Why I Love Zivity

So, today I felt inspired to write a post about Zivity, not really about how it works or anything (though part of that will be in here, I'm sure), but more about my experiences with it and why I'm on the site.

From my Zivity set "The Forgotten Courtesan"

If you don't know what Zivity is, you can head over to www.Zivity.com to read a basic description. From my point of view, I shoot sets of photos, usually varying from wearing lingerie to nude, either with another photographer or as a self shot photographer, then I upload those sets to the site. Subscribers aka Fans (as well as other models and photographer, aka Artists) can view the sets and if they like them, they can vote on the set. The votes cost $1 each, but I believe subscribers get some votes with their subscription each month. Once you spend that $1 on my set, I get 55 cents, the photographer gets 30 cents, and Zivity takes the remainder. So 55 cents may not seem like a lot, but if just 10 people vote 10 times each, so they put in $10 each, I make $55.

At around 100 votes per set, some going over 200, but rarely for me, I make about $55 a set right now. That number used to be more like $100 a set, but I lost some key fans and I'm working to build my fan base back up again. So anyway, I would estimate I spend a couple hours shooting each set, not including maybe another half hour to hour picking out wardrobe, doing makeup, researching poses, setting up the lights & camera, etc. Then I spend at least a couple more hours going through the photos to pick the best shots (I often shoot a few shots of the same pose), and then editing the photos. So we'll go with a low estimate of 4.5 hours spent on each set and that comes out to about $12 an hour. Except of course that I also spend at least an hour a day, on average, contacting fans, sending messages, writing on walls, etc to promote my sets.

From my Zivity set "Oh My Light"

Why am I telling you all this? Because I think it's important for people to understand what goes into a set, but also to show you that supporting artists on Zivity is something almost anyone can do and I kind of hope that some of you reading this might sign up on the site and support me. Or that those of you who are members who don't vote for me might consider sending a vote or two or more my way. If you're not a member, you can head over to www.zivity.com/join/passcode and use my passcode which is "zivitymi" (without the quotes) for a free trial. Or you can PM me on FB with your e-mail address and I can send you an invite that way.

So how come I do this Zivity thing? Well, I used to be a freelance model, so I would go around posing for other photographers and they would pay me. But then I started having my pain issues and it got to the point that I couldn't schedule shoots any more because sometimes the pain would flare up and I knew that it was going to force me to cancel shoots. Photographers really do not like that, and I do not blame them. So I haven't been able to do those shoots or have that income for a while now. But Zivity has filled in some of that gap and I am really, really grateful for that.

From my Zivity set "Pointed"

A lot of people have suggested I join other sites. I'm not going to name any of those sites because I have different reasons for not joining each one and I think mostly they are fine, just not for me. The reasons I have stuck with Zivity are:
1) The community is so diverse. My unmodified, natural self is welcome, as are plus size, tattooed, pierced, and mature models (just to name a few). There are also tons of styles from art nude to pin up to glamour lingerie to beauty and fashion, etc.
2) Fans can be fans of multiple models and I feel like this ties in to #1 because it allows fans to see all sorts of models.
3) I love interacting with fans. The messaging system is easy to use, the fans are generally very supportive and respectful, and they seem to really enjoy supporting the Artists (models & photographers).
4) I maintain the rights to my photos, and the photographers I work with maintain the right to theirs. We don't have to hand over copyrights for a one time payment. But we can still earn money from our photos on the site. This is really a huge deal, but I'm not going to go any deeper into it.
5) Zivity doesn't have what I consider porn. I have nothing against porn really, but I don't necessarily want to be on a site that has it mainly because I feel like I would be ignored and my stuff would be lost in the midst of all of the more explicit stuff. There are nudes on Zivity, full nudes, full frontal nudes, etc, but no insertion or girl/girl, etc. And people don't ignore me ^_~

Oh, and the staff at Zivity are awesome. I've rarely had an issue, but when I do have a question or concern, they handle it pretty quickly and very nicely and personally. I've heard from fans that they also welcome feedback from subscribers on how to improve the site for them.

So if you are looking for a way to support me, and perhaps a few other awesome models & photographers, head on over to Zivity ^_^

From my Zivity set "Pussycat"

PS: I removed the part about unlocking sets because Zivity staff just let me know this is no longer available.