Before they departed for the west coast, pioneers in the 1800s would often load up their Prairie Schooners with tons of supplies – food, tools, blankets, pots and pans. They often piled up so much stuff in their wagons there wasn’t much room for but maybe except the smallest kid to ride inside. As they traveled, they’d eventually start dumping stuff along the side of the trail because their wagons were too heavy for the oxen to pull up steep slopes or through boggy streams. Some families ended up picking up what was left behind by others because it came in handy for them. Like those pioneers of the old days, I’m going to give you the basic information about what you’ll need to pack in your wagon; it’s up to you to decide what to keep, add, throw away, and pick up as you go.

As you will come to know, working in the adult industry is not an easy gig – that is, if you want to make yourself big. It’s an uphill climb, and each model’s path is different, so you’re basically pioneering your own way through the wilderness to find what works best for you. We’re all gunning for the gold coast of AVN, but few make it past the first couple hilltops before giving up and turning back. Some simply settle where they are, in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. But not you. You’re going to make it to the sandy beaches and the perfect climate of adult stardom. And here’s how.

Going into the world of sex as an independent model, you’re basically like a pioneer at the very beginning of Westward Expansion. The trails aren’t well worn and clear, and few have traveled so far on their own. But the ones who have are famous for it and boy do they have stories to tell! You want to be like those early explorers, so here you are, preparing for your long journey across the continent, and you’re not sure where to begin.

A lot goes into making a name for yourself in the world of sex. It isn’t a quick start up, and you’ll have plenty of false-beginnings. You’ll go through and reinvent your porn-sona at least once and you’ll refine what type of content you make as time goes on based on what works; i.e. what people like to see from you and what you like to do. Whatever you do, it is important to make yourself into a brand that people know. You have to think of it as inventing a product and making it into a household name. There are tons of products out there on the market just like your product, but there needs to be something about your product that makes it stand out from the rest.

So how do you begin? First, you should decide on which market you’re going to target; i.e. What type of sex are you selling? Think about your niche. Start by basing it on what you think you’d like to produce the most. If you have the opportunity, ask others what type of porn they think you’d be best in. Is it MILF, BBW, girl next door, trans? Perhaps it’s something a bit more obscure, like Nu Goth or airplane sex. It’s good to have something to distinguish your brand from others out there on the market. However, you should keep in mind that you’re going to have to compromise a bit at the beginning on what type of content you’ll produce, as this will allow you to form a basic foundation – a fan-base if you will. To decide what to put out there, I recommend looking at the search trends and the type of content the highest ranking girls are putting out.

For example, if airplane sex is your niche, you can still produce that content – but not a lot of people search porn sites for “airplane sex.” It still falls under the category of public nudity / exhibitionism / voyeurism, but you’re going to have to sprinkle your brand with some of the more common stuff – I call it kitsch porn – in order to get more people to visit your store and more viewers interested in your product. These viewers are going to be the ones who fund your more obscure content with their kitsch purchases. They’ll also promote you on social media and become regulars in your room (if you cam), which will add to your product’s reputation and credibility. Remember, your product is not only the porn you produce. Your product is you.

Eventually you’ll come to a point where you find the perfect blend of what everyone out there wants to see and what you and your niche fans want you to do. As you rise in rank and your daily sales increase, you’ll begin to get an even better feel for what your brand is all about. Important thing to remember that will help your store receive more views: SEO (search engine optimization) is key. You can title your videos whatever you want, but make sure the searchable title, description, and tags are something that includes important buzz words – things that describe your content but still hold to the kitsch desires of the average-joe audience. Good buzz words that describe my content while still keeping in line with the top searches on ManyVids are “Teen,” “Daddy,” “Sister,” “Anal,” “Asian,” and “BBC.” That said, my highest selling videos are Futanari videos, and “Futanari” / “Futa” are not anywhere in the top 10 searches on this site; which just goes to show you that it’s important to do what you truly love alongside all the generic stuff. It keeps your content open to all kinds of audiences. Futanari is my favorite type of video to make, and by creating other kitsch porn around it, I’ve directed people to my page who found my Futa content, even if they weren’t looking for it.

I hope you found my tips helpful, and good luck on your journey to the top ten! Follow me for more awesome “how-to” articles on tumblr (missalamode.tumblr.com) and twitter (@bunnyalamode).

AJ Bunnie Hughes