There is nothing more painful when broadcasting, than a silent cam room. It’s hard on self-confidence, lowers morale and can yield great pressure if you rely on camming for a steady income. Although there is no “quick fix” to the problem, there are definitely techniques that broadcasters can use to help remedy it.
If viewers aren’t chatting, aren’t tipping or you are having a hard time getting viewers into your room, it’s going to result in you not having a good time. And if you aren’t enjoying yourself, viewers will be able to tell and are less inclined to tip you — and the downward spiral continues. If you get into this “funk,” don’t let it deter you from putting in effort for future shows. Stay positive and once you are in a good headspace, you will be able to interact with viewers in a more genuine way.
If your goal is get your chat room excited and active, then you need to reflect the same attitude. Work the camera and work the room!
Make sure to ask questions to get things going and tell viewers stories about your day or week — once the ice is broken, viewers will be more inclined to be vocal. Another option to consider, if you find that your chatroom is still inactive, is choosing a moderator that you trust, who can help get conversations going in the room. This will allow you to perform and interact without having to place a focus on reading the messages. Your moderator can read them for you.
When all else fails, fake it until you make it! Even if you aren’t having fun (but aren’t inclined to log off for a break), perpetuating positivity and a good attitude will create a cam room with good vibes that viewers find aesthetically pleasing and relaxing to watch. People will notice when broadcasters actually seem to enjoy being on cam and they will want to stick around to watch a real show!
Creating the illusion of enjoying yourself while broadcasting is important in growing your fan base or getting viewers to come back. It can be difficult to pretend you’re having a good time, especially when you’re bored, but it is possible and if your income is riding on it, then you definitely owe it to yourself to put in the effort.
The amount of time you spend on cam is important as well; you need to let viewers discover your room and that doesn’t always happen instantaneously. Make sure to stay on cam for at least one to two hours minimum. When you first begin your broadcast, chances are there won’t be many people — if anyone — there and viewers will start to trickle in. The longer you stay on cam, the higher the chances of coming across tippers and potential fans.
Some things to avoid right off the bat include sitting there on your phone, staring at the cam unmoving and being silent. If your goal is get your chat room excited and active, then you need to reflect the same attitude. Work the camera and work the room! Get up and dance around; tease viewers by showing off your figure and your fun personality. Show off some booty and shift the focus to teasing body movements if you can’t bear to keep a smile on.
It’s natural to feel frustrated at times and generating earnings through camming is not something you can necessarily always control — there will be good days and bad days, as with any job. It is important to learn how to handle feeling frustrated and not act impulsively while broadcasting. Venting angrily to a non-tipping crowd won’t help you generate earnings — it will just result in viewers leaving and feeling uncomfortable. When you start to catch yourself feeling irritated or annoyed, log off, take a break and do not start back up until you are in a more positive headspace.
Although you can’t fully control whether or not viewers tip — the effort you put in can certainly have an impact. It is important to identify where you need to improve, work on it and make sure to get creative during shows so viewers aren’t left bored. Doing “cute” things to show viewers that you appreciate their presence will turn a passive room into an active one. Writing thank you letters to members for being supportive, whether they are tipping small amounts or large amounts, will ensure that they keep coming back and become an active member in your room … and there are even more methods to breaking the ice with your viewers:
1. Tweeting out nice things about a supporter that showed you some extra love
2. Making personalized signs shouting out viewers during your performance
3. Playing games while you are performing and running mini tipping contests that your viewers can participate in
The key to turning your room into an active cam room is to make sure viewers know from the get-go that you are friendly, inviting, interesting and fun to talk to! There is a happy balance somewhere in the middle where you can make viewers feel valuable as a person and needed as a supporter. Viewers know that you are broadcasting for profit, but it is important that they don’t think you are only speaking to them through tips. This will not only help raise your earnings, but you will find yourself really enjoying and living your cam experience to the fullest.
Vicki Gray is a CAM4 account manager, who can be followed @VickiGrayxxx on Twitter and contacted by email at Vicki@CAM4.com.
