I’m sure I’m not alone in running an official website and an OnlyFans alongside each other. It’s been challenging, but an incredible experience.
Since 2018, I’ve been running my website and am very proud to say that my website was nominated in 2019 by the Urban X Awards for Best Female Website, as well as scoring nominations for the past two years in the XBIZ Europa Awards.
I hope that new sex workers that have used OnlyFans to create and sell content might consider investing some extra time and effort into an official website as well.
At the beginning of this year, I saw OnlyFans was becoming huge. I was really struggling to see how I would adapt my $29 a month subscription site business model to compete with a $5 per month OnlyFans subscription. I’m not going to lie; I tore my hair out over this. I was posting 20 to 30-minute full sex scenes on my subscription site and also selling them on clip stores à la carte.
So, the thought of fans having access to everything I’ve ever posted for just $5 or $10 didn’t sit well with me. Once I really thought about it, the solution was an easy one — I’d need to start filming differently, and that would include filming more amateur selfie content specifically for my OnlyFans. Then, I would save the 20 to 30-minute full scenes for my website.
Of course, there’s a downside, and that’s the extra workload. But, I have found the hard work has paid off financially. It’s all about keeping a solid work routine every month to keep up with the insane amount of content needed to maintain my OnlyFans’ success.
I generally post at least twice a day to my OnlyFans vs. a weekly update on my official website. The content on my OnlyFans can be anything from some sexy selfies to a video of me working out to me sucking cock in public. In less than six months, I’ve managed to crack the top 1% of OnlyFans. I run both my OnlyFans and my website site so well that many of my fans subscribe to both. I’ve achieved it by making sure that both platforms offer my fans something vastly different.
As I previously mentioned, there is a huge difference in the price points for my official site and OnlyFans — my site has long professional videos, and my OnlyFans offers predominantly selfie-style video clips. I find that fans expect more professional content from an official site, similar to a studio’s subscription site, like Brazzers or Blacked. But most OnlyFans creators are amateurs, and fans expect to see more “real” selfie-style videos.
I find the lower price point of my OnlyFans is also not too much of a big deal, because it has great features to earn extra money in tips. The candid, amateur nature of OnlyFans, leads to fans wanting a more personal experience and interaction with you that they’re generally prepared to tip for. On my site, it’s hard to build this relationship with my fans. Another plus side to the fan interaction on OnlyFans is you can get great real-time feedback, which I’ve made a point to take on board and keep in mind with future content that I film.
One downside to Onlyfans is managing the perceptions of the fans that subscribe. There are so many ways to run an OnlyFans page (i.e., an all-in subscription price, where all video, chat and live shows are included, or a low or even free subscription price, where all explicit content is always PPV). I’m often asked if all my full videos are included on my OnlyFans. When this happens, I point them in my official site’s direction since that’s what they are looking for.
The extra bonus of OnlyFans is that it puts a lot of power in the content creators’ hands, rather than being so dependent on porn studios booking them. I love the freedom OnlyFans gives me to create! As much as I enjoy shooting the traditional 20 to 30-minute full sex scenes for my site, I’m really enjoying being able to shoot shorter clips and experiment with different fetishes such as Jerk Off Instruction (JOI) and Small Penis Humiliation (SPH), which have been harder to incorporate into the more traditional porn format! The downside to type of content I that I’m not sure what longevity it will have. My longer sex scenes continue to sell year after year, but a two-minute twerking video in the bath gets great engagement when I post it, even if it probably won’t make me any passive income down the line.
I’ve also found that OnlyFans has united sex workers much more; it’s given us a level playing field, and anyone can make a career from it, if they’re prepared to put the effort it. It’s been great to see the increase in sex workers working together to mutually benefit each other’s careers, including the rise of Shoutout for Shoutout (SFS), where sex workers cross-promote each other to attract new fans! The concept of having a successful official site seems quite unattainable for many performers and creators and a daunting prospect, but OnlyFans gives people a really easy route into selling content — this has attracted a much broader spectrum of people into the industry, and I’m really enjoying watching it unfold.
Overall, I’m a big fan of both types of platforms and feel that they offer fans different experiences. I hope that new sex workers that have used OnlyFans to create and sell content might consider investing some extra time and effort into an official website as well. I think it will hold greater potential for passive income in the long term, which just makes good business sense. It’s never a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket, and diversification is the key.
Adreena Winters is an adult star and content creator who can be followed @adreena_winters on Twitter and OnlyFans, on Instagram @Adreena.winters and on her official website at AdreenaWinters.com.
