I recently got the following question from an aspiring model (let’s call her Joyce) via email. She writes:

“With the oversaturation of the market I don’t see many people getting discovered these days. So how does a determined lady go about taking her career from the amateur level to actually working without pulling a Cubana Lust if you know what I mean.”

I think what Joyce is actually asking is, “how do I become a working model in the industry without resorting to booty shaking videos or doing something I might regret later?”

That’s a difficult question, because supply greatly exceeds demand right now in the urban market, which means that even qualified models have to work harder and resort to more drastic measures to get noticed.

The first step is to be really honest with yourself about where you stand compared to the competition. I don’t think a top notch beauty will ever have to turn to booty shaking videos to get noticed. It may take longer, but quality always rises to the surface. Of course, not every girl can be Melyssa Ford. So where does that leave the moderately attractive model with a nice figure who still wants to retain her modesty and excel in the industry?

Well, there are other ways to stand out besides doing booty shaking videos. Model/actress Claudia Jordan is doing quite well right now because she has a gift for gab and has made a name for herself in radio. Rosa Acosta is using her ballet training to produce videos that mix eroticism with classical dance. Today’s urban model has got to be inventive if she wants to set herself apart.

As just one example, some aspiring models are gaining a fan base by making Youtube videos talking about controversial subjects (often times quite passionately). The pretext is the speech, but what viewers are really interested in is how beautiful the girl is. For instance, check out terra904’s speech about the backhanded compliments women of darker complexion often get. Notice the low cut top she has on and the overall aesthetically pleasing quality of the video? Not a mistake. Today’s vixen will have to be clever in ways like this to get noticed.

Another way to set yourself apart from the crowd is through your photos. If everybody else is shooting glam in the studio, take natural light shots at the beach. If everybody else is oiled down in a thong, wear a one piece. Your styling also plays a part in this. Amber Rose stood out because she had a blonde buzz cut. Now she’s Kanye’s girlfriend.

Finally, you’ve got to buck up and get ready for the long haul. It simply isn’t going to happen overnight for most girls these days, and especially the ones who want to maintain their integrity. But if you understand that going in, you won’t be discouraged. Just remember, before there was urban modeling, women of color who wanted to model simply got an agent and went out on castings for things like TJ Maxx catalogs and McDonalds commercials and continued to improve themselves through strict diet, exercise, speech and acting classes, etc. -- none of which are degrading -- until something hit. That's the traditional way to break into the market, and it still works.

Tags:Getting Ahead Without Degrading Yourself, How To Stand Out