All you want to know about Cherie DeVille

I’ve had the pleasure of having an interview with Cherie DeVille. We’ve had an amazing chat and I got to learn a lot about Cherie that I will share with you in the blog interview below. Thanks again Cherie! And happy reading to al readers 🙂

Q – Can you please explain what you do?

A – I am an adult actress, a journalist, and a sex worker advocate. I have been performing for about 12 years. I create a lot of my own content. I work for other content creators. I’ve been enjoying writing for a variety of news outlets, including The Daily Beast, and just trying to advocate for myself and other sex workers in whatever political arenas I can.

Q – What kind of articles do you write about?

A – A wide variety of things. My most recent was ‘a sex workers advice on how to survive a recession’. I do everything from, credit card companies or financial institutions that are trying to curb payments to sex workers, and any kind of government policies that might affect our community. Anything that’s going on in our arena that might be beneficial for people outside of the sex worker space too. To see what these policies and legislations might do to our community. Get our voices out into the mainstream as much as possible.

Q – What is your main goal in writing?

A – In any career, you’ll talk to your coworkers, you know about what’s going on in your field. That’s natural. But with sex workers, there’s such a big stigma to what we do for a living. Most of the time, when we do speak out on the platforms that are available, people don’t always respect our opinion. They’ll throw insults. So, a lot of us, myself included, have tried to reach out to more mainstream outlets, even if we’re not always that welcomed. If I can get access to other sites like The Daily Beast or other people, non sex workers, YouTube channels or podcasts or anything that isn’t a space where only sex workers exist, I think that it can create more awareness on our situation, which is incredibly valuable. They might not even realize is potentially harming the sex worker industry because they’re not aware of other situations. There’s like the stigma and it’s 2022. You watch our content otherwise it would not exist. So why is the stigma there?

We’re all independent contractors, which has pros and cons. We don’t get a regular salary perhaps, but the huge pro is you work for yourself, and you’re able to make your own rules.

Q – There are a lot of women that just started in the industry, to whom you might be a role model. They don’t have the experience, or the confidence to speak out their voice, do you have any advice to them?

A – I think it’s the opportunity I’m just so blessed to have. There are plenty of sex workers and pornographers who could do the work that I’m doing, I was just luckily given the opportunity. So, I take that very seriously. For all my colleagues who were not yet given that opportunity, I would advise to take it once it’s offered to you. Speaking up for an entire community is a very valuable asset to all your colleagues.

Q – Are you able to make a living from the work that you do?

A – Yes. I’m very blessed to be. We’re all independent contractors, which has pros and cons. We don’t get a regular salary perhaps, but the huge pro is you work for yourself, and you’re able to make your own rules. You’re not limited to just having one stream of income. I have, for example, a stream of income where I work for other people’s products, I’m contracted with Brazzers, I create my own content which I can sell on a wide variety of platforms and then I make some money from merchandise, using my brand, Cherie DeVille. I think that there are sample opportunities for people who are interested in the sex workspace. To find a niche or an area that they’re comfortable in, whether it’s performing directly, whether it’s camming, creating merchandise, doing ASMR, the world is truly your oyster as an independent sex worker to find what you feel passionate about. Creating ways to market that and then putting it out for the consumer to purchase. Me and my colleagues, that are passionate, dedicated, and consistent with their careers do make a tidy living in the sex worker space.

Q – How did you make it happen from starting in this industry to where you are now?

A – 12 years ago, when I started, people were making most of their money performing for other companies. That’s how I started as well, performing for other companies and somehow had the luxury of them spending their advertising dollars on my name. I might have been working for them and only getting one paycheck for that day, but then they released the scene, they market the scene, they put the scene up on tube sites. They’re paying all their advertisers to keep their company afloat. After years and thousands of scenes, all other people’s advertising dollars paid off for me. In fact, they were also advertising my stage name, Cherie DeVille. At a certain point I was able to piggyback off the traffic they had and the fans they brought me and then being able to monetize that. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of performers who have had the luxury of other people building brands for them. Another important component is consistency. Everyone says, ‘what makes you a successful porn star’? I think they’re expecting me to say, oh, I suck good, or I know how to ride in cowgirl, and it’s honestly none of those things. I think my sexual performance abilities are tertiary and my real skills are in very boring arenas. If I tell my fans, I’m going to provide X number of scenes every month I provide that. There are no excuses and no exceptions. I am very consistent and reliable. I think those basic skills of complete consistency and professionalism are way more important than anything in the pornographic realm. It’s about keeping the fans engaged and always providing something new and keep them involved. If you make a promise, keep it. Your brand is your word. People are not going to have brand loyalty without brand consistency, whether it’s food or clothing or an airline or a pornographer.

Q – If you don’t mind sharing, can you please bring us up to speed on your interests or what you like to do in your spare time?

A – Yes, certainly. 20 years ago, I was a professional swing dancer and I’ve always been passionate about Lindy Hopping swing dancing. After the pandemic, it’s finally back and I will again be attending Camp Hollywood. A dance convention where people from all over the world come and dance. I’m also a huge board gamer, video games, tabletop games with my friends like Dungeons and Dragons. I love outdoor activities. I love the beach and swimming. I was a lifeguard back in the day for many years. I love my fur babies, my dog, and my cat. My friends. Yeah, I’d say those were like my main hobbies.

Q – How do you think other creators can support each other to make their business as lucrative as yours? Do you have tips or tricks?

A – I feel having other creators that I support and creators that support me, undeniably important for so many reasons. Emotional and business wise. It’s super valuable because social media is valuable. Driving traffic to one another, doing collaborations that we call share for share. I do that all the time on Only Fans, Instagram, Twitter, Tik, Tok. Because as we grow together, we can all grow bigger. I have group threads with close performer friends, where we share tactics, ideas, and things you come up with, which can be valuable for others as well. I had sort of a Tik Tok epiphany the other day, I shared some statistics on the growth I had which directly correlated on my Only Fans. Then I encouraged them to start their Tik Tok accounts, I sent them trending sounds so that they could have success with that and in exchange they do the same things for me. That way, we all learn and grow together faster and better than we could alone.

Q – How do you prevent your socials from getting banned?

A – Full disclosure, I’ve not lost my Twitter, but all my other social media accounts I’ve lost multiple times. I’ve had to pay exorbitant amounts of money to people to reinstate them, which probably isn’t even legal. I don’t know how these people do that, or if they’re the ones taking our accounts. I’m always looking at the terms and conditions, but like my Tik Tok account, it got taken down a few months ago and it was squeaky clean. It absolutely did not break the Community Guidelines in any way. In fact, one of my neighbors is not yet 18. She has millions of followers on Tik Tok and her account in my mind is way too sexualized for someone that’s underage. Yet that person, obviously not a sex worker, keeps their account very clearly sexualizing an underaged body. And me, I lost my account. I wish I knew why because that would be the $1,000,000 question. Maybe Tik Tok is different than, for example, Instagram. I think they’re very clear on what to do or not. Then if you look at the Playboy account, it’s a perfect example. Playboy is a household name, and they create pornographic art which I enjoy very much on their Instagram. However, if I approached what is approved on their Instagram, I’d be immediately deleted, so they do not apply their community guidelines equally. It may also be, there are people that are reporting your account and that’s why it’s getting flagged? There’s no rhyme or reason. 85% of us have permanently lost our accounts.

Q – Are there any major challenges you’ve faced when you became a creator? Was it a bumpy road? Or now that you’re famous, is it even more or less?

A – I was lucky at the beginning of my career. I had two jobs. I started with sex work; and I was also working as a physical therapist. I got to hold both jobs down and when sex work was just making a little bit of money, I could bolster my income with physical therapy. Then sex work went up and up and up and now I just do therapy enough to keep my license. It’s not really a source of income, but I spent so long getting that degree, I don’t want to let it go to waste, even if I don’t make a single dollar from it again in my life. Because of that, I was able to only take the jobs I wanted. I never felt financial pressure, unlike some of my colleagues, to take a job that I might be a little uncomfortable with. But rent is due you know. I never had any of those moral quandaries. It was either, yes, this sounds fun and therefore I shall do it. No, this doesn’t sound fun. I’ve no financial incentive to do this, so that was a huge blessing. I think it’s part of why I’ve been able to maintain my longevity because I’ve been able to have just happiness through my whole career.

Q – What kind of qualities do you think creators must have to be successful?

A – You must be consistent and be good on the promises you make. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you sign up for a project, don’t flake. Just the skills you need for every job.

Q – To create good quality content, can you name two or three major components?

A – It’s hard to say for other creators, but for myself, good quality content means content I could sell. My fan base particularly, enjoys age play content. The role of cougar or cougar secretary is my wheelhouse. When I create content, I make sure that the genres my fans have typically been paying for are represented in the content. I believe that all humans can see, even if you’re acting, how you’re feeling. If something happens right before I’m about to shoot and I’m in a bad headspace, I try to take a minute. I meditate, do some yoga, or take a break, because I feel for sex work and acting in general, being in a truly joyful space while performing, really brings your content to another level.

Q – What’s the most lucrative platform you’re on, and would you recommend that to other creators?

A – That has changed so many times in my case. I can’t even count. At the current second, it’s Only Fans. A couple years ago, it was Snapchat, but it changes constantly. Only Fans is a very lucrative platform, I would absolutely recommend people using it. What I would say to all content creators is the platform you make money on will change all the time. But one thing that doesn’t change is owning your own content. When I had a solo girl site, I had content when I had cheriedeville.com, I had content, when I was doing clip stores etc. I sold that content in very different ways, but I always had the paperwork for my content. I kept it well organized on various backup hard drives. Basically, what I’m saying is: when Only Fans inevitably becomes irrelevant, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll have this careers worth of content that I can repackage, re-pivot and reuse to put on whatever is next. Don’t forget to do your paperwork people. That is very frequently forgotten. Even if it didn’t make money for you 12 years ago, save it, keep it. Who knows what’s in the future? Next year, when we’re all selling content in the metaverse, you’ll be glad you have your paperwork saved and organized all your old stuff.

Q – Which age group is mostly your fan base?

A – So, predominantly men for my fan base, 18 to mid or late 30s. At least according to my Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok and the platforms that give me access to age analytics. But remember, I’ve been doing this for 12 years. So those 22-year old’s who liked me 12 years ago, are still there. Maybe my fan base is skewing older.

Q – How do you stay motivated to keep creating new and innovative content?

A – I personally find it very interesting, challenging, fun and I put a lot of humor in my content because, I get so much joy from that. I think when you like what you do, and you feel a certain way about it before you’re putting it out into the world and people then enjoy it, that is really rewarding.

Q – Do you respond to all your personal messages or DMS? Or did you hire somebody to do that for you?

A – On Instagram and Twitter, I get so many DMs. It’s impossible, even if I had a team of people doing it. On my Only Fans I do, since that’s a way smaller group of people which makes it manageable and because they are my fans. They are the ones that are paying to see my content and then they feel more engaged. On Instagram, even if I do an AMA, I’ll go have a cup of coffee and come back I’ll have 1000 questions in 10 minutes. So, it would be even too much if I was responding full time and never create any content anymore.

Q – Are many of your fans also following other creators? Or are they loyal to one creator?

A – Everybody is different, but I shoot a lot of content with my best friend, even though we are very different brands. I think because we’ve been shooting together for so long, and our fans can see our genuine friendship, that friendship has created co- fans who might not have been both of our fans in the beginning.

I work hard on my content and that is mine. Whether I’m making money on it or whether I’m giving it away for free, that should be my choice.

Q – Who’s your celebrity crush or favorite performer you’ve ever worked with?

A – My celebrity crush goes way back, it’s always been Scarlett Johansson. That woman just gets more beautiful every second. In the industry, my favorite people to work with are my friends. Dani Daniels, Alexis Fox, Aliyah are like some of the people that are closest to my heart in real life and are my favorite people to work with.

Q – IRL, what would somebody need to do to sweep you off your feet?

A – I’ll tell you something, if I was going to meet someone that’s a dating possibility, even if I had been communicating with them digitally, I must meet in person. If you met me out swing dancing, you’d have a way better chance of becoming my friend in the time it takes to play a song, then it would be communicating with me for weeks on a dating app or something. Online it’s difficult to get to know someone on a deeper level.

Q – How do you respond to criticism from fans or other creators?

A – If someone that I respect and know irl, was giving me instructive, real feedback. I would absolutely listen and think about it. Then I can make the decision on whether I’m going to do something with it or not. But some random troll online, that’s harassing me and talking shit, without reason, I might delete the message just to clear the space for my fans. I’ll try not to let that negativity affect me. I think of that as, words on the screen, and not as the reality of a human typing on the keyboard. I don’t even know who wrote that. But if I care about you, oh my God, your words impact me so much. I’m very sensitive. But people that know and care about you, wouldn’t write or say something very hurtful because they would build some constructive feedback. Spell hate online is much easier but doesn’t affect me. I do have a little empathy for that because someone must have so much hurt inside to be putting that out to a stranger.

Q – Could you describe a time that you failed, and what lesson you’ve learned from that situation?

A – I feel failure is a part of business. I’m constantly throwing ideas at the wall, that not only didn’t stick, but it also fell off the world wall and burned down. But, if you don’t fail a lot, you’re not going to find the things that do stick or you’re good at. Be brave, fail big, fail badly and then learn, that’s fantastic. Don’t fail and give up. You have created a beautiful learning experience and now you have information to do something even better. Go for it. Make mistakes, it’s a learning curve.

Q – Why did you choose CMP to protect your Brand Identity and content? And why would you advise other creators to hire not per se CMP, but any anti- piracy service?

A – Before you guys, the only good anti-piracy services that I knew of were geared towards huge companies, not just a creator like me. So, their price points were outrageous which wasn’t going to work. They didn’t have any kind of personal touch, because they were used to working with giant companies. When I found you guys, I was like, this is a perfect service for individual creators. All kinds of sex workers, clip store people, Only Fans, Cam models, all put their stuff on the Internet, but don’t have the protection these big companies have. We’re being docked and we’re having all our content sold overseas. I’m working hard, and everything is being stolen, my personal information is out there. I know a lot of people would just quit because of that; you’ll feel powerless. When I saw you guys, I could spend a very reasonable amount of money, keep myself safe and it’s more than just the money, though. Yes, it does put more money in my pocket, but the reason I did it, feels more emotional and on a personal level. I work hard on my content and that is mine. Whether I’m making money on it or whether I’m giving it away for free, that should be my choice. It feels powerful in a beautiful way. Every time I get those emails at the end of the week, it brings some of that power back to me and it feels refreshing, relaxing. The hard work I’m doing isn’t just being stolen the moment I put it on the Internet, which has brought tears to my eyes in the past. It’s criminal. People think it’s like the Wild West, and no one cares about sex workers. People proudly tell me in my DM’s, why would I pay for your stuff when I can get it for free? Well, guess what? I got someone on my side now. I will constantly create new content, which is always difficult to have 100% under control, but you will stop the main spread. There’re probably people willing to spend 15 hours to find my content for free, but they’re going to fail, fail, fail, fail, fail. And then they’re going to pay for it. I love you guys. Cherie DeVille – Instagram: @cheriedevillexo | Twitter: @CherieDeVille | TikTok: @theinternetsstepmom | OnlyFans: cheriedeville