As promised, this is a continuation of my last blog, which focused on the tools needed to up your clip production game. Tools are half the battle and unfortunately, they’re the easy part.
I’d like to share a piece of knowledge that I remind myself of pretty often: What works for me, may not work for you. What works for you, may not work for me. You probably shoot different things than I do, and that’s ok! I do things in a way that works for me, but I’m always open to suggestion for how to improve. When it comes to business advice, I’m willing to give most suggestions from qualified individuals a go. That’s how you should read this: as suggestions.
The format for the previous blog in this series was very informational. This time, I’m basically just taking questions asked by peers and putting them here in more of a Q&A format, which will hopefully make it so you can skim through and find the answers that are most important to you. If you have any advice that you would like included here, please feel free to reach out either in the comments, via email or on Twitter. Any additional advice shared will be credited to you.
Making backgrounds work when you don’t have a lot of space.
I wish this was an easy thing to cover! Backgrounds are a complicated beast because I feel like we, as sex workers, care more about them than consumers. A lot of us has limited space and/or our space doubles as just our normal living areas. First recommendation I have is always make sure that space is clean and tidy. Second, is for you to make your space your own. Third, don’t stress if it’s always the same space. I’ve seen quite a few folks who film in the exact same space that they’ve been filming in for ages, with little to no variation and even in some cases, little to no decor.
You can get reasonably priced background stands and backdrops off Amazon, however I would also urge you to hit your local thrift store in search of curtains since you can use regular curtains with a background stand. I do warn that background stands aren’t great for small areas.
I have also seen babes who get plastic party table clothes and tape/tack them to the wall. That’s easy to spice up with party streamers, seasonal decorations, or even metallic fringe “curtains.”
When I’m feeling uninspired and unmotivated by my background, I try to book a hotel room somewhere strictly for the purpose of shooting in. Bonus here is that when I pay for something, I am much more motivated to hustle.
Time management is something I struggle with so maybe if you have some tips for that?
Time management is so hard! I struggle with it too, tbh. When it comes to filming, I set aside a specific day and/or time to film. By making it so I only have 3-4 hours to film, I can feel the time crunch and I’m much more productive than I am on the days I don’t give myself a certain amount of time. When it comes to editing, this is where I lose all sense of time and could be sitting at my computer for HOURS without noticing it. Because of this, I try to keep track of how much time I’m spending editing by keeping track of how many episodes of whatever TV show is playing.
Some other things that help me: making a list of what videos I want to shoot that day & checking them off as I go. Keeping a set schedule/planning my week ahead and holding myself to it. Putting my phone on airplane mode while filming so I’m not as tempted to look at it if it vibrates.
Other than trial or error, is there a way to figure out what’s trending or popular like on Pornhub but for fetish’s
I so wish there was a better way. I tend to look at IWC’s top list, PornHub, and my own sales reports. C4S has a pretty handy tool in your producer dashboard where you can look at what categories sell best for you over a specified period of time. I tend to do a LOT of trial and error. I also try to film a category multiple times, even if it doesn’t sell for me at first because some customers will buy in bulk when you have several videos in a particular category. I do wish that C4S would have a top selling category list… maybe if we all ask Neil for that, he will see value in that and add it to the site somehow???
I need any video help! Specifically how to make a trailer or teaser preview for a video.
Not going to lie, my process is probably not the best or most efficient. After I have edited the video and it’s exported, I will import the final file back into Final Cut Pro and kind of cut it up into 4-6 short 5-ish second clips and put them together. There are a LOT of cool transitions you can get for FCP and Premiere that help make things look more cool. I keep mine basic because I use that file to make my GIFs. Some editing programs have templates for making movie previews… I honestly haven’t ever used those, but you may want to play around with those if your editing program does!
The biggest thing I get stuck on is how do you organize what you’re going to film? There are thousands of categories and only so many hours in the day. How do you narrow it down? What does this process look like?
I kind of covered this a little further up, but to expand a bit more… I have spent way too much time scrolling through category lists on clip sites and writing down categories that appeal to me. I will then do some research to see how popular it is (are there forums dedicated to it? How many studios are listed in the top 50 of that category? How many clips are NEW in the top 50 sellers? What’s the hashtag traffic like for that category on IG & Twitter? Is there a lot of erotica about that category out there?). I’ll try to learn as much about the Fetish as I can by reading forums, purchasing videos, and reading erotica. When I say purchasing videos, I do that to learn about the category, not to copy someone else’s clip. Don’t copy someone else’s way of doing a clip, that’s not ok!
I make a point to only film categories that appeal to me. When I was filming things I wasn’t genuinely excited about, I was miserable and didn’t want to film. My sales slightly dropped initially when I quit catering to categories I don’t enjoy, but long term my sales increased by focusing on what I want to do!
It is also perfectly ok to focus on just a handful of categories and stick to those (as long as they sell & don’t stress you out!). I see quite a few big names stick to 5-6 categories per store, rather than trying to do them all.
I also recommend checking out my blog that covers some of my filming process or this one, as they each touch on this.
advertising! how to get ur name out there
There are a lot of ways to do this! Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are all good places, though you have to be careful as all 3 platforms are cracking down on adult content if your isn’t properly flagged as adult. IG & FB are also cracking down on “sexual” words so be careful there. Chatting with peers and growing your digital work friends that way is a huge help, as they will often help by retweeting you.
I found that forums are wonderful for growing a fan base, but forums require a good deal of time as you have to really interact in threads for people to see you. I don’t recommend forums if you’re particularly sensitive as people can be rather rude and unfriendly and mean.
There are some blogs & websites dedicated to interviews or reviews for sex workers, which is very helpful. Some of these sites do require that you give them access for free so they can review your site. It may seem weird, but if the site is reputable with a good following, it’s a great way to reach a new audience.
Camming on token based sites, where you can freely share your social media handles, is another way to grow your audience.
If you have a paysite that allows for affiliates, this is a great way to grow your site too as a good quality affiliate will drive traffic and signups. They only get paid when they get signups!
editing software!
I use Final Cut Pro! I used to use iMovie and before that, Windows Movie Maker 😆 Premiere is a bit too complicated for me, but @KingStrokesxxx on Twitter is working on putting together some FREE videos on MV specifically to teach how to use it. YouTube also has a plethora of how to videos. You can also get Premiere Elements which is an easier to use version of Premiere, but it doesn’t have all the same capabilities as Premiere Pro.
From what I hear, Sony Vegas and Filmora have similar workspace interfaces. Quite a few babes I know use Filmora and love it. It’s an affordable option for more advanced editing than iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.
I really like Final Cut Pro, as it was a pretty easy step up from iMovie. They have very similar interfaces so it wasn’t a dramatic difference when I upgraded. The price tag for FCP is high though, at $300 on the Apple Store. However, unlike Adobe, it’s a one time charge and you get all the updates as they come out. So it hurts the wallet a little at the beginning. There are some great, easy to use plugins for FCP that I LOVE! I purchased their Finishing, Skin Smoother & White Balance plug-ins and use them on literally every single video I edit.
networking tips too pretty please!
Twitter & IG are the best online networking, in my experience. It’s very easy to chat with someone, even if publicly. Search hashtags to find people using them and start up a convo. If you’re able to go to conventions or meetups, that’s another great way to meet other industry professionals. Compliments are a good way to break the ice or if you see them ask a question that you know an answer to, that’s a great way to start a convo.
If you don’t know someone, but would like to and have mutual friends, as your friend to introduce you. It can feel a little awkward, but if you’re an introvert like myself, it helps break the ice.
How to do Keyword research for clip sites? Creating an awesome keyword filled description, I assume that info is indexed by the sites but not sure.
I use SERPS.com’s keyword research tool. Remember that Google now frowns upon *too* many keywords and they want things to read like they’re written for humans not robots. I usually try to search by every variation of the phrase I can think of to find out what gets the best search volume. You can set up a Google Ads account to use their Keyword Research tool without actually needing to run ads. Their tool is a lot more powerful and in depth than SERPS.
What are some good video ideas to start off with when learning editing?
I don’t necessarily think there’s any specific types of videos that are better or worse for learning how to edit. You can take a few short sample videos in ways you would normally shoot yourself and play around. Try out filters, transitions, etc until you find something you like. Remember to be patient with yourself and not get frustrated. Learning how to edit can be a pain in the ass! Check YouTube for basics tutorials for your specific editing program. If you can, try to follow along in editing with the video so you are actively learning how to do it, not just taking notes. Replay parts of the tutorial until you get it right. If you get too frustrated, take a step back and switch to a different task until you cool off and can try again.
What is your work flow?
Creating a work flow has been an ongoing project for YEARS.
It starts off with having ideas. Mine are written either in my Notes app or in notebooks. Sometimes there is just a sentence or title, other times there is an entire description written out. When it comes to actual filming time, I write out what clips I am filming on my whiteboard so I can check them off as I complete them.
After I’ve gotten as much filmed as I can, I drop files onto my computer and that’s when the less fun work begins. Files are added to FCP and put onto my cloud server in a “RAW FILES” folder. As soon as videos are edited & rendered, the 1080 MP4 file is added to that same cloud server in an “EDITED FILES” folder. The 1080 MP4 file is then rendered into 720 MP4 and both those same sizes but in WMV. I immediately upload all sizes to C4S via FTP. Any videos that are good for MV are uploaded there, same with IWC. I don’t put all videos on all 3 channels because my experience has shown me that it doesn’t work well for me.
I then create GIFs for all videos. GIFS are a must for selling on C4S in my experience and their auto generator isn’t great. I use GIF Brewery to make GIFs, however this program is only available on Apple computers. Once GIFs have been made, they’re uploaded to C4S via the FTP. Files can live on C4S servers for up to 6 months before they’re erased if they go unused.
I usually map out what clips will go live next based on what has recently gone up. I usually try to do 2 solo clips then 1 multi person clip as my cycle on my Fetish C4S. My FemDom C4s is mainly me so I don’t really worry about that. I don’t want 2 lipstick Fetish clips going up in the same week, so I try to space them out. I plan out 1-2 weeks at a time.
After I’ve mapped that out, videos get descriptions written and scheduled for release. You can schedule clips for release quite far in advance, which is excellent if you’re planning for holiday themed videos or just want to get ahead of things. If you can, I definitely recommend doing so!!
After release, I tweet links & GIFs as well as posting new updates on the relevant forums, all linking back to that specific clip.
There ya have it! My work flow!
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There were a few questions that I’ve left off, partially because of things such as editing tips are going to vary depending on software. I got some wardrobe questions, so I am planning to do a part 3 that focuses specifically on wardrobe!
I’m happy to continue this series beyond that part 3. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to ask either in the comments or on Twitter 😊