Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmitry
Indeed it is hard to start webcam business and high budget ($100k+) is not enough. The same time I have many examples of website with low budget but they are slowly getting part of the market.
I think those features/options increase chances of win:
1) before starting webcam site try to open a studio. Even if it is not profitable you would be able to understand business, get girls to work with you and prepare your environment
2) learn basic SEO and try to get someone with adult traffic into the team
3) get started with co-location website to start marketing of your domain name
4) start filming video for video gallery post and keep marketing of you co-located domain name.
5) get investor on board or find a way to get some money for starting it up. Budget really depends on how good you are with 4 points above. Sometimes complete website + ~$10k would be enough but in some cases you would need few hundreds of thousands dollars
I believe if those 5 points have passed you have to start looking for experienced company and use webcam software you can trust.
But if you have nothing from above it does not matter which script you get, even the one for under $1000 (which will not work for real business, I can gurantee!)
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Sites started by cam studios are the easiest to fail
In fact running a cam studio or being a cam girl includes no any requirement to know how to run or market a cam site, it is completely different skills and experiences, often with many misconceptions.
Especially cam studios think very naively: I have the girls and site take 60%+ from my sales, so if I run my own cam site, I get 100%.
Then they learn that except those few guys they can steal from other sites into the own one (maybe having models banned from other sites when busted), to get new real users from own cam site it cost in advertising $100+ per user, including the user who spends $10 once and never more; this is why for example I give $80 PPS and there's bigger cam sites paying even $200 PPS, altough with some limits and clausoles.
Many studios opened sites then asked me little after "how to find customers now?", like it is matter of a secret method I could tell. And they are surprised it is not just matter magically the new users come without invest any money, just as "they find from google" or "opened one blog". Also they wonder why no any affiliate join their system. Then they figure must buy traffic in $10,000's per month pieces rather than wait affiliates, and that the affiliates will come if you pay them $10 per free user or $200 per PPS or give 90% revshare, and still may not come if not see 500 models online (which a studio can't have).
Other funny type of new cam site who fail is the one run by a whale member, especially those who open a cam site for "own cam girl gf" who just have quit a studio because made cash from this whale-bf, and bring with her some other models from former studio, and she opens own site and studio with the money of such a whale-bf, thinking she will be the next millionaire girl. That is very good for cam software sellers as the guy can spend $10,000's to setup a site, also he may buy traffic for it, until he figure in a few months that there is no sales except himself, and that no any cam girl joined except her gf.
It is more likely a cam site will have success of launched by marketers or affiliate networks. Even if, missing completely how to run a cam site and keep models interested and online it is quite a need.. but if there's paying customers, the models will keep online somewhat.
In general I would suggest to anyone starting a cam site the following:
1) Have as shareholder or manager someone who had run an at least mid-sized cam site as director or anyway more than just "amin" successfully for years - or even if cam site failed, at least he learned why it failed (most fail for lack of advertising funds, or for shareholders fight each other silly way, not for bad skills). Same guy should bring in lots of studios and/or affiliates as he's trusted guy in business. To work without a guy with experience and contacts on board it is a warranty of wasting time and money in all the classical number of "new cam site" errors, everyone (included me long ago when I started) will do. This is same if you want to start any new company, you bring at least one veteran into it!
2) Have a shareholder who got $100,000+ for just the advertising and bonus to models for first few months. Extra to development or whatever expense. You do NOT launch a cam site with no traffic buys, hoping in google SEO and affiliates to join, really. Also you do NOT start a cam site small then wait it to grow, as models will NOT wait your site to grow but instead all quit for no pay guys, site empty few guys you had quit and affiliates just laugh at no online models status. A cam site must start with big boost made by cash, then if it stabilises, you can think at slow growth after.