So, you want to start an OnlyFans?

OnlyFans is a paid site based on subscriptions, imagine Netflix but made sexy. It’s made for any sort of creator to be able to get paid by their community to post content. This isn’t the first platform to do this, with Patreon and Ko-fi being popular too. However, OnlyFans became famous for its NSFW content. As far as online platforms go, OnlyFans is one of the few that allows you to post whatever you want as long as it’s compliant with their lenient terms and conditions.

As a creator, it’s not as easy as those on social media make it out to be. After all, it is work. It’s been found that the average monthly earnings is about $180USD. Essentially, you are running your own business, so in order to keep your fans engaged, you need to come out with new content regularly. However, don’t be disheartened by this! You can batch create content and just queue it for everyday or every other day. Just like any business, you need to send mass messages (think like email marketing?) or interact with your subscribers through your posts. Live streaming isn’t necessary but it’s always good to do it to get a higher engagement rate and to show your appreciation for your fans. Just like any business, you will need to market your content to find new subscribers. Most creators do this from Reddit, Instagram and Twitter. One thing to note - the OnlyFans market is saturated right now, so you will need to find your niche and really market yourself as a creator on the platform.

How people make their money differs depending on what they offer. For Sage, she makes most of her money from monthly subscribers and what is considered ‘tips’ (people paying extra for a video), but others have found they make more money from personal requests and  video sales. Sage mentioned that most requests are pretty tame, with the subscriber requesting her to say their name while doing the deed, but she finds these boring and would love to do a nude baking video (so if you want to see that you know where to go).

Let’s start with the good news, OnlyFans pays you weekly if you hit the threshold, and even allows you to cash out earlier if you hit the threshold early! But remember to save a certain amount of it in a separate account, as you do need to pay tax on the money earnt (sad, we know). However, OF aims to make it as easy and seamless as possible to keep tabs of all your income, giving you monthly and yearly overviews. When it comes to tax, we recommend getting in touch with an accountant (not the spicy kind) to help you out! 

In less fun news, OF does take a percentage of everything you earn. 20% to be exact. But Sage considers it like her “paying her dues”, the same way you would pay a house fee if you were to rent a seat at a hair salon or were a personal trainer at a gym.

There are a few things you need before starting your account. The items that Sage recommends are a tripod, a ring light and a few different outfits. Depending on the type of content you want to create, toys (Double Entendre anyone?!) help spice things up and make creating videos easier. Using toys also allows you to get subscribers who want to send you toys they want to see in your content.

She also recommended creating NSFW Instagram, Twitter and Reddit accounts for advertising and to keep your identity separate from your personal life. Almost all creators promote their OF through other forms of social media. Add your text here

The first thing Sage mentioned was to not fall for those paid shout for shoutout. When they send out the mass message, it "looks like spam and most people ignore it". Chances are you will spend anything from $40-$500 for these and only gain a handful of followers if you’re lucky.

Another tip was to set aside 30 minutes a day or an hour a week to load up your channel with content. Spend one day a week filming as many scenarios and videos as possible (bonus tip: you can film one video and do some clever editing to turn it into a few different videos!). That way you can schedule them to go live on different days and you don’t need to worry about what you’re going to upload or stress about not having content.

Stay active on social media, post constantly on Twitter, IG and Reddit if you decide to use it. But make sure to NEVER post your OF link in bio because it gets flagged and your social media will be at risk of getting deleted. Instead, Sage recommends using Beacons instead of LinkTree or any other custom link platform.

As this is also a job, it is best to keep work and life separate. Get yourself a journal/planner specifically for your content. This helps you keep track of all your collabs, videos and personal requests.

Lastly, just know that it’s not going to be easy, especially not for the first one or two months. It will take a lot of time and dedication, so go easy on yourself.

So you’ve gotten this far and you’re even more eager to get started? We feel ya. The main thing you need to know about OF, is all your success depends on how much work you put into marketing and promoting yourself. Twitter is popular among OF creators because it allows NSFW content. Plus, their retweeting option helps you to get more visibility and reach a wider audience. Another bonus of being on Twitter is you can tweet a million times a day and most people won’t think it’s annoying, unlike posting 30 times in one day on Instagram. Another good avenue to promote your account is Reddit and Telegram groups, if you know how to use them. Those creators that use these platforms tend to find that's where a lot of their subscribers come from. Reddit is popular because you can promote yourself in specific threads, and you can also find niche groups if you have a certain clientele or kink. Lastly is Instagram. This is still a good platform, but it definitely needs to be more safe for work content, as IG is constantly removing provocative accounts. You don’t want to get an account with a lot of followers removed. And if it is removed, have a back up! You might think, ‘what’s the point of having an IG if I have to be clothed?”. Well, let us tell you! It is sometimes good to post more discreet content to help keep up the mystery of what you might look like under! After all, we all want what we can’t have.

One of Sage’s biggest pros of being on the platform is “the freedom it allows”. You have a lot of creative freedom to create the kind of content you love, and “explore certain kinks or be more sensual” and parts of your sexuality that you haven’t had the chance to do before. You can also try new things knowing that your fanbase “appreciates it” and are supportive of you. Also the ability to schedule content means you can batch create videos, upload and queue them and then go on holiday, knowing that your content will continue to be published.

OF has recently changed their terms and conditions, which has caused a change in what is allowed on the platform. Although most things are still ok to post, “really rough or heavy impact play” or anything illegal can result in the removal of your video and potentially your account.

Something to be mindful of, just because people pay to view your content doesn’t mean that people can’t screen record and screenshot your content. Which means you may find some of your content potentially on other porn sites or online. However, with OF’s copyright policy it is easy to get these taken down if posted online. But it’s important to be aware that these videos and screenshots may be circulating and you never know who has possession of them privately.

Lastly, be prepared for people in your personal life to subscribe to your OF. Although you can’t see their names or information, you may have to deal with some pretty awkward in person conversations. (Best case scenario, someone you are set on a blind date with actually subscribes to you, but in other cases think like ex boyfriends that want a stalk, friends’ parents or your local barista).

Just because you are working from the comfort of your own home doesn’t mean there aren’t any risks.

Always know your boundaries and limits. Don’t push yourself to do things you don’t want to do. After all, not all money is good money. If you want to do something new, try it before you film it because you don’t know how you will react. From here, you can write a ‘no list’ and a ‘yes list’ of things you don’t and do like. Even if you’re the only person to read these lists, people that you collaborate with or subscribers may ask you for things you don’t feel comfortable doing. Consent (even from yourself) goes a long way!

Give yourself a break and do “self care days”. Hot bubble baths, turning off your phone or computer for the day, spending time with friends, are all good ways to disconnect. Being online can be isolating so having that safe space for you to switch off and ground you is important.

Lastly, always watch your content before posting (awkward, we know!), but it needs to be done. This gives you the opportunity to make any edits and cut out any bits that you might not want others to see!

So there you have it, everything you need to know about getting started on OnlyFans! At the end of the day, OnlyFans creators may seem to be living glamorous lives on Social Media, but it’s important to remember that that is them also promoting themselves through what you see online. However, if you are still keen on getting started, grab your tripod and your best lingerie set and get to it! BRB, telling my boss I am quitting to start OnlyFans.

All images in this article are property of Sage Hunter.