Tips on how to succeed in the Adult Entertainment Biz

Glenn King

Today Glenn King updated his popular article, “Tips for Female Talent on how to succeed in the Adult Entertainment Biz”. It’s actually a really good read and you should check it out and if you get a chance follow him on twitter @GlennKingXXX.

UPDATED: June 16, 2016  I usually charge girls for this kind of advice… my fee structure is based on hot pictures of asses sent to my phone. But here you go girls – My advice for girls on how to Succeed In Adult Entertainment:

Tips for Female Talent on how to succeed in the Adult Entertainment Biz

One phrase I have heard over and over again from Female Talent is “My agent is not getting me enough work”. In reality, your agent does not get you work. He/She introduces you to companies that might want to hire you, and then it’s up to their Producers/Directors to decide. If you are not getting enough work, here are some things that you can do to help yourself out:

1)      If you are new in the industry, do as many scenes as possible to get your career going- Producers know that they make more money by shooting girls who have a large fan base. It’s only logical that if I book a girl with lots of fans, I will sell more DVDs and website memberships. So build that fan base! And be prepared to invest in yourself by doing content trades. Even if you don’t have a website, it’s good to have content for that some day when you will. Just make sure the other person in the content trade has a website. Appearing on anyone’s website gives you a chance to be seen by new people.

2)      Show up on time to set- I can’t emphasize this one enough. If a girl shows up late to set, it can cause a variety of problems. We might be paying by the hour for the studio. The makeup artist may have another booking to get to, so she might rush on your makeup if you are late and then it won’t be as good. Or maybe we will have to rush the scene and it won’t be as good. If I have to choose between two girls, I’m always going to choose the one who has a reputation for being on time.

3)      Be clean!!! – You would think this would be obvious. Girls, your vagina is your moneymaker.  How can a girl who is about to do a scene where a guy will be licking her vagina show up unshowered or not smelling clean? And yet, it happens all the time. Would you go to a restaurant that smelled bad because they never cleaned the grills or took out the garbage? Of course not –they would go out of business. As an adult performer you are your own little restaurant (small business).  Because it’s awkward for anyone on set to say anything about it, you may not even realize that other people noticed but believe me, other people noticed. If any of my male talent friends tells me he had a day on set where the girl’s vagina did not smell wonderful, I won’t book her. Trust me – you don’ t want to be known as a girl with an unpleasant smell. All it takes is one incident to get that reputation.

4)      When on set, make the producers want to shoot you again. When you first get into the business, a lot of producers will want to book you because of your looks. After most companies have shot you, your bookings will come from companies who invite you back. So make yourself someone that we want to bring back! Have a great attitude on set.

5)      When on set, be careful what you say! – I have heard several stories lately of girls who managed to destroy a scene by talking about their shitting habits on set. Yes, you read that correctly – there are actually girls who talk on set about their shitting habits. I cannot emphasize this enough; DO NOT TALK ABOUT THINGS ON SET THAT THE OTHER TALENT MAY FIND HORRIBLY GROSS. Girls, the male talent in the scene with you is supposed to have an erection during the scene. You are supposed to help him get that erection. A good way: find out what his fetishes are and talk dirty to him. A bad way: talk between takes about how what you just did in the bathroom.

6)      Always have a good Manicure/Pedicure– Producers may not say anything to you about this, but if you show up to set with nasty looking nails, we notice. And our fans notice. Fans want you to be their fantasy girl. Beautiful hair, good skin, good makeup, and nice nails are all part of the fantasy. If you want more bookings, always look beautiful.

7)      Drinking/Drugs are for AFTER set, not on- A lot of girls don’t get this because Producers don’t say anything to them about it. If we realize halfway through the scene that you are stoned, we probably will do our best to finish the scene and then never hire you again. If you have a reputation for being drunk or stoned or using other drugs on set, you are probably losing a lot of work.

8)      Help your male talent stay erect:  We producers understand that the performers will have better energy in the scene if we move along at a good pace. If your male talent is having wood problems, help him out! Just because the camera isn’t going doesn’t mean you should say “I’m not on the clock. He can get himself hard”. The scene take a lot less time to shoot if you talk dirty to him, blow him, or do whatever it takes to help him get turned on. It’s part of being a team player when on set.

9)      Use Social Media to build your fan base: twitter up hot pictures of yourself. Get more followers. More followers=more fans. More fans=more people to buy your scenes. More buyers=more bookings. It’s not a huge factor, but it’s a plus. There are certain girls that I know if I book them and put up a picture from the scene, it’s going to be seen and retweeted by an army of 100,000 followers. If I’m choosing between two equal girls, give me the one with the twitter army.

10)   Go on any Radio Show/Television show/Podcast that will have you. Do any interview that is published somewhere that people will read it: It always amazes me when a girl tells me she is going to hire a publicist but then says she doesnt want to go on Radio shows/Podcasts/TV Shows for free. You pay a publicist (among other things) to get you on Radio Shows/Podcasts/TV Shows! Yes, girls don’t get paid to go on Radio Shows. They go on shows to get new fans. Going on shows is an important part of building your name. Vivid Radio has lots of listeners. My TV Show has a huge audience (and its is my direct pipeline for my casting). But any show that has more than 1 listener is an opportunity to gain more fans. Any online interview site with more than one reader is an opportunity to gain more fans. More fans=more people to buy your scenes=more bookings. If you don’t know who to contact to get booked on a show, ask your agent. If your agent tells you “shows are a waste of time” then ask yourself “Does he/she really care about building my brand?”

11)   Meet as many Directors/Producers as you can- If you are at a party and someone tells you “that guy over there is Glenn King. He directs for Evil Angel”, you should come introduce yourself! Assuming you are hot, the more producers you meet in person, the more bookings you will get. Go on as many go-sees as your agent will take you. When you are at a Trade Show or other Industry function, try to meet every Director and Producer in the room.  And for God’s sake,if a Director like me asks you to come on his radio or television show, your answer should be “YES!” without hesitation. I’m a Producer/Director. My Co-Host Aiden Starr is a Producer/Director. Why would anyone want to pass up this opportunity to meet Directors in person?

12)   On days when you are not working, work!. You have to think of adult entertainment as a full time job. The average performer in porn is probably getting only 4-6 bookings per month. Most girls are not making enough money off scene bookings to pay all of their bills. But that doesn’t mean you can’t live comfortably with high earnings.  You just need to find other ways to make money on the other days. There are plenty of ways: Sext Panther, Custom Videos, Webcam Shows, Work in a Strip Club, Open a Clipstore. Start a website. You can make a living at this, but you can’t do it by working one day a week and then using the other six days for relaxation.

13)   Press Releases are your friend: Press Releases are inexpensive or even free if you write them yourself and it’s an easy way to get your name out there and become better known to producers. A simple Press Release like “Candy Peaches appears in 4 new titles this month” that talks about what DVDs you have appeared in lately, is easy to write. Or find someone who knows how to write press releases and will help you.

14)   Research your producers. Know who you want to work for: I have heard a lot of Directors say “I don’t want to shoot a girl who just wants to show up, get fucked, and get paid”. We are all looking for girls who are going to do a wild, memorable, intense, great scene. If a girl contacts me and says she wants to work for me but doesn’t even know what kinds of scenes we shoot, why would I think she is going to do a great scene? Know what you are into, find out what producers make those kind of videos, and watch some so you can find out who you really want to work for. If you consider yourself a domme, you should know about all the companies that shoot female domination. I’m much more likely to hire a girl who says “I loved Tory Lane’s scene in ‘When Pornstars Attack!’ I think if you gave me a chance I’d give you an incredible scene” than one who contacts me and says “I know Evil Angel shoots a lot of girl/girl anal. You should shoot me”. I don’t shoot girl/girl anal. So why would I be interested in a girl who says that?

15)   Use Social Media to start relationships with Producers- Almost all of us Producers are easy to access and contact on Twitter. We prefer to book girls who are interested in working for us. If a girl is not following me on Twitter, I assume she isn’t really interested in my kind of scenes (women who use men as sex slaves) So, I rarely book a girl who is not following me. It makes communication a lot easier… If a girl is following me on Twitter, I can DM her the night before the scene and ask “Did you have any questions about wardrobe? Do you have any special requests for beverages/wardrobe?”. I’m not saying I won’t shoot any girl who isn’t following me, but if I’m choosing between two equal girls, I’ll take the one who is following me. This is 2014, not 2001. You should be following every Director on Twitter that you want to work for.

16)   Help Producers market the content on Social Media– Again, if I have to choose between two equal performers, I want the one who retweets my links. That way, her fans know they can see her scenes if they join my website. By doing so, you make yourself worth more to the producer. And you help yourself too by showing people where to see you in action.

17)   Flirt with Producers- We Producers are human, and we are insecure just like you are. I admit it, I have had instances where I didn’t hire a girl because I flirted with her and she was cold in return. No producer likes when a girl makes him feel undesirable, especially if she seems to be flirting with everyone else.  I’m not saying that you need to have sex with any producer to get work. I have NEVER in my career told a girl I would hire her if she had sex with me but I’m saying if it comes down to two equal performers, I’m usually going to pick the one who seems to like me. It’s just human nature.

18) Find a Mentor– Girls who have been in the business for a few years have been through a lot and can help you avoid mistakes. Don’t be afraid to ask advice from someone with more experience. A girl who has been around can help you determine what agent is best for you, what kind of producers you want to work for, how to find the optimal housing and transportation, and more.

19) Find a place to live that’s somewhere in the valley or close to the valley. – Los Angeles traffic is the worst in the country. If you live in Orange County, leave at 8AM to arrive at a 10AM calltime and don’t arrive until 11AM, it may have been unavoidable but to the producer all that matters is that you were late. Girls who live far away and are often late get a reputation. You don’t want to be the girl who doesn’t get booked when the producer says “We are on a tight timeframe this week.. we didn’t want to book her for this one because we can’t wait around for her to make it through traffic”. The easiest way to avoid being late for set is to start somewhere close.

20) Make it easy to book you, and then take your bookings seriously– Last year I asked a girl (who had no agent) via twitter DM when she was coming to LA. She gave me dates in October, I offered her some dates in her window, and we agreed on October 9. Then in mid September I checked back with her and asked “Are you still coming to LA in October? We still good for October 9? She said “I’m open on October 9. Did you want to book me that day?”. I said “Um.. OK I already booked you for that day, but sure – let’s book you for October 9”. Then on October 3, I texted her and asked “You still coming to LA next week? Are we still on for October 9?. She said “I’m booked that day.. here are my open dates. Did you want to book me for one of those days?”. I told her “No- I have already booked you twice. I’m not going to book you again and wonder if you are going to show up. I’ll book someone who is reliable instead”. She’s a Great performer, but I ended up booking someone else. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me.. Some girls are great performers but terrible at maintaining their own calendars.  It’s really important to convey to producers that you are the type of girl who takes her bookings seriously. If you are too stoned to write down your bookings, you need an agent. When you get a booking, make it your utmost goal to keep that booking. You don’t want a reputation as someone who may or may not make it to a booking.

21) Say “Thank You”. Remembering to say Thank You is just a little thing that can help you differentiate yourself. Whenever a girl texts me a question like “Could I get the number to Evil Angel so I can order some DVDs?”, and then I give it to her and get no response, it makes me shake my head. Saying “Ok, thanks! I’ll give them a call. “ is just common courtesy. So many girls in our industry lack this kind of politeness.. make  yourself stand out by being one of the ones who says “thanks”.

You have heard me say in this blog a few times “If it’s between two equal girls, I’m always going to choose the one who…”. That’s what succeeding in this biz is all about. There’s a lot of competition, and it’s your job to make yourself a little more bookable than the girl next to you. I hope this helps you girls out a little bit!

Here’s a pic of a girl who is succeeding in this Biz, Cindy Starfall – follow her example.

Cindy Starfall

Source: Glenn King

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