The world is a weird, uncertain place right now. And let’s be real, it’s messing with all of us creative types. Somedays, we can create, somedays we just don’t have it in us. It’s understandable. We’re in the midst of a pandemic, something that we’ve not had to live through before. We have new challenges to work around, like how to carefully incorporate trending topics in a mindful way, working 100% from home when we maybe used to have other options, switching from creating with others to creating on our own. I could go on, but you know the new challenges you’re facing, and I doubt you need me to preach them.
I’ve spoken with quite a few clip producing models that all share the same concern: How can I create during COVID-19? It may not be that exact sentence, but they all boil down to that one concern. So let’s talk about it.
How can you continue creating content in uncertain times?
- I know I say this all the time, but I’m probably never going to stop advocating for this. Ask a friend/colleague for help. Help can come in all sorts of forms, whether it’s cheering you on and encouraging you to film or helping you brainstorm ideas. This is probably more delicate now than before, so it’s more important than ever to ask if they have the capacity to help and give them the option to say “no.” One way I find helpful to do this is to get to the point about about it: “Hey, I’m having trouble finding motivation to shoot right now. If you have some time, would you mind cheering me on and pushing me to shoot?” Tell them what you need, acknowledge that they are also busy/stressed, and spell out what they can do to help. Your friends and colleagues are an amazing resource, even if it’s just verbal encouragement. Plus, human connection is so much more important in current times!!
- Give yourself time off. This is hard. SO HARD. I know how hard it is because I literally cannot go a day without working from my phone. We are more likely to punish ourselves for not working because we are self employed. Turning it off is hard AF. BUT YOU NEED IT. You’re going to burnout faster if you don’t take time off. Set working hours for yourself, and hold yourself to them. Give yourself at LEAST 1 day off a week, but try to give yourself more than that. I hate to be bored, but giving myself permission to be bored is something that’s really helped my mental health. When I’m bored, I give myself the challenge to find other means of “entertainment” than working. I feel that we, as self employed creators, almost look at work as a means of entertainment to not be bored. Work is a distraction from boredom, but work is not entertainment! We need something to actually entertain ourselves with: Fun. Playtime. Consumption of content. Find a means of entertainment that works for you: watching TV or movies, reading a book, writing, taking a walk, cooking, baking, working out, gardening. Find something to occupy your time that is not work!
- Set working times. My girlfriend reminded me of this one, because I generally don’t have off hours. I work from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. I am always working in some way. And I need to stop. And so do you. I know that our job requires a lot of giving our time & attention to customers, but if we do not give ourselves time off… they will try to steal that time from us. Having set working times is a way to enforce our own rules. If you have to share it publicly, do so! “Good morning Twitter!” and “Alright, I’m done for today Twitter! I’ll get back to all of your messages tomorrow. Have a great night!” are a great way to gently remind customers of your times, without actually having to put your foot down.
- Do what you have the capacity to do. Some days, I have the capacity to shoot! Some days, I don’t, but it’s still a work day for me. So what do I do? Find other ways of working. Do the admin stuff that customers don’t recognize as work. Edit, schedule videos, schedule tweets, etc. I’ve found that my rhythm during this is usually shooting 2-3 days a week, admin work 2-3 days a week. They’re not always consistent days. Sometimes it’s Saturday, Monday, Tuesday shooting and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for admin work. I don’t want to give myself the same schedule week over week, because there are things that change outside of my control, that directly impact what I have capacity to do. So I don’t have set work days, but I have set goals that I feel are achievable for me. And it’s OK if those goals change week to week. Some days you’re going to have more spoons than other days, and that is OK!!! Do what you have the spoon capacity to do.
- Take time to create what you want. This is going to be hard because not everyone has the luxury of creating what they want because it goes against your brand or you don’t have the tools to do exactly what you want. It’s ok if you have to focus on things that work for your brand with the tools you have to work with. If you cannot create something in the realm of sex work that you’re in, create it outside of sex work. If you can create something in the realm of sex work that you want to create: DO IT. Want to explore your own personal fetish on camera, but haven’t done so before? Give it a shot. Want to create more visually appealing clips, with costumes or special fx or new lighting? Give it a shot. I want to get more creative with my clips, so I decided to start doing things like throwing on my horns or grabbing a costume out of my closet that I haven’t previously worn before, and using those in clips. I’m shooting categories I’ve wanted to explore but have been too afraid to do so before. It’s like the Wild West right now, and that enables us to get just as wild!
- This one is less about creating content and more about protecting your brand, but start a private twitter. If you’re someone who posts *everything* on Twitter, it may be hurting your brand. You may not get a ton of likes or retweets or whatever, but potential & current customers see what you post. I never want to tell anyone what to post or not post, but I do want to tell you that what you post has an effect on people. I get that posting on Twitter often has a therapeutic aspect to it, and I’d encourage you to continue if you feel that way. Personally, I have moved that to my private twitter that only select other models can see. I don’t post there for them, I post there for me. The rants, the off brand thoughts, the struggles, the things that may turn off potential customers. This is super delicate to suggest, and I know that it may not be well received because it’s suggesting a form of censoring yourself and the thought process that if they don’t like what they see/read, you don’t need/want them as customers. I’m sure there are many other reasons this suggestion may not be well received, and that’s ok. I get some of the reasons because I go back & forth with myself about my own reasons for disliking having to do this.
- Buy a bunch of press-on nails. This may sound silly, but the number of people I’ve seen saying they can’t create content because of their nails or they don’t feel fully put together because of their nails, or WHATEVER because of their nails… yea. I won’t go on there, but do yourself a favor and buy some press-on nails. You can get them on Amazon, you can pick them up at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, hell even some grocery stores sell them! You can go a bit fancier and order them off Nailest or Static or Marmalade (all 3 are affiliate links – if you sign up with them, you’ll also get a $ or % off your order!). Outside of those three online brands, I buy KISS brand or their sub-brand Impress, both of which are available at drug stores & department stores like Target & Walmart. They have a LOT of designs and shapes at really reasonable prices, not just basic looks (those days are thankfully long gone).
- Refocus your energy/approach. This is hard and it takes some mental gymnastics, so do not be frustrated if you can’t flip this switch right away. It takes time and practice! I encourage you to try this though: Refocus how you approach working. For me, I’m trying to look at filming as if it’s a hobby instead of a job. I don’t know why or how this is helping me, but it is. I guess because it takes the pressure off? I don’t know, but I do know that it helps.
This shit is hard. I know it is. I struggle daily. Sometimes it feels like people aren’t buying like they used to, but they’re out there. People are still spending money on porn because it’s their outlet, it’s their form of entertainment. And honestly, how cool is it that people look to us for that? I feel flattered that customers buy from me currently. I’m more thankful than I’ve ever been, and I try to share that gratitude on Twitter on the regular. I don’t know if it actually works, but I like to pretend it does because it makes my brain happy and feel less stressed about having to work. I get to work. I get to help people. I give people an outlet during a scary time.
Want some additional resources? Here are some amazing individuals who are teaching and lending us their knowledge to improve our businesses. None of these are affiliate links. None of these people have asked me to include their links. But they are all sharing their knowledge, and that’s freaking AMAZING!!!
- Mz Kim – https://mzkim.com/resource/ – Levels 1, 2, and 3 of getting into online content creation and work + her guide to success on SextPanther. You can also follow her on Twitter
- Amberly Rothfield – https://amberlyrothfield.com – Amberly goes IN DEPTH with every aspect of online sex work. Not only does her site have extremely helpful information, but Amberly is also a skilled 1 on 1 educator as well. She regularly shares tips on her Twitter, so be sure to give her a follow as well.
- Alexandra Snow – https://wickedcollective.as.me/online-classes – easily one of the top Dommes on C4S. She’s sharing her expertise on creating content over a series of classes that touch on every aspect of content creation. Give her a follow on Twitter.
Got questions? Ask below in the comments, or Tweet at me!