LENA LOVE
Anon submission
Sex sells. It always has it always will. There is just something about two people sharing an intimate moment that makes you want to stop and ogle. For most, this is as far as the interest stretches. However, there are plenty of people spending their hard earned cash to stop and ogle, though generally from behind a computer screen. At the beginning of the year, the porn industry was estimated to generate $97 billion globally and is set to steadily increase. Porn is only one chunk of the sex industry; we still have escorts, sex workers and all the erotic niches in between. To put a value on the industry as a whole would be impossible. It is growing exponentially and shows no sign slowing down.
With all that money flowing through sexual ventures, it’s no surprise that more people are coming out of the woodwork to get their slice of the pie. Despite this, numerous onlookers of the adult industry just don’t have the stomach to be sexually invested, yet still want to be involved. And they can be. The adult industry is expansive, so much more than just sex, and there are countless ways in which the average joe can earn a side income if not a living. Here are a few methods the softcore can use to earn a few sheckles.
Cam Sites
Being comfortable in your own skin will not go amiss here. Cam and streaming sites give users a platform to project themselves live to an audience. From here, viewers are able to donate to the streamers or pay for private showings. Some of the more successful users in the field make hundreds of thousands a year just streaming.
The stereotypical ‘cammer’ is an attractive young girl usually stripping or performing other sexy acts and this is true, for the most part. The niche has recently become very vast… and strange. Move over naked hot blonde, hello Korean girl eating dinner. To keep up with the ever growing list of fetishes, new cam sites are being introduced where streamers are doing all sorts of whacky acts all for the sexual pleasure of the audience.
Even if you’re not completely comfortable stripping down to your birthday suit, there are still lots of cam sites which entail being fully clothed, just exposing your feet or just eating food or just your hands. The perverted possibilities are endless. This includes you fellas…
Selling Underwear
A lot of you probably saw the most recent season of Orange Is The New Black. For those that didn’t: the show featured a subplot in which inmates sold their worn underwear online. This is something that has been happening for many years (though this was the first exposure to such a business for most people). For those wondering “why?”… In the adult industry it’s easier to ponder why not? The typical male buyer (sometimes female) enjoys the scent left on worn underwear. Some buyers enjoy when the seller has masturbated in them, worked out in them and even had their period in these god forsaken knickers.
These items were previously bought and sold in adult forums, shady marketplace sites and personal sites of sellers. Now, we have huge marketplace sites like SofiaGray and large communities on sites like Reddit where a young woman reported funding her whole college education just by selling her used underwear!
Phone Sex Operator
Similar to a normal phone operator, just a little sexier. This method is the oldest on the list, probably dating back to the origin of the phone, where the user calls a phone sex operator and is connected with a worker or calls a specific operator and then proceeds to discuss whatever has been erotically marinating in their mind. This used to be an exclusive phone operation, but with tools such as Skype and several other platforms this can be done on most internet enabled devices.
Like most things in the adult industry, it really boils down to preference and niche. Phone sex directories usually have a large list of potential operators to call, all being different shapes, sizes, genders and ethnicities. Granted the user will have no idea who is on the other end of the line, but imagining is half the fun.
Even with the ability to video chat there is something traditional about a phone conversation which appeals, so much so that some workers are paid up to a dollar a minute.
Text Chat
Chatrooms, texting, WhatsApp and chat sites. All of which create a platform for those who are not quite confident enough to have a sexual conversation with a complete stranger or just prefer textual interactions. Nevertheless, there is a market for those who enjoy sharing their arousing fantasies via text. Similar to phone sex, it relies a lot on the user’s imagination; the workers have to simply remain in the character the buyer desires while being extremely sexy and responsive to their messages.
While there is still a market for text chat, it’s not a huge as it once was. With so many other options out there it seems to be a dying art. This being said, lots of text chat workers are still making good money from this, so jump on the bandwagon while you still can.
Escorts
Escorts are generally confused with prostitutes. This isn’t the case. When hiring an escort you’re paying for their time and company, not sex, however the stigma of sex included is true in most cases.
While most people do hire escorts for the sex, there are some who don’t. Some simply want an evening or day with a partner by their side. Someone they can share a laugh with, 
someone who will actually engage them in conversation. It’s saddening that this is something that has to be bought, but it opens the door for a service to be offered. Sites like AdultWork allow you to list yourself as an escort (yes, many of the escorts listed are only looking for sexual offers, but some are not) where you can clearly state in your profile what services you’d be willing to offer and what is completely out of bounds.
-Anonymous
