The Story of How OnlyFans Started
The History of OnlyFans
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If you have no idea what OnlyFans is, itâs basically a platform where creators sell original content, typically of the pornographic variety. These creators are mostly influencers, AKA generally more attractive people with a big social audience
These creators use OnlyFans to sell revealing and risky content. The siteâs tagline is âMake your influence payâ because these influencers have been using OnlyFans as a way to monetize their influence. These influencers/creators upload photos and videos that are protected by a paywall. And to gain access to these, a user must pay a monthly subscription fee that ranges anywhere between $5 and $50.
The price, of course, depends on the activity that the influencer is doing in that photo or video. So youâll see a lot of them posting bathroom selfies that their parents would never approve of, and even go as far as explicit self-entertainment or explicit baby-development activities.
(2016) OnlyFans is Launched
OnlyFans was launched in 2016 by 33-year old Timothy Stokely. Due to OnlyFans success, a UK news website described him as the âKing of Homemade Pornâ. Rightfully so, since OnlyFans isnât actually Stokelyâs first venture in the adult media industry.
Back in 2011, Stokely founded GlamWorship.com in 2011, a fetish website. He said that he was browsing Reddit and realized the appeal of this specific category and felt that it was underserved, and so he launched GlamWorship.
In 2013, he was off to his next venture. He launched Customs4U, a website that allows users to request made-to-order content directly from adult-film stars. This one actually kinda feels like OnlyFans in the making.
Whatâs weird is that, he started Customs4U with his father. Just imagine how that first conversation went. But I guess thatâs a thing with the Stokelyâs since OnlyFans is also a family business as well. Stokely is the CEO, his brother is the chief operating officer, and his dad was the director.
Stokely came up with the idea of OnlyFans when learned about the prevalence of adult entertainers selling unde-the-table services, and they would be using Instagram to post photos and videos that promote themselves. But then Instagram has been cracking down on content that has nudity or are pornographic in nature, and so Stokely had a lightbulb moment.
Why not create a platform that allows these entertainers to conveniently and securely monetize their content? OnlyFans would be like a social media platform with a feed, similar to that of Instagram and Twitter, except that fans are required to pay a monthly subscription to view the content of these entertainers. And if they are willing to pay more, they could unlock paywalls for even more valuable services.
OnlyFans basically solved an existing problem.
OnlyFans used to be fully owned by the Stokely family until American investor, Leonid Radvinsky acquired 75% of OnlyFans. Radvinsky owns one of the worldâs biggest webcam sites â MyFreeCams, and I can assure you that this is definitely the first time Iâve heard of this company.
Okay so now we know how OnlyFans started, but how much money is the company actually making, why did it grow so fast, and why is it so successful?
From IG to OnlyFans
Well first, letâs talk about how OnlyFans works.
Basically, to get access to creators, who are generally influencers or adult entertainers, fans have to pay a subscription fee. Subscription fees typically range from as low as $5 to as high as $50 per month.
OnlyFans gets 20%, and the creators take 80% of the cut.
What makes the site even more appealing for fans is the exclusive content. Since fans can interact directly with creators via direct message, and these fans can make special requests, and creators ask these fans to pay for these requests through tips.
But interestingly, most of these special requests arenât actually for explicit content.
According to an article from Vice, one creator shares how a lot of her regulars are now asking for more time to be able to talk to her. And I guess that's where the value of OnlyFans comes in. Guys have access to adult films for free, yet they still go for OnlyFans because of personalized intimacy.
A creator shared how her regulars who pay for the top tier packages she offers actually just want to spend more time with her. I guess thereâs an appeal to actually getting to know someone theyâve just seen in a video or magazine.
The creator from the Vice article said that most of them are functioning as some type of online naked therapist, which is kinda sad since it says a lot about the state of the mental health of society. She said that there are A LOT of lonely men out there who are craving for this connection, and a lot of these men are struggling with their mental health, and so this serves as their way of somehow recovering.
Thatâs where the magic of OnlyFans business model comes in. I'm guessing people would pay whatever the price for that emotional connection especially when youâre mental health is not necessarily in the best state. Once in a while, youâll see an article about a certain adult entertainer or influencer making serious money through OnlyFans.
How Much Creators Make
For instance, the top creator from the UK, Dannii Hardwood, shared how she made around 29,000 in one month, and 52,000 in the next one.
Most recently, Hollywood actress Bella Thorne made over a million dollars after just a day with her OnlyFans account. This has encouraged a lot of influencers and adult entertainers to monetize their fame.
But it may not actually be as lucrative as you think. According to a study by Thomas Hollands, the top 10% of creators make 73% of all the money. The top creators can make around $30,000 to $50,000 per month, and the rest may actually be just making under a hundred dollars. Plus, you have to take into account the amount of time you have to put in to make your OnlyFans career work.
A day in the life of a top creator on OnlyFans
This article from Business Insider where they covered the day in the life of Aella Day, a top creator on OnlyFans. Aella has over 3,200, and she earns around $100,000 every month. Sheâs among the top 0.4% of creators on the platform. So sheâs pretty much as good as you can get.
Itâs easy to be enticed by those numbers. A lot of attractive people would just throw out statements like âYou know what, Iâm bored, I should just create an OnlyFansâ implying that its easy to monetize their social following, but then you realize the amount of work these top creators like Aella Day actually put in.
These creators actually have to work like theyâre a solo media company â because she has to handle roles from creating content for social media, marketing, finances, video editing, copywriting â basically everything. So Aella describes how her day goes.
Her day starts around 10:30 in the morning, she checks her OnlyFans account to see how much she earned, as well as checking her social media accounts. All her posts are scheduled, so she uses a social media scheduling app, and she prepares like 200 posts thatâll be posted over the next few months.
She then checks her Telegram group, where she and like 83 other OnlyFans creators exchange tips, and advice on what each one is doing differently that might help them do better. Then she films a short video called âThe Naked Morning Coffee Chatâ where she talks about her thoughts. This is her way of forming a better connection with her subscribers.
Then after lunch, she shoots video content which takes a lot of time because of all the preparation involved such as makeup preparation and wardrobe changes. Then around 7 in the evening, she edits her videos. So sheâll have like a full-length adult film and then edits these to be optimized for the different social media platforms. She makes 30-second teasers for her OnlyFans accounts, and have a longer version sent directly to her subscribers.
She also has to take a couple of good photos and GIFs to be posted on Twitter, and Reddit to function as ads that will hopefully turn into more OnlyFans subscribers. Before the day ends, she schedules Tweets on Twitter and monitors her other social media accounts.
Another top creator, Monica Huldt, shared that every day, she has to respond to around 40â50 messages on the platform. And she really has to or else sheâll lose the chance to connect with her subscribers. All in all, itâs a full day of work, and creators basically handle all the moving pieces.
Howâs OnlyFans doing today
In 2020, due to the lockdowns, OnlyFans reported a 42% increase in new accounts, and there are now 660,000 creator accounts with 50 million users worldwide. OnlyFans reported that the company drew in revenue of more than $1.2 billion, paying around $950 million to creators.
Regardless of whether you agree with the morality of what this company is doing, it wonât change the fact that OnlyFans has disrupted an industry, and has proven that it can thrive during a pandemic. But will it be as big when things get back to normal? Weâll have to wait and see.
Thatâs about it, now you know about the brand origin story of OnlyFans.
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