What goes into a webcam site?

[xtreme_ballr]

Hey guys and gals,

I'm sure most of you have heard this before, but I was curious to see what it would take to start up a small web cam site. My girlfriend and are full time webcam models and we do pretty well. However, 50% of what we charge goes to the site that we work for which is understandable. But you can't blame me for wanting 100% right?

I was just doing some research on this subject and it appears to be a costly venture if you don't know what you are doing. I am pretty decent with design and graphics but I really don't do too much coding which I assume plays a big part in a web cam site.

Obviously I wouldnt expect to compete with the large sites. I'd probably have a small number of girls in a niche or two.

So just brainstorming: what would I need to get started in that business?

* VISA / MasterCard merchant account
* Web cam software (what kind?)
* Cash for SEO
* etc.....

What kind of experience would I need, or who would I need to hire?

This is just an idea, I havent put enough research into it just yet. Really, I'd just like to know if this is possible. I'd say I have around $5,000 to spend and the rest I'd have to do myself. Thanks for any advice

[wrbpilot]

You need to provide all the goods and services that the web site operator provides for you now. The site, the bandwidth, billing services, 2257/compliance requirements, seo and on and on. you picked a great place to ask this very important question. Cozy campus has lots of resources to help you research your needs. There are also lots of experienced webmasters willing to help you if you do your homework first.

Best wishes in your endeavor!!!

wrbpilot

[Hammer]

There are only two ways you can start your own cam show completely on your own and make money. The first, is to hire lots of models and start your own iFriends or ImLive (which ain't never gonna happen), or start a solo model pay site with photos and video and do the cam shows as part of the content, but not the focus of the site.

There really isn't much programming involved and since I'm sure you already have your own cam equipment, setting up a live cam isn't that much work.

You would need a merchant account, which you probably wouldn't be able to get on your own and NetBilling has a $75k per month minimum income level, but you could use CCBill, Jettis, or Verotel as good alternatives. The advantage of going with Netbilling, Jettis and Verotel would be that if at some point you wanted to sell hard good, they will process for you and CCBill won't.

How good are you at marketing, because setting up the site will be the easy part, but if so far you've been relying on the company you're with to bring you the traffic, you'll be starting from scratch.

Like I said though, starting a pay site strictly so you can do cam shows is probably not going to work, so you'll need to start shooting stills and videos and plan on building a full-blown solo model site. However, and I can't tell from your post, because it's possible you're a woman and have a girlfriend, but I'm assuming you're a guy, in which case, I seriously doubt that a couple can pull off a pay site with the only content being themselves.

P.S. Like wrbpilot said, you will have a lot of work and expenses, and the bandwidth is going to be very expensive.

[chilihost]

I have seen many people setup and succeed running small cam sites, as long as you have the ability to market it yourself or have a team that is able to market it for you (that would include people you hire or affiliates).

Setting it up is really not that complex, you need a site design, some good quality hosting (stay away from any hosting company that uses cogent bandwidth as it lags - use only teir1 - especially for live sites!!!), a few special programs to do the live shows and away you go. I do agree with Hammer that you will be more successful if you built a complete members area with pre-recorded videos and photos and made the live shows a feature. One easy way to do this is to record all your live shows and then use those as your content.

If you want more info on the hosting and programming requirements, let me know either thru PM or email.

cheers,
Luke

[MediaGuy]

I'm obviously biased, but would be able to give you more of an informed opinion if you gave more info here.

Do you plan to set up a site with your video in a members area, or a free-upsell, or a solo site with cams as a feature?

Depending on your needs there's different solutions for webcam software out there - again tell us more.

I can send you to the competition if I don't think we're right for you - but more data would help narrow the recommendation, or allow me to try to get you up on our system.

Let us know and grow!!

[Streamray Elli]

That is a great idea, but often people find it's a bigger task than they anticipated.

The main factor making or breaking the site that I can see is the number of models. You need to have enough models in enough time zones so there is always someone live, and preferably more than one person. Otherwise when a surfer from the UK shows up and all your models are in the US, noone will be online for him.

I wish you the best of luck and good fortune!