Guide To Getting Into Couples Porn (Camming, Video, Phone Sex)

Couples

How To Get Started With Couples Camming / Porn

Getting into couples porn is simple and can be very profitable. There’s tons of different services that you and your partner can be offering, ranging from camming to videos and everything in between. The requirements (for most services) are fairly simple and so is the signup process. Here’s what you need to know about couples porn.

 

Table of Contents

Before You Begin: Some Things To Think About

There are some things that you and your partner need to think about before jumping into the industry. A little bit of planning now will save some headaches down the line. Here’s what you should do before registering for sites and getting started.

Brainstorm Your Porn Names – You’ll both need a stage-name to perform under. This should be a real name (and not a “username” like SexyKittee420). Bonus points for being original, clever and easy to remember. Also, be sure to Google the name, search it on Twitter and also on Pornhub. Make sure it’s a name not currently being used in the industry.

You’ll also need to create a username for the couples account / stores on the various sites. This is going to be the login name and display name on all the sites.

Decide What Fetishes You Want To Cater To – Think long and hard about the fetishes that you and your partner are comfortable with. Keep in mind that there’s tons of fetishes that you never even knew existed. Your favorite (or most profitable) fetishes might be something that you never heard of, so keep an open-mind.

Figure Out Your Hard Lines (What You Won’t Do) – This is very important. Figure out what you and your partner definitely don’t want to cater to and make this very known. You should not have to go outside of your comfort zone in order to be part of the industry.

Make Sure You Got All The Equipment – This will vary based on the services you’re wanting to offer. Some of the more basic requirements are listed below.

What’s Required To Get Started

The one major requirement is that both performers must be eighteen or older! To perform or sell on a network, digital copies of photo ID must be submitted. This is for age verification and something that all the networks are obligated to do to stay compliant with federal regulation. This is known as “2257 Compliance“.

Outside of the age documentation, there’s some equipment requirements. What’s required various based on the services that are being offered. For example; a mobile phone is the only requirement for phone sex services. Cameras and other production equipment is required for producing and selling content. Here’s some basic equipment requirements, as well as some suggested additional items.

 

Required / Recommended Equipment and Gear:

Computer

A computer is a basic requirement for any services you might want to offer. Whether it’s used for uploading clips, live camming or promotion. For camming, Windows OS is highly preferred and some camming sites require it. Any modern PC or laptop should be able to work for anything it’s required for.

High Speed Internet

You’ll want a good upload speed, especially for camming. Having a high upload speed makes uploading clips a whole lot faster as well. 2 mbps upload speed is the bare minimum for camming, but it’s suggested to get the upload speed as high as possible.

Webcam

If you’re going to be camming, you need a good webcam. Good Logitechs are very affordable and come with a good built-in microphone as well. A good webcam is a nice thing to have, regardless of the services being offered.

Camera

A good camera is essential for producing and selling content. The higher-quality the camera, the better the production and the more profitable it’ll be. Although there are many performers producing clips with an HD webcam or mobile phone with a good camera, it’s suggested to upgrade as soon as possible, assuming this is the route you want to go. Nikons are solid cameras and there’s plenty of affordable ones.

Mobile Phone

Essential for phone sex, but definitely helpful for everything else. Most people already have a phone, so this is generally not an issue.

Editing Software

If you’re producing and selling content, it helps to have photo and video editing software. Something that can cut, splice and watermark content at the very least. Putting effort into post-production will create a better finished product, which makes everything more profitable.

Lighting System

A 3-point lighting system is something that is always helpful, and is something that can easily be built fairly affordably. If you’ve got good natural and artificial light, this isn’t mission-critical, but something to strongly consider.

Toys

It never hurts to have a large toy collection. This is something that can be built-up over time. It’s also something that can be built using wishlists.

Outfits / Lingerie

It also never hurts to have a closet full of lingerie and other outfits. Especially if you’re doing cosplay or roleplay. This is something that can be built-up over time. It’s also something that can be built using wishlists.

Anything Needed For Shows / Clips

Certain fetishes require additional items. For example; the food fetish requires food and the oil fetish requires baby oil. Think long and hard about what fetishes you want to cater to, and if these will require additional props or items.

How Much Money Can A Couple Make?

This is a very complex question with no solid answers. The earning potential can get pretty lucrative, but everything is performance-based. Earning potential varies drastically from performer to performer. Different services also generate revenue in different ways. For example; camming is paid per show (or individual tips in public) while subscription services create residual income and clips have the potential to generate sales for as long as they’re available for purchase.

 

Building Up A Loyal Fan/Customer-Base

It’s also important to realize that the money will look a whole lot better once you and your partner have established a loyal fan and customer-base. You’ll eventually get regulars for camming shows, people subscribed to premium networks and loyal fans who are likely to purchase newly released content.

 

Other Factors Impacting Profitability

There are many factors that impact how profitable your career can be. It’s not all based on attractiveness either. Here are some of the major factors that impact profitability. Keep in mind that they’re not in any type of specific order.

Quality – Quality is a very important aspect in everything. Quality clips will be more profitable. Quality cam shows will be more profitable, too. Anything you can do to make your shows or content higher-quality will always help you.

Personality – Personality plays a major role in everything. If both people in the relationship have great personalities, this will definitely help. Extroverts generally do better than introverts. Camming is highly interactive. Even if you’re not camming, you’ll be interacting with fans and customers over social media and by other means.

Attractiveness – If both people in the relationship are very attractive, that can definitely help. That doesn’t mean that performers that don’t have “perfect bodies” are out of luck. In fact, the category “BBW” (Big Beautiful Women) is trending on every single major site. People of all shapes and sizes are able to find success in the industry.

Fetishes Catered To – Some fetishes are more popular than others. Some performers also fit into different fetishes better than others. Your most profitable fetish might not be something that you even imagined existed. There’s tons of different fetishes out there.

Putting In More Time / Effort – The more time and effort you put into the work, the more you’ll get out of it. This goes beyond time on the internet. Planning, interacting and promoting are all major aspects of being in the industry.

Marketing – The camming and clip sites do a lot to generate traffic, and you’ll organically get customers just from being on the network. Even with this network traffic, it pays to build up social media following and do your own promotion as well.

Building A Customer-Base – This was mentioned up above, but it’s worth mentioning again. Building up a solid customer-base is essential for success.

Referral Programs – Many networks have referral programs (often called affiliate programs). With these programs, you can earn commissions and revenue-shares from getting new customers to signup. This is a great way to build a new revenue-stream while also promoting your services.

Plain Luck – Yes, dumb luck can factor into this. Someone might get lucky and land insanely good regulars right away, or get that one random huge tip. Call it luck or call it fate.

Get Paid Offering These Following Services

There’s many different services that you and your partner can offer. The major services are listed below. Keep in mind that this is not a complete list. There’s tons of random services that performers can offer. Hell, you can make money selling chocolate butthole molds. Not even joking on that one. Get creative about the different services you can offer, and you’ll be surprised what works.

Live Webcam Shows

Camming is very popular and profitable. There’s two main types of camming; public and private. Private shows are charged per minute. Public shows can include tip goals / tip shows, interactive sex toy shows (tip to vibrate), tipping games and other creative show types.

Some of the camming sites also allow performers to make money through other means. This might include selling content from the profile pages, fanclub functionality or other features. What services a performer can offer varies drastically from site-to-site.

Guide To Getting Started Camming – Written primarily for solo performers, but all the information is applicable to couples as well. Goes into great detail on how to get started as a camming model.

Camming Sites Hiring Couples – Not all camming sites accept couples. There are some female-only networks (As well as several male-only networks). Here’s a directory of camming sites that support couples accounts.

Producing / Selling Clips and Galleries

Producing and selling content is another service that couples can offer. Clips are great, as each video has the potential to generate revenue as long as it’s available for sale. It’s also possible for the clips to generate sales even when you’re offline. The more clips you’ve got, the greater this compounds.

With clips, you can either choose the site you like best, or perform on multiple sites, as to reach a larger audience and generate more sales. Diversifying and catering to different fetishes can generate more sales. Custom content requests make more money and custom items can be resold as a pre-recorded clips. More information on getting started producing and selling content is found below.

Getting Started Producing and Selling Porn – Guide to getting started producing and selling porn. Geared towards solo clip creators, but all the information is applicable to couples as well.

List Of Couple-Friendly Clip Sites – Not all clip sites are couple-friendly. Here’s a directory of all the clip sites that accept couples.

Phone Sex

Phone sex has evolved a lot over the years. Now it’s gone beyond just talking. Texting and various adult apps can be used for phone sex now. There are even couples categories on the phone sex networks. Certain camming sites also offer mobile streaming. Services like Skype can also be used for mobile streaming and mobile shows.

Getting Started As A Phone Sex Operator – Comprehensive guide to becoming a phone sex operator. Geared towards solo models, but all the information is applicable to couples as well.

Phone Sex Sites Accepting Couples – Here’s a directory containing all the phone sex sites that accept couple accounts.

Running A Website (Subscriptions and Store Items)

Running your own website can create a revenue stream. It also works as a valuable promotional tool. Best of all, there’s platforms like ModelCentro and AdultMemberSites that make it insanely easy to build websites, and all 100% free!

Websites can be monetized by subscriptions to access the content. Individual store items can also be added to websites. Live camming from the website an also be achieved a number of different ways. Best of all, the website works as a valuable marketing tool. You’re able to list all your other sites and services. Websites are also able to tap into valuable search engine traffic.

Learn How To Build A Website – Goes over some of the platforms available for building websites, as well as some general information on web development.

Promoting Your Services

Promotion is a huge part of being independent performers. There’s also tons of different ways to promote your products and services. Some forms of promotion are very easy (like social media) while some might require learning some new skills (like running a website). Here are the main marketing channels you should be looking into.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is one of the most effective marketing tools at your disposal. There’s a good chance that you already have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. Using a social media account for promotion is very similar. It’s important to know what networks support adult content and which ones don’t. Even the “Safe-For-Work” networks can be used for promotional purposes. You just have to be careful what you post and what you’re linking to. Here are some social networks to consider marketing through.

Twitter – Twitter is both adult-friendly and a very popular social media platform. Make sure that you flag your profile as being adult, and watch out for the automatic tweets that a lot of networks offer. These can appear very spammy and even get accounts banned.

Tumblr – Tumblr is another adult-friendly social media site. Tumblr isn’t as popular as Twitter, but still a very popular platform.

YouTube – YouTube isn’t adult-friendly, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider promoting through the platform. YouTube has tons of traffic. When YouTube celebrity Celestia Vega started camming, she quite literally broke an entire camming site (and some world records). That should demonstrate the power of YouTube.

Instagram – Instagram is another network that isn’t adult-friendly but still makes a valuable promotional tool. Just be careful not to post anything containing nudity or content that is overly sexualized and you should be fine.

Facebook – Facebook isn’t adult-friendly, but can still be used for promotion. It’s up to you whether to use a personal account or page for promotion. Be wary of personal pages though, as Facebook has been known to suggest alias accounts to real life fans. Freaky how accurate their big data is.

Clip / Camming Site Traffic

The camming sites, clip sites, phone sex networks and other websites you’re performing on get tons of traffic. One of the most effective ways to promote is through tapping into this already existing traffic. There’s plenty of ways to do this, and most tactics are really quite simple. Here’s some tips:

Use A Great Profile Photo – The profile photo (unless there’s a live preview) is what will show up on all the different directory, category and search pages on the sites. Having an awesome profile photo will help you stand out from the crowd and get more clicks.

Complete Profile Information – A lot of the profile information is used in the search function of the sites. For example; someone specifying blonde hair will appear in the blonde category. It is sometimes used for search functions as well. Having a complete profile also lets potential customers learn more about you and the fetishes you cater to.

Indicate Appropriate Tags and Categories – Whenever tags and categories are able to be specified, make sure you’re using them, and using them as specifically as possible. This makes it easier for the customers to find you.

Build Friends and Followers – Most networks will have some form of connections. Whether it’s following, friends or goes by some other term. Having a strong following on the sites you’re on will greatly help with traffic and sales.

Be Active On The Sites – Whether it’s being active on a cam site or consistently uploading content to the clip sites. Being active on the sites gains you exposure and helps to build a solid customer-base.

Website and Search Engines

A website is a valuable marketing tool. It enables you to tap into valuable search engine traffic. The website is also your main hub. The website is the place to list all the camming sites, clip sites and other networks that you are a part of. Plus the links to social media networks to build a stronger following.

The website can also work as it’s own revenue stream. It’s possible to make money from membership subscriptions, store items and live camming. If the sites you’re performing on have affiliate / referral programs, you can also earn extra revenue from linking to those networks with referral links on the website.

And best of all, it’s possible to get a site up and running, 100% free, without any knowledge of HTML, coding or anything else that’s two technical. There’s platforms designed specifically for adult stars to make doing this very easy.

How To Build A Website – Information on building a website and a list of platforms and tools to help.

Search Engine Optimization – Guide on how to do search engine optimization. Following these steps and best practices will make it way easier to tap into valuable search engine traffic.

Email Marketing

Email marketing does require some investment, and you’ll need to grow a list, but it is definitely a marketing channel to consider. Unfortunately, most of the main email marketing platforms aren’t adult-friendly. YNOT Mail is the one major adult-friendly email marketing platform. There’s some that don’t specifically mention adult on what’s not allowed, but they’re still really selective.

Once you’ve got an email marketing suite, you’ll want to put an opt-in form on the website and other web properties and start collecting email addresses. Any email marketing platform will make it very easy to automatically add new emails to the mailing list through the form system.

Tube Sites

Tube sites are a double-sided sword for performers. On the one side, they’re one of the largest enablers of piracy and stolen traffic. The tube site model has also conditioned people to not pay for porn. On the other side, tube sites can be a great source of traffic when done right. Many tube sites also offer performers ways to make additional revenue. Usually through a share of the ad revenue that the performers content generates.

Learn More: Partnering With Tube Sites

Running An Affiliate Program

Running an affiliate program is something that a lot of performers don’t really think about. An affiliate program is where webmasters are able to make commissions from promoting products and services. Platforms like ModelCentro also make it real easy to start up an affiliate program, all 100% free.

Affiliate marketing is great, because there’s zero liability to the marketing. You’re only paying affiliate marketers when they are able to generate sales. If they can’t generate sales, you don’t have to pay them. There’s also advantages such as having more control over the content being spread around the internet, enabling legit webmasters to fight the pirates for traffic, and more.

Learn More: How To Run An Affiliate Program

 

Contracts / Agreements Between Partners

This is something that is very important and needs to be discussed. It’s important to come to an agreement on a wide range of legal things, specifically ownership of the content. What happens if one person wants the clip sites shut down and the content removed from the internet? Does the other party have the right to continue to use the content? What happens in the event of a breakup?

All of these are very important questions that should be discussed. Just because the relationship is in good standing right now, and both partners are wanting to do this, doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way. Coming to terms and drafting an agreement now can save a headache and possible legal drama down the line.

Privacy Concerns: How To Protect Your Identity

Privacy is a major concern for performers in the industry. Nobody wants their personal information being leaked. There’s also some real creepy people out there, and you don’t want any stalker situation happening. Here is some general information on privacy risks and protection.

People Will Find Out You Do Porn

It is very rare that someone manages to join the industry and get out without someone they know finding out what they’re doing. If someone manages to keep it secret, it’s most likely that they weren’t in the industry that long. That being said, if you’re in the industry long enough, people will find out. This means your friends and your family. Luckily you don’t have to worry about your partner, because they’re interested in jumping in with you.

Regional Blocking Capabilities

Certain sites have regional blocking capabilities. This allows you to block specific countries and some networks even allow you to block individual states and cities (US performers) and regions of specific countries (International performers). It’s highly recommended that you block your home area.

Keep in mind that regional blocking is not a perfect science. If someone is using a VPN, they’ll be able to bypass it. Also, if someone from a blocked region travels outside of that area, they’ll be able to access your content.

Learn More: Blocking Cities, States and Countries On Camming / Clip Sites

Social Media and Other Websites

Social media poses a major privacy risk. Even with the social media accounts set as private, there’s still privacy concerns. Also, there’s other people who might share your content over social media as well. Those accounts might be public.

It’s important to make sure that all location-based services are turned off. Snapchat has this on as a default. Also make sure that there’s no location-based information on any media uploaded to social media or other websites.

Don't Give Away Personally Identifying Information

It’s important to make sure that you don’t give away compromising information while camming, in clips or while interacting with social media followers. For Example; if a performer is wearing a college sweatshirt, it’s easy to assume the performer goes to that school. Not a big deal if it’s a sweatshirt from an out-of-state school, but a big deal if that performer is going to that school.

Be conscientious about what you’re wearing, saying and what’s being featured in content or camming shows. Some performers will list their location as a different state than their real one, or only get as specific as listing the country.

Wishlists and Security Concerns

Wishlists pose a security risk. Some wishlists (Amazon being one of them) might give shipping information to purchasers on orders. If at all possible, use a shipping address other than your own. If a friend out of state is willing to help you out, that is optimal. Yes, you’re paying for the freight / postage, but it’s a lot more secure.

When People Ask You What You Do

“What do you do for a living?” is a question that comes up a lot in conversation. If you don’t want to tell the world you’re a pornstar, you better have an answer for it. If you’re going to school, that’s an easy answer and nobody really questions it. If you also keep a part time job, that’s an easy answer as well. If the adult industry is your only income, you’ll either have to lie or be very vague (“I’m an entrepreneur!”).

If you’re not wanting to tell the truth, it’s worth rehearsing your answer to this question.

Discrete Names On Checks and Payments

Privacy is a major issue for all the networks as well. They don’t want to compromise their performers. For that reason, all the companies use a business name that isn’t adult sounding. This thwarts suspicion from bank tellers, tax professionals and your friends that might see the check sitting on your kitchen table. A little due-dilligence into the corporations and people can figure out they’re adult-related, but it’s not as easy to notice just looking at the checks or transactions.


DMCA And Anti-Piracy

Piracy is a huge issue in the adult industry, and something that everyone should know about. Luckily, there’s some ways performers can fight piracy and tools at their disposal. There’s also some risks that performers need to know about. For example; when submitting a DMCA complaint, the information on the complaint is given to the infringing party. Some pirates have been known to dox performers. Learn more about how to fight piracy and doing it without exposing your personal information.

Learn More About DMCA and Anti-Piracy

More Resources For Couples

Here are some more good resources for couples looking to get into the adult industry. Some of these articles are geared towards solo models, but all the information is applicable to couples as well.

What It’s Like Doing Couples Porn – Video interview with Aerie (Webcam Startup Staff) and Blake on what it’s like doing couples camming and some background on how they got into the industry.

Researching Fetishes – Very good article from Katy Churchill on how to go about researching fetishes and sub-fetishes. Being new to the industry, it’s a good idea to check out the different fetishes and see what’s trending. You might even discover some good fetishes you didn’t even know existed.

How To Decorate A Camming Room – Samantha38g gives advice on how to decorate and change up the camming room. The peel-and-stick wallpaper works amazing! If you’re not camming, these are still great ideas for setting up the rooms you’ll be shooting clips in.

How To Get More Custom Content Requests – Custom videos go for a lot more than pre-recorded videos. Best of all, they can be resold! Many performers state that some of their best performing clips have been a result of custom content requests. Aerie gives some tips on how to get more custom requests.

How To Build A Website – General information on how to build a website and some platforms that are available for adult stars.

Lighting And Setting Up Filming / Camming Room – This is a tutorial specifically for Chaturbate, but the tips are applicable to camming in general, as well as filming clips.

How To Do Snapchat Takeovers – Snapchat is a huge marketing tool and there’s tons of high-traffic accounts that a performer (or couple) can takeover. Aerie gives some tips on how to do proper Snapchat takeovers.

Running A Premium / Public Snapchat – Aerie gives some tips on how to run a premium and public Snapchat from the same account.

Telling Friends And Family You’re A Pornstar – Coming out of the closet can be a difficult task. Aerie shares her personal experience and gives some tips on how to break the news to friends and family.

The Male’s Perspective: First Couple Cam Show – Blake tells his story of the first time jumping on webcam for a couples show.

Marketing Section – The marketing section of the blog. Contains tons of resources that will help with promoting your products and services.

Subscribe On YouTube – Our YouTube channel is full of useful information. We even do a monthly live hangout, and if you can catch us live, we’ve got no problem doing a Q&A with everyone in the YouTube chat.