Looking to earn some extra cash by monetising your audience?

Want to know how to make money on OnlyFans?

OnlyFans is a content subscription site where anyone can sell the digital media and services that they create, directly to their fans.

This could be anything from videos and photos to exclusive access to their social media feeds.

The concept is perfect for the adult industry, which has seen huge growth on the platform lead by amateur models, cam stars, influencers and even retired porn stars.

The site isn’t exclusively for adult content, but it has become synonymous with the adult entertainment industry and with good reason.

That reason being… there are lots of ways to make money on OnlyFans selling NSFW content.

It could be nude photos, revealing candids, amateur porn clips, or simply a private stream of personal updates and direct access for fans.

While OnlyFans is one of many adult fan page sites, it remains by far the biggest and most famous.

There are plenty of kinky ways to make money on the platform, and we’ll be looking at some of the best strategies below.

Let’s get started with the best ways to make money on OnlyFans!

How Do I Make Money On OnlyFans?

If you are reading this then you probably already know how profitable using OnlyFans [full review here] can be.

Especially if you are an adult content creator.

But, for anyone who hasn’t bought in to the hype…

Why is OnlyFans so good for making money?

The answer is in the power and control it offers to the content creator.

It is a ready-made platform for showcasing your best content to an audience that is prepared to pay for the best stuff.

Cam stars, adult influencers and models will use traditional social media to build up a following.

They’ll post revealing pics, teasing selfies and so on, with the goal of driving users towards their premium OnlyFans page. From here they can sell private access to content that isn’t publicly available.

Followers and fans of these people pay to access their account and receive regular updates, content and can directly contact the account holder.

The point is, that you get to set a monthly subscription fee and publish exactly what you want your fans to see.

And the best part is that you get to keep 80% of the money that you generate on the platform, which can be a substantial amount if you build a sizeable following.

Well, there’s more.

As well as digital subscriptions and selling content, you can also increase revenue or get gifts by:

• Selling physical items
• Referring the site to other content creators
• Creating an Amazon Wishlist
• Creating Exclusive Pay Per View (PPV) Content
• Asking for Tips

There are dozens of ways to make money on OnlyFans and doing it is pretty easy if you adopt the right strategy and put the time and effort in.

The top earners on OnlyFans are making in excess of $100k per year!

Yes, a hundred grand, and that’s not just one person but a realistic income for content creators who work hard to build their following.

Of course, unless you can bring an army of existing Instagram or Snapchat users to your OnlyFans account then you will have to work from the ground up.

But even newcomers to the world of adult content sales can expect to be earning a couple of hundred bucks a month as you start to build your online empire.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a practical guide to working smart on OnlyFans so you can maximize your chance of success.

Our advice and guidance has been collected from existing users of OnlyFans and works as long as you are consistent and patient.

Success is rarely the result of one action but the culmination of many small steps.

So, follow the steps in this guide, stick at it and good luck.

We hope to see you on the OnlyFans Top Earners list soon!

How To Get Started on OnlyFans

In order to take advantage of this gravy train, you are going to need to setup your OnlyFans account.

You can do this by signing up with your existing Facebook or Twitter account or using an email/password.

The benefits of using a social media account are obvious if you are intending to invite existing followers along from one of these platforms – but not such a good idea if you don’t.

Once you’ve signed up, click the activation code in your email and you can get started on your profile.

Setting Up Your OnlyFans Profile

When setting up your initial profile you will be asked for your username, display name and some ‘About Me’ information.

Whilst some of this you can change or amend, you cannot change your Username after you have set it.

It becomes your URL and ‘@’ so is as important as your Twitter handle.

Therefore, it’s pretty important to pick a memorable name and one that characterizes your brand and style of content.

If you are a specialist FemDom or BDSM Queen then picking something like ‘FluffyUnicorns’ might not be ideal!

Likewise, something that is hard to remember like ‘FemDom1564648’ is also a bad idea.

You’ll be keen to get started but paying attention to this at an early stage is to be recommended.

Next, you should add both a profile and cover picture and, again, choose these carefully as these are your hooks.

They should be appealing and related to the kind of content you are creating but you may not post full nudity on either of these images.

Next up on the profile is the subscription fees you want to charge which we will cover below.

And then you can move on to the ‘About’ section.

It’s tedious but this is one of the most important parts of your account setup.

This is where new and potential fans will find out all about what you are offering and decide whether to subscribe to your content.

It’s the sales pitch and should speak about who you are, what you do and what your fans can expect when they follow you.

Even if you are bringing a whole bunch of people with you from other platforms you will need to make sure that they know it is you.

When fans are browsing for creators to follow, this will be the information they click on to reveal your bio using the Show More Info links.

As a result, it is important that you:

• Tell people how often you post content
• Be as descriptive as possible
• Be clear about what it is you are creating

We can’t impress how important it is that you spend time on your About section in order to gain new subscribers, this really is the best chance you get without your own marketing.

Don’t panic though, you can change the detail in this section and it does pay to refresh it regularly and see what works and what doesn’t.

Additional information that you will be asked for on set-up include:

• Location (Optional)
• Website URL (Optional)
• Amazon Wishlist (Optional)

You can also choose to connect your Spotify, Twitter and/or Google Account as well as link any other OnlyFans accounts that you may have….more about this later.

You can also establish your security and privacy settings within your profile set-up.

Click here to set up your profile.

Setting Subscription Fees

Before you can set a price for your subscription fees you will need to have completed most of your profile information (see above), and added a bank account or payment information.

You should note that this process is done in two stages and can take a few days to complete.

In order to proceed with this set up you will need to:

• Set your country of legal residence – Note: you cannot change this later.
• Confirm you are over the age of 18
• Complete details of your legal name and address
• Input your date of birth
• Provide a digital copy of your ID (passport, driving license or government issued ID card) – Note you will also have to send a photo of yourself holding this ID

At this stage, you can also link your Instagram and Twitter account to assist with account verification.

You must also indicate here whether you will be posting any sexually explicit/pornographic content.

Once you have submitted your personal details, the OnlyFans team will review your submission and approve your account.

After this you can add your bank account details or other payment method.

The default payment method is Direct Transfer (DT) to your Visa Debit card but you can also opt for payment by OCT (Original Credit Transfer) or International Transfer (SWIFT).

If you have a Visa Debit card then it’s best to opt for DT or OCT as you can withdraw anything from $20 upwards but SWIFT payments are $200 minimum.

SWIFT payments also take slightly longer at 3-5 business days whilst the others are processed in under 3 days.

Now you are ready to set a monthly subscription price for access to your account.

By default, your subscription price is set to ‘Free’ so as soon as you have finished setting up your payment options you will need to change this.

The minimum you can charge for monthly subscription is $4.99 and there is no upper limit so the choice is yours; however, unless you are coming to OnlyFans with a legion of existing followers who would pay top dollar for what you do then there is little point in pricing yourself too high.

Likewise, starting out too low gives you no scope for running promotions or discounts plus there is evidence to suggest that content creators who price themselves too low actually devalue their own brand.

It is recommended that you start off in the price range of $9.99 to $14.99 per month and tweak this as you start to get a feel for what is working.

You can always run promotions to offer reduced subscription prices at $6.99 to $8.99 (for example) and see how this affects sign up rates.

Remember if you pick up 100 subscribers at $9.99 you can still be earning $800 a month (net after OnlyFans takes its 20% commission).

Overall, you’re better off having more subscribers at a lower price than fewer subscribers at a higher price.

However, this really depends on the kind of content you are creating and how premium your content is.

Some fetish models create some very particular and unique videos and they can charge a lot more but their content has a smaller audience.

Many of the top earners on OnlyFans have subscription prices set between $9.99 and $14.99, some even lower.

Make Money On OnlyFans

Okay, now you are ready to start posting content and building your fanbase, but where do you start?

Firstly, if you are a content creator then you have to create content!

Sounds like a no-brainer but since your fans are paying for access to your feed, you need to make sure that you have enough content to keep them interested.

New Posts

The fastest way to start adding content is to create a post. Just like with other social networking sites, you can do this in a huge number of ways, including:

• Upload a video or image
• Add a poll
• Make a voice recording
• Go Live
• Add to your Story

Once you have composed your post and attached your content then you can either publish immediately or schedule your posts in batches.

You can even decide here which posts are premium access only by adding a Pay Per View price.

This means that even your regular subscribers can’t access this content, only those who want to check out exclusive stuff.

OnlyFans has a blog and a YouTube account with some great tips and guides on how to do this:

Get Tips

You can ask your fans directly for tips as long as you have posted at least ten times and continue to update your feed regularly.

If you have added a bank account and verified your ID then the OnlyFans system will activate the TIP button to appear under your posts.

Just remember to ASK in your posts for your fans to tip you if they liked what they see.

Yes, they have paid to subscribe but most will be happy to show their appreciation for great content.

Monetize Premium Content

Of course, you need to publish regular content to make it worthwhile for your fans to subscribe but if you are producing videos or pictures which you think are more special then you can add a price to these.

Again, you can set the figure you charge but the minimum charge is $3 (you receive $2.40).

Fans who follow your page will have to pay to unlock this content in addition to their regular monthly subscription so remember not to make all of your posts chargeable.

Custom Content

You can use OnlyFans to offer custom content and monetize videos or photosets for an individual rather than all of your followers.

You may be contacted directly for this, you may offer it as part of your Tip Menu (see below) or you could set up a regular post to go out reminding fans that you can create tailor-made videos/photos.

Once you get a commission to create some content you can deliver this using a price locked message (PPV) via the chat service.

Select the price tag icon and set your fee before sending to the specific fan. They will a receive a blurred out preview image of the content and they must pay to unlock the contents.

Marketing Your OnlyFans Page

Whilst some content creators will be able to pick up a few fans through the OnlyFans site directly, it pays if you can generate some of your own followers and drive people to your account.

One of the reasons cam girls do so well on the platform is by cross-promoting their OnlyFans page on their live cam shows. The cam show acts as the tease, and the private OnlyFans content is the ‘reward’ for her biggest fans to get more personal (and perhaps revealing) content.

See our guide: Become a cam girl.

Note: You can make money as a guy on OnlyFans, too! Cam guys also have a large following in the platform.

If you have any existing social media accounts including Instagram, Twitter or through your own website then add links to your OnlyFans account in your bio.

Use these services to promote your OnlyFans content by adding thumbnails of your videos or teaser clips.

Remind them that access to the full content is only available through subscribing.

You should continue using these platforms to connect with fans and to post free content but if you make them feel like they are missing out then they are more likely to sign up for premium access.

Don’t stop posting on your existing services; these platforms are all likely to generate new subscribers.

As well as using existing social media accounts, don’t forget that you can market your OnlyFans page through other NSFW platforms such as Reddit.

Driving new traffic to your account is your responsibility and you should aim to be marketing yourself as much as possible.

And, if you don’t already have a Twitter account…get one.

You might not be a fan of this network but it remains one of the largest social networking platforms out there and (most importantly) that allows adult content to be promoted!

There are some rules but, for the most part, adult content creators can use Twitter to help generate a following.

However, there is some analytics evidence suggesting that you shouldn’t post your link directly into Twitter but you should put this in your bio and not individual posts.

Regular and successful OnlyFans creators simply post a few pictures and direct their audience to the links in their bio.

Earning Money with the OnlyFans Referral Program

Of course, you don’t have to just create content in order to earn money through OnlyFans; you can also earn 5% of the first 12 months’ earnings from any new content creator you sign up.

To do this you can generate your own unique referral link. If people use this to sign-up then you will get paid monthly to your nominated bank account.

Why You Should Have 2 OnlyFans Accounts

OnlyFans allows content creators to operate two accounts on their platform: one paid subscription account and one free account.

You can link these together under your Settings but why would you want two accounts?

The main reason that people have two accounts is to use the free one as a sort of ‘stepping stone’ before fans sign up for the premium version.

Creators can offer less explicit or duplicate content as a teaser of what fans can expect if they sign up for mor exclusive access.

This can work particularly well if your subscription rates are higher because you are offering niche content.

Some creators start off building a fan base with a free account only and then work on building a subscription-based account after they have built their content.

It all depends on how much content you already have and how many premium subscribers you can get immediately but this tactic can help you stay motivated.

Certainly, if you only have a handful of subscribers and you are earning a hundred bucks in a month then it can put you off.

With a free account, you are more likely to get a lot of followers quickly and then work on how to encourage them to go premium.

In fact some content creators only operate a free account but make money by price-locking certain content.

This means you can post regular free content but send out the occasional premium video to all your fans which is locked unless the pay to view it.

You can also cross-promote your OnlyFans page on other adult fan platforms.

We’ve got reviews of the best sites like OnlyFans that are worth considering:

• ManyVids
• AVN Stars
• Just For Fans
• Extra Lunch Money
• FanCentro

Top Tips For Making Money With OnlyFans

The following advice has been gathered from multiple existing content creators on OnlyFans.

If you want to make money on OnlyFans, it’s best to listen to those who are already earning a sizeable income from it!

Engage With Your Audience

Far and away the most important piece of advice we can give you is to talk directly to your fans.

The whole idea behind this platform is for people to get closer to their favorite adult stars.

If you ignore your subscribers and don’t connect with them then they will go elsewhere.

People who pay subscribers fees on OnlyFans want to communicate and to connect with the creators themselves.

You can respond publicly to comments or DM people but make it a habit to check in to your OnlyFans account regularly and respond to people.

Be Consistent With Your Content Output

When we say be consistent, we mean with your content and your brand.

If you are selling videos and images of yourself as a BDSM rubber kinkster then stick to your format.

Fans have signed up to follow you on this basis, not to watch videos of you in pink hot pants lounging around a pool.

Creating a brand based on YOU is important and sticking to this is key.

Post Frequently

If you want your subscribers to stick around then you need to give them a reason to do so.

Get your followers in to the habit of checking your account regularly; that way when you have things to sell or want to run promotions, go Live or just start some engagement you will have a ready audience.

You should at least be posting new content every two days even if this is just a status update with a picture.

Schedule Your Content

Just because we’ve said post frequently doesn’t mean that you have to be tied to your account day and night.

OnlyFans allows you to schedule your posts so that they go out at times which you specify.

This is pretty useful if you have a busy day job/life and means that the platform can keep your fans up to date without you having to even log in.

Some creators do this weekly so they know that the bulk of their work is automatically being posted and all they have to do is log in to respond to messages and engage with fans.

But that last part is key.

Don’t get in to the habit of automatically publishing updates but never checking the response to them!

Quality Beats Quantity

Yes, you should be posting frequently but don’t let the need to post become an excuse for poor quality.

One well-produced, high-quality video each week is worth more than several shoddily shot clips.

Like we said above, it’s good to post frequently but this could simply be a few teaser photos, a question directed at your followers, or an update on what you are doing next.

The best OnlyFans content creators build hype and anticipation around their latest releases.

You want to promote what you are doing, get the pulses racing and build excitement.

On the subject of quality, you don’t need to invest in any crazy expensive cameras or outfits.

But you do need to make sure your lighting and background is good and that you have set your camera up to record from a good angle.

The same is true for outfits and lingerie.

You don’t need to spend tons, so check out Amazon or other online retailers for the best prices.

Remember that if you do a photo set wearing one particular outfit, it is unlikely that you will (or should) use it again.

Oh, be sure to keep track of any money you spend on equipment and accessories specifically for your job on OnlyFans (see ‘Admin’, below) as it could be tax-deductible.

Create a Tips Menu

If you are selling custom content or want to earn extra money through other revenue streams then you should definitely put together a tips menu.

This can be displayed in your account.

It can include physical items which you can post out, such as used lingerie(!), or it could be a price per photo/video/photoset.

The best way to add a Tips Menu is by pinning a post to the top of your page, or you can highlight one of your Stories.

First create a post in the usual way and, once it has been published, click on the settings button for that post (three dots in the top right hand corner of the post in your feed).

Then select ‘Pin to your profile page’.

Run Occasional Promotions

If you are finding it hard to generate new subscribers then you may want to consider running a promotion.

This can be common once content creators reach a certain level of subscribers.

By setting up a period of discounted subscription you can hopefully stimulate some new interest in your account.

There’s a lot of flexibility over the settings for these promotions and you could offer free subscriptions for the next 100 fans, 30% off for the next seven days, or whatever.

This strategy can work well for those creators whose subscription fees are quite high, maybe because they offer niche content.

With a promotional sign up, you get to prove that your feed is high-end stuff worth paying extra for.

Be sure not to blast too many promotions though or new users will be reluctant to sign up when they’re not running.

Ever wait until Black Friday to do your shopping?

You don’t want your potential subscribers anticipating promotions as an excuse for not signing up today.

Automate Your Welcome Message

Whenever someone subscribes to you, you have the option of reaching out manually to thank them for following you or you can automate this message.

It is worth putting together a well-worded mail which new fans can receive.

This should give them information about what they can expect from you and how often you post.

Yours may be the first account they have signed up to on OnlyFans so a little information about how it all works can be really helpful.

It is also an opportunity to trail some of the premium content you are selling including any custom vids/pics you might also offer.

Update this regularly with details of any live events you are running so they don’t miss out.

Do this using a short video and you also kick start that first tip we gave you about engaging your audience directly.

Invite them to chat with you, ask them to send you naughty messages and dirty pictures; whatever it is, a video message instantly connects people with you as a creator.

Go to Settings, Chats and Welcome Message for New Fans to set this up.

Collaborate With Other OnlyFans creators

Yes, they are the competition but the market around adult content on OnlyFans is huge.

So much so that most creators or influencers who work on the site realize that collaborations are good for everyone.

Reach out to other creators and agree an exchange system to cross-promote traffic.

Or, straight out pay/tip them to promote your account to their followers.

This can work well if you are offering something different but in the same genre.

By pooling your fanbases, you could find that both parties benefit from additional sales and subscribers.

The Boring Stuff

It’s not sexy but part of running your OnlyFans account is the admin.

Staying on top of this can help you work more efficiently and save time; time that is better spent creating fresh new content.

First up, when you are gaining new subscribers you will start to realize that many of them ask some of the same dozen questions.

It could be about you or it could be about how the platform operates or how much certain things cost.

It is worth making a note of what these common questions are and preparing a response which you can cut and paste.

We don’t mean instead of chatting and engaging with an audience, but if you keep being asked how to request a custom clip then prepare a full response and save that text on your phone or your laptop so you can use it again.

Which brings us onto another important bit of advice:

Make a note of which fans are generating the best income.

Yes, all of your subscribers (unless you are offering free services) will be bringing in a regular revenue stream but some fans will be paying for additional premium or custom content more frequently.

If this is the case then it will pay to treat them well.

Reach out regularly and give them some special attention.

Maybe you could reward their loyalty in a unique way.

Keeping records of fans is to be encouraged.

Marketing your OnlyFans account is hard work and using analytics tools can help you analyze where the best conversions are coming from.

There are some companies that offer this kind of service at a price and if you have thousands of subscribers and generating lots of marketing links then this could be worth it.

However, in the short term you could use a URL shortener like Bitly which will help you see which platforms (Discord, Reddit, Twitter etc) is producing more click throughs.

OnlyFans itself has an analytics tool within its platform which allows you to see viewing stats for each of your posts.

This is well worth checking regularly to see which posts get the most views and use this information to tweak your future posts to maximize their impact.

Next up, if you just using OnlyFans as a way to monetize your content then it should be easy to stay on track of where you posting content.

However, if you are operating several content subscription sites or posting to other adult platforms then you might want to consider some form of scheduling and inventory system.

By simply giving all of your videos and images a code you can keep a track of where you are posting what to where.

Also, remember that if you are posting content as ‘exclusive’ then you shouldn’t be posting it to other platforms at all.

There is a reason why people pay premium prices for content that is unavailable anywhere else.

Lastly, any money you earn through OnlyFans is subject to the same taxation laws on income as any other revenue streams you may have.

This means that you may need to be tax on the money you earn through the site.

With this in mind, you should keep good records of any expenses you incur as a result of creating your content and, of course, details of any payments you receive from OnlyFans.

How To Be Successful on OnlyFans

Our final word on how to make money on OnlyFans is not to expect your endeavors to prove an overnight success.

Update 2021: And to also be mindful of OnlyFans alternatives in case the company tries to ban adult content again!

This is a highly competitive market but you will get out what you put in.

Be yourself: authenticity is what attracts fans and keeps them coming back for more.

Enjoy what you do. Working for yourself like this should be liberating not a pressure or added stress

Take pride in your content; if its worth creating, its worth creating well.

Be 100% sure before you commit.

Creating adult content is a job but it is adult entertainment work and the digital age means anything and everything you create will be around forever.

If you have any doubts about getting involved with this industry or fear judgement from others then think again.

Set up your OnlyFans account to get started!

Good luck and have fun.