

A lot of girls have been switching over from Snapchat, and for good reason. These days, many guys expect sexy and naked snaps for absolutely free, and will never come to your chat room and actually tip you. Why give it away for free when you can make great money from it every month? It’s such a great semi-passive income stream, that I think every cam girl should at least consider it. The interface is really simple and it takes a few minutes to sign up and start making money.

Cam girls who have been particularly successful with OnlyFans are those that do financial domination, but you don’t have to be a domme to be converting unpaying fans into premium, paying ones! In fact, I see OnlyFans outshining Snapchat and leaving it very far behind. No better time to try it out than now!

Sign up HERE to get yourself some paying fans!

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Quarterly Taxes: Guide for Camgirls

CamgirlMFC 1 Comment

quarterly taxes camgirl

The advice below is provided by Jeff Lang, CPA of camgirlcpa.com. Check him out for any and all tax help!

Quarterly Estimated Payments

Everyone has to pay taxes on the income they earn throughout the year, and the IRS expects these payments to be made as you earn the income, which they refer to as “pay as you go.”  For people with “regular” jobs where they receive a W-2 at the end of the year, their employer usually withholds a chunk of money from each check and remits it to the IRS to cover these payments.  As cam models, you are considered independent contractors, not employees, so you receive a 1099 at the end of the year from any source where you made over $600.  As an independent contractor, the cam and video sale sites don’t withhold any money to cover your taxes so you’re responsible for making those payments in the form of estimated tax.

Estimated Tax

Estimated tax is the method of paying tax on income that is not subject to withholding, such as interest, rent, dividends, or self-employment (1099 income).  The IRS requires estimated tax be paid quarterly (see schedule listed below), usually in equal amounts.  The payment amount is usually based on your income from the previous year, adjusted based on any changes to your earnings in the current year.  Your tax professional can help you make these calculations and determine your estimated tax payments.  One incentive for making these payments is that any time your tax due at the end of the year is greater than $1,000, the IRS imposes a penalty for not making appropriate tax payments during the year.   You can avoid this penalty with effective quarterly estimates.

Payment Schedule

Your quarterly estimated tax payments are due based on the following schedule:

Income earned January 1-March 31: Estimated payment due April 15 (or whenever individual tax returns are due; April 18 in 2017).

Income earned April 1-May 31: Estimated payment due June 15.

Income earned June 1-August31: Estimated payment due September 15.

Income earned September 1-December 31: Estimated payment due January 15 (of the following year).

It’s important to make your estimated payments by the deadline, but if you can’t make the full payment a partial payment is better than nothing and shows the IRS your willingness to pay what you owe.  If possible, make up the missed amount during the next quarterly payment.

Keep track of how much you pay each quarter.  Your tax preparer will need this information when preparing your return to make sure you get credit for the payments.

How to Pay

The IRS offers several different options for making estimated payments:  

  1. Check by mail: Your tax professional can help you prepare 1040-ES, which is the Estimated Tax for Individuals form.  You will write a personal check or get a money order/cashier’s check for the amount of your payment and send it to the address on the form, along with the voucher at the bottom of the form.  Be sure the envelope is postmarked by the payment due date.
  2. Online via bank account: You can also make your estimated payments online using your bank account, at https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay.  Make sure to select “Estimated Tax” for your payment type.  Using this option does not incur any additional fees.  Payments are due on the due date.
  3. Online via credit or debit card: This option may be the most convenient for some people, but the payment processors charge a convenience fee, so we suggest avoiding this option unless it is your only method of payment.  Payments can be made by choosing a processor on this website, https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-credit-or-debit-card, and ensuring you select Estimated Tax when making the payment.  Payments are due on the due date.

Summary

First time cam models are often shocked by how much they owe the IRS when they file their tax return at the end of the year.  Much of this shock, and an IRS penalty, can be avoided by making quarterly estimates to spread your tax burden throughout the year.  Contact your tax professional for assistance in calculating your estimates today to avoid a large tax bill next year! 

If you would like Jeff to help with your taxes, contact him at www.camgirlcpa.com/contact/. Mention promo code “CAMTAX10” for $10 off your tax preparation fee!

Camgirl Blogs: How to Make One and Are They Worth It?

CamgirlMFC 2 Comments

camgirl blogs

Camgirls and Blogging: A Match Made in Heaven?

Blogs are not only a great way to express your innermost thoughts, but for a cam girl they can be yet another way to earn income and create stronger, longer-lasting  relationships with members.

The question you need to ask yourself is: Is it worth it? Is making more money through increased interest, popularity and camroom traffic worth the time spent on a blog? It can be, if you love writing and sharing your thoughts on paper. Blogs can be very low-key and non-committal (unlike maintaining a paid membership site – You can read about them here), and if you like being creative and want an outlet for your thoughts, making a blog might just be right for you! It’s an underrated way for camgirls to foster better relationships wither her regulars while also making money semi-passively. A good example of a camgirl blog is Kickaz’s wordpress blog where members can get a more intimate look into her life and she can write about things she can’t fully express when she’s online.

I’m Interested! How do I Begin?

It’s really easy to get started with blogging, and you don’t need any specific skills and coding knowledge to get your blog up within literally minutes. Here is what you need to consider:

  1. Decide whether your blog will have PG content or if you’ll be posting NSFW pictures and videos of yourself. This will determine hosting provider you go with, as many don’t allow adult content to be posted.
  2. Decide whether you want to go with a free blog platform like WordPress (no ability to have ads, less customizability, “.wordpress.com” extension, no adult content) or Wix OR whether you want to have a self-hosted blog where you can choose your hosting company, have ads that earn you money, much more customization, and the ability to post adult content.

So, if you want to go with totally free blogging platform (remember, no adult content!), try out WordPress, Blogger, or Wix that has some really cool themes and is very easy to set up on.

However, my recommendation is to always go with a self-hosted blog, as it allows you complete control over your content and that is in addition to you having your own custom domain name (i.e. www.sexylexy.com NOT www.sexylexy.wordpress.com).

camming blogs

Which Hosting Company Should I Choose?

There are a number of hosting companies to pick from, and any of the ones listed below are a great choice. So, pick out your hosting provider, which will then take you through the install and integration with WordPress – a really easy process.

Allow Adult Content: HostGator, Dreamhost, GoDaddy

Allow Non-Adult Content: Bluehost. Great option if you want to keep your naked stuff on camsite only!

These hosting providers come with options like WHOIS protection, domain registration, storage, backups, anti-spam security.

Click on the banners below to check them out!


Ok, So How Do I Make Money?

Aside from just posting blog-style content and interacting with your members in comments, how can you earn money from blogs?

  • Sell videos with links to either your Manyvids account or post preview pics and include your offline tip button. 
  • Sell panties, various items (baked goods, crafts, art!), Skype dates, whatever you can think of! Always clearly display your tip link.
  • Generate interest for you OnlyFans account!
  • Have all of your social media links,  your cam profile, and your Amazon wishlist in one place, so that members can easily reach you and tip you.
  • Have banner ads that will passively earn you money from clicks.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

How Long Can a Camming Career Last?

CamgirlMFC 3 Comments

camming career
 
Every beginner camgirl wants to believe that she will have a long and lucrative career in the webcamming industry, however, there are a few reasons this dream may be not the most realistic one.

How Long Can One’s Camming Career Last on Average?

It’s hard to say, as there’s simply not enough data (and who’s keeping track of this data, anyway?) to know how long models stay in this industry. We know that most camgirls quit within their first 3 months, so, if you’ve made it past that, give yourself a pat on the back, you’re probably doing better than many. Considering that cam sites only started getting popular and becoming a lucrative way to make money online a little over a decade ago, not enough time has passed to make any clear predictions. Based on my personal experience and what I have seen and heard about, a lot of girls who don’t quit during that early phase, do move on after ~3-5 years.

Here Is Why I Think the 3-5 Year Camming Career Window is Most Probable:

Assuming you are a camgirl making average earnings and not the top girl making ranks every months and making 6 figures a year from camming, your first year or so will be filled with learning, trial and error, and hopefully enough motivation via tips and positive member interactions to keep you going. As soon as you master the “art of camming” and start to feel very comfortable online, you will likely see an increase in earnings in the following few years. This is the point where you should try to stay at and “milk” it for as long as you can.

Two problems arise, however: You either become burnt out, which is a very common problem for camgirls who don’t take enough time off and overextend themselves with offline tasks like Skyping, mailing packages, communicating on Snapchat/text. The second problem might be that your cam shows become stagnant and boring, either because you are not being as adventurous and interesting in your shows, or because you start to question your work and the sex industry as a whole, and it’ll show in your less-than-stellar cam performances. To compound these problems, there will also be young camgirls joining the site every day threatening to take away your members. It’s at this decisive moment that girls either step up their game and enjoy a few more years of camming or try to figure out their exit strategy.

Speaking of exit strategies, they are extremely important! You need to look at camming in the larger context of your life and see if you want to make it your “life-long” career goal, as many girls do intend to, or whether you want to move on to something else, be it going back to school, pursuing a new career or maybe even starting your own business.

The camming industry is so volatile and in some years it’s hard not to give up, but as long as you have a plan, you can at least be sure that you have a path to follow.

Check out some of the best camsites to get a great head start in camming. Good luck!