Long before the spirited Zanna Rose began captivating fans as a cam model and content creator, she felt the unmistakable draw of an entrepreneurial lifestyle after growing up with two successfully self-employed parents.
“So naturally, I’ve always wanted to work for myself and follow their example,” she said.
Over the years, I have learned the best kind of cam experience for me is to stay natural and authentic, with real orgasms and a lot of my personality shining through in my flirting.
With that can-do pioneering passion, Rose started freelancing for the fashion industry and also doing portrait photography from the early age of 15. After seven years of working alongside many models, she noticed that a lot of agency models streamed on cam sites for extra money.
“During a shoot one day, a model suggested I try it out and recommended a site to me, so I gave it a go,” she shared. “It turned out I was actually really good at it and I enjoyed the freedom I had to choose my own hours, and of course, supplement my income.”
Enjoying the welcome change of pace from photography, Rose appreciated how camming allowed her to express her creativity, and soon it became her full-time gig.
Now, she manages an online presence across a multitude of platforms, streaming and producing her own content with numerous lessons learned along the way. Known to her fans as a British girl next door brimming with authenticity and a down-to-earth attitude, Rose frequently streams one-on-one with them, while juggling many responsibilities.
To discover how she balances it all while taking her career to the next level, XBIZ pulled up a chair with the self-assured Cam Star of the Month for this exclusive interview.
XBIZ: How have you evolved personally and professionally since you began camming?
ROSE: This industry really made me reflect a lot on the kind of person I am and why I am good at it. I was raised in a strict religious background where sex, porn and sexual preferences were taboo topics. It took me years to feel comfortable with my own sexuality and not have a lingering feeling of fear and shame.
When I first started, I used to think I was good at this industry mainly because I liked sex, but as I grew throughout my 20s, I came to realize it was more personal than that. Now, I feel like I learned how to cultivate a safe space for others to express their own sexual thoughts and feelings without feeling judged. This is something I relate to, since it was not available to me when I was learning about my own sexuality.
Mind you, I am no therapist, but I believe everyone has the right to feel comfortable exploring their sexuality and it came very naturally to me to provide that. I think this led me to evolve personally and professionally. Camming has also given me a platform to explore more about myself and content sites have given me a place to pour in my creativity and photography talents, so it’s basically the dream job for me all around!
XBIZ: Tell us your favorite platform(s) to cam on and what site features you most appreciate.
ROSE: I have been a cam model on various sites such as AdultWork and MyFreecams, before settling on Streamate. I gained the majority of my fan base from MyFreeCams and really enjoyed the MFC Share aspect of the site, as well as the freedom to do creative streams. But after three years on the platform, I decided to explore elsewhere and find a site that offered me good income for the time I spent online.
Streamate worked out perfectly for me in that aspect as it is based around pay-per-minute calls. The main feature I appreciate from Streamate is their streamer support and the quality of their traffic. I have experienced the most fan reach with Streamate; they resolve glitches very quickly and they really care about their models. It makes such a difference when you run into issues to feel fully supported by the website you are streaming for.
XBIZ: Let's discuss your video content. How do you balance shoots with camming? What sells the most for you?
ROSE: I dipped my toes into professional scenes in 2019 and while I had a lot of fun filming them, I recognized it wasn’t the right environment for me. This industry has so many branches, after all, which is another thing I love about it. So now, I shoot my own amateur videos and I aim to shoot about four to eight a month.
I keep all my videos exclusive to my fan site pages, so as not to confuse or dilute my fan base, and have always leaned into the “girl next door” vibe with my image in both livestreaming and video content. In fact, my bestselling content is anything that implies I am just a regular girl you would see on a train or in the coffee shop, that’s letting you in on my dirty mind.
I think that’s why I wasn’t as suited for the professional studio-shot side of the industry, because my content is more focused on authenticity and when I’m “in character,” I really imagine the camera is my boyfriend. That authenticity can sometimes be lost in professionally written scripts of a more fictional bent. In my homemade content, you get a little piece of my personality with every video.
In terms of balance, I try to schedule days one to two days a week to film, where I don’t livestream at all. Those are my fan site content creation days and I give them my full focus. I also use those days to pre-schedule my content releases a week in advance.
XBIZ: What is a "typical" day like in your camming chat room, as far as chat goals, fan interactions and overall vibes?
ROSE: Since I am based in the United Kingdom, I aim to log onto Streamate between 5 and 6 a.m., because after five years of livestreaming I learned that my best tippers were in the U.S. So, I try to be online during the evenings in their timezone. As I stay logged on for three to four hours, I also get a mixture of European fans in the mornings too.
Since I’m waking up so early, it can be difficult to jump into an energetic atmosphere, so I like to keep the vibes relaxed and chatty. I use a tip vibrator in the free chat, which ensures I always make tips even if I’m not in one-on-one calls. I also find a lot of my fan site sign-ups come from interacting in free chat.
Over the years, I have learned the best kind of cam experience for me is to stay natural and authentic, with real orgasms and a lot of my personality shining through in my flirting. I always have snacks at hand and never underestimate the power of eye contact.
XBIZ: How about special events or holiday shows? Talk about the kinds of unique streams you do.
ROSE: While I was streaming on MyFreeCams, I used to do all kinds of creative streams. Black light UV body painting, silhouette pole dancing, candle wax play, bath shows… I even strapped a toy to a six-foot teddy bear for a stream once! I’d play around a lot with lighting, costumes and role-playing too.
I used to offer one-on-one movie and chill streams, where I would hang out with my members privately online and we’d watch a film together; I’d wear a T-shirt and then send the T-shirt I wore during the movie to them.
Streamate is a little more difficult to do creative shows like that, as the fan base is different and they want a different experience, but I have a lot of members who want to sit and chat in exclusive calls and get to know me. Those are my favorites!
XBIZ: What is your social media strategy for promoting cam shows, growing your brand and selling content?
ROSE: I keep all my social media as PG as possible. Instagram and TikTok are notorious for deleting sex worker accounts for no real reason, so I prefer to use those platforms to express my personality and daily life more. Due to my whole “girl next door” vibe, I get a lot of fans through this approach. Every morning, I post a short clip on my Instagram and public Snapchat to let my fans know I am logging on, but most of my regulars know what times I stream.
The most successful platform for growth all round has been TikTok. The algorithm makes it easy for your videos to be shown to a large audience and I’ve already had a few million-view videos from that platform alone. The aim is to always try to go viral. TikTok is very strict in terms of adult content, so everything I post is a play on suggestive words and emojis. I try to keep as much nudity off my social platforms as I can to keep my pages or my streaming one-on-one calls the exclusive place to gain access to that.
I also regularly send out anonymous survey links to my subscribers to get an idea of what they want to see more of from me and get a better sense of my audience’s demographic, like their age and budget, etc. It helps to get that direct information from your already-paying subscribers.
In addition, I have recently started making videos of services I don’t feel comfortable offering on a livestream, like anal videos for example, selling them via my camming profile. I redirect fans through that to buy the video, so they can still leave satisfied.
XBIZ: How do you stay organized, keeping track of your many responsibilities and finances?
ROSE: I would be lying if I said I have this down to a T. I joined this industry at a younger age and was irresponsible for years; I learned the hard way the repercussions of that. So I found myself an amazing accountant who specializes in the industry and handles most of my finances for me. But I like to keep organized so I still have my own spreadsheet system to input my income and tax claims. I do this so I can keep track and adjust my finance goals accordingly.
I try to implement content into most of my daily tasks. For example, if I’m doing the laundry, I’ll do it naked and take photos. That way I kill two birds with one stone and stay productive. Personally, I feel with content sites, the main draw is having personal message interactions with the model, so I haven’t chosen to outsource that with an assistant. I enjoy that part of the job but I am currently in the process of outsourcing social media management to help organize that better. Posting to more than four social media platforms, managing three fan sites and streaming full-time is a handful!
XBIZ: What was it like sharing your expertise at XBIZ Berlin this year on the indie panel?
ROSE: It was an honor to be chosen to speak. Sometimes I still feel like I am a baby in the industry, so I was a little scared I wouldn’t have anything meaningful to bring to the conversation. But it was a very relaxed environment and I’m glad I could share whatever nuggets of knowledge I’ve picked up over the years. It was also awesome hearing tips and tricks from other creators as there was a unique mix of people on the panel, each with their own way of working.
XBIZ: Tell us about your biggest goals for this coming year, career-wise and in your off-camera life.
ROSE: One of my big goals for 2021 was actually to appear on the cover of an industry-related magazine, so I can check that one off now!
Also, after taking a step back and reevaluating my long-term plans for the industry this past year, I set some new goals and traveled a lot to make up for the year of lockdown. In doing so, I realized I really want to move away from England, so next year I want to take the plunge and move somewhere else in Europe, then continue streaming.
And I want to save up to buy two properties, as I have started to make exit plans from the industry that involve a totally different field of interest. I am currently in the process of studying in the fitness industry and in the long term, I want to become a nutritionist for athletes. Fortunately, adult is an industry I can always work alongside while I study for my mainstream venture. I would also love to win a cam-related award and get the opportunity to experience an industry expo in person!