You can say OnlyFans is a content marketing platform because some creators do sell their content “the traditional way” and build a steady fan base. The only difference this platform makes compared to other platforms is that it allows adult materials. Inevitably, both the creators and users must be 18 years of age or over.
People who already have a fairly large following on the conventional social network but are willing to “reveal more intimate performances”, should I say, take advantage of this platform. They use TikTok, Instagram, Twitter etc., to post teaser (sample) photos or videos, then invite the followers into their subscription services on OnlyFans.
In this article, I will focus on the male creators and their influence because there are a lot of misconceptions going around. We hear about female creators who make tens of millions of dollars a year, but there are some male creators too. All kinds of audiences are willing to spend their money to view unique performances that they cannot view elsewhere.
Can Guys Make Money As Creators?
Some say that platforms like that promote misogyny. But if you witness that many male creators publish adult content as well as female creators, you will know that you couldn’t agree. Also OnlyFans is not restricted to sexually explicit materials. Daniel Newman of The Walking Dead fame joined the platform back in December 2020, but he said his content would not be x-rated. I have not seen his account myself, but he is a Hollywood actor, so I doubt that he would post such risqué materials.
So can guys make money as creators? Whatever the content is, adult or non-adult, the quality speaks. If the fans see the content as good value for money, of course, guys can make good money.
The rest is of course the right marketing strategy and effort. A marketing method is all about how much of your niche activities you can put out to the right audience.
How Much Do Guys Make?
If you google search, a few people claim that on average, guys are making between $80-$150 per month. But I cannot find the source of the statistics.
I suspect that this is just a made-up estimate because if you were to take the average based on all the user accounts, it would include both the creators and subscribers. All the account holders are entitled to become a creator but the majority are subscribers who don’t make any money. The figures $80-$150 would be grossly inaccurate.
OnlyFans’ guidance tells you that, for example, if you have 1,000 social followers (Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter), set your monthly subscription price at $4.99, and 1-5% of your social followers subscribe, your earnings can be anywhere between $49 - $249.
One of the best ways to find out is to use a search tool. For example, OnlyFinder allows you to refine your search by gender, ethnicity, keyword, location, etc. If you search by “male” then “new”, some of the brand new performers charge as low as $3 per month but already have 100 “likes”, which means they’ve only been there for less than a few months but are already making $300 per month.
Making Money By Creating Content For The LGBTQ+ Community
Can guys really make more money by creating “gay” content? Again, the exact stats or poll results are not available. But for many years, we’ve been hearing stories about gay entertainment actors being heterosexual in real life. In this day and age, it’s not appropriate to judge someone else's sexuality, but why would straight guys create content for gays? Because there are undeniably more demands, and the guys are comfortable doing it.
How About Non-Adult Content?
Just because OnlyFans is targeted at over 18, it doesn’t mean that your content will have to be pornographic. Some guys successfully teach extensive muscle-building tips through this platform. I have also seen someone who gave gay-dating tips in the past. On the other hand, because the platform is now widely seen as adult-only, there is a risk that your presence, as well as your content, may be misunderstood by the public.
High Usage Fee
One of the best things about OnlyFans for you as a creator is that all the selling side of it is taken care of. All you have to do is upload the content, enter the descriptions as you normally do, and set your subscription charges. You don’t have to deal with anything technical, legal (so long as you follow the terms, see below), or your subscribers’ payment clearance.
But all this convenience comes with a cost. 20% will be deducted from all the earnings that you make. It means that, if you charge a subscriber $10 per month, your actual income per subscriber will be $8.
20% seems hefty, but when you think about not having to worry about the security aspects, you might think it’s fair.
On the other hand, if you were to earn $10k each month, every $2k would be taken away. In a year, that would add up to $24k. You could afford to create your own site and maybe delegate others to do all the technical work.
In fact, that’s what some of the top performers like Reno Gold do. Reno earns more than $100k per month with OnlyFans, which means he must be paying at least a $20k admin fee, but he also has his own website where 100% of the revenue will be his own.
Where To Start and How To Sell Yourself
So as a guy, what is the best way for you to start and sell yourself on OnlyFans? The very first thing you can do is, if you haven’t already, use the tool that I mentioned above, and search for a similar creator to yourself using relevant keywords. Spend a few dollars and subscribe to their services. See if you can consider them as your competitor. See if you can replicate what they do, and ultimately, do better.
Checking how others are selling themselves is the important first step, as it will help you build up your profile and plan what kind of content to deliver (and also not to deliver.)
Make Two Accounts
This is what many guys do. They create two OnlyFans accounts; one account is to deliver content for free and the other account is for premium subscribers only.
- First, you encourage your followers on social media to subscribe to your free OnlyFans account.
- Then you encourage the new subscribers to also sign up with your premium account.
Why take 2 steps? Because you can convince your followers to subscribe easier that way. If you tell your Instagram followers, for example, that you are giving a paid service elsewhere (OnlyFans), they will less likely to even take a look, knowing that they’ll have to sign up first, then confirm the email address, AND will probably have to get their credit card out.
But if you say you are revealing more content for free, they will be more likely to sign up with OnlyFans. Now they’re told that your subscription service will give them even more revealing content, all they need will be to get their credit card out.
Do Direct Messages Work?
Generally, content marketers say that one way to understand your audience is by directly asking them what they’re looking for via a message. I agree to some extent because engagement is good, and the fans may be willing to answer your questions and tell you what they want. You may be inspired by their opinions to broaden your horizons.
But this is only a business tactic. As a creator, you cannot compromise yourself just to please your existing subscribers. Ask any successful musician or artist, and they’ll all tell you this; while the importance of improving the quality cannot be overstated, you should stick to what you are best at, and that will keep attracting new fans.
Prohibited Activities
OnlyFans allows creators to do a lot more than other social networks allow, but certain activities are prohibited, for example:
- Anything illegal or fraudulent.
- Anything that promotes violence.
- Anyone under 18. Everyone who is involved in the content must sign to declare they are an adult.
- Not just drugs or drug paraphernalia, but intoxication is also prohibited.
- Escort services.
- Any sexually explicit material featuring any individual who has not given consent in advance.
- Hypnosis.
Others include some activities that are prohibited by other social networks, such as discrimination, bullying and harassment, self-harm, etc. I would strongly recommend you go through the terms of service (onlyfans.com/terms) before you consider creating content.
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Making Money As An Affiliate
Alternatively, OnlyFans will allow you to make money as an affiliate. But you cannot just recommend random creators’ accounts and make money. The creators will have to be your referral.
In other words, you will make money when you refer someone to become an OnlyFans creator, and that person receives money from their fan, you will receive 5% of that person’s earnings. Your affiliate income is processed monthly.
Furthermore, your affiliate income will only apply for the first 12 months of your referred creator’s account, limited to the first $1 million. It means that if your referred creator makes $500k within the first year, you will still receive 5% of it, which is $25k. If this sounds viable to you or not is up to you to decide, but it is a possibility.
Pros and Cons of OnlyFans
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
If you were thinking OnlyFans was only suitable for female performers, now you know that it’s also a popular space among male creators. It has become especially widespread among men in the past couple of years because of the travel restrictions and the spare time that they have.
Your materials can be targeted at gay communities to make more money, but that’s not the only possibility. Adult content is not the only possibility either. You can promote any niches so long as it’s not targeted under the age of 18, and you can generate good, steady subscription revenue.
Photo credits: Gary Meulemans and Anastase Maragos
