New Career in the Sex Industry
May 6, 2021 4:53 PM   Subscribe

Have you ever left a normal job for sex work? Has the pandemic tipped you into cam girl work? Have you started an Only Fans while you still have your resume on Linkedin? Tell me your stories of straddling the regular work-world and that of sex-work. Do you have any regrets? Tips?
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (5 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
My first tip is to understand that sex work is work. Successful online sex workers hustle really, really hard. I have some friends who thought they were going to embark on lucrative OF side gigs at the start of the pandemic, only to discover that it's tough to actually make money doing it.

A lot of the actual work of online sex work, in addition to producing a continual volume of fresh content, is getting a critical mass of eyeballs on your stuff and then keeping them there. It is difficult, time consuming labor if you want to make a go of it.

My other tip, if you're serious, is to pay an online sex worker for some consulting hours. Some will be game to give you detailed advice on how to get started. They can also talk to you about maintaining boundaries, safety and online anonymity.
posted by merriment at 5:42 PM on May 6, 2021 [23 favorites]


I recommend Yes, a Stripper Podcast and Soldiers of Pole created by the rad AM Davies for both information and ways to connect with sex worker activists who can give you honest answers and great support.
posted by smorgasbord at 7:06 PM on May 6, 2021


Everything merriment said.

To make real money you need steady hours and a tailored digital presence. Sure, you can make pocket money here and there, but bagging regulars is an enormous amount of work. Understand that there are loads of niches and you need different skills for each one. Do you want to take phone calls? Do private or public cam shows? Record videos? Mail fetish items? Flirt over text? Sell snapchats? Make hardcore porn? Stream on Twitch in a cosplay outfit? Strip? Burlesque? Full service? Are you a dominatrix? Do you offer erotic coaching? Most likely you'll want several streams of income. Maybe your main hustle is camming but you make custom videos on the side. There are slow months in sex work, the money is never steady. Football games distract your custies, by New Year's everyone's broke, websites shutter all the time, pay processors and social media platforms will ban you. Be prepared. Be tech-savvy and financially literate.

You can be outed no matter how careful you are. Especially on the internet.

Know what you will and won't do, hold that line.

- Read Thriving in Sex Work by Lola Davina

- Explore sex worker twitter and cam forums like AmberCutie's Forums and stripperweb

- If you're into fetish or domination, seek out experts in those fields. There's been an explosion of online mentorship since the pandemic started. It's a great time to learn and a hard time to compete. I'd recommend Alexandra Snow, Amberly Rothfield, Elena de Luca, Justine Cross, Princess Kali, Simone Justice, Eve Minax and Mistress Viola/Natasha Strange of Sub Rosa PDX. Dommesource has a decent overview of clip and cam sites. Kink Academy and Fetlife for classes.
posted by lloquat at 8:12 PM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]


From my friends in SW, potential clients do not value your time. Be careful of engaging too long with someone not paying for your time. And yes, it is a hustle.
posted by saucysault at 10:02 AM on May 7, 2021


I've been working as a full-time findomme for maybe two years and currently make six figures. My main platform is AVN Stars and I generally always rank top 15 in terms of earnings.

I would say the same principles that apply to mainstream marketing also apply to sex work. As someone who works in a niche area I drive traffic via both Reddit and Google. Basic principles such as following up, upselling, not giving the customer too many choices (this confuses them) also apply to online sex work.

If there is one thing I would have done differently it would be not to show my face. I truly believe that with my ability to drive traffic and convert on the back end I would have succeeded anyways. My only regret is not starting earlier. I am positive that I would be a millionaire by now if I started many years ago.

I've also learned that I can be My authentic self (mean, non-sensual and rather conservative) and still be a top earner. When I first started I used to model myself after the top dommes on IWC who were more sensual and wearing lingerie etc but when time went on I figured that this does not matter at all.
posted by GoddessLila at 10:02 PM on November 30, 2021 [1 favorite]


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