Cosplay, Fetish, Roleplay ... Princess Larkin Love Rules

Larkin Love is the February AVN Star in AVN magazine. To see the digital edition, click here. To follow her on AVN Stars, click here. Photos courtesy Larkin Love. Larkin Love got her start on Clips4Sale, using her own creativity to became a self-made adult star. Necessity was the mother of her invention. When she first entered the industry in 2011, Love says, “I had an incredibly difficult time finding porn shoots to sustain myself. I was told by dozens of porn companies in L.A. that I was unmarketable. Luckily, I didn’t believe them. So, I got my hands on an HD video camera, and started making my own porn instead.” There aren’t many platforms Love hasn’t used to sell her content. “The very first marketplace I used was Clips4Sale,” she says. “I learned so much in those first years in terms of marketing myself and producing clips that people would want to watch. I put a lot a lot of effort into the written copy that accompanies a video. I put a lot of thought into keywords and descriptions. There's a real art to it. Years later, I've branched off into over a dozen platforms for selling clips. I keep adding new feathers to my cap, in that regard. I want my work to be everywhere.” Recently she added a new platform: AVN Stars.com. “When I first started, fan clubs like AVN Stars weren't really a thing. Or at the very least, I wasn't aware of them. There were very few venues for independent content sales. In the last few years, indie porn production has boomed. There are dozens of ways for performers to make money on their own terms.,” Love says. Below, this veteran self-producer shares some of her hard-earned knowledge. AVN: You obviously have great skill at interacting with fans in many different ways. How have you seen fan engagement with adult artists change over the years?Larkin Love: Fan engagement used to be something a performer did periodically to boost their popularity or promote a new scene. Now, engagement is the product. In 2012, I made all of my money off of clip sales. Now, I make most of my money off of Premium Snapchat, phone calls and fan clubs. The business has seismically shifted in favor of interactive live media. You've worked as a stripper, a nude model and an adult performer. How did these experiences shape the content that you make yourself?For starters, I'm adaptable. The market changes, and I change with it. I’m always learning new skills and always looking into new avenues to stay relevant and on people's erotic minds. New skills build on the old ones. Funny enough, I've noticed that going through the inbox on my AVN Stars reminds me so much of "working the room" in the strip club! You never know who is in there, or what will happen. You recently added a "femdom persona," Princess Larkin, to the diversions you offer fans. You noted that you had stepped away from femdom but were returning after a short break. What led you back to femdom?Since I was 18, I’ve been deeply involved in BDSM, and that will always be a part of my day-to-day life. The form that this part of me takes on screen depends on a lot of things, including what the market has an appetite for. Earlier in my career, I often portrayed raw, physically punitive femdom personas with a hard fetish aesthetic—this included lots of black rubber, cigarettes, ballbusting and harsh words. These days, I'm digging into the purely psychological aspects of femdom more frequently. I'm indulging my interest in hypno fetish and playing with neuro-linguistic programming. My visual style has a more glamorous aesthetic, and I find myself appealing to financial slaves. It's an evolution of how I present myself in a dominant capacity. The one thing that never changes is how much I enjoy being a Mommy Domme. “Mother” is the first goddess humans ever know. It is the distillation of divine femininity. Making a man call me "Mommy" as he regards me from a submissive posture is fastest way to undo his ego. It's so erotic. Have you noticed a boom in the popularity of femdom and findom over the last couple of years? If so, do you have any theories about this?Femdom and findom have always been popular with porn viewers! The only reason it seems more prevalent in the market now is that more performers are offering femdom (especially findom) as one of their services. There's an unfortunate misconception among new sex workers that findom is easy money. They think that all a pretty girl needs to do is demand money on Twitter and post a few foot pics. There's a market glut of inexperienced, self-proclaimed professional Dommes who have no fetish background and no education in things like negotiating boundaries or after-care. I wish more of them took the time to gain some proper training in BDSM practices before offering services online. You've done cosplay, role-play, fetish ... What is YOUR favorite kind of scene to shoot?I love femdom more than anything. I especially love playing the part of a sadistic villainess or a wicked, twisted Mommy. There's nothing more enticing than giving someone a new fetish that shocks them and arouses them at the same time. Oh, and tongue fetish is great, too. I'm really "hung" orally, and love showing off my long tongue. I think I kind of understand what it's like to be a guy with a huge cock. It's an intimidating appendage. I put it to good use in my award-winning blowjobs! Are there adult performers or directors who have inspired you?To every single director who rejected me in that first year, as I struggled to make a living in L.A. when I entered the industry: You inspired me to create an artistic outlet and financial future that depends on no one but myself. Thank you for that. My indie career has exceeded my wildest dreams. When did you get started on AVN Stars?I started promoting it heavily this past October, just in time for my birthday! I got lots of nice birthday tips on there, too. My fans are the greatest. What do you like about the platform? And what can we do to improve it?I love how quickly videos load for my clients. They say the playback experience is superior to other fan club sites. Customer experience is extremely important to me. I also love the timeline format, and how it's reminiscent of Twitter, which makes it feel familiar. In terms of improvements, I would love it if there was an online bank of media from which I could load selected files into chat for a specific fan. That way, I wouldn't have to upload the same video every time another fan wanted a copy in chat. That and perhaps raise the amount of money a single client can spend in a day? A few of my findom clients have hit the daily limit trying to keep me happy. You are adept at attracting followers on the new site. What advice do you have to artists who are just getting started?Get your branding game down! Use your social media for work and not for personal rants or petty feuds. Remember that people are attracted to positivity, so try to radiate that through your words and actions online, even if you have a femdom brand. And remember, customer service is ALWAYS a top priority! We performers are nothing without our incredible fans. Follow Larkin Love on Instagram (larkinloverules) and AVN Stars (larkinlovexxx).