OK, I started this as a profile post, but I kept running out of characters, so I figured I'd make a thread. I understand that, ultimately they're camming to get paid... but before I do that, I have to actually be engaged, first, right? Like it or not, there's a huge amount of porn out there that's literally free, so if you want me to actually open my wallet for you, you first have to show me that I'll get more out of it than I get from "video of hot girl masturbating #274,182.mp4" or "video of sexy girl sucking a dildo #172,291.webm". I probably checked about 50 camgirls. Some were checking their phones. Some were typing their responses. Some were just staring off into the middle distance. A lot were masturbating, which is at least a reasonable move... but again, there is a nigh-infinite number of free videos on the Internet showing people shoving a dildo up an orifice, so that's not still not going to do the trick either. Well, not for me, anyway. Only 3 that I remember (credit where credit's due: AutomicBlue and SinCityVEE on MFC, and catanddickxxx on Chaturbate) had any significant interaction with the viewers that made me actually want to stick around for more than a couple of minutes. And I'm not talking about sex stuff! Just... saying hi to people, making small talk, talking about their day, stuff like that. Engagement!
There are a few issues here: a) If you go to any of the cam sites that offer free videos, there is little incentive for the camgirls to do anything for free viewers. So the masturbation shows and nudity are reserved for the paid room (and often you will see most camgirls in the "free section" with the feed shut and a notification that they are doing a paid stream.) The other option is that they offer to do stuff for tips that the viewers pay and then when goals are reached they might strip for everyone or something. But if no one is paying them at the moment, the motivation to do things for free goes down. b) There's so many Camgirls. Some spend so much time online that they might be tired, lost their motivation or are having a bad day. Quality varies like with any service and being a camgirl is likely one of the safest ways to get into sex work, so some of them might be just trying it out or not know how to treat their audience. You found a few who did engagement right and weren't just coasting and hoping that their customers are too horny to care that they just sit around. I'm not going to guess at a ratio, but clearly some camgirls are better at the job than others. c) Viewers are paying for interaction. Instead of going to a porn site to watch a pre-recorded video, you are actually interacting with the camgirls/guys and can request stuff. This is the one big difference. Still not the same as being in the room with them, so you aren't getting the "real deal" but for some viewers this is what they pay for. Not the nudity, not the sex acts, but that they are doing those sex acts *for* you and chatting with you while they do them.
But when I tune in to one of the 673 active streams on MFC or one of the 7007 on Chaturbate... what is it that will keep me there? And why are do so few camgirls seem to be doing the things that will achieve that? Because keeping me there is a pre-requisite for getting me to spend money, which is the obvious end goal. As for an answer, I agree with you that it's interaction that viewers pay for... but I'm not going to spend money to interact with someone who's just sitting there, as expressionless as an animatronic puppet that's waiting for someone to insert a coin. You have to show that you actually will interact if people pay and I have to see that I actually like the way you're interacting with people, both of which will encourage me to actually cough up some small portion of your next rent payment in order for you to then interact with me. And you have about 30 seconds to do it, or I'll just grow bored and switch to the next stream. But the order is important! First I have to be convinced you're someone I'll enjoy interacting with (whatever such interaction entails), and then will I consider giving you money in order to get that interaction. So dance, say hi to people, call your viewers dirty worms, talk inanely about your day, pet your cat, blow bubbles, do literally anything. One model was using her stream as an impromptu therapy session to complain about her ex... and it fucking worked! I hung around for at least 5 minutes listening to her vent. That's how low the bar is. (And I didn't make this very clear in my first post, but masturbating for free is also probably a perfectly fine strategy for attracting viewers too. And so many models do: 5 out of the first 24 thumbnails on MFC and 8 out of 24 on Chaturbate show the model(s) masturbating or having sex. But like I said above, porn videos are essentially free. You can't compete with the free porn video market if you demand to be paid before you'll masturbate, so you need to offer something else to draw viewers in, offer something porn videos can't. Which brings us back to viewer interaction.) The only bad thing you can do is nothing and that's what's so confusing to me, because that's what so many of them appear to be doing.
