Making Ends Meet--Would You Ever Consider Working in the Sex Industry?

I'm not talking about prostitution. This post is totally SFW (in my opinion). I'm talking about legal work in the sex-related professions. Believe it or not, there are a lot of different jobs to choose from, and they all have the potential to make decent money. After all, the sex industry, especially online, is a HUGE, billion dollar business. Those who are in charge of it can afford to give you a nice chunk of change.

What, Exactly, are Online Sex Jobs?

Most of these are jobs you can work from home, as an independent contractor. You don't have to work with anyone you don't know. You can work alone, if you choose. You don't even have to be on camera for some of them. Yet, they all tie back into the sex industry in one way or another.

There are gigs for women, men, couples, gay, straight, young, older, elderly, trans, and just about everything else in between.

Look, we all know economic times are tough around the world. You've got to eat, put a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and have transportation. If you've got a family, you have to do all of those things for them, too. They're depending on you. 

The money is there. No one is coercing you to do it. You're working for yourself. In fact, no one you know even has to know you're doing it.

That said, would you, if you really needed the money? Before you answer, take a look at some of the things "working in the sex industry" could mean for you:

Being a "Cam Girl," "Cam Guy," or "Cam Couple

This is the most common type of online sex job, and it attracts more people to work in it than you may think. A cam (short for "camera") performer's job is pretty simple....be friendly, flirt, and otherwise interact with users in a public room on the website of the cam company of your choice. You can be fully clothed. All people are looking for here is someone to talk to them and have a little bit of fun.

However, the way you earn money is by enticing them to take you "private," which is moving into a private online room with just you and your new patron. Once you're private, you can get as wild as you want, or as the customer wants you to get. You may get some strange requests, so be sure to have plenty of costumes, toys, props, and tubs of whipped cream on hand. 

Remember, you don't HAVE to acquiesce to any request, even in private. The key is to be nice so the customer comes back. If you don't want to do something, tell them you're saving that for when you get to know them better, which entices them to hire you for private shows again in the future. If it's something you may do, but aren't enthused about, ask for them to tip you extra, but do it in a nice, flirty way.

You work your own schedule at this, and if you keep at it, you will eventually cultivate some regular clients who always take you private. Some cam performers even have just one patron, who regularly spends tons of money on them. It doesn't matter what your age or body shape are....there's a fan of everything out there, and when it comes right down to it, all you need to attract a person into a private room is a flirty, kind personality. 

Cam performers can make between the high 3-figures and high 4-figures a week, depending on how many hours they put in, how long they've been doing it as a gig, and how dedicated they are to putting on a good "show" for their clients.

Being a Cam Agent

With this sex gig, you make your money by becoming your own "cam modeling agency" and attracting other people to sign up with your company as cam performers. It's easier than it sounds.

You just choose a cam company to work with (again, as an independent contractor) and sign up as an agent. At this point, it becomes like affiliate marketing. You get access to banners, posters, and other marketing materials, as well as an affiliate code for you to embed in them, and all of your links. This code ensures you get paid.

And, how do you get paid? You get a percentage of the profits of every show every cam performer does who signs up with the agency using your affiliate link. Most cam companies even offer bonuses for agents who sign up a lot of people, and for "number of shows" milestones their performers make.

The vast majority of agents post ads on Craigslist in big cities, usually presenting themselves as an actual modeling agency. You can even come up with a name for your agency, and a logo, to put on your ads.

To get more signups, you may decide to put ads on your own website, with your agency name as a .com. Here, you can develop a client list using an autoresponder, and send emails to people who have signed up with you as being interested, but who have not become a performer yet. Keep following up with them until they do, or until they remove themselves from your list.

Agents can make just as much, if not more, than cam performers. If you're signing up a lot of people and making a percentage off of each of their shows, it can add up to a ton of cash each week. And, you don't have to take off your clothes, perform, or even reveal your real name. It's all behind-the-scenes, and it's insanely profitable.

3. Making and Selling Your Own "Sex Tapes"

You can do this either on your own, or through a cam company. Most of the cam companies out there dabble in a little bit of everything, even if their main source of income is their stable of cam performers.

You can make your own sex videos, either alone or with a partner, with a storyline or without, and upload them to your own website to sell, or let the cam company sell them for you on consignment. It's often easier to go with a cam company, because they already have a huge built-in audience, but you are perfectly free to go your own way.

You can also put an ad on Craigslist to get people to come over to your home studio to film sex videos, then sell these videos in the same way mentioned above. Of course, you'll have to pay performers you hire up front, unless they're friends who happen to agree to a commission once the video sells.

How much you can make from this depends on how many videos you make and how often you make them, the quality of the visual and the audio, the quality of the sex, the attractiveness of the participant(s), whether you go for general sex or a popular fetish, and where you sell your videos (videos sold on cam sites almost always sell better because of the already-existing audience that's there for you). 

Still, hundreds a week starting, and thousands a week if you're prolific and experienced (and with a fan base) is not uncommon.

4. Selling Used Panties Online

(an actual used panty vending machine in Japan....people BUY these!)

Yep, people buy these. I've even heard of there being "used panty" vending machines in Japan, so it's definitely a thing. And, the good news is, you can sell these anywhere. I've even seen them on eBay.

Actually, I don't know if you can sell them on Amazon, since they require a UPC code for merchandise. Maybe if you use the code on the underwear when you buy it, then sell it as "used."

There are used panty brokers online who will sell them on consignment for you. You can also use your own website. And, yes, cam companies will sell them on consignment for you, too. There are some cam performers who sell their used panties as a source of side income, and they do it right through the site where they perform.

The key to selling them is to take good pictures of yourself wearing them, and write a good description about how long you wore them before putting them on the market. If you get a good client base going, you may get requests from people for you to wear them for a certain number of days, to wear a certain type of panty, a certain color, and other weird requests. 

If you're good at it and take all requests, while building up a regular clientele, you can easily make a few hundred a week just selling used panties. You don't even have to put your face in the pictures of you wearing them (though it helps for marketing purposes).

Okay, So Why Did I Bring This Up in the First Place?

We all have times when we really need some extra cash. Having been a freelancer, author, and all-around general work online person since 2008, I've noticed that there are times when money is good and you're practically rolling in it, and times when things  are so slow, you're looking for loose change under the seat of your car to get a vegetarian burrito at Taco Bell. Most of the time, summers are really slow for work for freelancers, and I don't have enough residual income coming in from my other projects yet to pay the bills (I'm working on it).

Heck, even when I was a teacher, I had to supplement my income in the summer, be it with tutoring, teaching a few adjunct classes at the local community college, or, one summer, babysitting my students from the previous school year (their parents liked me).

So, this summer is shaping up to be pretty slow, like the others, and I'm looking for ways to make extra cash. I haven't worked outside the home in so long, I don't think I actually can anymore. I always hated it, anyway, and with so many opportunities available online, why go out into the world? Even if you're performing a private sex show on a web cam, I think it's safer than going out to work in a public place. I mean, have you read the news lately?

I've done a lot of research on the online sex industry (obviously), and have decided I don't have a problem with it. When you need money, you need money, and as long as you're not hurting anyone, why not do what makes you the MOST money, in an environment in which you're comfortable? It makes sense to me.

Of course, I could never tell my family I was doing it. I already mentioned thinking about it to my mom, and she was all, "Oh, you've got a Master's degree. You're too good for that." But, actually, I'm not. Having a Master's degree does not guarantee you the good income it used to, BELIEVE ME.

Thus far, I haven't done anything except sign up as an agent with one cam company. I haven't even started to market it to get performers to sign up under me yet. I bought a high quality web cam and microphone, as an investment, just in case I decide to perform. I don't have a problem with that, either.

Like I said, if you're not hurting anyone, then why not? The money is there.

Pondering this route of making some extra cash to make ends meet got me thinking about what other people (besides my mother) think about doing this kind of work when they need the money. Call it a sociological survey.

So, what WOULD you do? If you needed the extra cash to make ends meet, and knew you could make more money more quickly doing this kind of thing than anything else, would you?

If "yes," I already understand why. If "no," why not? 

I'm actually genuinely curious. 

Would you take one of these jobs in the online sex industry? Let me know. No judgement. I just want to get an idea of where people's minds are at on the subject.

Inquiring minds are waiting to hear from you. 

______________________________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this post (and I hope you did), please take a moment to follow me here at @stephmckenzie to get more articles from me on life, the universe, and everything. Thank you!