Chapter List

  1. How to become a webcam model.

  2. How to come up with a stage name.

  3. Forms: Intake, 2257, W9, 1099, and what they mean.

  4. ID: Acceptable forms of identification for age verification.

  5. Pictures: What all you need and how to take them.

  6. How to set up your payment information.

  7. How to set up your model profile.

  8. How to start your first broadcast.

Your First Broadcast

This page is going to tell you all about the actual work, what it takes for you to make money, how the actual flow of the work goes, and all of the technical details that we want you to consider. We’ll cover how you make money, how you will get paid, and what it takes to be successful.

What You'll Need: 

  • Your account information for the administration site. You receive this from us when your account is activated.

  • A laptop or desktop computer that runs Windows or MacOS.

  • A webcam.

  • High-speed internet access.

Note: This article contains a lot of links to the model administration site. You will need to have received your login credentials from us to be able to access the administration site. If you don’t have this, contact or

1. The Performer Application

You use the same login details for the Performer Application and the administration site.


The Performer Application is the software that you'll use to actually connect to the site and stream your video. You can click through to any of the rooms on to see what happens after that. You have your own chatroom where customers come in to chat with you. They can see/hear you, but you can't see/hear them, they only type. The goal is to get one of those customers to start a private show, but more on this later. For now, just note that this software is what every model on Flirt4Free has running on their computers. It's the only way to be on the site and you have to be a registered model to access the software

When you first start camming, it's essential to stream as much as you possibly can. Being online for 8, 10, or 12 hours a day, every day starting out, isn't abnormal. When you're new, you don't have any fans. As soon as you start logging in, you’ll start to gain fans. The faster you can attract clients, the easier this gig becomes. To that end, we recommend you having this particular piece of software open and connected as often as you possibly can.

Now let's dive into the technical components of the Performer App that you'll need to know about. 

  • Login Types & Rates

  • Audio/Video Settings

  • Break & Fake Show

  • Party Chat

  • Group Chat

  • Show Offers

  • Alert Monitor

  • Clear Chat

  • User Types & Options

Login Rates

By default, new performers should select Private + Voyeur Standard 60cpm. 

Here are what the three login types mean. 

Private + Voyeur: This means that 1 person is able to start a private 1 on 1 show with you at your rate and any amount of customers can "voyeur" on the show. That means they can pay 1/3 of the show rate (20cpm at 60cpm login rate) and be able to see the video but not hear audio, type messages or read any of the chat. This is the standard login type that everyone should use by default. 

Multi-User: This means that any customers can start a show at your rate and additional customers can join the show and pay the full rate. All paying customers can see/hear/type and see what other customers are typing (unless they whisper). If you have 2 users in a multi-user show at 60cpm you're making 120cpm. That's pretty great, but the demand for multi-user shows is lower as many customers want an exclusive 1 on 1 experience. Multi-user can be the right fit for certain models but it's not ideal when starting out and building your initial fan base. The exception is duo shows where multi-user tends to be the most lucrative option. 

Private or Multi-User: This is a combination of the above two with the caveat that there are no voyeurs in the private shows. The customer chooses when they begin the show whether they want to start a multi-user show or private show. This is a fine option, however we generally hold the opinion that forcing the customer to make a price consideration immediately at show time is a negative user experience, which is why we favor the standard private + voyeur option. 

Understanding Rates: 60cpm means that the customer is paying 60 credits per minute, which costs them approximately $6 (depending on the amount of credits they purchase at once and whether there is a promotion running). Generally speaking, 10 credits = $1 spent by the customer. At the lowest level of the pay scale (27%) this equals $1.62 per minute in show. At the top level of the scale (50%) this equals $3.00 per minute in show. This difference adds up, so it pays to put in the hours to make the credits necessary in a pay period to raise your pay scale rate (this is intentional). You can skip making the calculations by simply checking your stats in the studio admin, where everything is calculated for you.

Audio/Video Settings

You can adjust your audio/video settings by clicking on the gear icon on the bottom-right of your video in the Performer Application. 

It's usually best to just select built-in and let the software automatically configure the best settings. However, if you experience degraded video quality performance it can help to manually lower the quality to create a more stable video feed. 

Break & Fake Show

break fake.jpg

You can start a break anytime by pressing the Start Break button. A break simply tells all of the users in the room that you're away (and blocks your video feed). You cannot type during a break. And to anyone not in your room, it will appear that you are offline if they search you. You should start a break if you’re going to be off-camera for more than a few seconds. 

Fake show makes it appear to the users in your room that you are in a private show. You will still see your open chat users in your list while in fake show and what they type. Fake show is good for breaks when you don't want to do a break and appear offline.

If you're in standard private/voyeur login and some tries to voyeur on the fake show, they can. This weird thing happens where they can't type/hear you but can see your video. So you can pretend to do a show for someone to keep the voyeur (or more cleverly, end the fake show and try to get them to start their own private). 

In multi-user, fake show happens differently. If someone joins a fake show while you're in multi-user, a regular multi-user show starts. In that login type it can be an OK tool when your room is busy to lure people into show who might not start one on their own. 

Party Chat


Party chat is something you can switch on/off while you're broadcasting. When you start a party, no one can take you private anymore. The concept of a party chat is an open tipping show. You get access to party chat when your power score is in the top 50% of models. 

Party chat takes a special skillset. You'll get a flood of people to your room (many of them looking for a free show). But party chats can be really lucrative if you're good at them. It helps to start with having 1-3 regulars who are interested in a party chat and will tip some amount to get it going. From there, we recommend doing a show in party no matter what. The best results models get come from high energy, aggressive party chats. Just put on a show and encourage people to tip. The more popular you are, the easier this is.

There's nothing at all private about party chats. You'll have upwards of 100 people in your room (hopefully) watching you perform. Not all models are comfortable doing party chats, so some simply don't, and that's fine. But if it sounds fun to you it can be a great way to attract new customers as you'll have a lot more people having a memorable interaction with you if your show is good (so make your show good). 

Lavish praise and attention and good vibes on anyone who tips. Quickly ban anyone that makes requests without tipping and after a few party chats you'll start to build a good culture in your party chats. 

The reason we recommend just putting on a show when you do a party chat is because the models who start a party and try to squeeze customers into tipping to see something tend to have very boring party chats. A lot of customers come in, a lot of customers leave, and the whole of the time is spent negotiating (unerotic). Make it erotic and entertaining and get a lot of people to enjoy it and the tips will come. 

It's good to inject a lot of teasing into your party chat if it's slower, while still maintaining high energy. Holding back, denying, hiding from the camera, giving everyone just enough to want more. These are some of the basic concepts we teach models about party chat. Try them, experiment, and you'll find what works for you. 

Group Chat



Group shows are a feature similar to party that you can switch in/out of from your normal login. No one can start a private while you have a group show pending. 

The format of group shows is that customers "pledge" credits as a group to start a show. You set the price/duration when you initiate the group - i.e., 15 minutes, 1,000 credits. You also describe the plan for the show. If enough customers pledge, the show starts. If it doesn't, the customers get their pledges back. 

The pledges are "guaranteed" meaning when the person elects to pledge the credits are taken from their account (it's not just them typing "I pledge" an actual transaction occurs). The transaction just gets reversed if the show doesn't happen; they get the credits back. You can also opt to take the credits and start the show for the lower amount if the pledges don't quite reach your goal. 

Typically in a group show you'll have 3-10 users pledging 50-100 credits. 

Group show can be extremely good if you have the right fans for them. But it's best to negotiate it in advance with your room a bit to make sure there's interest (because you can't get private shows while a group is pending). If 5 people say they'll pledge 100, that's enough to get started. And you can probably leverage those 5 into pledging another 100 each if the show doesn't quite get there. 

A popular high energy party chat that gets people really excited rolled immediately into a group show can be a good approach. 

Show Offers


Show offers... Sigh... We've long had a hate-hate relationship with show offers. Because statistically speaking, when you're a new model, you cannot be trusted with show offers. You just can't. You will mess it up and take an offer that's too low, because you have absolutely no comprehension of the market dynamics of the.... Anyways, we could go on forever about show offers, but here's what they are. 

If you have show offers turned on, customers can "make an offer." This means that they choose a show length and a rate. Most commonly the show length is short and the rate is 10cpm. Let's revisit our math from earlier. At a 27% commission rate, 10cpm is... 27 cents per minute. Versus $1.62 per minute at 60cpm. Note: 27 cents per minute doesn't add up particularly fast. Bad. Bad. Bad. 

Where it could be good is for example a customer offering you a 20 minute show at 50cpm (1,000 credits) when your rate is at 60. If you accept, you're guaranteed that show length and you get the credits. That's the carrot. 

Our primary beef is that new models don't know their worth and accept show offers at ridiculously low rates, not understanding what it really means. This artificially skews your stats to the negative and kills your hourly rate. If a model that we estimated would make $30/hr is making $15/hr, 9 times out of 10 they're accepting show offers at low rates. We'll cover this more later, but that's a basic intro on how show offers work (and why you should never, ever, ever use them). 

Alert Monitor


You can alert a Flirt4Free monitor by pressing this button. They can ban customers (so can you), answer questions, help with your video settings, etc. 

Clear Chat


If someone wrote something you don't want to stay up on your chatroom, you hit this button and it erases the chat history. 

User Types & Options

Now, we'll cover the basics of user types and what you can do to them in the Performer Application. There are 4 user types: Guest, Basic, Premium, VIP. 

Guest: Grey username. Has not registered an account. You can turn off their chat. 

Basic: White username. Has created account / confirmed email. Personalized nickname. Has never spent money (no credit card attached). So they're basically greys, but they are closer to converting. If they say they'll spend money, keep in mind that around 1 out of 100 ever do, so act accordingly. 

Premium: White username. Credit card on file. Has spent money. We like premium users. 

VIP: Gold username (or they can choose white). Has spent money. We also like VIP users. Roughly the same amount as we like Premium users. 

You can select who can type/whisper to some extent by clicking the gear icon to the right of Clear Chat. 

Chat options.jpg


Whispering means that the user can write in your open chat where only you can see it. Normal messages are publicly visible to everyone in the chatroom. Whispers are generally fine. 

While live, if you right click on a username from the chat list you can make notes, silence (prevents them from typing for 5 minutes), eject (kicks them out but they can come back), or ban (bans them for 24 hours from your room, you can extend the ban in the studio admin under Manage > Chatroom Bans). 

We recommend taking copious notes on users that spend money on you. It's a best practice. You won't be able to remember everyone's details. 

That covers the basic functionality of the Performer Application. The only other button to keep in mind is the Start Chat button. This is the button you need to press when you first log in to the Performer Application. It's the button you press to go live on the site. Make pressing this button a part of your everyday lifestyle. 

start chat.jpg


2. Technical Specifications

This section covers the best practices for your equipment. Everyone starts with what they have, but it's helpful to know what good looks like. So here is our advice on everything you need tech wise. 

A. The Computer. 

Most models opt to broadcast from laptops because it's what they have and the mobility of laptops makes it easier to do good shows. Some broadcast from desktops to give themselves a larger screen area and arrange their room in order to make the setup work. Both are fine, what's important is what's on the inside. 

Processor: The Performer Application is quite resource-intensive when live-streaming. It can take upwards of 1GB of memory on its own. So if like us, you have a minimum of 50 tabs open on your web browser, Apple Music playing Migos at all times, Discord (you should), and the Performer Application all running concurrently, problems occur. This is due to your computer running out of RAM. 

You can tell it's occurring because you'll hear the fans kick up a notch to accommodate the extra load. 

The first thing that tends to happen is your video quality degrades a lot. It will start skipping and lagging. A lot of people attribute this to internet speed, but 9 times out of 10 these days it's a memory issue. Sometimes apps will crash, your screen will freeze, performance of the whole machine will slow down. 

As such we recommend having at least 8GB of RAM on your device. Lower-end laptops these days tend to start at 4GB. While this could work, we'd suggest closing ALL applications besides the Performer App when working for the best results. Even with 8GB of RAM you should be conservative about what you have running. A bunch of web browser tabs open will eat up your RAM. 

You can check how much memory you're using on Mac through Activity Monitor and on Windows under Task Manager. If you're using any amount of Swap memory, you're in trouble. 

Higher end laptops with more memory tend to have other superior components when it comes to graphics, video cards, etc. We recommend Macbooks if you're an Apple person or any gaming series laptop if you're on Windows (Razer, ASUS, Alienware, MSI, etc). The equipment that makes it possible for people to play Fortnite really well also makes it possible to cam with exceptional quality. 

B. The Webcam. 

There isn't a gig in which the quality of the webcam is more important than adult video chat. Most other video related pros can easily use DSLRs to film super high quality content, edit it, and put it up. We can't. We have to do everything live. 

Even for other live streaming professionals like pro gamers, the quality of the webcam is never paramount. 

For us, it's everything. You are broadcasting your video feed, in HD, live, to the customers. It's the only medium they have to interact with you. 

Bad quality video drives customers away. Great quality video attracts customers. This is the single most important aspect to adult video chat. Seriously, it's more important than your personality/looks. If the video quality is not good, no matter how awesome you are, people aren't going to be as interested in paying for a private show. 

Currently, in the webcam game, Logitech is King. We recommend the following 3 models. 

You'll have great video with any of these (providing your computer is sufficient and your internet is stable). For the Brio 4k, you'll absolutely need a solid computer. I wouldn't even think about trying it on a 4GB processor. 

C. The Internet. 

Short version: Get the fastest possible internet speed from the most reliable provider in your area and plug your computer directly into the router.

Please don't try to save $10-20/month on your internet bill. While realistically you're only going to need 3-5MBPS of speed to stream HD video, you should get the fastest residential internet speeds you can. Shared connections are not ideal (dorm room, or the apartment community provides internet, etc). And if you have roommates that will be using the internet, always opt for the fastest connection. 100MBPS+ packages allow virtually unlimited use of internet in a normal household. To make a second Fortnite reference, your roommate can be playing Fortnite and you can stream without a problem. 

You'll get a much more stable connection (and thus better video quality) if you're plugged directly into the router. If, like almost everyone, the room you are going to cam from and the room your router is in are on opposite sides of your home, you can use a Netgear Powerline. This handy device essentially turns your home electrical lines into ethernet cables (not literally). You plug one powerline in right by the router and stick an ethernet in it and then plug the other in by your computer and run an ethernet from that to your device. And like magic, you have a hard-lined connection. 

This has solved a lot of issues for us over the years with models who experienced poor video quality. 

Even if your speed tests show super fast connections, if you're not hard-lined in, the speed variability can cause degraded video performance. 

Rule: Fastest possible internet, hard-line connected to device.

D. Additional Setup Considerations

With the technical setup taken care of, we thought we should mention a handful of the other devices/gadgets/tools that models end up using as a basic part of the work. 


You probably need more light shining on you than any room in your house normally provides. Models use anything from a standard floor lamp to studio umbrella lights, ring lights, etc. The blue light from a computer screen doesn't make ANYONE look better, so you have to work with your setup to find the lighting that is just right for you. 

Realistically, you might spend a few hours early on fooling around with lighting: how many lights, where at, what time of day, what's the backdrop, direct light or reflected off the wall, what brightness on my screen, what kind of bulbs, any shading? 

It's actually not too complicated, just turn your cam on and play around, see what looks good. Some models use orange hued lights in the winter time when they aren't getting much sun. Models who work from larger rooms tend to need to use a lot of ambient back lighting. 

There's no one size fits all solution. So just know that it's a thing and we'll help you figure it out if you need us to.


The truth is, some amount of fabric is going to be used while you work. Mainly clothes and bedding, unless you hang a rug on the wall behind your bed (protip: don't).

For clothes, our advice is simply to dress nice. Dress like you're going to a club or on a blind date where you might meet someone you'd like to make a good first impression with. You can really do anything. Some models go full formalwear and look cool and excite customers while doing it. Others go casual. It all works. Unless it's orange: you probably shouldn't wear orange on cam under normal circumstances. 

Bedding on the other hand often ends up being a predominant color scheme for performers. Meaning, the bedding is often a highly visible part of the video feed and as such the choice of color has an effect. Most often neutral colors that contrast your skin tone are best. Everyone looks good with clean white bedding. But you sort of need to have a more formal bedding setup (think, gasp, throw pillows) or else white can look a bit anemic. 

If you want to go with louder colors, obvious example being hot pink, our general advice would be simply that it will work as long as you pull it off. Meaning, if your personality and style are such that you're all about pink, rock it, and you'll look cool. 

If, on the other hand, you're quiet, toned down, shy, and facially unexpressive, hot pink will clash with that and the vibe will feel confused. Seriously, stuff like this matters on cam. 

Surround yourself with color that you love, if you have colors that you love. Otherwise go for white or dark earth tones. "And when you find bedding that you love, buy a couple of sets, you're going to ruin them."


This part is entirely subjective, we don't have any recommendations about decor specifics. But we do have very strong recommendations about decor generally. Which is this: 

Everything that will ever be seen in your video feed matters, a lot. Nothing should be there by chance. Set your camera up how it is normally going to be set up and look at the view, is it nice, is it you, is it aesthetically satisfying? If the answer is no, change it.

And herein lies decor. Beyond the basic setup, it's a great idea to add in things that make your video look better. Throw pillows, nightstand lamps, flowers, plants, wood, art, etc. Anything is fair game, just do it on purpose. 

And avoid the absolute no-no's like: anything even tangentially related to laundry (baskets, dirty clothes, etc), tapestry rugs on the wall, clutter, messy bed (unless you JUST made it messy on purpose), uncased pillows, your high school yearbook, etc. 


Your phone should be on silent. A notification going off on your phone reminds the customers that a real world exists. We should never remind the customers that a real world exists. You being on your phone means you're paying attention to your phone, not your customers. It's just a bad move overall. Everyone does it from time to time, there's no penalty for it, but it's something you should try to avoid. At the very least have your phone on silent if you can. 

3. The Administration Site

Short version: This is the site where you can check your stats, change your profile pics/info, send offline messages to customers, edit your VODs, and block states. You use it a lot.


Performer App Live

So we covered all of the technical stuff. Here's the stuff you really need to know. This image is the performer application live, from Max’s room. Your room will look very similar, with your face swapped out for Max’s when you broadcast.

If you have problems with your gear starting out, we'll try to find a way to make it work until you can upgrade it to something better. Most of us were broke when we started, so do what you can with what you have. If you don’t have a good enough laptop to stream, you can probably rent one from a local shop for $30-40/week, well worth it.

You'll want to spend a lot of time thinking about the aesthetic appeal of your setup while streaming. Give people a nice view. The better your video quality, lighting, backdrop, and your personal presentation is, the more money you will end up making.

The Performer Application is where you go to work. It's your office. It's the tool you're going to use to stream and make money. You are judge, jury, and executioner when you're live. The Performer App is your domain. If people don't behave the way you want them to, bounce them. You should use the Performer App to go live as much as you possibly can when starting out. The more hours spent live, the more exposure, the more fans, the more privates, the more money, the more rank, the more traffic, and so on. Success breeds success. Stream all the time. 

When you go live, within 10-20 seconds usually the first few grey names will start showing up in your chatroom. Within a few minutes, you'll start to get some white usernames. You'll say hi, or they'll say hi. Just talk. Catch someone's attention. Start a conversation. Be curious and learn as much as you can about them and take notes. When you feel you've established a connection, you can talk to them about private and ask for a show. Most won't convert, some will, and that will be enough.

The game is private shows. How many can you get. How many people can you attract. How long of a show can you keep them in. 

On one side, it's ruthless warfare of us vs. them, with our goal being to separate them from as much money as we possibly can. On the other side, it's only possible to do that by making them want to. What they want varies infinitely from customer to customer. Some are similar, but no two are alike. We can't ever make someone press private. Customers will do what they want and only what they want. Have the best shows, make the best connections, be the most interesting, and you won't want for customers. 

The work is learning about people. Getting to know them. Understanding who they are, what they want, what they need, and what will make them feel the feelings they want to do. And then doing that thing, always that thing. 

It's actually sort of fun. 

The studio admin is where you're going to check your stats, count your money, and add your payment information so Flirt can pay you. You'll also use it to exchange offline messages with customers, because following up helps build strong relationships with them. From time to time, you'll update your profile photos. You might make a blog post or two now and then, but probably not consistently. Before your first login you'll block the states that you don’t want to be seen in, under Filters. You'll always obey the rules. And when you're ready you'll configure Flirt Phone and Flirt SMS because they're a great way to make money while not streaming. If you're a super pro, you'll name/categorize all of your VODs once a week because named VODs sell a lot more. 

If you’re up for it, you can make a Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat under your stage name and get customers to follow you on it. Totally optional.

5. The Pay Scale

any hours, 1-24,999 credits, 27%
any hours, 25,000+ credits, 30%
30 hours, 50,000+ credits, 35%
40 hours, 100,000+ credits, 40%
40 hours, 200,000+ credits, 50%
based on the 2-week pay period

It’s essential to understand credits in order to understand how much money you’re making in real time while you’re on cam. While you are offline, you can always just check in the studio admin. But if someone offers you 100 credits to perform something, how do you know if it’s worth it? We like to be super clear about credits.

When we talk about commission percentages, it simply means what % of the credits that were spent on you are paid to you as commission.

What customers pay:

10 credits = $1.

100 credits = $10.

1,000 credits = $100.

Note: these are the standard rates. Flirt4Free does run promotions where they discount credits to customers on certain days or for larger purchases, or for new customers. So customers on average actually pay slightly less than $1/10 credits, but it’s a good rule of thumb. Discounts do not affect models earnings.

So, 100 credits if you are on the base pay scale is $2.70 that you earn ($10 x 27%). If you make 25,000 credits in the 2-week pay period, you jump to 30% (retroactive to all of your credits from the pay period) and every 100 credits is worth $3.00. 50k in 2 weeks and they’re each worth $3.50. 100k is $4.00. And 200k is $5.00. (Assuming you also meet the minimum hours for those higher rates.)

The difference is pretty staggering. If you earn 200,000 credits over the course of 6 months, always having it paid out at 27%, your total income will be $5,400. If you earn 200,000 credits in 2 weeks, it would be $10,000. Flirt4Free really likes to incentivize sales happening today.

200,000 credits in 2 weeks is an extreme challenge. Less than 1% of models ever do it once. The top models on the network struggle to hit 200,000 credits in 2 weeks, but a handful do every pay period and get a $10,000+ paycheck.

Top models regularly hit 100,000 credits. A lot more people hit 50,000 credits. And most people should be able to hit at least 25,000 credits.

Even the difference from 27% to 30% is pretty significant long-term. It’s 10% more money overall.

Adding It Up.

New models generally broadcast at 60cpm, so on the lowest level that’d be $1.62 per minute spent in show. Top models tend to broadcast at 90-120cpm, and hit 40%+ payouts. Earning them $4+/minute in show on average.

To make 25,000 credits at 60cpm using only private shows requires 6.94 hours spent in private shows. With a 25% conversion rate (25% of the time you’re online being spent in private, 75% being spent trying to get private shows) that would take 27.77 hours per 2 week pay period on average. From which, you’d earn $750.

To make 50,000 credits at 60cpm using only private shows requires 13.88 hours spent in private show per pay period. With a 25% conversion rate, you’d need to log 55.55 hours in a pay period to achieve 50,000 credits. Which would earn you $1,750.

100,000 credits, 60cpm, 27.78 hours in private, a 25% conversion rate means 111 hours spent broadcasting in 2 weeks. And from that you’d earn $4,000.

100,000 credits, 90cpm, 18.51 hours in private, 25% conversion rate means 74 hours broadcast. And still $4,000 earned.

These are the metrics we have to play around with. Credits per minute (the rate for your shows), hours broadcast, conversion rate.

The data is going to indicate the right rate per minute for your shows. If you convert much higher than 25% (many models do) we raise your prices, with standard show rates capping out at 120cpm.

Hours broadcast is entirely on you, we recommend broadcasting a lot. The more hours you’re online, the more customers see you, the more likely you are to turn people into fans. Customers reward models who broadcast regularly and avoid those who don’t.

Then conversion rate is going to come down to your skills on cam, which we’ll talk about a lot as you progress throughout your career. Top models often spend more than 50% of their time online in private shows and in rare circumstances as much as 90%. Anything over 25% is considered good. If you convert much below 25% it’s probably a good idea to consider lowering your cpm. If you convert much higher than 30% it’s probably a good idea to consider raising your rate.

Final Thoughts:

When you’re new, you’ll have a million questions. You won’t understand anything at all about camming. You won’t understand how the credits/pay works. That’s fine. All we care about is flight time. The more time you spend broadcasting, the easier everything gets. All of the mysteries new models feel vanish after 10-20 hours on cam. The real work becomes how to attract and maintain relationships with customers, how to keep things exciting and interesting, and how to manage your schedule.

We’ll cover all that and more, you just have to start. By downloading the performer application and logging in.