Is the OnlyFans paywall a better fit for your business…even better than Patreon or YouTube?

October 8, 2020 | By Michelle De Leon

When the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve there was a sense of excitement. We were entering our Roaring 20’s and it was anticipated to be a year full of accomplishments. What no one expected was that two and a half months into the new year the United States, along with the rest of the world, would be shut down due to Covid-19.

This year hasn’t been filled with the magic we banked on but it has been full of creativity and innovation. Conferences normally packed with hundreds of people were transitions to virtual events within a couple of months. Spooky Halloween experiences have been transformed into apocalyptic drive-thrus. Restaurant waitstaff wear enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to be confused as extras in a SyFy doomsday movie. Name it, and we are making it happen.

In response to social distancing, businesses are doubling down on social media to get them through these challenging times. One platform being discussed as a possible solution is OnlyFans.

OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform that allows content creators to hide their posts behind a paywall. Users can gain access but paying monthly subscriptions or paying to access individual posts. The platform also offers a private message and tip features, creating additional opportunities for the most committed to support their favorite creators. OnlyFans has even gone as far as to promise that subscribers who try to take screenshots will only capture a black screen and anyone caught trying to record will be banned from the platform.

This setup can be enticing for people that are used to working as contract workers or freelancers.

Let’s say before mid-March you made a living as a nail technician. You had a steady loyal customer base and received referrals from your clients. During the height of the pandemic, your salon was closed and, even though your city is opening back up, most of your clients are scared to come in, opting to do their nails at home. So, how can you take your skill-set and adapt them to a heavily virtual world?

This is where OnlyFans would come in. You could create videos to help your loyal clients improve their nail care at home. There is a reason they didn’t do their nails at home before, they don’t have the knowledge to do it themselves. You can still get paid for taking care of your customers within the safety of your home and keep more of the money.

OnlyFans takes 20% of the money you earn through the platform. That’s a much better deal then if you had the common 40/60 contract with a salon or worked in other industries where you had to rent space.

Depending on what industry you were working in before the pandemic, the platform could be a great solution to the temporary yet long-term elimination of in-person interaction your business was dependent on.

So, what’s the catch? It’s the nudes.

OnlyFan allows explicit adult content to be monetized, resulting in a platform popular with sex workers. This can be a little jarring when a client unfamiliar with the platform opens an account and the first accounts suggested are of barely covered human bodies.

Of course, there are other professionals on OnlyFans. The platform has invested in social media and web campaigns promoting it as the perfect space for athletes, musicians and other content creators found YouTube to make money. It makes sense for the Cardi Bs of the world to open accounts because their bodies are their brand and fans particularly love them for their “assets.”

If you’re a nail tech with a client base of football moms, you don’t want them to accidentally come across explicit content.

Before opening another social media platform, ask yourself: Does this platform make sense for my brand and is my audience already here?

Michelle De Leon is in her fourth year at CSUN studying public relations. Her love of storytelling brought her back to college, after working seven years in sales. When she isn’t working or studying, she is trying to be a good plant mom and binging podcast.